THE CONCEPT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION

Entrepreneurship education is made up of all kinds of experiences that give students the ability
and vision to access and transform opportunities of different kinds. It goes beyond business
creation. In the developed countries, entrepreneurship education focuses on creativity, innovation
and thinking outside the box. In developing countries the focus is on developing positive attitude
towards entrepreneurship thinking, venture creation and self-employment.

NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The term entrepreneur is derived from the French word entreprende, which literally means ‘to
undertake’ or ‘one who takes between’ (middleman). Entreprende is a combination of two
French words: entre which means ‘enter’ or ‘between’, and prende which means ‘to take’. The
two words are combined to create the word entreprende which means ‘to undertake’ or more
literally ‘enter- to- take’ or ‘between- to- take’.
The French word entreprende was believed to have been used by the Frenchman called Richard
Cantillion. He was the first to recognize the crucial role of the entrepreneur in economic
development. Of the three classes in society recognised by Cantillion, entrepreneurs were the
important class and were the central economic actors. The other two classes were land owners
and workers. He used the word entreprende in describing any venture and activity of which the
outcome and results is shrouded in a state of uncertainty and therefore considered to be a risky
undertaking by any person. According to him the entrepreneur is someone who take the risk of
running an enterprise by paying a certain price for securing and using resources to make a
product and reselling the product for an uncertain price.
Other writers have also contributed to our understanding of who the entrepreneur is. For
instance, Joseph Schumpeter (1883 – 1950), an Austrian economist described the entrepreneur as
an innovator who brings about change through the introduction of new technological processes
or products.

Different disciplines also see entrepreneurship differently. For instance, in economics the
entrepreneur is the fourth factor of production. There are other three factors of production
namely land, labour and capital. Thus, economic theory view the entrepreneur as someone who
co-ordinates other three factors of production in order to enable production to take place. In
psychology the entrepreneur is an individual who will like to have control over his own affairs
through owning and running a business. In sociology entrepreneurship is any income generating
activity.
In sum we can define an entrepreneur in the following way:
An entrepreneur is someone who has an idea and works to create product or service that people
will buy, by building an organization to support those sales.
An entrepreneur is the person who sets up a business or businesses, taking up financial risk in
the hope of making profits.

Entrepreneurship Defined
Entrepreneurship is the practise of starting new organisations or revitalizing mature
organisations, particularly new business in response to identified opportunities. Hisrich and
Peters (1998), defined entrepreneurship as the ‘process of creating something new with value
by devoting the necessary time and effort, assuming the accompanying financial, psychic and
social risks and receiving the resulting rewards of monetary and personal satisfaction and
independence’. Barringer and Ireland (2008), also defined entrepreneurship as ‘the process by
which individuals pursue opportunities without regard to the resources they currently control’.
Other definitions include ‘entrepreneurship as the dynamic process of creating wealth’ ‘the
organizing and reorganizing of social mechanism to turn resources and situations into practical
account’ and the acceptance of risk and failure.
From these definitions one would observe that these writers emphasized on key words such as
newness, organizing, creating wealth and risk-taking which are all associated with
entrepreneurship.

Intrapreneurship (Corporate Entrepreneurship)

This is a process where an individual carries out entrepreneurial activities within an existing
organization that could also be their place of work or employment.
Pinchot (1985), coined the term intrapreneurship to describe entrepreneurial activities inside
large organizations. There are some employees who take advantage of their workplace and
engage in entrepreneurial activities. They always come out with new ideas, and do things
differently for the benefit of their employing organization.
Organizational conditions necessary for intrapreneurship to take place are as follows:
1. Rewards – it must be based on performance and achievements.
2. An organizational flexibility – this calls for the absence of standard operating procedures,
written rules and administrative processes that restrict staff the freedom to make
decisions in the way they carry out their task.
3. Intelligence dissemination – there must be sharing of knowledge with other persons. This
will increase mutual trust, good team spirit and the ability to build on the ideas of others.
4. Management support – there must also be willingness of management to promote
entrepreneurial behaviour; including championing of innovative ideas and providing the
resources people require for taking entrepreneurial actions.
5. Work discretion – this refers to the autonomy given employees for entrepreneurial efforts
such that the employee has the freedom in work methods, judgment and decision-
making.
 6. Time availability – this means having workloads that ensures that individuals have the
time needed to pursue innovations and their jobs are structured in ways that support
efforts to achieve short and long-term organizational goals. For example, companies such
as Google and 3M allow their employees to have 20percent of their working time to
spend on their own to create new ideas and innovations the organization.

Extrapreneurship (Spin-offs)
This is the process where an individual leaves his/her present place of work and creates his own
venture or company, very often in the same line of business activity. It only make sense to
establish your new venture in the same line of business since you already have some experience
in that area.
There are many reason why someone may leave their present work including dismissal,
resignation, retirement, some dissatisfaction etc.
Whatever be the reason for the exit from your place of work, it is important you do not leave in a
state of antagonism. Sometimes, you may find yourself doing business with your former
employer as a key customer or supplier to your business.

Co-preneurship
It is a situation where husband and wife are the co-owners of an entrepreneurial venture.

Approaches to Entrepreneurship (Models of Entrepreneurship)

1. PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH (ENTREPRENEURIAL PERSONALITY)

One major approach to entrepreneurship is the psychological ‘trait’ approach or the
entrepreneurial personality. Personality is defined as the characteristic of an individual that cause
consistent patterns in that individual’s behaviour overtime. Personality represents the
predisposition to have particular beliefs, attitudes and behaviours. Personality is discussed in
terms of traits. A trait is a characteristic usually expressed as a dimension on which a person can
be measured. Personality trait therefore, refers to relatively enduring characteristics inside the
individual that are likely to predispose that individual to particular beliefs, attitudes and
behaviour.
Under this approach, psychologists view the entrepreneur as a person driven by certain inherent
forces. It thus, identifies certain personality characteristics in individuals that appear to be
possessed by successful entrepreneurs.
Considering the work of writers on entrepreneurial personality certain key characteristics have
been identified in the literature as being important abilities of any entrepreneur. This includes:
1. High need for achievement
 2. Calculated risk taker
3. High internal locus of control
4. Creativity and Innovativeness
5. Need for autonomy/Independence
6. Ambiguity tolerance
7. Vision
8. Opportunity orientation
9. Persistent problem solving
10. Self-efficacy/ self-confidence and optimism
11. High energy coupled with emotional stability
12. Tolerance for failure
13. Integrity and reliability
14. Ability to delay gratification

High need for Achievement

Achievement motivation or a high need for achievement could be described as a high need to
excel or achieve a goal in relation to a set of standards. Individuals who do not give up until they
achieve what they want have high n’ach. They always aspire to reach top or the pinnacle. High
achievers are those that accept responsibility for decisions and for achieving solution to problems
but standards will be set carefully so that they can be achieved. Satisfaction is gained by finding
the solution to a problem rather than with monetary reward.

