Chapter 6
Opportunities, Ideas and the
Enterprising Work Environment
Which comes first?
Idea ??
Or
Opportunity??
Market-pulled
entrepreneurship
• Identify problem
• Then see opportunity
Product-driven or
service-driven
entrepreneurship
• Came up with an idea
• Then look for market opportunity
Many people see opportunities
but
Only entrepreneurs + enterprising
people act on them
Following Market Trends
Market Trends
• Entrepreneurs:
– Study trends
– Identify potential changes in needs/wants
– Seek out opportunities for new ventures
• Long-term changes = Trend
• Short-term changes = Fad
• Entrepreneurs must learn to tell a fad from a
trend
Assignment: Create a Fad
• A fad is a temporary, passing fashion or item. It often
lasts no longer than a season or up to one year. Fads are
usually inexpensive and therefore can become wildly
popular in a short period of time. ie, soothers, butterfly
clips, treasure trolls.
– This assignment asks you to design a fad. There are a few
rules:
• The fad must be a new fad. To the best of your knowledge it cannot
have been made before.
• It must be relatively inexpensive
• It must be something that you believe people would actually buy
• It must appeal to a section of society
Assignment: Create a Fad
• The assignment:
• Draw a detailed, coloured sketch of your fad. If you wish,
you can actually make it.
• Write a complete description. Include colours and
material needed to make it
• Outline your inspiration for this fad
• Predict how long you think this item will last.
• Due Date and Presentation to class:
Forecasting Trends
• predict future
– must carefully analyse past events to predict future
– organize data so one can see patterns
– plot on a graph
– For example:
• graph physical activity
– see a need for fitness centres, equip
• graph weight of people by age
– see need for Weight Watchers
– See text p 121 for other examples
Current Global Trends
Analyze chart on page 121
• What we can learn by analyzing this chart:
– World Population
• Developing countries decrease from 20% to 10% by
2100
– More than 50% of world’s population is under 25
• The number of young people entering the workforce in
the next 10 years is great than all people in current
developing world’s work force.
More findings …
• 2150
Life expectance
– males 86, females 92
– today population over 65 is great than under 15
– 2050 seniors 25% of population
• 3150
300B in world
– unless smaller families
– Food supply not enough
• 2025
66% live in towns and cities
Time-Series Forecast
– plot past and present on chart
– project info about the future
– growth trend
– stable situation
– declining trend
- line slopes up
- line slopes down
– straight line (Linear)
Sloping up or down
– curve
Rate of increase/decrease
– irregular
Put in “line of best fit”
How to Conduct Research
for your Business Plan
• If your initial research about the market
supports the notion that you have a
potentially successful business idea, you then
need research to support the strategies and
examples in your business plan.
• There are two types of research that you may
use to create your business plan — primary
and secondary
Primary research includes:
• Conducting surveys
• Handing out questionnaires
• Personally visiting your competitors and
taking notes
• Asking questions of customers, potential
customers, suppliers, employees, and even
your own friends and family
Primary research includes:
• Conducting market research, such as
focus groups
• Studying your own sales and customer
records (for example, you can find sales
patterns by reviewing what you sell to
whom and when you make the most sales)
Secondary Research
• Involves utilizing all resources already
available,
• including the Internet, business journals, trade
associations, trade publications, business directories,
local or national periodicals, and books.
• Local libraries and the Chamber of Commerce may
have business records that can be helpful.
• A few secondary research sources include:
– The Small Business Administration and their local and regional
offices
– Small Business Development Centers
– Business Stats online
Designing a questionnaire
• Find out as much as you can about:
– your customer
– your product
– why people would purchase your product
– why people would purchase your product
from you? What they are looking for in a
supplier of this product.
Ask yourself …
• how could I improve the product, so people
would buy?
• what would encourage a person to buy ____?
• who would be willing to pay for ___ product/
service?
• highest price point versus lowest price point?
• which demographic (age range) should I be
targeting?
• The way you sequence your questions
will help motivate respondents to
keeping doing your questionnaire
•
TITLE
1. Introductory statement explaining purpose
1. Personal information to validate survey data
1. Questions
– exploratory in nature
– use open-ended questions
– specific info
» use multiple choice,
» attitude scales 1-10
» closed questions (yes/no)
2. Demographics
» find out customer’s profile
» age, education level, income
3. Thank you
Evaluating Your Ideas
Assignment
• Tell the class about your idea for your
venture plan
Assignment
•
•
•
•
Form groups of two
Move desks beside each other
Open textbook to page 134
Interview each other, answering the
questions
• Be able to report back to the class about
your partner’s answers
Assignment
• Page 135 #1
• Form a group of four students.
• As a group: Each member must select a
different product or service idea from the list
in the text.
• Individually: Using the questions under Cost,
Opportunity Cost … (p134-5) answer each
question.
• Regroup and share your results
• Staple all together and hand in
The Enterprising Workplace
• Read pages 137 to 139
• Answer Question #2 p139