Entrepreneurial Small Business
decline stage
A life cycle stage in which sales and profits of the firm begin a falling trend.
factor-driven economy
A nation where the major forces for jobs, revenues, and taxes come from farming or extractive industries like forestry, mining, or oil production.
Small Business Administration (SBA)
A part of the United States Government which supports an advocacy for small business
pilot test
A preliminary run of a business, sales effort, program, or Web site with the goal of assessing how well the overall approach works and what problems it might have.
entrepreneurial alertness
A special set of observational and thinking skills that help entrepreneurs identify good opportunities; the ability to notice things that have been overlooked, without actually launching a formal search for opportunities, and the motivation to look for opportunities.
PICS Model of Entrepreneurship
An acronym for the four forms of entrepreneurship--Public, Independent, Corporate, and Social.
Public Entrepreneurship
The form of entrepreneurship that involves revitalizing government agencies.
introduction stage
The life cycle stage in which the product or service is being invented and initially developed
maturity stage
The third life cycle stage, marked by a stabilization of demand, with firms in the industry moving to stabilize or improve profits through cost strategies.
independent small business
a business owned by an individual or small group
career
a lifelong series of jobs or occupations
niche market
a narrowly defined segment of the population that is likely to share interests or concerns
innovation-driven economy
a nation where the major forces for jobs, revenues, and taxes come from high-value added production based on new ideas and technologies and from professional services based on higher education
creativity
a process producing an idea or opportunity that is a novel and useful, frequently derived from making connections among distinct ideas or opportunities
Virtual Instant Global Entrepreneurship
a process that uses the internet to quickly create businesses with a worldwide reach
boom
a type of life cycle growth stage marked by a very rapid increase in sales in a relatively short time
certification
an examination based acknowledgement that the firm is owned and operated as specified
entry wedges
an opportunity that makes it possible for a new business to gain a foothold in a market
incremental innovation
an overall strategic approach in which a firm patterns itself on other firms, with the exception of one or two key areas
Imitative strategy
an overall strategic approach in which the entrepreneur does more or less what others are already doing
imitative strategy
an overall strategic approach in which the entrepreneur does more or less what others are already doing
competitor
any other business in the same industry as yours
industry dynamics
changes in competitors, sales and profits in an industry over time
scope
defines the geographic range covered by the market from local to global
high-growth venture
firms with exceptionally high innovativeness and growth rates, making them candidates for possible venture capital funding
novelty
something different or new
flexibility rewards
the ability of business owners to structure life in the way that suits their needs best
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
self-employed
working for yourself
innovation
focus which looks at a new thing or a new way of doing things
efficiency
focus which refers to doing the most work with the fewest resources
informal capital
funding invested for a share of a firm or given as loans or credit from family, friends, and other businesses used to help start or grow a firm
Small Business
involves 1-50 people and has its owner managing the business on a day-to-day basis
customer focus
the entrepreneurial focus which refers to being in tune with one's market
professionalization
the extent to which a firm meets or exceeds the standard business practices for its industry
degree of similarity
the extent to which a product or service is like another
Corporate Entrepreneurship
the form of entrepreneurship which takes place in existing businesses around new products, services, or markets
owner-manager
the individual who owns and runs a business
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
income rewards
the money made by owning one's own business
opportunity competencies
skills necessary to identify and exploit elements of the business environment that can lead to a profitable and sustainable business
focus strategy
strategy that targets a portion of the market
incremental strategy
taking an idea and offering a way to do something slightly better than it is done presently
market
the business term for the population of customers for your product or service
ecommerce
the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet
Creation
the entrepreneurial focus which looks at the making of new entities
industry
the general name for the line of product or service being sold, or the firms in that line of business
small and medium enterprise
the international term for small businesses
focuses of entrepreneurship
the key directions the organization intends to pursue
conversion rate
the measure of how many visitors to your website to you website buy something from your website
economic core sector
the most numerous and most widely available type of firm, also called small business, ranging from low to moderate levels of innovation and growth
time management
the organizing process to help make the most efficient use of the day
licensee
the person or firm which is obtaining the rights to use a particular piece of intellectual property
pure innovation
the process of creating new products or services, which results in a previously unseen product or service
occupational structure
the sequence or organization of jobs and careers in the economy
forms of entrepreneurship
the settings in which the entrepreneurial effort takes place
Creative Destruction
the way that newly created goods, services, or firms can hurt existing goods, services, or firms
glamorous sector
Consists of firms with high growth and high innovation. These are among the most visible firms in the media.