Calculated risk taker

Risk refers to the volatility and uncertainties associated with investment outcomes. Calculated
risk takers believe that gains do no accrue to those who always play safety first by refusing to
venture into business. Calculated risk takers are daring/bold and undertake prudent risk analysis
by recognizing the impact of systematic risk factors while taking pragmatic steps to overcome
diversifiable risks before venturing into businesses.

Ambiguity tolerance

Start-up entrepreneurs face uncertainty compounded by constant changes that introduce

ambiguity and stress into every aspect of the enterprise – setbacks and risks. These strategies
include getting others to share inherent financial and business risks with them - for instance, by
persuading partners and investors to put up money, creditors to offer special terms and suppliers
to advance merchandise.

Vision
Entrepreneurs know where they want to go. They have a vision or concept of what their firm can
be. For example, Steve Jobs of Apple Computer fame wanted his firm to provide
microcomputers that could be used by everyone from school children to business people. The
computer would be more than a machine. It would be an integral part of the person’s life in terms
of learning and communicating. This vision helped make Apple a major competitor in the
microcomputer industry. Not all entrepreneurs have predetermined view for their firm. In many
cases this vision develops over time as the individual begins to realize what the firm is and what
it can become.

Opportunity Orientation

One clear pattern among successful, growth minded entrepreneurs is their focus on opportunity
rather than on resources, structure or strategy. They start with the opportunity and let their
understanding of it guide other important issues. They are goal oriented in their pursuit of
opportunities. Setting high but attainable goals enables them to focus their energies, to
selectively sort out opportunities and to know when to say no. Their goal orientation also helps
them to define priorities and provide them with measures of how well they are performing.

Persistent Problem Solving

Entrepreneurs are not intimidated by difficult situations. In fact, their confidence and general
optimism seems to translate into a view that the impossible just takes a little longer. Yet they are
neither aimless nor foolhardy in their relentless attack on a problem or an obstacle that is
impeding business operations. If the task is considered to be extremely easy or perceived to be
extremely unsolvable, entrepreneurs will give up sooner than others. Simple problems bore them,
unsolvable ones do not warrant their time. Moreover, although entrepreneurs are extremely
persistent, they are realistic in recognizing what they can and cannot do and where they can get
help in solving difficult but unavoidable tasks. They will like to be challenged.

Need for autonomy/Independence

The desire for independence is a driving force behind contemporary entrepreneurs. Their
frustration with rigid bureaucratic systems coupled with a sincere commitment to ‘make a
difference’ adds to an independent personality trying to accomplish tasks in their own way. This
is not to say entrepreneurs must make all the decisions.

Internal Locus of Control

Another characteristic that has been identified is high internal locus of control. Successful
entrepreneurs believe in themselves. They do not believe the success or failure of their business
will be governed by fate, luck or similar forces – (external locus of control). They belief their
accomplishments and setbacks are within their own control and influence and they can affect the
outcomes of their actions. Individuals with high internal locus of control like to be in charge of
their environment and of their own destiny.
Self-confidence and optimism
Moreover, perceived self-confidence or self-efficacy has been advocated by some writers as an
important concept in entrepreneurship. Although, entrepreneurs often face major obstacles their
belief in their ability seldom waivers. During down periods, they maintain their confidence and
let those around them know it. This helps the others sustain their own optimism and creates the
level necessary for group effort. High self-confidence in the individual translates into self-belief
and in one’s capabilities to mobilise resources, motivate others and produce change (business
start-up).
High energy coupled with emotional stability
The extraordinary workloads and the stressful demands entrepreneurs face place a premium on
energy. Many entrepreneurs fin-tune their energy levels by carefully monitoring what they eat
and drink, exercising and resting appropriately. High energy also means developing the interest
and desire to think and follow through the various initial processes and overcome the bottlenecks
associated with novelty. Added to this is the need to be emotionally stable or have a ‘cool head’
so that one is not overtaken by the initial drudgery associated with business creation.
Creativity and Innovativeness
Innovation and creativity are closely interconnected and are important to entrepreneurial
personality. Creativity is the generation of ideas that result in the improved efficiency or
effectiveness of a system. To innovate means to embark on continuous search for new ideas that
results in the transformation of productive processes and/or the creation of new goods and
services. Thus, entrepreneurs are those who know where to look for new ideas and how to
develop it into useful products or markets once they have found it.
Tolerance for Failure
Entrepreneurs use failure as a learning experience. The trial and error nature of becoming
successful entrepreneur makes serious setbacks and disappointments an integral part of the
learning process. The most effective entrepreneurs are realistic enough to expect such
difficulties. Furthermore, they do not become disappointed, discouraged or depressed by a
setback or failure. Many successful entrepreneurs believe that they learn from their early failures
than from their early successes. In this vane, it is instructive to note that socio-behavioural
approach and research have found that societies that tolerates failure has more successful nascent
entrepreneurs than societies that do not tolerate failure.
Integrity and Reliability
Integrity and reliability are the glue and fibre that bind successful personal and business
relationships and make them endure. Investors, partners, customers and creditors alike, highly
value these attributes. Integrity and reliability help to build and sustain trust and confidence.
Small business owners, in particular, find these two characteristics crucial to success.

Ability to Delay Gratification

Ability to delay gratification reflect the reality that entrepreneurs are not looking for short-term
financial gains and rewards of material possession, but rather look forward with a long term view
building growth and development through emotional and psychological rewards that come with
their continued and ongoing achievements.
Stanford University conducted a research project where they gave 4 year old children marsh
mellows and instructed that if they waited 10 minutes before eating them, that they could have a
second one. Some children ate the marsh mellows, some children waited, and some children
‘pseudo ate’ their marsh mellows by licking them. Thirty years later they followed up this study
to evaluate how these children performed in life. Those children that waited the 10 minutes,
statistically had happier marriages, higher paying jobs, had progressed further professionally and
also had the high percentages of entrepreneurial activities.

From this approach, it is possible to argue that the supply of potential entrepreneurs is limited to
a finite number of people that have innate abilities or a set of characteristics that marks them out
as special (and that they have special insights not possessed by others).

