Interviewing an Entrepreneur: An Analysis and Reflection on Entrepreneurship

Introduction

Entrepreneurship is known to be an essential tool in the transformation of innovative ideas into viable business ventures, making it a powerful economic force in the world today (Kuratko, 2008). This paper reports an interview with a local entrepreneur and a comparison with other peers' responses. An analysis of the relationship between the entrepreneur's insights and concepts learned in class will be highlighted. A personal reflection on entrepreneurship as a career and an aspect of social responsibility and sustainability, as well as the overall understanding of concepts learned in class on the topic will also be discussed.

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Reporting

This workshop activity entailed a one-on-one interview with a local entrepreneur in the hair and beauty industry. The business person uniquely offers services at the doorstep. The proprietor described the nature of the venture as hairdressing, manicure, pedicure, body massage, and physiotherapy services, delivered in the homes of the clients. According to the business owner, the operating hours range from as early as six o'clock in the morning to nine o'clock in the evening. The entrepreneur cited the flexibility of the working hours as one of the major strengths of the business. Secondly, according to the proprietor, the aspect of service delivery at the doorstep is very convenient to the target customers, who are mainly nursing mothers, the aged, people with tight work schedules, and physically disadvantaged persons. The ability to reach consumers at home has positively distinguished the business from competitors.

The entrepreneur further noted that her business has two employees so far, which enables service delivery to three clients at any given time. Furthermore, the business's customer base has grown tremendously in the last year. The proprietor cited this observation as the biggest success since the business started. This success has, on the contrary, led to the need for more staff and equipment over time. The business owner has, consequently, not been able to meet the rising demand for services due to the lack of the required expansion capital. As such, there are plans to acquire a loan for the procurement of replica sets of equipment as a pathway for the growth of the business.

Responding

The response received in this workshop activity from the interviewed business lady has many similarities with those gathered by colleagues who analogously chose to talk to an entrepreneur. All feedbacks emphasized the concepts of new business ventures and entrepreneurship learned in this course. For instance, the common and major challenges encountered by new business owners included the need for additional capital, poor marketing strategy, improper cash flow management, and difficulties in the development of a reliable team of employees for task delegation. Similarly, all responses depicted entrepreneurship as a purely risk-based venture that relies mainly on creativity, innovation, and opportunity. Furthermore, the key accomplishment highlighted in most responses included the gradual development of a pool of loyal customers. Equally, interviewed entrepreneurs described their success as a feeling of satisfaction that results from the achievement of set goals. Moreover, comparable indicators and measures of a new business success featured in all responses. They included balance sheets, revenues, profits, besides recognition and positive customer feedback. Initially, approaching an entrepreneur within the locality felt too practical and not directly related to skill and knowledge acquired in college. This workshop activity has, however, proved to be very effective in the enhancement of the understanding developed in class on entrepreneurship concepts.

Relating

The responses discussed above directly relate to the acquired knowledge of entrepreneurship. Concepts such as creativity and innovation have been encountered before in class. Although I have, personally, never tried developing a new business, I witnessed some observations made in this workshop activity in a previous part-time job. For instance, the employer, who was the sole owner of the business, was very keen on team building and sharpening of skills among employees, which is an important element in entrepreneurship. Furthermore, creative and innovative business ideas are usually encountered daily in existing business ventures. As a business student, this course has significantly equipped me with skills and knowledge of understanding all aspects of entrepreneurship for practical application in the real world.

Reasoning

First, the entrepreneur interviewed in this activity offered services already in the market differently. She targeted a new market of persons who lack the time or physical ability to visit salons, beauty shops, and massage parlours. Secondly, the entrepreneur risked by investing in a business without being sure whether clients would allow hair and beauty services in their homes. Also, the entrepreneur mentioned financial constraints as a major challenge that hindered business expansion from meeting the rising demand for her business' services. These are the most significant factors that featured in this workshop activity in relation to entrepreneurship. Introduce new things.

Reconstructing

Joseph Schumpeter's innovative concept is evident in the responses of this workshop activity. The theory suggested that through the approach of creative destruction, entrepreneurs come up with new ideas in the economy that enable them to enjoy a market advantage over their competitors. (IRMA, 2017). Similarly, the proprietor interviewed in this activity creatively introduced a new method of reaching out to customers in their homes. Secondly, according to a French economist, Richard Cantillon, entrepreneurship is a risk-based venture where the investor mainly focuses on making profit (IRMA, 2017). Equally, the entrepreneur discussed in this study risked the uncertainty of clients preferring to keep their premise private, consequently affecting the business negatively. The theories highlighted above featured in responses from colleagues. However, the concepts worked differently for varying business ventures. This workshop activity has enormously enhanced my understanding of the concepts of entrepreneurship learned previously in class.

Conclusion

Entrepreneurship impacts significantly on an economy's sustainability. Entrepreneurs capitalize on offering products missing in an economy, thereby solving a problem in the community. Besides profit and revenue generation, it is a social responsibility of entrepreneurs also to consider factors such as integrity, the needs of the local community, and legal requirements, and environmental concerns before starting up a new business. Moreover, new businesses are a source of employment opportunities for the owners and their staff. Thus, entrepreneurship is a viable career pathway. The theoretical principles so far learned in class, and lessons gathered from this workshop activity, have greatly enhanced my understanding of entrepreneurship. This unit has enlightened me on a wide range of opportunities and room for innovation and creativity in developing viable business ideas.

References

Kuratko, D. F. (2008). Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, and practices. Boston: Cengage Learning.

Information Resources Management Association. (2017). Entrepreneurship: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (1st ed.). Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global