Entrepreneurship characteristics & Skills

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Dr. M. Umamageswari
Assistant Professor (Agricultural Economics)
JSA College of Agriculture & Technology
(Affiliated to Tamil Nadu Agricultural University)
Ma. Podaiyur, Tittagudi Tk. ,
Cuddalore District – 606 108
Characteristics of Entrepreneur
and
Entrepreneurship Skills

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Lecture 2. Characteristics of
Entrepreneur and
Entrepreneurship Skills
Entrepreneurial Characteristics
Not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and run their own
business. Being an entrepreneur requires specific characteristics and
skills that are often achieved through education, hard work, and
planning.
Risk Taker
Businesses face risk. Entrepreneurs minimize risk through research,
planning, and skill development.
Perceptive
Entrepreneurs view problems as opportunities and challenges.
Curious
Entrepreneurs like to know how things work. They take the time and
initiative to pursue the unknown.

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Entrepreneurial Characteristics
Imaginative
Entrepreneurs are creative. They imagine solutions to problems that
encourage them to create new products and generate ideas.
Persistent
True entrepreneurs face bureaucracy, make mistakes, receive
criticism, and deal with money, family, or stress problems. But they still
stick to their dreams of seeing the venture succeed.
Goal-setting
Entrepreneurs are motivated by the excitement of staring a new
business. Once achieved, they seek out new goals or ventures to try.
Hardworking
Entrepreneurs need a great deal of energy to see a venture start and
succeed. Yet they are not deterred by the long hours to achieve their
goal.

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Entrepreneurial Characteristics
Self-confident
Entrepreneurs believe in themselves. Their self-confidence takes
care of any doubts they may have.
Flexible
Entrepreneurs must be flexible in order to adapt to changing trends,
markets, technologies, rules, and economic environments.
Independent
An entrepreneur’s desire for control and the ability to make
decisions often makes it difficult for them to work in a controlled
environment.

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Entrepreneurial Skills
A skill is the ability to do something specific or to translate
knowledge into action.
Research Skills
Entrepreneurs need to identify what they need to know and use
research techniques to obtain it.
Gathering Information
Reliable and relevant sources of information may include
• books
• periodicals
• indexes and databases
• the Internet
• consultants
• professionals
• schools

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Entrepreneurial Skills
Using Information
After information is acquired, it needs to be sorted into relevant
data that answers the entrepreneur’s initial questions. These
questions may lead the entrepreneur to look at new ventures.
Management Skills
Management skills for entrepreneurs involve planning, organizing,
directing, and controlling. These are then applied towards their
personal, financial, and material goals.
Planning
Entrepreneurs develop financial, production, and marketing plans
that comprise the overall business plan.

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Entrepreneurial Skills
Organizing
Organizing the venture is vital. The key to this is time-
management.
Directing
Entrepreneurs learn how to motivate their staff by
encouraging initiative and self-direction. This inspires a
sense of shared responsibilities to grow the business.
Controlling
Entrepreneurs need to develop budgets and keep
accurate bookkeeping and accounting records.

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Entrepreneurial Skills
Relationship Skills
Running a business means building good relationships with staff,
suppliers, and customers.
Staff Relationships
Employees need to feel that they are treated fairly, are rewarded for
their efforts, and have their needs met.
Supplier Relationships
Communication is the most important relationship skill required to deal
with suppliers. They act as sources of information for the new business.
Suppliers also require feedback to know how to improve their service.
Customer Relationships
In an entrepreneurial business, the customer is the “boss” and the key
to the business’ success. Therefore, the entrepreneur and his or her
staff must develop a positive relationship with the customer.

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Dr.Arokiaswamy Velumani

10. Who is he?
• Born to a poor landless farmer in a village
of Appanickenpatti Padur in Tamil Nadu
• Government subsidy to go through school
and college.
• A little later in life, he was a graduate with
no job, and wherever he went for an
interview, the interviewer would say, “come
back after gaining some work experience.”
10

11. • Started a shift chemist at Gemini Capsules,
a small pharmaceutical company in
Coimbatore, he earned Rs. 150 per month,
in the late 1970s
• Joined Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
(BARC) as a lab assistant and pursued a
PhD. while he still worked.
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“When people told me to get some
experience and come back, I was hurt. I
fantasized the creation of a company that
would hire freshers, train them and give
them an opportunity,”

12. Now he is – owner of Thyrocare
Technologies (Preventive health
care Lab and diagnostic centre)
• US $307 million (June 2016)
• 1,122 authorized service providers (ASPs), with whom it
has a franchise agreement. The cheapest test package
offered by Thyrocare, branded ‘mini Aarogyam’, is offered
to the franchise partners at Rs. 400 and includes 33 tests.
Franchise sell it Rs. 600 to customers
• Smart CEO - Laser-like focus on the business with no
distractions
• Thyrocare Lab in Navi, “For Sir, work is life. He lives in
the laboratory, and he’s thinking about the business all the
time.”
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13. • Simple approach to thinking business aspect
• Big strength – Clarity of thought
• “He makes a decision and simply goes
ahead and executes it. Often times, this
decision may be contrary to the popular
opinion at the time, but at Thyrocare, it has
worked.
• Velumani forayed into the oncology
diagnostics space, with the launch of
Nueclear Healthcare. The vision is to
deliver PET-CT fusion imaging at low costs
to cancer patients. 13