CRITICISMS OF THE PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS APPROACH

A lot of criticisms have been levelled against this approach notable among which are:
1) Concentrating on personality characteristics mean that we are in danger of ignoring
environmental and cultural influences, which can be just as, if not more, important than
any set of personality traits.
2) Placing too much importance on an inherent set of personality characteristics reduces the
role of education and training. Learning is very valuable process that allows potential
entrepreneurs to acquire skills, and to develop methods of business planning for
subsequent business start-up/take- off.
3) It has also been argued that many of the characteristics which are often said to be special
to successful entrepreneurs are the same abilities that could be applied to successful
managers and it is therefore difficult to separate out specific characteristics of
entrepreneurs.
4) Another criticism is that the personality ‘trait’ approach is essentially static analysis to
the dynamic process of entrepreneurship.
5) It is also inappropriate to search for a significant single trait.
6) Problems arise when attempts are made to measure characteristics/traits since
characteristics are not stable and change overtime.
7) Moreover, characteristics describe actions that require subjective judgements and
therefore do not lend themselves to objective measurement. For example, how do we
define innovative? It can simply be the ability to deal with change and the ability to cope
with new processes and solutions. How do we measure calculated risk taker? In many
respects there are unsatisfactory definitions of actions associated with these concepts
which make their measurements difficult to justify.

There is a danger that these approaches can influence and dominate approaches to small firm
ownership and entrepreneurship so that important influences on entrepreneurship, such as quality
of the infrastructure provided in the environment are ignored. It also ignores issues such as
gender, age, social class and education, all of which have a bearing on the propensity of an
individual to enter entrepreneurship.

2. THE PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH

Another approach that explains why someone becomes an entrepreneur is the psychodynamic
model. Just like proponents of the trait approach, the exponents of this approach assume that
each person’s behavior is best understood in terms of a set of internalized drives and motivations
laid down during the process of socialization during childhood. For instance Kets de Vries
(1977), sees entrepreneurial behavior as the outcome of early childhood experiences, usually
focusing on an unhappy family background characterized by all forms of psycho-social
deprivations: no cloths, no food, no parental care, no social concern etc. Can you imagine the
boys and girls selling on the streets of Ghanaian towns?

The unhappy and deprivative early life experiences make the individual adult become a
somewhat deviant personality. The deviant individual is generally unable to operate effectively
in any organization or structured social environment. His or her psychological problems are
centered on low self-esteem, insecurity and lack of self- confidence.

Such individual of a deviant personality is always unable and unwilling to accept and work under
any ‘authority’. They also have difficulty in working smoothly with others. Eventually, they
prefer setting up their independent economic unit as an act of innovative rebelliousness. Their
driving ambition and motivation are based on needs of independence and self-sufficiency. Their
autocratic behavior becomes the symbol of their success in overcoming odds.

Criticisms

1) The psychodynamic approach appears to put the entrepreneur in an unfavorable light. It

over-stresses the importance of social misfits and the entrepreneur could be seen as a
non-conformist character or someone who is unable to fit into conventional
organizational life.
2) The approach tends only to describe the extremes of a given population and leaves the
vast majority. Thus, it applies to entrepreneurs with particular backgrounds and life
experiences.
3) If the approach were valid or generally applicable, it should have been possible to
identify a set of reasons associated with deviant stereotype which typify the entrepreneur.

3. THE SOCIAL MARGINALITY APPROACH

From the sociological perspective, proponents of this approach see the origins of entrepreneurial
activities in terms of situations in which certain group of individuals are structurally
marginalized – socially, religiously, politically, educationally etc. In every society there are those
who are said to belong to the periphery. In many societal institutions some people are perceived
as more important than others. People are considered marginalized if they do not come from
highly perceived institutions. Often times the deprivation experienced by these groups encourage
them to seek entrepreneurial outlets for their untapped capabilities and energies.

Though this approach does not claim universality in its application, it explains some situations
that occur in a large number of cases.

Criticism of the social marginality approach

i) If the model/approach is true, why is it that many marginalised groups such as African
migrants in Western Europe have not become successful entrepreneurs.
ii) That the environment is more important, since it is supposed to be enabling, favourable
and facilitating.
iii) That sometimes artificial and institutional blockages are used to stop many people from
becoming successful entrepreneurs, e.g. refusal of banks to grant loans, and non-
patronage of products offered by some people.

4. SOCIO-BEHAVIOURAL APPROACHES
Socio-behavioural approaches do not discount the importance of personality traits, however, they
lay more emphasis on the influence of environment and culture on individuals. It is possible to
argue from this approach that, a society’s culture is a more powerful influence on the extent to
which individuals can successfully pursue entrepreneurship.
Many writers and researchers have given diverse scenarios in support of the socio-behavioural
argument, some of which include ability to deal with failure, the role of social capital, ability to
learn and the influence of environment on different participation rates.

There is little doubt that the social economic environment can be just as important as personal
management skills for successful entrepreneurship.

THE ECONOMIC ROLE/ADVANTAGES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Every successful entrepreneur brings about benefits not only for himself/herself but for the
municipality, region or country as a whole. The economic benefits are discussed below.

1. Develop New Markets

Under the modern concept of marketing, markets are people who are willing and able to satisfy
their needs. In economics, this is called effective demand. Entrepreneurs are resourceful and
creative. They can create customers or buyers. This makes entrepreneurs different from ordinary
businessmen who only perform traditional functions of management like planning, organizations,
and coordination.

2. Discover new source of materials

Entrepreneurs are never satisfied with traditional or existing sources of materials. Due to their
innovative nature, they persist on discovering new sources of materials to improve their
enterprises. In business, those who can develop new sources of materials enjoy a comparative
advantage in terms of supply, cost and quality.

3. Mobilize capital resources

Entrepreneurs are the organizers and coordinators of the major factors of production, such as
land, labour and capital. They properly mix these factors of production to create goods and
service. Capital resources, from a layman’s view, refer to money.

However, in economic, capital resources represent machines, buildings and other physical
productive resources. Entrepreneurs have initiative and self-confidence in accumulating and
mobilizing capital resources for new business or business expansion.

4. Introduce New Technologies, New Industries and New Products.

Aside from being innovators and reasonable risk-takers, entrepreneurs take advantage of
business opportunities and transform these into profits. Thus, they introduce something new to
something different. Such entrepreneurial spirit has greatly contributed to the modernization of
our economy. Every year, there are new technologies and new products. All of these are intended
to satisfy human needs in a more convenient and pleasant way.

