Business Enterprise

• Enterprise is any attempt to start or do something new.
• An Entrepreneur is a person with initiative who takes a risk to start an enterprise.
• Enterprise is not just for business.

  In your Personal life - Getting a part- time job, doing a night course, devising a study plan.

  In the Community - Sports Organisations (GAA), Charities (St. Vincent de Paul).

  In School - Running a Mini - Company, running a School Musical, school Fundraising.

  In Public Life (Government) - Smoking Ban.
• A characteristic is a personal quality that a person has naturally and which is not learned.
• A skill is the ability to complete a task and can be learned and improved over time.
• Characteristics

  1. Future Focussed - always looking ahead into the future rather than living in the past.Good at spotting future trends and gaps in the market they can exploit.
  2. Self-Motivated / Ambitious - have the personal drive and ambition to make their business a success
  3. Innovative / Creative come up with new ideas and new ways of doing things.
  4. Determination / Resilience - do not give up easily when faced with failures and setbacks
  5. Flexible - able to adapt quickly to changes (e.g., smoking ban) and take necessary action
• Skills

  1. Decision Making - the ability to make good decisions in a short time frame.
  2. Realistic Risk Taking - will take a risk if there is a good chance of success. Risk Neutral.
  3. Human Relations - the ability to deal with people and to get the best from them.
  4. Proactive - take action instead of waiting for others to do so.
  5. Realism/ Reality Perception - the ability to see situations as they really are. If things are going wrong they can take action quickly.
• Intrapreneurship means employees coming up with new ideas and being enterprising Within a business. The business benefits.

  Businesses that foster intrapreneurship generate plenty of new ideas, have a motivated staff and find it easier to retain existing staff and recruit new staff.
• How to promote Intrapreneurship

  1. Reward staff for their creativity - If a staff idea benefits the business then they should be given a share of the profits
  2. Train staff - Well trained staff who are confident in their work are more likely to come up with new ideas.
  3. Encourage Teamwork - Staff working in groups are more likely to brainstorm and come up with new ideas.
  4. Give staff the time and resources to come up with new ideas - e.g., Google 20% time.
• Reasons why individuals may choose to start their own business:

  • Income: the chance to earn a lot of money if the business is successful
  • Creativity: the business serves as an outlet for their ideas
  • Being your own boss: the ability to make all decisions and run the business as they see fit
  • Being made redundant: using redundancy money to set up a new business
  • Making a contribution to society: meeting the need for a good/service and creating employment for local people
• • Personal values: running the business according to their own standards/values rather than following others (e.g., Happy Pear)
• Job Creation:

  • New businesses create jobs which help keep employment levels up
• Tax Revenue:

  • New businesses raise tax revenue for the government
• Economic Growth:

  • Successful enterprises contribute to Ireland's Economic Growth
  • They create wealth which leads to a higher standard of living
• New Products/Services:

  • Constant introduction of new products and services
• Spin Off Business:

  • New businesses will need suppliers, etc.
  • Their employees will provide business to local shops, pubs, restaurants, etc
• Inspiration:

  • The success of a local business may inspire other young entrepreneurs to set up their own business