And in the beginning...
So how do businesses start? What drove entrepreneurs (business people to you and me) to start a business? What personal characteristics do you need to be an entrepreneur? In this introductory exercise we are going to look at these questions to see the motivations and personality needed to become a successful business person.
First of all watch this introductory video
Then watch this video about the inspiration to setup a billion dollar business
- What was the catalyst (driving force) behind setting up this business?
- What personal abilities did he have?
- What were the problems of setting up his business?
- Did he need help? An why?
Answer these questions in pairs or small groups
One way of generating a potential business idea is through the use of Marketing Maps. These maps (or simple diagrams) can be used to see if there are any gaps in the market that a business person can expolit. How do you construct a Marketing Map? Simply have two sets of axes that look at different market characteristics and (roughly) plot each product or business. Wherever there is a gap in the daigram there is a gap in the market.
Problems of starting a business
So, what are the problems of setting up a business? What can you learn from the following link:
