Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship - Case Study Example

?Interview of an Entrepreneur Rationale of the Interview Questions Introduction I have interviewed Mr. John Hudson for this assignment. Mr. Hudson isa successful entrepreneur running a small enterprise for import and export of computer hardware. The Edge Technologies is providing innovative hardware solution to the community for the last twenty years. Mr. Hudson was interview on Sunday evening and I had prepared an outline for the interview by Friday. Rationale of Questions In order to achieve maximum objectives of the interview it was outlined along the Timmons’s model of entrepreneurial process. A fine mix of several entrepreneurial elements characterizes the model. The opportunity is at the center of the process, however, the identification opportunity and its realization depends upon the personality of the entrepreneur and his team. Other important elements of Timmons’s model are technical expertise and experience required to cash on the identified opportunity. The finance and other resources are placed at the last of this model of entrepreneurial process. (Lebherz, 2010, p.16-20) Specific questions were articulated to gain Mr. Hudson reaction on each element of the Timmons’s model. Clutching an opportunity requires a vigilant eye on current issues and openings. First three questions are focused to gain some knowledge of innovative thoughts that help Mr. Hudson to conceive the idea of the Edge Technologies. Because Mr. Hudson is not a descendent of an entrepreneur family, the enterprise realization is a display of his leadership and managerial qualities. The second question is targeted to gain his input on early strategic planning he did to minimize risks and enhance the chances of his success being an entrepreneur. Early shocks of business are a sheer test of entrepreneur courage and character. Third question is aimed at learning about the things that went wrong and posed a challenge to the existence and continuation of corporate operations. This might be very helpful in the assessment of an entrepreneurial character and can provide important insights into the strength of strategic plans laid down in early phases of enterprise establishment. The next section of the interview is aimed at understanding some personal attributes and characteristics of Mr. Hudson personality. This includes his concept of a successful entrepreneur and personal independence, which serves as lighthouse to guide rest of the entrepreneurial activities and forms the basis of other principles. Bygrave & Andrew (2010, p. 52) observes, “It does appear that entrepreneurs have a higher internal locus of control, than non-entrepreneurs, which means that they have a stronger desire to be in control of their own fate.” The success of an entrepreneur is characterized by his attitude, ambition, confidence, knowledge, skills and experience. A variable mix of these personal attributes defines the future direction of the business and decides the way corporate objectives are pursued. Among all the attribute of an entrepreneur that contributes towards the success, the most significant is the knowledge of personal strengths and weaknesses. It is important for an entrepreneur to know exactly what shortcomings he needs to avoid and where he can zoom into his strengths. Some of the questions were designed to gain a professional and technical insight into the business. Despite of the over whelming influence of the entrepreneur on the enterprise, an efficient team is required to materialize and achieve corporate goals. This team marks the difference how risks and financial challenges to the enterprise are interpreted and responded. Moreover, Mr. Hudson’s response on policymaking in the enterprise was sought to catch on his corporate philosophy and decision-making process. The concern of an entrepreneur for his society in this age is considered very important towards the fulfillment of corporate responsibility. Towards the end of Mr. Hudson interview, a question was targeted to get his input on social awareness. The last question was designed to capture the futuristic approach of Mr. Hudson being an entrepreneur and to find a link between his success philosophy and social responsiveness. Entrepreneur evaluation The role of an entrepreneur in the success or failure of an enterprise is decisive. It is the courage and valor of an entrepreneur that can bring about the miracles and it is the timid and indecisive nature of an entrepreneur that can make the havoc of the best corporate opportunities. Bygrave and Timmon (cited in Lebherz, 2011, P. 20) argue this all-important role of an entrepreneur, “The history of Apple proves that the lead entrepreneur, Steve Jobs is the central figure for the success of the company. Jobs has the talent to spot and to execute new business opportunities and to juggle these opportunities, the large Apple team and the necessary resources to make the company successful.” Mr. Hudson response to the first question is very important where he declares his desire of independence as the corner stone towards the establishment of Edge technologies. “I always wanted to be a boss of myself because I knew myself better than anyone else.” (Appendix A). However, this enlightenment was at the expense few years when he worked as a marketing manager with a renowned entrepreneur in the field of import and export. This proves, his proactive approach in later years was triggered by the lessons learnt in his early professional experiences where he was a little reactive to his career demands. Nevertheless, his strong belief in his capabilities and his ambitious nature provoked him to pursue a more practical approach and he launched an enterprise quite early in his professional career. He said, “I was quite confident about my success and the growth of the enterprise.” (Appendix A). This ambition and confidence are the core values for new entrepreneurs and have always paid heavy dividends to such motivated and determined individuals. Most of the researchers have an agreement that “Growth motivation is a necessary factor for actual firm growth to materialize.” (Leitao & Rui, 2009, p. 92). Mr. Hudson was also confident in his response to question because he had sufficient education, skills and experience in the domain of import and export. His commitment to the cause of entrepreneurial success was above all doubts and this enhances the likelihood of enterprise success, Bradberry & Pamela (2011, p. 43) states, “Call it drive, ambition or competitiveness, successful entrepreneur desire to fly higher and higher and are unshakably committed to their cause.” Mr. Hudson expressed his drive for success quite courageously and explained categorically, “As far the concept of success is concerned; I know no limits! I enjoy my journey towards even greater successes one after another.” (Appendix A). He admits that family background, education, financial resources and richness of human capital (p. 49) are some important constituents of the entrepreneurial success, yet the most important of ingredient of success is the attitude of success. You have to have a will to succeed and nothing that can stop you from becoming a successful