Entrepreneurship and Small Business: A Comprehensive Analysis

This report delves into the multifaceted world of entrepreneurship and small business, exploring various ventures, the impact of micro and small businesses on the economy, and the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. It examines the role of personal background and experience in fostering or obstructing entrepreneurial success, analyzing the link between entrepreneurial characteristics and the impact of personal experience and background on particular successful entrepreneurs. The report utilizes real-world examples and data to provide a comprehensive understanding of the subject.

Entreprenuership and small buisness

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................1
COMPANY OVERVIEW....................................................................................................2
TASK 1...............................................................................................................................3
P1 DIFFERENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP VENTURES AND RELATIONSHIP WITH
ENTREPRENEURSHIP.................................................................................................3
M1 UNDERSTANDING OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC
SECTOR........................................................................................................................5
P2 DIFFERENCE AND SIMILARITY AMONG ENTREPRENEURSHIP VENTURES..6
P3 DESCRIPTION OF IMPACT OF MICRO AND SMALL BUSINESS........................8
M2 ASSESSMENT OF DISSIMILARITIES BETWEEN SMALL, MEDIUM AND
LARGE BUSINESS........................................................................................................9
P4 SIGNIFICANCE OF SMALL BUSINESS AND STARTUPS IN SOCIAL ECONOMY
.....................................................................................................................................11
TASK 2.............................................................................................................................12
P5 IDENTIFICATION OF TRAITS OF A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR WITH
EXAMPLES..................................................................................................................12
M3 DIFFERENT LINES OF ARGUMENT IN RELATION TO CHARACTERISTICS OF
ENTREPRENEURS.....................................................................................................14
P6 ASSESSMENT OF HOW CHARACTERISTICS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL
PERSONALITY REFLECT ENTREPRENEURIAL MOTIVATION AND MINDSET....15
P7 EXAMINATION OF HOW INDIVIDUAL’S BACKGROUND AND PAST
EXPERIENCE CAN FOSTER OR OBSTRUCT ENTREPRENEURSHIP......................16
M4 ANALYSIS OF LINK BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURIAL CHARACTERISTICS
AND IMPACT OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND BACKGROUND TO
PARTICULAR SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS...................................................17
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................18
1

REFERENCES................................................................................................................19
2

INTRODUCTION
The practice of Entrepreneurship incorporates tactical thinking and smart planning that
provides aid to the individual to gain substantial success in a business establishment.
The individuals engaged in this practice are the entrepreneurs. The report will focus
firstly on entrepreneurship ventures and relationship with entrepreneurship. Moreover,
the impact of small and medium business on frugality will be illustrated and evaluated.
Furthermore, the entrepreneur will be differentiated with the business manager on the
basis of their qualities followed by a reflection of characteristics of an entrepreneur. The
valuation of considerable factors will be carried out that obstruct the growth and
development of entrepreneurship for a business individual. The incongruities to the
qualities of an entrepreneur will be explored further and the relationship between the
entrepreneur qualities and his background will be further scrutinized.
3

COMPANY OVERVIEW
Ensoft is a software company having its headquarters in Harpenden, the UK founded in
the year 1997 with the vision for developing all aspects of networking software that runs
in the core of internet for keeping the world connected (Ensoft, 2018). The company
has been ranked 3rd in the UK by the Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work
for in the year 2018. The company has a working staff of 71 people with the ratio of
male to female of 87% / 13%. The privately held company has witnessed growth with
annual revenue of 10 million pounds that accounts for considerable profit each year.
The small business imparts healthy work environment for its employees and expects the
same from its employees to give their best performance and gain excellence in their
areas of work.
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TASK 1
P1 DIFFERENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP VENTURES AND RELATIONSHIP
WITH ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The activity of founding of a business or a number of businesses taking a risk in
financial terms in the anticipation for gaining some profit is known as Entrepreneurship
and the individuals engaged in the process are the entrepreneurs (Drucker, 2014). A
small business incorporates creating a new venture that can be categorized on the
basis of management style, growth rate, mission, objectives and goals of a business
and finance and other factors. A variety of ventures based on above-given factors are
equated in the table below-
BASIS AGGRESSIVE MANAGED LIFESTYLE SURVIVAL
Managing
style
Planned and
active approach
Strategic and
calculated
Strategic and
well-planned
approach
Reactive style
Growth rate in
annual terms
Greater than
25%
Greater than
10%
Less than 10% Up to 15%
Structure Product and
service based
Central and
organisational
Simple Managerial
Management
capabilities
Well planned
and tactical
incorporating
innovation
Planned and
tactical and
delegated
Modest
management
Sales and
improvement of
products and
services
Use of
technology
Better
technological
practices
Standard
technology
Controlled and
measured
None
Time Span in
years
10 3-4 None 1-2
Rewards Profit and Enhancement Fixed profits Standard
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gained equity in performance
and augmented
popularity
income
Finance Guarantee from
the bank and
additional
investment
organisations
Bank and
capital
stockholders
Banks and well-
wishers
Self-investment
Entrepreneurs contribute significantly in the growth and expansion of economy along
with engagement in innovation process thus presenting new ideas for the businesses.
They provide support in offering employment to the individuals in the location of their
businesses and recruit new talent and skills (Jóhannesson, 2012). The main motive of a
new business startup is delivering services by acclimatizing to new ideas for
successfully establishing in the present market.
Ensoft has grown in the last 21 years with a staff turnover of 9% and earning above
£35,000 increased to 97% therefore contributing to the accomplishment of business in
the software field with engaging itself in activities like paperless payroll, recycling bins in
office movement sensors for triggering electricity etc. that makes the organization move
towards sustainable development.
6

