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Introduction to Entrepreneurship for Business Economics
- 2. What Does ItMean to Be an Entrepreneur? entreprene ur marketin g start- up investo r enterprise capitalism business innovatio n initiative venture economi c finance
- 3. Entrepreneur Definition - Noun An entrepreneuris a person who sets up a business and takes risks in the hope of making money. They see a financial opportunity and act on it. Origin The word ‘entrepreneur’ first appeared in the English language in the 1700s. It comes from the French verb ‘entreprendre’ which means to ‘undertake’ or to ‘do something’.
- 4. Consider What characteristics doesan entrepreneur need to have to be successful? Which characteristics do you think are the most important? ‘Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.’ Thomas Edison Inventor
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- 6. Visio n • Willing toassess and take risks • Self-confident and positive attitude • Resilient, accepting of failure and willing to learn from mistakes • Hard-working and determined • Passionate and believes in the business idea
- 7. Innovation • Able toproblem- solve • Flexible and willing to adapt to change • Forward-looking and able to imagine a vision of the future • Creative • Able to think about fresh approaches and new ideas
- 8. People Skills • Networkingand marketing skills • Ability to develop good relationships with customers, employees, suppliers and business partners • Ability to talk to and listen to everyone
- 9. Administrative Skills • Businessplanning • Time management • Organisation • Understanding of how to raise finance • Money-management skills • Record-keeping skills
- 10. Characteristics of an Entrepreneur Whatentrepreneurial characteristics do you think you have? The following slides provide examples of some famous entrepreneurs. When you look through them, consider what characteristics they have demonstrated throughout their careers.
- 11. Entrepreneurs Throughout History “Whether youthink you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” Henry Ford (30th July 1863 – 7th April 1947) Henry Ford was a US engineer and businessman who started making cars in 1896. He founded the Ford Motor Company and invented a new system of production called the assembly line. This is where each worker is responsible for just a small part of the manufacturing process. This made it possible for factories to make products much more quickly and cheaply, and many factories around the world still make things this way. His new method of production meant that cars became far more affordable for many people who otherwise would never have been able to buy one.
- 12. Entrepreneurs Throughout History “Don’t sitdown and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” Madam CJ Walker (23rd December 1867 – 25th May 1919) The first Black woman in the US to become a self-made millionaire, Madam Walker developed and sold a range of hair care products to cater for the needs of Black women with afro hair. This was innovative because all products previously on the market were designed to be sold to white people. Originally named Sarah Breedlove, she was born on a cotton plantation in Louisiana as the daughter of two previously enslaved people. The goal when starting her business was to make Black women feel good about themselves, and she was seen as a role model and leader in the Black community.
- 13. Entrepreneurs Throughout History Walt Disney(5th December 1901 - 15th December 1966) Disney is famous for creating one of the most recognised brands in history. He was not only a cartoonist but a great businessman and innovator, always making sure he used the most up-to-date technology in his animation. For example, he was the first to combine a cartoon with sound in ‘Steamboat Willie’, and also the first to release a cartoon in full colour. He was well known for being an inspirational leader and making his employees ‘part of the story’. “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.”
- 14. Entrepreneurs Throughout History Jamsetji Tata(3rd March 1839 – 19th May 1904) Regarded as the ‘Father of Indian Industry’, he founded the Tata Group of companies, which includes the well-known Tata Iron and Steel Works. Tata was also the first to introduce the innovative ring spindle into his cotton mills, his hotel was the first in India to have electricity and he focused his business plans around creating education and employment opportunities in the poorest areas of India. He established the city of Jamshedpur, now a bustling metropolis, which grew up around his industries. “In a free enterprise, the community is not just another stakeholder in business, but is in fact, the very purpose of its existence.”
- 15. Entrepreneurs Throughout History Coco Chanel(19th August 1883 – 10th January 1971) Coco Chanel was one of the first female fashion designers to create simple and practical clothes for women. She was raised by nuns in a French orphanage, and the nuns taught her how to sew and to make clothes. Many people thought of her as a role model because she became successful and wealthy despite being an orphan, and because she had the courage to introduce bold, new ideas to the fashion world. She banned her workers from wearing corsets and other items of clothing that were uncomfortable. Chanel still exists as a fashion brand today and is responsible for ‘the little black dress’ as well as a popular range of perfumes. “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”
- 16. Entrepreneurs Throughout History While wecan learn many lessons from these individuals about how to be an entrepreneur, it is now recognised that some of their business ideas and practices should not be celebrated in today’s world, even if they were considered acceptable by society at the time. Although these entrepreneurs are remembered for some of their innovative business ideas, it is important to recognise that some of the things that they believed in would not be acceptable today. For example, Henry Ford and Coco Chanel both supported the Nazis before the Second World War and had anti- Jewish ideas. It is also widely recognised that early Disney animations contain examples of racial stereotyping that are no longer considered to be acceptable. Now let’s look at some examples of entrepreneurs today.
- 17. Present-Day Entrepreneurs Jeff Bezos(born 12th January 1964) Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of the e-commerce company, Amazon, and is currently the wealthiest person in the world. In August 2020, he became the first person in history to have a net worth in excess of $200 billion. He initially launched Amazon as a bookselling website from his garage. Amazon is now the largest internet-based ‘everything’ store in the world and even produces its own television shows for its on demand streaming service. In 2000, Bezos also founded a company called Blue Origin that makes spacecraft. In July 2021, Jeff made a short 10-minute, 10-second journey into space. While Jeff Bezos has been a successful businessman, there has been some criticism that Amazon staff are not always treated very well. “You don’t choose your passions. Your passions choose you.” “The thing about inventing is you have to be both stubborn and flexible, more or less simultaneously. The hard part is figuring out when to be which!”
