Becoming an Entrepreneur

notes

Characteristics of Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs Are:• Competitive

• Creative

• Energetic

• Goal Oriented

• Independent

• Persistent

• Reliable

• Confident

Entrepreneurs Have:• Ability to partner

• Ability to secure resources

• Ability to spot opportunity

• Capability to learn from failures

• Problem-solving skills

• Willingness to work hard

• Strong integrity

Entrepreneurship & The Economy

• Employment• Over 60% of all new employment comes from new businesses

• Financing• Most start on $10,000 or less

• Owner’s savings, bank loans, credit card debt, family/friends

• Venture Capital – money provided by large investors in exchange for partial ownership

• Example: Shark Tank investors are venture capitalist

• Supplied more than $100 billion to new businesses last year

• Productivity & GDP• Small businesses are responsible for more than 50% of the U.S. GDP each year

Opportunities & Risks

Opportunities• Innovations – invention or

creation that is brand new.• May be sold to other

companies for development

• Improvement – designed change to an existing product or service

Risks• Only about 1/3 or new businesses

are profitable in their first year• Lack of resources (mainly capital)

• Low Sales

• Higher than expected expenses

• Competitive pressures

• Unprepared owner

• Bigger time commitment

Assignment – Famous Entrepreneurs

Research a famous

entrepreneur from the next slide. Create

a short presentation highlighting

their background, companies, failures, and

successes

• Slide One – Title Slide• Entrepreneur’s Name• Your Name

• Slide Two• Early Life – Family, Childhood

Education, etc.• Slide Three

• Companies they created / bought• Products / Services they are famous

for creating or selling• Slide Four

• Failures• Slide Five

• Successes• Net Worth

• Slide Six• Collage of Photos

Famous Entrepreneurs

Steve Jobs Russell Simmons Bill Gates

Coco Chanel Donald Trump Henry Ford

Mark Cuban Mark Zuckerberg Oprah Winfrey

Mary Kay Ash Jeff Bezos Sam Walton

Warren Buffet Phil Knight Kevin Plank

Lori Greiner John Rockefeller Kimora Lee Simmons