M1 UNDERSTANDING OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC
SECTOR
In the process of the start of a new venture, the entrepreneur expects the employees to
participate and engage with full dedication in leading the company towards progression.
In the private sector, new entrepreneurs have emerged with innovations and thus
successfully setting up their business and gain quick acceptance in the business world.
Ensoft is also a private company that has witnessed growth despite the obstacles and
legal restrictions that obstruct the growth of business (Gicheva and Link, 2013). The
organization has also gained competitive benefit over other software companies
developing software in the networking field by implementing best practices of
sustainable development that motivates the employees to work with dedication.
Therefore, entrepreneurship in the private sector has witnessed success and thus
motivates incipient entrepreneurs for developing new ideas and investing in new
business.
On the other hand, in the public sector establishment of business by entrepreneurs
need utilization of less resource and gain more profits. The government in other
countries and also the United Kingdom has launched incentive schemes in order to
assist in development of the social sector and social well-being initiatives. The
aforementioned schemes are introduced for solving the glitches and challenges
prevalent in the society and will encourage the entrepreneurs to emerge in public sector
(Mazzucato, 2015). Large enterprises now and then have to seek help from public
organizations for getting support in financial terms and for endorsement of some
business policies. It is very advantageous for the entrepreneurs to launch their business
in the public sector as with the help of government intervention the entrepreneurs,
considerable support is gained from the government activities that may sometime take a
long time in the case of private business.
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P2 DIFFERENCE AND SIMILARITY AMONG ENTREPRENEURSHIP
VENTURES
Type of
Entrepreneurship
venture
Relevance with
Ensoft
Similarities Differences
Serial Serial
entrepreneurship
type is followed in
Ensoft in order to
develop innovative
concepts and ideas
for offering the
individuals swift
business
opportunities
Entrepreneurs in
this business type
propose innovative
ideas for the
development of the
company and
migrate to other
business swiftly
(Plehn-Dujowich,
2010)
This style of
entrepreneurship
demotivated the
employees of the
company and also
lessens profit
Small business Ensoft started as a
small business
initially with fewer
employees and then
expanded thereafter
by expanding its
operations
In this type, fewer
resources are
invested with more
risk and the
company waits for
profit for a long
duration of time
The rise in
competition is a risk
and barrier to the
growth of small
business that poses
a threat of downfall
Social The employees are
concerned about
social causes and
contribute to them in
the form of raising
funds and engaged
in CSR activities
The engagement of
companies for
providing aid in
social causes such
as charity for
unprivileged and
visiting them
encourages the
Increased social
engagement by the
organizations may
deduce participation
of investors and
other shareholders
having a threat of
sharing their profit
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employees to
sustain in the
company (Santos,
2012)
Intrapreneurship The organization ‘s
management has
complete ownership
nevertheless
employees take
huge risks in
interacting with
clients for
enhancing their
entrepreneurship
skills thus befitting
themselves and the
company (Parker,
2011)
The stakeholders of
the organizations
are engaged in
taking frequent risks
for the
organizational
benefit so as to
solve relevant
issues for
minimizing the
complexities
The conventional
business approach
fascinates more
stakeholders to
engage with the
business rather than
taking risks on a
regular basis
9