5. Create Employment

The biggest employer is the private business sector. Millions of jobs are provided by the
factories, service industries, agricultural enterprises, and the numerous entrepreneurial business.
For instance, Casford Communication and Consultancy Centre (C.C.C.C),MidByren Company
Limited and supper department stores like MELCOM, Woolworths and others employ hundreds
of workers. Likewise giant companies like Ernest Chemist and Capital 02 Group of Companies
are big job creators. Such massive employment has multiplier and accelerator effects in the
whole economy. More jobs mean more incomes. This increases demand for goods and services.
This stimulates production. Again, more production requires more employment.

CHALLENGES AND DIFFICULTIES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Although entrepreneurship has many benefits and provides many opportunities, potential
entrepreneurs should be aware of its drawbacks.

1. Uncertainty of income

Opening and running a business provides no guarantees that an entrepreneur will earn enough
money to survive. Some startups barely earn enough to provide the entrepreneur with adequate
income. Thus, starting your own business means that you must be willing to give up the security
of a regular paycheck.

2. Work schedule

Launching and running a business can be an extremely rewarding experience, but is can also be a
stressful one. The work schedule of an entrepreneur is never predictable, an emergency can come
up in a matter of a second and late hours will have to be put in. This is because failure means
total financial ruins as well as a serious financial blow.

3. Long hours of work

Business start-ups often demand long hours and hard work from the entrepreneurs. Because
entrepreneurs must do everything themselves, owners experience intense, draining workdays.
Many entrepreneurs start down the path of entrepreneurship thinking that they will own the
business to discover later the business owns them.

4. Complete responsibility

Owning a business is highly rewarding, but many entrepreneurs find that they must make
decisions on issues about which they are not really knowledgeable. Thus, when there is no one to
ask pressure can quickly build on the entrepreneur. Furthermore, there may be time when the
entrepreneurs find themselves working with employees who lack experience in the technical
aspects of the business.

5. Discouragement

Launching a business requires dedication, discipline and tenacity. Thus entrepreneurs will run
into obstacles along the way and some may appear to be insurmountable.

DEVELOPING CREATIVITY AND UNDERSTANDING INNOVATION

CREATIVITY

1. Creativity is the generation of ideas that results in the improved efficiency or

effectiveness of a system. It is the process by which individual or teams produce
novel and useful ideas.
 2. Creativity is the ability to use imagination to develop new and original ideas and
things, especially in artistic context.
3. Creativity is the act of conceiving something original or unusual.

NOTE: 1. Creativity occurs when an individual visualizes a new pattern in the mind, recognize
these new patterns and generate new patterns that create the basis for new product or service.
And then the ability to communicate these patterns to other humans. 2. When thinking of or
explaining ‘creativity’ the emphasis is on ‘ability’ and not the activity. It should be also noted
that creativity involves two key aspects: the ideas/items produced are both novel (original,
unexpected) and appropriate or useful (they meet relevant constraints).

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Phase 1: Background or knowledge Accumulation Phase 2: The Incubation Process

Phase 3: The Idea Experience Phase 4: Evaluation and Implementation

The Creative Thinking Process

Allow ideas to incubate

Incubation
Document insight/ideas

Knowledge Ideas
Creative Process
Accumulation

Prepare to be creative
Evaluation and
Implementation

Verify ideas

Background (Knowledge Accumulation): This phase includes idea germination (thinking of

an idea) and preparation (search for knowledge on the idea germinated). This involves being
conscious of the environment and observing critically what is going on. It also includes
searching for knowledge on the idea germinated – research in the area of the idea. Successful
creations are generally preceded by information gathering, investigation and transformation.
Information is gathered through extensive reading, scanning news papers, magazines and
journals for related articles on the subject, travelling to new places, attending professional
meetings and seminars.

Incubation: This phase involves assimilation of information of knowledge gathered. It is at this

phase that your conscious and subconscious mind are working on the idea, making new
connections, separating unnecessary ideas, and grabbing for other ideas. This is the phase that
most people mess up the most with distractions and the hustle and bustle of daily life. Modern
life, with its many beeps, buzzes, and distractions, has the strong tendency to grab the attention
of both our subconscious and unconscious mind, and as a result the creative process stops and is
instead replaced by more immediate concerns.

Document insight/ideas: As the ideas pop up clearly and the individual recognizes that the ideas
are feasible and reliable, ready for launch, it ought to be written down. In most cases the ideas
come to the individual incrementally, slowly but surely.

Illumination, Evaluation and implementation: illumination is recognizing how feasible the

idea is. Once the idea is feasible then it is verified, modified and/or tested in order to make it
accurate, useful, and fit for implementation. It is the application or testing of the idea to prove
that it has value for implementation.

BARRIERS TO CREATIVITY

Functional fixedness – (‘searching for one right answer’): This means to see the obvious ways
of looking at a problem. It’s where the individual does not leave their comfort zone when
thinking about solutions to a problem domain.

Over-reliance on logic: Investing all our intellectual capital into logical or analytical thinking –
the step-by-step approach which excludes imagination, intuition, feeling or humor. In this light
Albert Einstein posits that ‘innovation (creativity) is not the product of logical thought, although
the result is tied to logical structure’.
Following Rules – (blindly following rules): The tendency to conform to accepted patterns of
belief or thought – the rules and limitations of the status quo – hampers creative breakthrough.
Some rules are necessary, but others encourage inertia and laziness. As Pablo Picasso succinctly
observed, ‘every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction’.

Becoming over-specialized: It makes life and carrying out activities so monotonous and does
not give the individual a chance to do things differently hence no room for creativity.

Viewing play as frivolous: Games and other kinds of recreational activities are good sources of
creativity. They also refresh the mind so it can think more creatively.

Executive Stress: The over-stressed person finds it difficult to think objectively. Unwanted
stress reduces the quality of all mental processes.

Over-thinking: Excessive thinking about a problem or task uses the logical conscious side of
our mind. Often creativity comes from the subconscious mind so rather than over – thinking it
might be wise to for a walk or simply start day-dreaming.

Self-censorship: It is that inner voice that holds you back and tries to prevent you from making a
fool of yourself or looking stupid. It is the negative thoughts that come into your mind, such as
‘that will never work’.

Criticism: The criticism from people can put you off from proceeding any further with your
ideas. They can make you feel stupid with the idea, especially people who do not criticize
constructively. Try and dismiss negative thinkers or win them over by demonstrating the validity
of your idea with a prototype.

Fear of Failure: Failure is a necessary condition of and a stepping stone to success.

Fearing Looking Foolish: Fear of looking foolish or being laughed at prevents creativity.

