Chapter 2 - Small Business Entrepreneurs
standard business practice
a business action that has been widely adopted within an industry or occupation
family business
a firm in which one family owns a majority stake and is involved in the daily management of the business
cognition
a person's way of perceiving and thinking about their experience
expert business professionalism
a situation that occurs when all the major functions of a firm are conducted according to the standard business practices of its industry
specialized business professionalization
a situation that occurs when businesses have founders or owners who are passionate about one or two of the key business functions, such as sales, operations, accounting, finance, or human resources
key business functions
activities common to all businesses such as sales, operations, accounting, finance, and human resources
industry-specific knowledge
activities, knowledge, and skills specific to businesses in a particular industry
prevention focus
an entrepreneur's attention to minimizing losses, with a bias toward inaction or protective action to prevent loss
certification
an examination based acknowledgement that the firm is owned and operated as specified
passion
an intense positive feeling an entrepreneur has toward the business or the idea behind the business
comprehensive planners
entrepreneurs who develop long-range plans for all aspects of the business
critical-point planners
entrepreneurs who develop plans focused on the most important aspect of the business first
habit-driven planners
entrepreneurs who do not plan, preferring to let all actions be dictated to their routines
opportunistic planners
entrepreneurs who start with a goal instead of a plan and look for opportunities to achieve it
late career entrepreneurs
people who begin their business after having retired or resigned from work in corporations at age 50+
determination competencies
skills identified with the energy and focus needed to bring a business into existence
role conflict
the kind of problem that arises when people have multiple responsibilities, such as parent and boss, and the different responsibilities make different demands on them
time management
the organizing process to help make the most efficient use of the day
succession
the process of intergenerational transfer of a business
action
the visible behavior a person takes
minimalized business professionalization
a situation that occurs when the entrepreneur does nearly everything in the simplest way possible
promotion focus
an entrepreneur's attention to maximizing gains and pursuing opportunities likely to lead to gains
reactive planners
entrepreneurs with a passive approach, who wait for cues from the environment to determine what actions to take
competencies
forms of business-related expertise
set-asides
government contracting funds which are earmarked for particular kinds of firms, such as small businesses, minority-owned firms, women-owned firms, and the like
resource competencies
the ability or skill of the entrepreneur at finding expendable components necessary to the operation of the business such as time, information, location, financing, raw materials, and expertise
perserverance
the ability to stick with some activity even when it takes a long time and its outcome is not immediately known
professionalization
the extent to which a firm meets or exceeds the standard business practices for its industry
opportunity competencies
skills necessary to identify and exploit elements of the business environment that can lead to a profitable and sustainable business