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.
late career entrepreneurs
People who begin their businesses after having retired or resigned from work in corporations at age 50 or later
opportunity recognition
Searching and capturing new ideas that lead to business opportunities. This process often involves creative thinking that leads to discovery of new and useful ideas.
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 (also called production), accounting, finance, and human resources.
growth stage
An industry life cycle stage in which customer purchases increase at a dramatic rate.
retrenchment
An organizational life cycle stage in which established firms must find new approaches to improve the business and its chances for survival.
innovative strategy
An overall strategic approach in which a firm seeks to do something that is very different from what others in the industry are doing
licensor
The person or organization which is offering the rights to use a particular piece of intellectual property.
succession
The process of intergenerational transfer of a business
parallel competition
an imitative business that competes locally with others in the same industry
standard business practice
a business action that has been widely adopted within an industry or occupation
scale
a characteristic of a market that describes the size of the market - a mass market or a niche market
mass market
a customer market that involves large portions of the population
incubator
a facility which offers subsidized space and business advice to companies in their earliest stages of operation
family business
a firm in which one family owns a majority stake and is involved in the daily management of the business
imitative
characterized by being like or copying something that already exists
resource constrained sector
consists of firms high in innovation but low in growth rate due to a lack of resources
ambitious firm sector
consists of franchises and multisite firms, with low to moderate innovation and high levels of growth
mindshare
the degree of attention your target market pays to your idea or organization
founders
people who create or start new businesses
buyers
people who purchase an existing business
determination competencies
skills identified with the energy and focus needed to bring a business into existence
cost strategy
a generic strategy aimed at mass markets in which a firm offers a combination of cost benefits that appeals to the customer
license
a legal agreement granting you rights to use a particular piece of intellectual property
Dynamic Capitalism Typology
a model of an economy categorizing businesses based on their innovativeness and growth rate
Efficiency-driven economy
a nation where industrialization is becoming the major force providing jobs, revenues, and taxes, and where minimizing costs while maximizing productivity is a major goal
royalty
a payment to a licensor based on the number or value of licensed items sold
heir
a person who becomes an owner through inheriting or being given a stake in a family business
Entrepreneur
a person who owns or starts an organization, such as a business
franchise
a prepackaged business bought, rented, or leased from a company called a franchiser
industry analysis
a research process that provides the entrepreneur with key information about the industry, such as its current situation and trends
Expert business professionalization
a situation that occurs when all the major functions of a firm are conducted according to the standard business practices of its industry
Minimalized business professionalization
a situation that occurs when the entrepreneur does nearly everything in the simplest way possible
shake-out
a type of life cycle stage following a boom in which there is a rapid decrease in the number of firms in an industry
industry specific knowledge
activities, knowledge, and skills specific to businesses in a particular industry
Independent Entrepreneurship
form of entrepreneurship in which a person or group own their own for-profit business
social entrepreneurship
form of entrepreneurship involving the creation of self-sustaining charitable and civic organizations, or for-profit organizations which invest significant profits in charitable activities
competencies
forms of business-related expertise
innovativeness
refers to how important a role new ideas, products, services, processes, or markets play in an organization
potential for growth
refers to the potential market size
radical innovation strategies
rejecting existing ideas, and presenting a way to do things differently