ENHANCING ONE’S OWN CREATIVITY

1. Occupying the mind everyday: Feed your mind with inputs every day. This can be done
by being conscious of things happening in your environment.
2. Allow yourself to be creative: Commit yourself to developing your creativity. The first
step is to fully devote yourself to devoting your creative abilities. Do not put off your
efforts. Set goals, seek the help of others and put time aside each day to develop your
skills.
3. Don’t be a functional fixed person: You have to recognize that problems have multiple
solutions. Therefore, in your approach to a problem try looking for a variety of solutions.
Instead of simply going with the first idea you take, take the time to think of other
possible ways to approach the situation. This simply activity is a great way to build both
your problem solving and creative thinking skills.
4. Fight your fear: Recognize the creative power of mistakes. Don’t be a self-censorship
person. The fear that you might make a mistake or fail in your efforts can paralyze your
progress. When you find yourself harboring such feeling, remind yourself that mistakes
are simply part of the process. While you may occasionally stumble on your path to
creativity, you will eventually reach your goals.
5. Develop your imaginative abilities: Play game, solve puzzles etc. Attempt this puzzle;
A hunter see ten birds standing on a tree. Then he point his gun toward the birds, nine
of the birds decide to fly. How many birds do we have left on the tree?
When we play we create an environment that allows us to take risks while feeling secure.
This stimulates our thinking and often produces wonderful results.
6. Record your thoughts and ideas: Record the thoughts and ideas that occur to you at
anytime – in the lecture hall, when taking a walk, bathing, talking with friends, playing,
when working etc.
7. Be an attentive person: Listen to people carefully and pick ideas from the sayings of
people. Consider these axioms ‘Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider/learn its ways and
be wise’.p6:6. ‘Every little counts’. Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears
are open for knowledge.p18:15
8. Involve yourself in activities that can make you relax: Take some time off for holidays
and spend holidays at quite places, where you can admire the wonderful creation of God.
This process will go a long way to unleash your creative potential.
9. Be a curious person: Be hungry for knowledge. One common road block to developing
creativity is the sense that curiosity is an indulgence. Rather than reprimanding yourself,
reward yourself when you are curious about something.
10. Be willing to take risks: When it comes to building your creative skills, you need to be
willing to take risks in order to advance your abilities. While your efforts may not lead to
success every time, you will still be boosting your creative talents and building skills that
will serve you well in the future.
11. Build your confidence: Insecurity in your own abilities can suppress creativity, which is
why it is important to build confidence. Make note of the progress you have made,
commend your efforts and always be on the lookout for ways to reward your creativity.
12. Make time for creativity: You won’t be able to develop your creative abilities if you
don’t make time for them. Schedule some time each week to concentrate on some type of
creative project.
13. Have optimistic view of life: Positive moods can increase your ability to think
creatively. Research has established this fact; a 2006 study published in the proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences confirmed this view. Focus on eliminating negative
thoughts/ cynicisms and pessimisms and skepticism that may impair your ability to
develop strong creative skills.
14. Look for sources of inspiration: Never expect creativity to just happen. Look for new
sources of inspiration that will give you fresh ideas and motivate you to generate unique
answers to questions. Read a book, visit a museum, listen to your favorite music or
engage in a lively debate with a friend. Utilize the technique that works best for you.
15. Try the ‘Six Hats’ Technique: The ‘six hat’ technique involves looking at a problem
from six differing perspectives. By doing this you can produce more ideas than you might
have had. In most cases we only look at a situation from one or two points of view. The
six hats are:
 RED HAT: Look at the situation emotionally. What do your feelings tell you?
 WHITE HAT: Look at the situation objectively. What are the facts?
 YELLOW HAT: Use a positive perspective. Which elements of the solution will
work?
  BLACK HAT: Use a negative perspective. Which elements of the solution won’t
work?
 GREEN HAT: Think creatively. What are some alternative ideas?
 BLUE HAT: Think broadly. What is the overall solution?

INNOVATION:

1. Innovation is the process by which entrepreneurs convert opportunities into marketable

ideas. It is the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization. It is
thinking creatively about something that already exists (e.g., tape, walkman and CD
player are all innovations on the phonograph).
2. Innovation is the implementation of something new. It is about people using new
knowledge and understanding to experiment with new possibilities in order to implement
new concepts that create new value.
3. Innovation is the sifting refining and implementation of ideas – putting ideas into action.

Innovation is the successful exploitation of ideas, which may be entirely new ideas, reworking of
an old idea or the transferring and embedding of existing ideas into a new setting.

Sources of Innovation: Unexpected occurrences, incongruities, process needs, industry and

market charges, demographic change, perceptional changes, knowledge –based concepts.

The Entrepreneurs Innovation Process

 Analytical Planning: Carefully identifying the product or service features, design as well
as the resources that will be need.
 Resources organization: obtaining the required resources, materials, technology, human
or capital resources.
 Implementation: Applying the resources in order to accomplish the plans
 Commercial application: The provision of value to customers, reward employees, and
satisfy the stake holders.
In effect, creativity and innovation go hand in hand and are integral part of entrepreneurship.

Types of Innovation

Invention: The creation of a new (novel) product or service, something that has not been tried
before.

Extension: The expansion of an existing product or service. This would mean that entrepreneur
takes an existing idea and applies it differently e.g. a new use for a product.

Duplication: Copying (replicating) an existing product or service and then adding the
entrepreneur’s own creative touch in order to improve it.

Synthesis: A combination of more than one existing product or services into a new product or
service. This means several different ideas are combined in one new product or service.

SOURCES OF START-UP IDEAS

Some of the more useful sources of new ideas, as summarized by Hisrich and Peters (1991), are
highlighted below.

Consumers – Potential entrepreneurs should pay attention to the potential consumer, who should
be viewed as the focal point of the idea for a new product or service. However, care should be
taken to ensure that the idea or need represents a sizeable market to support a new venture.
Existing Companies – Entrepreneurs would need to establish a formal method for monitoring
and evaluating the products and services of existing companies on the market. This is likely to
reveal ways to improve on these offerings, resulting in a new product that provides the basis for
the formation of a new venture.

Distribution Channel – Distribution channel members are also good sources for new ideas. By
reason of their knowledge about the needs of the market, channel members have frequently made
suggestions that lead to completely new products.

Government Agencies – Government agencies can be helpful in finding and developing new
product ideas in many ways. For instance the files of the patent office contain a lot of new
product possibilities.

Research and Development – The entrepreneurs own research and development is the largest
source for new ideas. A more formal research and development department is often better
equipped to help the entrepreneur to conceptualize, develop, and produce successful new ideas.

REASONS FOR STARTING UP NEW BUSINESS

The reasons for entrepreneurs starting up a new business are a lot. A research by Birley and
Westhead (1994) reported seven components of new venture motivation:

1. The need for approval

2. The need for independence
3. The need for personal development
4. Welfare (philanthropic) considerations
5. Perception of wealth
6. Tax reduction and indirect benefits
7. Following role models

Although researchers agree many reasons exist for starting a business, the entrepreneurial
motivations for individuals usually relate to the personal characteristics of the entrepreneur, the
environment and the venture itself.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Starting Your Own Small Business

Advantages
 1. Creation of the owner – the owner has the freedom of choice over what the business does,
how it operates and what its values are
2. Control of the owner – the owner has maximum control over the affairs of the business
3. Satisfaction of the owner – there is the inherent satisfaction of success resulting from the
skill and effort of the owner
4. Clean – the business starts with no backlog of problems.
5. Less funds required – a new business start up will cost less than business a similar
existing business.
6. Match between founder and enterprise – new business founders would ensure that their
individual strengths are well used and their weaknesses minimized, by choosing a
business well matched to their own qualities and experiences.

Disadvantages

1. Unproven idea – the new business idea might be creative, but may not work.
2. High failure rate – the failure rate of new business start up is high; less than 50% is said
to survive in the first five years.
3. No market share or goodwill – new business start up would have the problem of
establishing its name from scratch; the goodwill in an established business name or
loyalty of existing customers would take some time to build up.
4. Barriers to entry – there are many barriers to market entry. Among other things, premises
has to be found, legislation considered and other obstacles overcome before trading
begins.
5. Difficult to finance – banks and other lenders are keener to lend money to successful
existing business than to new concepts/businesses
6. Hard lonely work – business start ups involve unsociable working hours linked to feeling
of working alone.

BUYING A SMALL BUSINESS

An entrepreneur can establish a business venture by either starting your own or by buying an
existing one. We shall focus on the opportunities for buying an existing business.

OPTIONS FOR SMALL BUSINESS BUYERS

Some of the options available to the entrepreneur to become involved in the existing business
include the following:

Outright purchase
A prospective entrepreneur might choose to purchase an existing business wholly, as a means of
market entry. An on-going small business owner could also decide to expand by buying another
small business.

Buy-in

A buyer might not wish to buy an on-going business entirely. Instead they might want to buy into
an existing business and become a new partner or a shareholder. This is more commonplace in
professional practices such as doctors, solicitors and accountants.

Buy-out

This is where current management buy a business or a significant part of it. Although buy-outs
could occur for small firms, large firms are often the sellers.

Buy-in Management buy-out

Buy-in Management buy-out (BIMBO) is a variation of management buy-out concept. BIMBO

combines outside and inside management in the purchase of a firm. It is the belief that the risk of
buying into a firm from outside could be minimized if the existing management of the firm are
also involved.

THE RIGHT WAY TO BUY A BUSINESS

Buying an existing business should not be approached haphazardly in view of the risk involved.
To avoid costly mistakes, the prospective business owner should follow a logical, methodical
approach such as follows:

1. Analyze your skills, abilities and interests – Analyze your skills, abilities and interests
to determine what kind of businesses you should consider. That is conduct a self-audit to
determine your preferred or ideal business.
2. Prepare a list of potential candidates – Typical sources for your search for an
acquisition candidate include the following: newspapers & trade journals, industry
contacts, business brokers, investment bankers, networking (social and business
contacts).
3. Investigate the potential candidates and evaluate the best ones – Investigate the list of
prospective candidates in terms of the following: What are the company’s strength and
weaknesses? Is the company profitable? Who are the major competitors? How large is
the customer base? Are the current employees suitable? What is the physical condition of
business? Etc
4. Explore financial options – After succeeding in placing a value on an existing business,
the next challenging task in closing a successful deal is financing the purchase. A deal is
typically structured so that the buyer makes a down payment to the seller, who then
 finances a note for the balance. The buyer makes regular principal and interest payment
until the note is paid off.
5. Ensure a smooth transition – Once the parties strike a deal, the challenging task in
making a smooth transition comes up. Zimmerer and Scarborough (1995), suggest that a
business buyer should do the following to ensure smooth transition:
 Concentrate on communicating with employees with the aim of reducing anxiety
and uncertainty
 Be honest with employees – avoid telling them what they want to hear.
 Listen to employees – since they have the intimate knowledge of the business and
its strengths and weaknesses and usually can offer valuable suggestions.
 Consider asking the seller to serve as a consultant until the transition is complete.
The previous owner can be a valuable resource.

ADVANTAGES OF BUYING AN EXISTING BUSINESS

Some of the possible advantages include the following:

1. Overcome barriers to market entry – In situations where there are significant barriers
to market entry for a small business entrant, purchasing a thriving business might be the
most feasible alternative.

2. Buying immediate turnover and income – Purchasing a thriving business at an

acceptable price increases the likelihood of success. Buying immediate turnover and
income could be important especially when the buyer has no other sources of income.

3. Existing market share – In cases where the existing business controlled a significant
percentage of the desired market then it might be favourable to buy into them rather than
compete.

4. Existing assets including equipments and staff – Acquiring and installing new
equipment and staff can be financially tremendous and it might be more appropriate to
focus resources and energy on the market place through an existing business.

5. Goodwill with existing customers – Buying an existing business with a good customer
base, which is a reflection of the viability of the business, would take some of the risk out
of small business ownership. Also it could provide a good base for future growth.

6. Existing track record – If previous owners have succeeded to establish a good track
record, in terms of trade credit relationships, the new owner could take advantage of it.

7. Insider knowledge – The advantage of insider knowledge only usually applies to

situations where the existing management is involved in the purchase.
DISAVANTAGES OF BUYING AN EXISTING BUSINESS

Some of the disadvantages include the following:

1. Potential ill will – The previous owner may have created ill will. The business may look
great on the surface, but customers, suppliers, creditors, or employees might have
extremely negative feelings about it.

2. Buying possible liabilities with assets – Even if only assets are purchased, liabilities can
still be attached to them – which may not be recognized at the time of the purchase.

3. Employee inherited with the business may not be suitable – The present employees
may not suit the new owner’s needs, if she/he plans to effect changes in the business.

4. Risk in intangible assets – The goodwill inherited in an existing business can disappear
very quickly if a new owner makes inappropriate changes. If the previous owner
represents a significant part of the goodwill, it would go with them when they leave.

