The four steps of creativity

a.       Background or Knowledge Accumulation

b.      The Incubation Process

c.       The Idea Experience

d.      Evaluation and Implementation

                                                               i.      Most difficult step

The four types of innovation

a.       Invention

                                                               i.      Totally new product, service, or process

b.      Extension

                                                               i.      New use or different application of an already existing product, service, or process

c.       Duplication

                                                               i.      Creative replication of an existing concept; adds own creative touch

d.      Synthesis

                                                               i.      Combination of existing concepts and factors into a new formulation or use

The six pitfalls in selecting new ventures

a.       Lack of Objective Evaluation

b.      No Real Insight into the Market

c.       Inadequate Understanding of Technical Requirements

d.      Poor Financial Understanding

a.       Lack of Venture Uniqueness

b.      Ignorance of Legal Issues

 The leading determinant of new ventures failing according to both entrepreneurs and venture capitalists

The five factors assessed in the comprehensive feasibility approach and what each covers

a.       Technical - Feasibility analysis of product or service

a.       Market - Determination of market opportunities and risks

a.       Financial - Analysis of financial feasibility and resources

a.       Organizational - Analysis of organizational capabilities and personnel requirements

a.       Competitive - Analysis of competition

I.                    The five pitfalls to avoid in planning a business

a.       No realistic goals

b.      Failure to anticipate roadblocks

c.       No commitment or dedication

d.      Lack of demonstrated experience (business or technical)

e.      No market niche (segment)

I.                    The ten sections of a typical business plan

a.       Executive Summary

b.      Business Description

c.       Marketing

                                    d.      Operations

e.      Management

f.        Financial

                                    g.       Critical Risks

h.      Harvest Strategy

i.         Milestone Schedule      

j.        Appendix or Bibliography

Ten myths of entrepreneurship and their meanings

a.       Entrepreneurs are doers, not thinkers

b.      Entrepreneurs are born, not made

c.       Entrepreneurs are always inventors

d.      Entrepreneurs are academic and social misfits

e.      Entrepreneurs must fit the profile

f.        All entrepreneurs need is money

g.       All entrepreneurs need is luck

h.      Entrepreneurship is unstructured and chaotic

i.         Most entrepreneurial initiatives fail

j.        Entrepreneurs are extreme risk takers… the gamblers!

    Entrepreneurial Schools of Thought Approach: The distinction between macro and micro views of entrepreneurship as well as the schools of thought included in each

Macro

                                                               i.      The Environmental School of Thought

                                                               i.      The Financial/Capital School of Thought

                                                               i.      The Displacement School of Thought

Micro

                                            i.      The Entrepreneurial Trait School of Thought

                                            i.      The Venture Opportunity School of Thought

                                               i.      The Strategic Formulation School of Thought

a.       Mountain Gap Strategies, which refers to identifying major market segments as well as intrinsic (in-between) markets that arise from larger markets

b.      Great Chief Strategies, which refers to the skills or special talents of one or more individuals around whom the venture is built

c.       Better Widgets Strategies, which refers to innovations that encompass new or existing markets

d.      Water Well Strategies, which refers to the ability to gather or harness special resources (land, labor, capital, raw materials) over the long term

The three marketing philosophies

a.       Production-driven philosophy

                                                               i.      Produce efficiently and worry about sales later

b.      Sales-drive philosophy

                                                               i.      Focus on personal selling and advertising to persuade customers to buy the company’s output

c.       Consumer-driven philosophy

                                                               i.      Research to discover consumer preferences, desires, and needs before production begins

a.       Current marketing research

b.      Current sales analysis

c.       Marketing information system

d.      Sales forecasting

e.      Evaluation

Introductory Stage

                                                               i.      Unique product

1.       Skimming – deliberately setting a high price to maximize short-term profits

                                                             ii.      Nonunique product

1.       Penetration – setting prices at such a low level that products are sold at a loss

Growth Stage

                                                     Consumer pricing – combining penetration and competitive pricing to gain market share; depends on consumer’s perceived value of product

Maturity Stage

                      Demand-oriented pricing – following a flexible strategy that bases pricing decisions on the level of consumer demand

Decline Stage

                               Loss leader pricing – pricing the product below cost in an attempt to attract customers to other products

The four basic areas of risk for entrepreneurs

a.       Financial risk versus profit motive varies in entrepreneurs’ desire for wealth

b.      Career risk – loss of employment security

c.       Family and social risk – competing commitments of work and family

d.      Psychic risk – psychological impact of failure on the well-being of entrepreneurs

 The four sources of stress

a.       Loneliness

b.      Immersion in business

c.       People problems

d.      Need to achieve

The four potentially negative characteristics of an entrepreneur

a.       Overbearing need for control

b.      Sense of distrust

c.       Overriding desire for success

d.      Unrealistic optimism

The steps to engineering entrepreneurial thinking in corporations

a.       Set explicit goals

b.      Create a system of feedback and positive reinforcement

c.       Emphasize individual responsibility

d.      Give rewards based on results

e.      Do not punish failures