14. Mahesh Gupta Chairman Kent
RO Systems
14

15. • A mechanical engineer started in 1985,
from a small room in his house with just
20,000 which he had saved from his job
with IOCL.
• His first invention was in the field of
petroleum conservation instrument where
he earned fame and half a dozen patents to
his credit.
15

16. • Establishment of KENT RO SYSTEM in
the year 1998, South Delhi.
• Started from scratch with an investment of
about 1 lac and four member team.
• Today Kent has grown 40% market share in
RO mineral and has turnover 580 crore and
2,500 employees.
16

17. Kailash Katkar (MAHARASTRA)
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•Started -job at local radio and calculator repair shop and later
went ahead in 1990 to start his own calculator repair business.
•In 1993 he started a new venture, CAT computer services
where around that time his younger brother Sanjay developed
a basic model of antivirus software which helped in solving
the biggest problem of computer maintenance at that time.
•Later in 2007 it was renamed as Quick Heal Technologies. He
achieved all this without any formal education.
•Chairman and CEO of INR 200 Cr business

18. P C Mustafa ( Coolie’s Son who Set Up 100
Crore Company with just 25,000 )
• Today, fresh idli and dosa batter made his
company ID Fresh reaches homes in
Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi,
Hyderabad, Mangaluru and even Dubai.
• Produce around 50,000 kg in our plant. The
total investment must be around Rs 4 crore
(Rs 40 million) and our revenue is Rs 100
crore (Rs 1 billion)
• 10 packets a day in 2005 – in 10 yrs 50000
packets with 1100 employees
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19. She started her career 30 years ago as an
entrepreneur, selling eateries from a mobile
cart on the Marina beach
19Ficci entrepreneur of the year

20. ” I started my business with just two people. Now, there are
200 people working for me in my restaurants. My lifestyle
has changed too. From travelling in a cycle rickshaw, I
moved to auto rickshaws and now I have my own car. From
50 paise a day, my revenue has gone up to Rs 2 lakh a day.
• Advice to young entrepreneurs
Do not ever compromise on quality. Never
lose your self-confidence. Believe in
yourself and the product you are making.
Third, always stick to what you know.
When you employ people, you should know
what you ask them to do.
20

21. Dhiru Bhai
Ambani
• India’s largest private
sector company
• “Gas-station
attendant” to
“greatest creator of
wealth in the century”
during 2000 times of
India
21

22. The ‘Nirma’ success story of how an
Indian Entrepreneur took on the big
MNCs and rewrote the rules of business
22Man behind NIRMA

23. • Make detergent powder in the backyard of
his house in Ahmedabad and then carry out
door to door selling of his hand made
product.
• He gave a money back guarantee with every
pack that was sold. Managed to offer his
detergent powder for Rs. 3 per kg when the
cheapest detergent at that time was Rs.13
per kg and so he was able to successfully
target the middle and lower middle income
segment.
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24. • The best case of – Give your consumer
what he wants, when he wants, where he
wants and at the price he wants, selling
will be done quite automatically. This is the
marketing ‘mantra’ of Nirma.
• 1969 just one man – 14k employees - $640
million net worth
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25. Prem Ganapathy, who turned
Rs.1000 into a 30 Crore business
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In 2002, 105 dosa
varieties, 42 outlets in
India and 7 outlets outside
India (New Zealand, UAE
and Oman)

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Venture Evaluation Criteria
An entrepreneur must develop a good business plan that
is feasible, marketable, and profitable. Key points are below.
Feasibility
• Finances ― list the amount required
in a budget including the source
of capital (bank, credit union, and so on)
• Location ― explain the location outlining
the details (address, rent, taxes, and so on)
• Licences and permits ― list the licences or
permits and state how to obtain them
• Suppliers ― make a list of everything
required including the name of the
suppliers and their prices and terms
• Staff ― describe staffing needs and ways to meet them

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Entrepreneurial Characteristics
Marketability
Entrepreneurs need to ask themselves the following questions about their
product, service, or charity:
• Does your target market want this product? Prove it.
• What is you competition? How much of the market do they own
already? How will you take it away from them?
• Are you competitively priced?
• Is this a short-term venture? How long will it last?
• What do you offer that no other product, service, or charity offers?
Why would a customer pay money for what you provide?
Profitability
To expect a profit, an entrepreneur must ensure that revenue exceeds all
costs. Listing expected revenue and expenses can help to achieve this.