AOS 1

• Entrepreneurship


  The process of establishing a business to satisfy a need in the market whilst taking on the associated risks
• Entrepreneur


  An individual who starts up a business and takes on the associated risks in order to satisfy a need in the market
• Entrepreneurial skills


  • risk-taking skills
  • leadership skills
  • innovation skills
  • communication skills
  • decision-making skills
  • networking skills
• Personal independence


  A person being in control of their own decisions and actions
• Financial independence


  The ability to fund a desired lifestyle without relying on income from another individual
• Making a profit


  A business generating more revenue than expenses it incurred
• Fulfilling a market need

  A business filling a gap in the market by addressing customer needs that are currently unmet or underrepresented by competitors in the same industry
• Fulfilling a social need


  Improving society and the environment through business activities
• Manager


  An individual who has the responsibility of overseeing and handling employees whilst also running the day-to-day business tasks to achieve objectives
• Characteristics of successful managers


  • Communication skills
  • Determination
  • Knowledge
  • Strong ethics
  • Flexibility
• Characteristics of successful entrepreneurs


  • Willingness to take calculated risks
  • Strong networking ability
  • Determination
  • Innovative qualities
  • Resourcefulness
  • Knowledge
• Innovation


  Creating and implementing new ideas or significantly improving upon an existing good, service, or way of doing something
• Examples of innovation as a business opportunity


  • Provide new solutions to existing problems
  • Modifying existing products / establishing an entirely new idea
  • Attracts customers that are looking to purchase specific goods or services
  • Adding products can increase a business's sales and growth as well as attract customers away from competitors
• Market opportunity


  A need or want that is not currently being met by any business
• Examples of market opportunities as a business opportunity


  • Changing demographics
  • Changing societal attitudes and norms
  • Changing laws and regulations
  • Advancements in technology
  • Gaps in the market
• Changing customer needs


  The transitions in the desires of consumers
• Examples of changing customer needs as a business opportunity

  • Convenience
  • Technology
  • Trends
  • Ethical behaviour
• Research and development


  Directing resources, such as money, towards discovering, creating, and introducing new products and processes
• Examples of research and development as a business opportunity

  • R&D is commonly completed by businesses to investigate, create and then test new product ideas
  • Can also be completed to improve existing products
  • R&D acts as a source of business opportunity as new or improved products and processes can more accurately meet customer needs
• Technological developments


  The invention and innovation of tools that solve problems and enhance processes
• Examples of technological development as a business opportunity


  • Can allow businesses to improve the speed of their production and lower production costs
  • Act as a source of business opportunity as they improve how businesses create, deliver, and update goods and services
• Global markets


  The area in which businesses trade goods and services, comprised of both businesses and customers from countries all across the world
• Examples of global markets as a business opportunity


  • Businesses may open new stores in other countries or accept online orders from international customers - wider customer base
  • Selling to a global market acts as a source of business opportunity as it allows a business to reach more customers, helping to increase sales and market share
• Business goals


  What a business wants to achieve within a specific time frame
• Types of goals


  • Social goals
  • Financial goals
• SMART Goals


  Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound
• Importance of goal setting for a business

  Without goals, a business may struggle to identify the direction it wants to take, resulting in a lack of focus and unsuccessful operations. Establishing goals allows employees and managers to work towards a set of shared targets over a period of time. The achievement of business goals can also indicate whether implemented strategies have been successful.
• Decision-making


  The skill of selecting a suitable course of action from a range of plausible options
• Importance of decision-making


  Decisions that managers make can impact overall business success, therefore, decision-making is an essential skill for managers to use when setting goals. By evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of potential business decisions, as well as considering the environment in which the business operates, a manager can decide which goals to set.
• Business concept


  A brief outline of the business's idea, its main selling activities, and the features that will provide it with a competitive advantage
• The process of creating a business concept from a business opportunity


  1. Identify the business opportunity

  2. Develop the business concept

  3. Protect the business concept
• The process of developing a business concept

  1. Develop the initial idea

  2. Identify goods and services that will be sold

  3. Potential for market research
• Intellectual property (IP)


  An original creation of the mind that can be legally owned
• Legal barriers


  • Trademark
  • Patent
  • Copyright
  • Domain name
• The relationship between business opportunities and business concept development


  Initial business ideas and concepts are often developed after identifying a business opportunity in the market. After recognising a business opportunity, business owners can decide on the goods or services they want to sell to gain a competitive advantage.
• Market research


  The process of investigating and analysing the activities and behaviours of customers and competitors in a specific industry
• Types of data


  • Quantitative data
  • Qualitative data
• Qualitative questions


  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of competitors?
  • What are customers looking for in their products?
  • What are ways that a business could gain a competitive advantage in this market?
• Quantitative questions


  • How many competitors are in the market?
  • What price are customers willing to pay for the good or service?
  • How many customers are in the market?
  • What are the sales patterns of customers at different times of the year?
• Initial feasibility study


  A researched evaluation of how viable a business concept is