HOMEWORK: To be handed in the week before Xmas
1.
Read the case study about Nicky Mullinder. Answer all the
questions.
2.
Read the information provided about important enterprise skills.
3.
Read the case study about James Speke. Answer the two
questions.
Nicky Mullinder
Nicky Mullinder works for a small engineering company. In her spare time she has come up with an idea
for a new type of can opener. She is investigating whether or not to leave her job and set up a business
that would make and sell the new can opener. Nicky has gone on a course provided by the local Business
Link on setting up a business. Business Link is an organisation that provides help and advice to small
businesses. Before she went on the course, she was very optimistic about this new venture. She
dreamed of selling millions of can openers a year. There would be a large factory making the can openers
with a number of people working for her. Money from sales would flow into the business and she would
earn a large profit. Then she would have enough money to buy a luxury car and a large house.
However, the course has made her much more pessimistic. Making a few can openers by hand in her
home would be very different from making thousands every day in a factory. She had done no market
research on whether customers liked her invention. She had no idea where the money would come from
to start up her business. Giving up her job with a steady salary would be a hug risk since there was no
guarantee that she4 would earn a single penny in her new business. In fact, there was a good chance that
the business would make a loss and her new can opener would never become a popular product.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Explain TWO possible upsides to Nicky’s possible new business.
Explain TWO possible downsides to Nicky’s possible new business.
Why should Nicky apply the principle of calculated risk to her business proposition?
What are the most important things Nicky now needs to do if she is serious about setting
up a business making can openers? Justify your answer.
James Speke
More and more businesses are closing down and unemployment is rising. Sales of new cars are half what
they were last year. You would have thought that now is not the time to start a new business. However,
Jamie Speke has bucked the trend andlaunched out on his onw.
Jamie has worked for three small engineering firms in his career. In his last job, he was the manager of a
msall company that made most of its money from maintenance contracts. The company would sign a deal
with a customer to give 24 hour 7 day a week service. If a customer’s machine broke down, he would go
out and repair the machine.
However, Jamie had become frustrated with the company that employed him. The owners did not want
to take any risks and were not interested in expanding the business. So he made plans to set up his own
business. An opportunity came when a rival business was forced to close. It had been very badly run and
Jamie was able to buy its building and machines for a knock down price.
His first priority was to keep the firm’s existing customers. Equally important, he went out and found
new customers. Some of the more skilled workers were re-employed and new ways of working were
introduced to cut costs. By raising sales and cutting costs, Jamie has been able to turn the business
around in its first 12 months of operation. It has been hard work for Jamie, but having drive and
determination has helped him establish a successful business.
1.
Jamie Speke has a number of enterprise skills. Explain THREE of these enterprise skills.
2.
Explain TWO reasons why buying a “rival business” was a good way for Jamie to establish
his own successful business.
Information about Important Enterprise Skills
There are three key enterprise skills:
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Being willing to take a risk – people must be willing to take the risk of setting
up on their own and risking their savings to make the business successful
Showing initiative – an entrepreneur will be “proactive” and go out and make
things happen, rather than sitting back and letting other people tell them what to
do
A willingness to undertake new ventures – entrepreneurs and keen and
enthusiastic about undertaking new challenges and starting new things.
To be successful in business, you need the following enterprise skills:
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Being able to see new opportunities – an entrepreneur will spot a gap in the
market or an opportunity that they think will make them money
Being a good planner – entrepreneurs are able to plan and organise themselves
to make an idea actually work successfully
Being able to think ahead – an entrepreneur can predict fairly accurately what
they think might happen in the future. They will consider the upsides and
downsides of a particular course of action
Having the drive and determination to succeed – entrepreneurs never give up
when things get difficult. They persevere and keep going, even when things get
difficult.