4. Enterprise
Learning Outcomes from this chapter
On completion, you should be able to:
- Illustrate your understanding of the term ‘enterprise’
- Outline reasons why someone might become an entrepreneur
- Outline the characteristics/skills that you would associate with entrepreneurs
- Apply entrepreneurial characteristics/skills to a business situation
- Analyse the entrepreneurial characteristics/skills used in the household or to develop local community initiatives
- Define ‘intrapreneurship’ and give examples of it for a business
- Explain methods of promoting intrapreneurship
Enterprise
Enterprise involves being innovative and creative, while taking on the personal and financial risk of failure, to achieve one’s goal.
Enterprise is not just about businesses. It happens when a person comes up with something new and tries to make it a success, aware of the downside that it may fail.
Examples of enterprise:
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Personal enterprise: Taking a course to develop a skill
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Business enterprise: Launching new products (e.g. VR glasses)
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Government enterprise: Connecting the LUAS lines
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Social enterprise: Organising the Colour Dash for cancer support
Why might someone become an entrepreneur?
| To earn more income | Not limited to a set wage or salary, keep all profits |
| To be their own boss | Responsibility/control over decisions, self-directed |
| Limited career path | Open up new opportunities for growth and self-development |
| Spots a gap in the market | Capitalise on an opportunity they think could work |
| Government support | Grants/training at Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) |
| They were made redundant | Job no longer needed/no vacancies |
| Inspired by entrepreneurs | Energised/encouraged by success stories of others |
Entrepreneurial skills and characteristics
| Innovative | Create new ideas/processes |
| Human relations | Communicate, energise, network, negotiate well |
| Flexible | Respond to changing environments, adapt when necessary |
| Reality perception | See things as they are, not how they would like them to be |
| Proactive | Use initiative in advance, don’t wait to react |
| Future-focused | Anticipate future trends, spot gaps in the market |
| Decisive | Act quickly and decisively under pressure |
| Risk-taking | Take on personal and financial risk of decisions |
| Determined | Confident in their ability to persevere, resilient |
Types of intrapreneurship
| New product idea | Create new products, add new USPs to existing ones |
| Reduce costs | Streamline production, reduce waste/costs of production |
| Increase revenue | Change sales channels, times, places, target markets |
| New processes | Improve work methods/procedures |
Methods to promote intrapreneurship
| Create a culture | Foster an environment that encourages risks/ideas |
| Allocate resources | Fund R&D, reduce workload to facilitate time |
| Incentivise ideas | Offer bonuses or profit-sharing for new ideas |
| Use teamwork | Brainstorm: cross-departmental teams, shared responsibility |
| Pay for training | Provide training to allow staff to upskill |