entrepreneur. Responding to the question of personal strengths and weaknesses, Mr. Hudson adopted a balanced approached. “Like anyone else I have my own strengths and odds but I can apply myself in a befitting manner if there is a requirement to adapt.” (Appendix A). It was evident from his stance that he has not over assessed his capabilities nor there is a lack of confidence and optimism. He had rationally estimated various elements that may play a role in his success or may hinder it. This realization and awareness was good as Landstrom (2009, p. 279) argues while presenting his entrepreneur process, “Entrepreneur are unable to assess their own strength and weaknesses” and “experience ‘entrepreneurial euphoria’ in which they feel that the success is certain.” The environmental factors and external forces have always posed serious threats and extensively challenged the courage and ambition of entrepreneurs. Delmar & Karl (2010, p. 156) states, “Regardless of the ambition and skill of the entrepreneurs, they are subject to external selection forces.” Risks, financial markets, supply, demands, consumer behavior, social pressures, cultural bindings, ethnic and geographical considerations etc. are some important contextual and environmental factors that need serious attention of entrepreneur. These factors are hard to predict but entrepreneurs can sustain such pressures if plans are already in place to address these issues. Entrepreneur need to sketch out a plan for every possible adverse effect and thus come up with a model tailored to the environment they dwell, Price (2004, p. 125) testifies these findings and observes, “More often than not, new business ventures fail because the business and revenue model were not clearly defined and tested in real-world environments.” Mr. Hudson showed a higher level of interest and commitment towards the social responsibilities being an entrepreneur. He repeatedly stressed the need of a joint body of entrepreneurs that can identify areas where assistance dissemination can make a difference and where entrepreneurs can join hands with other public and private sector organizations to deliver some good to the society. Mr. Hudson declared the “communal advancement as an integral part of entrepreneurial success.” (Appendix A). He emphasized that entrepreneurs should “follow the ethical norms of the business in the society” and the “utilization of national resources for greater interest of the people.” (Keshari, 2005, p. 101). Reflective Discussion Mr. Hudson personal standpoint on issues, questions and concepts was quite rational and renowned domain experts support his theoretical and conceptual views. However, his response has surfaced several reflective issues, which needs further probe based on theoretical insight and literature review. The dynamic personality of Mr. Hudson as an entrepreneur has contributed a long way into his success. His important personal characteristics include confidence, valor, ambition, self-efficacy, knowledge, technical expertise, industrious nature and a strong desire to be self-sufficient. The interview offered several lessons for entrepreneurs. These lessons are applicable in the conceptualization, implementation and maintenance of a medium size enterprise. The most important aspect of starting a new enterprise comes out to be realistic approach. The entrepreneur should be well aware of the challenges that may come across and should never over assess his caliber and strengths. A better self-realization is helpful in setting realistic goals and effective planning. The individual should be able to apply himself effectively if there is an opportunity. It is important to note that personality traits are not the only contributor in the success of an entrepreneur; it also requires carefully sketched and planed entrepreneurship models. (Wiklund, 2006, p. 33). Several models are available for direct application or these can be blended to formulate a new entrepreneur process model. However, there three major stages in most these process models, these stages begin with an innovative idea or opportunity which is then scrutinized using several plans and managerial processes. The idea is then implemented and nurtured for growth. “Although existing process models of entrepreneurship differ in many respects, all appears to agree on three important issues.” (Baum, Michael & Robert, P. 20) Each of these stages can be further divided into subcategories to ensure a smooth and harmonized implementation of the process model. Appendix A Interview Questions Outline 1. What triggered your voyage in hardware support for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)? 2. What initial plans and strategies you followed to augment the margin of success? 3. Can you recollect some early challenges and lessons learnt thereby? 4. How do you conceive success? 5. Do you agree that attitude can compensate knowledge, skills and experience? 6. How did you employ personal strengths while evading weaknesses? 7. How did you select your team? 8. What were the most important environmental factors for the business? 9. What policies and guiding principles were defined to be foundation of the entrepreneurial operations? 10. What process did you follow to make enterprise decisions? 11. Are you satisfied with the value your entrepreneurship has brought to the society? 12. Where do you expect your enterprise in next five years? Summary of Interviewee Response While responding to several interview questions Mr. Hudson uttered some important facts which are quoted here. “I was quite confident about my success and the growth of the enterprise.” “As far the concept of success is concerned; I know no limits! I enjoy my journey towards even greater successes one after another.” “Like anyone else I have my own strengths and odds but I can apply myself in a befitting manner if there is a requirement to adapt.” References Baum, J. R., Michael, F & Robert, A. B 2006, The psychology of entrepreneurship, Routledge, USA. Bradberry, J & Pamela, S 2011, 6 Secrets to Startup Success, AMACOM Div American Management Association, USA. Bygrave, W. D & Andrew, Z 2010, Entrepreneurship 2nd eds, John Wiley and Sons, USA. Delmar, R & Karl, W 2010, Knowledge intensive entrepreneurship: the birth, growth and demise of entrepreneurial firms, Edward Elgar Publishing, UK. Fairlie, R. W & Alicia M, R 2008, Race and entrepreneurial success: Black-, Asian-, and white-owned businesses in the United States, MIT Press, USA. Keshari, S. M 2005, Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., India Landstrom, H 2009, Pioneers in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research, Springer, UK. Lebherz, A 2011, The Venture Capital Cycle and the History of Entrepreneurial Financing, Seminar Paper, GRIN Verlag, Germany. Leitao, J & Rui, B (eds) 2009, Public Policies for Fostering Entrepreneurship: A European Perspective, Springer, UK. Price, R. W 2004, Roadmap to entrepreneurial success: powerful strategies for building a high-profit business, AMACOM Div American Management Association, USA. Wiklund, J 2006, Entrepreneurship: frameworks and empirical investigations from forthcoming leaders of European research, Emerald Group Publishing, Netherlands. Read More