- 18. Present-Day Entrepreneurs Oprah Winfrey(born 29th January 1954) Oprah Winfrey is best known for her multi-award-winning talk show in the USA, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which is the highest-ranked talk show in history. She is also an actress, philanthropist, producer and the first Black woman to own and run a television network; the Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN. She is one of a small number of women who are self-made billionaires, believed to be the wealthiest African-American and has also been ranked as the greatest Black philanthropist in US history. “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”
- 19. Present-Day Entrepreneurs Bill Gates(born 28th October 1955) Co-founder and chairman of Microsoft, Bill Gates, was responsible for inventing and introducing the Microsoft Windows operating system used on most computers. In 2021, he was the third richest person in the world and founded a highly influential charity called the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He gives money and support to human rights causes, education and to promote innovation in technology. “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”
- 20. Present-Day Entrepreneurs Elon Musk(born 28th June 1971) Elon Musk is a businessman, an industrial designer and engineer. He is the CEO of Tesla Motors, which makes electric cars; of Solar City, which makes solar panels; and of SpaceX, which makes spacecraft. He also founded the electronic payments website Paypal. In 2021 he was the second wealthiest person in the world with a net worth of $167 billion. He was born in South Africa, later moved to Canada and now lives in the USA. "I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary."
- 21. Present-Day Entrepreneurs Mark Zuckerberg(born 14th May 1984) Mark Zuckerberg was only 19 years old when he created the social media application Facebook while he was still studying at university in the USA. Zuckerberg was the fourth richest person in the world in 2021, with a net worth of $101.2 billion. He is one of the youngest ever self-made billionaires, being the only person under 40 in the Forbes list of top 20 richest people. He still works as the CEO, chairman and controlling shareholder of Facebook. He is also a co-founder of the ‘Breakthrough Starshot’ project, that develops solar sails for spacecraft. In 2013, a movie was made about how he founded Facebook, called ‘The Social Network.’ “The biggest risk is not taking any risk.”
- 22. Present-Day Entrepreneurs Jonathan Seaton(born 23rd December 1982) Jon founded the educational publishing website Twinkl in 2010, along with his wife Susie, to make learning materials more available and to reduce the burden on teachers. Twinkl began in the UK but now operates worldwide for a global market. In 2018, Twinkl received a Queen's Award for Enterprise for the company's work in International Trade and again in 2020, this time for Innovation. Twinkl is the official partner of BBC Children in Need and provides free materials to help children to fundraise for the charity. During the COVID- 19 school closures, Twinkl partnered with BBC Bitesize and offered all resources for free to support home learning. Jonathan Seaton was awarded an MBE for services to Technology and Education in 2020. “For the jobs of the future, children need to be able to problem solve, think creatively or pattern spot, rather than learning by rote.”
- 23. Social Entrepreneurs Can youthink of any examples of social entrepreneurs? Do you think any of the entrepreneurs we have already looked at could be described as a social entrepreneur? What characteristics do you think an individual needs to demonstrate in order to be a successful social entrepreneur? A social entrepreneur is someone who uses business strategies in order to solve social, cultural or environmental problems. They are different to other entrepreneurs in that they are not motivated to set up businesses to make money, but in order to solve problems in the world that they care passionately about.
- 24. Social Entrepreneurs Greta Thunberg(born 3rd January 2003) Greta is a Swedish environmental activist who is famous for challenging world leaders to take action against climate change. She used social media and spoke at public events to inspire other young people to protest about climate change, and started a world famous school strike movement known as Fridays For Future. In December 2019, Time magazine named her the ‘Person of the Year’ and she has been nominated to win the Nobel Peace prize. While she does not fit the definition of an entrepreneur in that she does not sell any products or services for financial profit, she has a clear mission and knows how to capitalise on media opportunities and building relationships with businesses in order to bring about change. She is seen as a powerful role model for many people and entrepreneurs look to her for lessons in public speaking and marketing. “We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.”
- 25. Social Entrepreneurs Malala Yousafzai(born 12th July 1997) A human rights activist and social entrepreneur, Yousafzai, is the youngest ever person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She was awarded the 2014 prize aged just 17, for her activism for girls' and women's rights. She was living in an area of Pakistan that was run by the Taliban, who banned girls from going to school. She wrote about her experience of living under the Taliban and she raised global awareness by having her writing published abroad. She was a victim of a gunshot attack in October 2012. She has written a book, “I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.” She is the founder and CEO of the Malala Fund, a charity that campaigns for access to education for girls across the world. “If we want to achieve our goal, then let us empower ourselves with the weapon of knowledge and let us shield ourselves with unity and togetherness.”
- 26. Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurs come fromall different walks of life and work across all business sectors. Anyone of any age can become an entrepreneur, so long as they have some good ideas and the determination to succeed. We call this an ‘entrepreneurial spirit.’ “The difference between who you are and who you want to be, is what you do.” Bill Philips US entrepreneur and author
- 27. Glossary capitalism An economicand political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. enterprise A business, company, project or undertaking, especially one involving a lot of challenges or creative problem-solving. initiative The ability to assess and start things independently, or an action to resolve a difficulty or improve a situation. innovation A new method, idea or product. investor A person or organisation that puts money into financial schemes with the hope of receiving a profit. marketing Promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising. networking Interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts. philanthropis t A person who seeks to improve things for others, especially by the generous donation of money to good causes. start-up The action of setting something in motion, or a newly established