5. Equipment and facilities may be obsolete or inefficient – the equipment may have
been well suited to the business the buyer purchased, but not to the business the owner
may want to build. Modernizing equipment and facilities is usually expensive.

6. The location may have become unsatisfactory – The location of the existing business
might have been deemed ideal, but it might become obsolete as market and demographic
trends change.

7. The existing business may be unprofitable – A business may be for sale because it has
never been profitable. Such a situation might be disguised – owners could employ various
creative accounting techniques that make the firm’s financial picture appear might
brighter than it really is.

8. Diminish sense of achievement – Buying an existing business could diminish the

entrepreneur’s sense of achievement since it is not all his/her own work. This situation
may reduce the motivation to make the business succeed.

In sum, we have discussed the different options available to the entrepreneur to get involved an
existing business. These include: outright purchase, buy- in, buy-out, buy in management buy-
out. We also considered the steps to follow in purchasing the business and the advantages and
disadvantages for buying an existing business.

SOURCES OF FINANCE
Sourcing finance to start or expand a business has been a difficult task for most entrepreneurs
and SME’s. For many small firms certain sources such as stock exchange are not available.
Small firms also face difficulties raising certain types of finance such as long term loans.

This has resulted to a financing gap for small and medium-sized firms. The existence of a
finance gap will arise because demand from SME’s is greater than the willingness of financial
institutions to supply the finance at current market conditions.

REASONS FOR CONTINUED EXISTENCE OF FINANCE GAPS

1. It is uneconomic to issue shares for relatively small amounts of equity on the stock
exchange.
2. Difficulties can exist in getting a listing on the stock exchange.
3. Venture capitalists require high rates of return because they are assuming higher risks
than banks. Only a few entrepreneurs with high growth firms will meet the high rates
of return required by venture capitalists.
4. Venture capitalists will apply a due diligence procedure to any proposition that is been
considered for investment. This will take a considerable period of time and only a
small proportion of applications eventually receive funding after due diligence
procedure.
5. Venture capitalists also require an exit route for the sale of their shareholding after a
period of time – 5years. As a result VC will seek high growth entrepreneurial concerns
that can be turned within a short period of time into public companies and provide an
initial public offering (IPO) as an exit route.

TYPES OF FINANCE

There are two major types of finance available to the entrepreneur namely; debt financing and
equity financing.

DEBT FINANCING

Debt financing comprises those funds the entrepreneur or business has borrowed and must repay.
Corporate debt repayment, generally, take the form of interest and capital repayment.

The cost of debt finance is less expensive to the firm than equity finance. First, the cost of raising
debt finance is lower than equity finance. Secondly, the rate of return expected to attract debt
investors is less than for equity investors.

Institutions providing debt finance often try to minimise the risk of non payment by first
scrutinising the cash flow or earning ability of the firm. Also as a back-up they often require that
the loan be secured against assets owned by the business- referred to as collateral security.
 SOURCES OF DEBT CAPITAL include bank borrowing, trade credit, hire purchase,
leasing, bills of exchange and bonds.

Bank borrowing

Borrowing from the bank may take the form of overdraft, term loan and syndicated loan
facility. For most entrepreneurs and SME’s banks remains the main source of externally raised
finance. Borrowing from a bank is attractive for small firms because it is quick, flexible, and
easily accessible/available and has low administrative cost.

Theoretically, banks face issues in assessing loan applications from entrepreneurs. These
challenges arise in any investment situation where providers and borrowers have different set
of information. For banks, there are two main problems namely adverse selection and moral
hazard.

Adverse selection occurs when either the bank provides finance for a venture that
subsequently fails or the bank refuses finance for a venture that would have been successful.
The difficulty here is that the information required by the bank to assess perfectly the risk of
the proposition might be expensive to obtain. However, it can be argued that banks should
reduce the mistakes they make since they should have the skills and resources necessary to
increase the frequency of correct decisions.

The problem of moral hazard occurs when the entrepreneur uses the bank loan on expenses
other than the purpose for which it was obtained. Thus there is no guarantee that the
entrepreneur will act in the best interest of the bank. Therefore, moral hazard is a monitoring
problem for the bank and, for relatively small amount of finance; it is not economic for banks
to monitor performance closely. For this reason banks will usually require security which
means that entrepreneurs without sufficient collateral security will fall into the debt gap.

It is possible to argue that these problems are likely to produce credit rationing – insufficient
credit available for all sound propositions/applications.

For most companies and entrepreneurs, banks remain the main source of externally raised
finance. Generally, borrowing from a bank is attractive for firms for the following reasons:

 It is quick. Key provisions can be worked out speedily and the funding facility can be in
place in a matter of hours.
 It is flexible. Banks are better equipped and willing to change the terms of the lending to
suit the financial circumstances of the firm (debtor).
 It is available to small firms.
 Administrative and legal costs are low.
Bank borrowing may take the form of overdraft, term loan or syndicated loan facility.

OVERDRAFT

Overdraft facilities are usually arranged for a period of few months or a year but can be rolled
over for many years. It is usually flexible because the borrowing firm is not restricted to state the
exact amount and duration but can borrow up to a stated amount. Also once the amount is no
longer required they can be quickly repaid without suffering a penalty. It is also cheap in terms
of interest charged. The major drawback is that the bank retains the right to withdraw the facility
at short notice.

TERM LOAN

A term loan is a loan of a fixed amount for an agreed time and on specific terms. They usually
range between three and seven years but can be for twenty years. The specific terms will include
provisions regarding the payment schedule. This arrangement may reflect the cash flow of the
firm or project. For example, a balloon payment structure is one where only a small part of the
capital is repaid during the main part of the loan period, with the majority repayable as the
maturity date approaches. A bullet repayment arrangement provides for all the capital to be
repaid at the end of the loan period.

Not all term loans are drawn in a single lump sum at the time of the agreement. An instalment
arrangement is sometimes made. The interest charged can be either at fixed or floating rates and
the borrower will pay an arrangement fee which will depend largely on the relative bargaining
strength of the two parties.

SYNDICATED LOANS

For large loans a single bank may not be willing or able to lend the whole amount. In a
syndicated loan, few banks provide the whole loan with each bank contributing a portion of the
overall loan.

The bank originating the loan will usually manage the syndicate and is called the lead manager
(there might be one or more lead banks). The other contributing banks are called participating
banks. The managing banks underwrite much of the loan – guaranteeing to provide the funds if
the other banks do not step forward.

