entrepreneurship skills notes

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS
LESSON 3: FUNCTIONS AND SCOPE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Entrepreneurs have several other characteristics
1. Creativity -The creation of new thing of value. They are innovative make change and
introduce new things or new ways of doing things
2. Hardworking - can work for long hours
3. Moderate risk takers: They have high risk taking propensity. They take calculated
risk. They are not gamblers·
4. Internal locus of control.
They are self-confident and believe that the most part of future is theirs to control
through their own effort.
5. Networking - love interacting and making connections.
6. High need for achievement (N-ach) Have a strong desire to solve problems on their
own
7. Goal setters- enjoy setting goals and achieving them through their own efforts.
8. Need feedback -need feedback on how well they are doing.
9. Are doers -like implementing their ideas or putting their ideas to action.
10. Independent -They do things by their own and believe in themselves
11. Energetic -Are full of energy of mind and body.
12. Result oriented -Have high desire for achievement. Do not like ending a task without
seeing results.
13. Are enterprising -Have the courage and willingness to engage in difficult
undertakings
14. Resourceful- They like making the most of opportunities and options
15. Intelligence - Have the skill experience and technical know how
16. Optimistic -Believe a slip is not a fall
17. Team leader -They have leadership skills to lead the people within the enterprise and
other stakeholders to ensure successful outcomes for the tasks in hand
18. Have intuitional capacity -Are able to forecast what is likely to happen
19. Un stoppable- Have energy of will
20. Versatile -They are resourceful and flexible
21. Aggressiveness - Entrepreneurs are courageous and aggressive. They peruse the work
to conclusion
22. Clean vision -They aim at positive results
23. Skillful-they have the talent and expertise
24. Positive to challenges -They are positive and optimistic.
25. Commitment - They devote a lot of effort and time to their work

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS
26. Initiative -They are enterprising and have self-drive
27. Influence -They have ability to get an well with others
28. Inner control-Are disciplined
29. Change oriented -Respond positively to changes e
30. Persistence- They preserve and never give up
31. Ability to manage change- can handle situations under all circumstance
An entrepreneur has to perform one or more of the functions outlined below:
1. Innovation- entrepreneur is an innovator who introduces new combinations of
factors of production. Entrepreneurships is a creative activity, and the
entrepreneur introduces something new in any branch of economic activity
2. Risk taking and uncertainty bearing- if he succeeds in doing this, he makes profits
and vice versa
3. Taking business decisions: he makes decisions regarding the product and the
quality of product to be produced
4. Managerial functions- The entrepreneur arranges finances, purchases raw
materials and provides the necessary infrastructure for production, including
technology, supervises sales and marketing and other employees
5. Develops the market for products and devises new products to meet consumers
demands
6. Maintains good relations with public authorities and with the society at large
7. Perceives/ identifies market opportunities
8. Gap filling functions- it is the job of entrepreneur to fill the gap or makeup the
deficiencies which exists in the society
9. Entrepreneur handles budget of his business
10. Entrepreneur initiates the business activity
11. Entrepreneur organizes the factors of production
Roles of entrepreneurship to economic development / Entrepreneurship Contribution to
National Development and general society
(a) Economic Roles (Contributions)
 Small businesses are labor intensive and more people are needed to conduct
their operations than the more capital large organizations (they are flexible,
adoptable and able to create jobs).
 They employ workers with limited skills who learn on the job.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS
 They spark/development new ideas/innovation and develop quality
products and services that create new value for customers, leading to
improved standards of living
 Basic for developing a pool of skilled and semi-skilled workers for future
industrial expansion.
 Improves forward and backward linkage between economically, socially and
geographically diverse sectors.
 Provide opportunities for developing and adopting appropriate technologies
and managerial approaches.
 Increases mobility for the improved development of natural resources and
contribute to increased participation in economic activities.
(b) Social roles (contributions)
 Enables one to move from one class to another.
 Contributes to even distribution of resources leading to reduction in crime.
 Enables integration and interaction of communities due to trade.
 Helps to improve the health of the people through investments in social
entrepreneurship e.g cabbage collection
(c) Political roles (Contributions)
 Have potential for democratization (expansion of sector)
 Increasing the number and spreading throughout the society results into a
new constituency of owner and employees.
 Provide a base for a balanced rule between the rural areas and the rest of the
society and the government.
Factors Affecting Entrepreneurial Growth
The factors are classified into 4 as follows:
A. Economic Factors
i) Lack of adequate overhead facilities. Profitable innovations requires certain basic
facilities and services such as transportation, communication, technical and
economic information, power supply etc, such things improves efficiency of
investment by entrepreneurs
- These facilities are scarce in less developed countries
ii) Lack of enough capital- Some investments requires that the entrepreneur imports
equipment, this may be limited by lack of foreign exchange, which is scarce in less
developed countries

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS
iii) Great risk- risk in business is greater in less developed countries than in developed
countries because of: lack of reliable information and small market for goods and
services
- As a result, prospective entrepreneurs fears taking the risk
iv) Non- availability of labour and skill- Although there is abundant labour supply in
less developed countries, this labour lacks the skills for managing business
enterprises
B. Social factors
Several less developed countries are characterised by the presence of a social set
up which is generally hostile to entrepreneurship, and education, training and
research are given little importance. This affects entrepreneurs negatively because
he may not get qualified labour.
- Lack of security is another social characteristic of countries in less developed
countries- thus people fear setting up certain projects in some areas.
C. Cultural factors
-If the culture is economically and monetarily oriented, entrepreneurship would
be applauded and praised
- In the less developed countries, people are not economically motivated, and
monetary incentives are not available
D. Personal factors
- In less developed countries the entrepreneur is looked upon with suspicion. He is seen
as a profit maker and exploiter
- this results in low status of businessmen in the eyes of public