(EP) Entrepreneurship Module Overview

Entrepreneurship Module Overview

Introduction

image with a group of people titled entrepreneurshipShould you be an entrepreneur? By the end of this module, you should have an idea if you have the right blend of qualities that make a good entrepreneur. After determining your qualities, you will learn how to prepare a basic business plan. Part of being an entrepreneur is dealing with the people who work with you, so this module will also look at team building. In starting a business, you have several choices as to what form your business ownership can take. This module will investigate four different legal ways a business may be set up and the benefits and problems with each. Finally, no part of life today is not touched by technology. This is certainly true of business where technology drives growth. We will also examine the influence of technology on various parts of a business.

Essential Questions

  • What makes a successful entrepreneur?
  • What is a business plan and why is it important?
  • What are the parts of a business plan?
  • How do I identify business opportunities available locally?
  • How do teams work together to accomplish a common business goal?
  • What are the characteristics of different forms of business ownership?
  • Why does a business need a technology plan to help development and growth?

Key Terms

  1. Entrepreneur - A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on financial risk to do so
  2. Business Plan - A formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why the goals are believed attainable
  3. Sole Proprietorship - A type of business entity which is owned and run by one person
  4. Corporation - A company or group of people authorized to act as a single entity (legally a person) and recognized as such in law
  5. Partnership - A partnership is an association of two or more people as partners
  6. Limited Liability Company - A flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures
  7. Small Business Administration (SBA) - Since its founding on July 30, 1953, the U.S. Small Business Administration has delivered millions of loans, loan guarantees, contracts, counseling sessions and other forms of assistance to small businesses.
  8. Executive Summary - The portion of the Business plan that appears first but is written last and summarizes the rest of the document
  9. Liability - A liability is anything owed by an individual or a company
  10. Asset - Anything owned by an individual or a company
  11. Owner's Equity - Owners' Equity is the combined investments of the owner(s) and the accumulation of profit or losses for the business since it began. Also known as net worth
  12. Forming - This stage of team development takes place at the very beginning of the development cycle when members are just getting to know each other
  13. Storming - This second stage of the team development cycle is characterized by loss of enthusiasm and doubt
  14. Norming - After reassessing methods and goals, this stage of team development refocuses the team on the mission and goals they began with
  15. Performing - In this stage of team development the team is functioning well and accomplishing its goals

Module Minute

What do Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffet have in common?  They are all entrepreneurs.  Entrepreneurs are the risk takers and innovators in our society. Entrepreneurs will find their passion, create something new or improved, and organize the necessary resources to make their product or service competitive.  In addition to passion and vision, successful entrepreneurs are disciplined, confident, self-starting, competitive, determined, and creative. As an entrepreneur, you need a strong sense of ethics and integrity. Entrepreneurs are often authoritative and strong-willed, but they also need to be great communicators who can enable people to see their vision and help them accomplish that vision. An entrepreneur's creativity needs to be continuous in order to problem solve and come up with new products or services.

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