TRADE CREDIT

The simplest and most important source of short-term finance for many firms is trade credit.
Firms are supplied goods and services that can be used to produce income before the invoice has
to be repaid. Most firms may require references from the previous suppliers as well as the
bankers of the beneficiary firm vouching for their trustworthiness before trade credit is granted.
FACTORING

Trade credit brings a burden to the supply firm’s finance. Factoring enables the firm to raise
funds using its outstanding invoices (debtors). The firm receives about 80-90% of the value of
the invoice from the factor. This arrangement is done with the understanding that when invoices
are paid by customers the proceeds will go to the factor. Factoring is more appropriate for
overcoming short term cash flow issues.

HIRE PURCHASE

With hire purchase, the finance house/firm buys the equipment and allows the hirer firm to use
the equipment in return for a series of regular payments. While the monthly installments are still
being made, the Hire Purchase Company has the satisfaction and security of being the legal
owner and so can take repossession if the hirer defaults on the payments. At the end of the
contract or on the payment of the last installment, the Hirer Company becomes the owner either
automatically or on the payment of a modest option- to- purchase fee.

The advantages of hire purchase include:

 Small initial capital outlay.

 Easy to arrange- usually at the point of sale.
 Certainty- unlike overdraft it cannot be withdrawn provided contractual payments are
made.
 Hire purchase is often available when other sources of finance are not.
 Fixed-rate finance- in most cases the payments are fixed throughout the HP period.
 Tax relief- interest payments are deductible when calculating taxable profits.

LEASING

Leasing is similar to HP in that an equipment owner (the lessor) conveys the right to use the
equipment in return for regular rental payments by the equipment user (the lessee) over an
agreed period of time. The key difference is that unlike HP the lessee never becomes the owner.

It is important to distinguish between Operating leases and Finance leases. Operating leases
commit the lessee to only a short -term contract. It does not last for the entire useful life of the
asset and the finance house bears the risk of ownership (repairs and obsolescence). Under
Finance/Capital lease, the finance company expects to recover the full cost of the equipment plus
interest over the period of the lease. Despite the absence of legal ownership, the lessee will have
to bear the risks and rewards that normally go with ownership (repairs, insurance and
obsolescence).
All the HP advantages apply. The additional advantage of operating leases is the transfer of
obsolescence risk to the finance provider.

BILLS OF EXCHANGE

Bills of exchange are normally used in overseas trade. The seller of goods to be transported to a
buyer in another country frequently grants the customer a number of days in which to pay. The
seller will draw up a bill of exchange – that is a legal document showing the indebtedness of the
buyer. It is then forwarded to and accepted by the buyer. This means that the buyer signs a
promise to pay the stated amount on the due date. Bills of Exchange allow the buyer to enjoy the
benefits of trade credit in overseas trade.

BONDS

A bond is a security (a certificate of creditorship with right to interest/dividend) that represents a

debt owed by the issuer to the investor. In other words, a bond is a long term contract in which
the bondholder lend money to the issuing company in return for series of interest payments,
known as coupons, until the bond matures. At maturity the bondholder receives a specified
principal sum called the par, face or nominal value of the bond. This is usually £100 in the UK
and $1000 in the USA. The maturity is generally between 7 and 30years although a number of
firms have issued 100year bonds.

Bonds can be traded in a secondary market (organised exchange or over–the-counter

exchanges). Therefore the bondholder does not have to hold the bond until the maturity/
redemption date.

The most secured type of bond is called a debenture. They are usually secured by either a fixed
or floating charge against the firm’s assets. A fixed charge means that specific assets are used as
security that, in the event of default, can be sold at the insistence of the bondholder and the
proceeds used to repay them.

EQUITY FINANCING

Equity refers to the ownership of the firm. In other words, equity capital is the owner(s) funds
in the business. As owners of the firm equity investors have the right to exercise control over
the firm. Also if the firm does well, there is no limit to the size of claim equity investors have
on profits.

Equity capital is risk capital. Equity investors are the last in the queue to have their claims
met. When the firm is wound up, employees, tax authorities, trade creditors and lenders all
come before equity investors.
SOURCES OF EQUITY CAPITAL

The sources of equity capital usually available to the entrepreneur and the small firm include
personal equity and venture capital. The personal equity of the entrepreneur usually may
consist of savings or perhaps money raised from family and friends – referred to as the 3F’s,
(founder, family and friends), of small firm finance.

VENTURE CAPITAL may be defined as financial investment in unquoted companies, which

have significant growth potential with a view to yielding substantial capital gains in line with
additional risk and illiquidity of an investment which cannot be freely traded during the
lifetime of the investor’s commitment to the business. VC is thought to fill the gap between
the capital provided by the founder, family and friends and the significant amounts required
for a stock market listing. The objective of venture capital is to achieve a high return on the
investment in the form of capital gain through an exit, usually achieved by the sale of equity.

Within this broad framework, a number of types of venture capital are commonly identified as
described below.

Institutional venture capital (or formal venture capital)- These are private firms made up
of full -time professionals who raise finance from pension funds, banks, insurance companies
and other financial institutions. They provide funds for new, inexperienced but potentially
high growth unquoted firms.

Business angels (informal venture capitalists)- These are wealthy private individual usually
with substantial business and entrepreneurial skills who make risk investments in start-up or
expanding firms which they have no family connection. Business angels are often retired
senior executives of large companies or entrepreneurs who have sold their companies and
wish to invest their money.

Corporate venture capital (or corporate venturing)- These are minority investments made
by large companies in smaller enterprises for a principally strategic ( such as gaining a
window on new technologies) rather than an exclusively financial motive.

Public sector venture capital- While governments play a role in encouraging private sector
venture capital – through policy instruments such as tax incentives – may occasionally act
directly as provider of venture finance. However, the trend is emphatically towards a hybrid
i.e. public – private sector partnerships.
FINANCIAL PREPARATION FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURE

SOURCES OF FINANCING

THE FINANCING GAP

SOURCES OF EQUITY AND DEBT FINANCE

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OFEQUITY AND DEBT FINANCE

BUYING EXISTING BUSINESS

REASONS FOR BUYING AN EXISTING BUSINESS

EXAMINING FINANCIAL DATA

VALUING THE BUSINESS

CLOSING THE DEAL

FINANCIAL PLANNING

THE IMPORTANCE OF FIANCIAL INFORMATION FOR ENTREPRENEURS

PREPARING FINANCIAL STATEMENT

OPERATING BUDGET

CASH BUDGET

CAPITAL BUDGET

NETWORKING AND NEGOTIATION IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP