Characteristics of EntrepreneursUnit 1

AS Business and Economics

By Mrs Hilton for revisionstation

Lesson Objectives

• To be able to discuss a range of characteristics that individuals that start their own business may need to possess. These may be; skills, qualities or personality traits.

• To be able to answer a past paper question based on the theory

Starter

• Do you have the right skills to start a business?• Who wants to start their own business?

Definition of entrepreneur• 4 Factors of production:

• Land– Can mean actual land or

natural resources• Labour

– The employees or workers• Capital

– Finance invested in the business also means tools and equipment

• Enterprise– Role of the entrepreneur is

to bring together the other 3 to make a profit

Creativity• Wedgewelly – as

worn by celebs!• http://www.wedgew

elly.co.uk/

• Watch their original pitch to the Dragons Den here:

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/entrepreneurs/laurabooth.shtml

hardworking

• Entrepreneurs may have to put many hours in at the start of a business.

Nicki Bromfield started Cake Hole in a village in Tutbury. She is in her 3rd year at the shop and works on her own.She is currently working 120 hours a week to make a go of the business.

http://www.cakeholetutbury.co.uk/

Examples of her cakes: http://www.cakeholetutbury.co.uk/cakes/celebration-cakes/

Resilient• Resilient: strong, hardy, tough, robust, durable,

feisty, quick to recover. An entrepreneur may get many knock backs before their business is a success.

• Karen Jonga started her own dressmaking business in Derby. At the start many people told her that it would not be a success. She had many problems along the way – but by having resilience she has been able to keep the business going.

• “If you get knocked down you get up again.”

Karen Tino Jonga 24, is a UK Fashion Designer/Dressmaker with a unique & timeless approach to creating women’s wear.

http://www.karentino.co.uk/#/studio-gallery/4573036111

Initiative

• Initiative: inventiveness, enterprise, ingenuity, resourcefulness. Many entrepreneurs may start a business because they have a good idea and want to take it to market.

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/entrepreneurs/richardblakesley.shtml

•

Watch the wand company present in the den. Here is the website:

http://www.thewandcompany.com/sonic/

Now they have developed a sonic screwdriver for Dr Who fans!

Self confidence

• Levis roots and reggae reggae sauce – watch his self confidence win him some investors…

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/entrepreneurs/leviroots.shtml

• His website is here:• http://www.leviroots.com/

Risk taker

• Risk; danger, jeopardy, peril, hazard, menace, threat. Many entrepreneurs stake everything on their idea and may lose personal possessions in their quest to start their own business.

• Kirsty Henshaw a single mum had everything to lose with her dairy free ice cream:

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/entrepreneurs/kirstyhenshaw.shtml

Sample question 1

The late Anita Roddick, the founder of The Body Shop, showed the typical characteristics of a successful entrepreneur. Which one of the following is a least likely characteristic of a successful entrepreneur?A Risk averse B Flexibility/adaptability C Self-confidence D Resilience

Answer question 1Correct answer was A

Definition of either entrepreneur e.g. entrepreneurs are a factor ofproduction which combine the others (1) OR risk averse e.g.when a person refuses to take risks / plays safe (1)

- Flexibility is needed to try new ideas / work varied hours (1)- Resilience is when an entrepreneur doesn’t give up easily (1)- Anita Roddick clearly had self-confidence given her ability to selland market her products (1)- She also took risks to develop her unique range of cosmetics (1)Any acceptable answer which shows selective knowledge/applicationand/or development.

Sample question 2

• Evidence A states ‘Maria’s business thrives because of her natural entrepreneurial characteristics and motivation’ (lines 23 to 24).

• Using the case study, explain the difference between entrepreneurial characteristics and entrepreneurial motives. [6] From section B

Answer question 2

Knowledge (4), Application (2)

Knowledge: up to 2 marks are available for defining each aspect e.g.characteristics are personal skills/qualities; motives e.g. what drives orinspires a person

Knowledge: up to 2 marks are available for giving an example for eachaspect, e.g. resilient (characteristics) and ethical reasons (motives)

Application: up to 2 marks are available for relating the above to Maria, e.g. she is hard working and has utmost respect for the environment

Sample question 3

(a) Ruth Badger, star of the BBC series ‘The Apprentice’, has argued that the most important characteristic of a successful entrepreneur is ‘having the right attitude’.Which of the following is least likely to be a characteristic of a successful entrepreneur?

A ResilienceB CreativityC CautiousnessD Hard working

Answer question 3Correct answer is cautiousness (C)

• Cautiousness is the opposite to risk-taking (1 mark knowledge/understanding), cautiousness may therefore not be profitable (1 mark analysis) and risk–taking is fundamentally what enterprise is all about (1 mark evaluation).

• Resilience means not giving up (1 mark knowledge) which is crucial for a successful entrepreneur (1 mark evaluation) because often new businesses fail (1 mark analysis).

• Cautiousness suggest taking care in decision-making (1 mark knowledge), which might be appropriate with respect to maintain a new business’s cash flow (1 mark analysis) but few entrepreneurs survive by prudence alone as they should take risks (1 mark evaluation).