P3 DESCRIPTION OF IMPACT OF MICRO AND SMALL BUSINESS
In the private sector in the United Kingdom, small businesses contribute significantly to
the total business and economy. The statistics show that small business with 99.3% in
the UK has preceded medium and large business in terms of the number of businesses.
But the employment rate is still less (Storey, 2016).
In the year 2016, with the UK witnessing 99% of private sector business out of 5.5
billion businesses in all has majorly impacted the economy. The influence can be
analyzed from the fact that the small and micro businesses have easy access to the
financial assets and get the business advice on short notice. The introduction of smart
tax policies and modifications in legal structures for small and micro businesses provide
these firms to sustain well in the business environment. Many of the programs and
missions are launched providing help through investments and also offering business
support services (Burns, 2016). Therefore, the small and micro business projects
influence the economy at local and national level by offering employment as well as
financial benefits to the nation. Also, the local businesses can expand themselves by
exporting their products to other counties thus expanding at the global level.
10

M2 ASSESSMENT OF DISSIMILARITIES BETWEEN SMALL, MEDIUM AND
LARGE BUSINESS
The conception of large businesses contributing largely to the economy of a country has
been surpassed in the recent years. The latest developments in the small and micro
business sector have proved the fact that small business ventures can grow at a rapid
rate along with contributing largely to the growth of the economy of the nation (Sawang,
and Unsworth, 2011).
Figure 2: Statistics of small, medium and large business in the UK
Source: [http://en-production
assets.s3.amazonaws.com/2016/10/13/14/06/18/559/stats_1.png]
The private sector in business witnessed a considerable boost in the year 2016. The
small enterprise business rose to 99.3 % while the employment rates touching a
percentage of 48%. The annual turnover for the year 2016 from private small
businesses in the UK reached to 33% which is a significant figure to be taken into
account.
Small Medium Large
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Employees 1-99 100-499 500 +
In the figure given above, for the year 2015 in the UK, the small business with
employees 0- 249 were 5,236,390 that accounted for a large portion of the total number
of businesses. On the contrary, the annual turnover from the given number of small
businesses was 1,647,201 that is a major proton of the total turnover in millions.
From the analysis of the data in the above figures, it is illustrated that the small
businesses have emerged and grown rapidly in the last few years and have established
themselves in the UK market.
12

P4 SIGNIFICANCE OF SMALL BUSINESS AND STARTUPS IN SOCIAL
ECONOMY
The small business ventures are at a boom in the UK market. In the year 2013 and
2014, many startups emerged contributing to the rise in the number of small businesses
by entrepreneurs and the graph has been increasing with the passing time (Kane,
2010). The financial aspects of the country and therefore the economy has encouraged
the small businesses such as Ensoft and as a result, the rise of many small ventures
have together contributed a lot to the economy of the nation. A number of aspects
define the significance of small business and startups in the social economy described
below-
Employment- The development of new ventures at any location increases the chances
of job opportunities for the local people. The rise in the number of small businesses
have contributed a lot and created numerous jobs
Turnover- As seen in the previous sections, the turnover generated from small
business is a large proportion of the total revenue generated from businesses,
therefore, helping in the development and growth of the economy. This shows that
startups, as well as small business, are flourishing in the country
Industry- In the United Kingdom, large businesses operate in the automobile repair,
retail and manufacturing sector and the small businesses and startups are at the core of
these business activities (Sedláček and Sterk, 2017)
Growth- The advent of innovation in the startups and small business is a chief part of
the growth process that provides an advantage to the companies to avoid from going
inactive, retains the market from turning stagnant and also provides reinforcement and
lift to the unproductive businesses. The small businesses are the key drivers of growth
and innovation in the business sector. At a time when the world was facing recession,
the small businesses helped in lifting the economy of the country.
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TASK 2
P5 IDENTIFICATION OF TRAITS OF A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR WITH
EXAMPLES
The characteristics and traits of a successful and popular entrepreneur vary from
person to the other. The entrepreneurs and the managers in business have different
working styles and also are focused on achieving different goals as the managers work
is emphasized for achieving the administrative goals of the business while the
entrepreneur is focused on team building and planning strategies for long-term benefit
and growth of the company (Katongole, et al. 2013). In the business world, many
prominent and known entrepreneurs have achieved fame and growth of their
businesses. The entrepreneurs in the UK such as Alan sugar of Amstrad Company and
Dragon Den’s founder, Peter John are among the entrepreneurs who have achieved
great heights and success of their businesses. The traits and characteristics of a
successful entrepreneur are illustrated below-
Flexibility- The entrepreneurs are always ready with a strategic plan and easily adapt
to the changing environment of the business and are also responsible for bringing
important changes and innovation in the industry
Motivation- Jonathan Turnbull, CEO of Ensoft in the start of business had a vision of
building a skilled team of experts in the networking field and therefore always the
employees are into to work in a smart manner.
Persistence and creativity- The entrepreneurs have a creative mind and think out of
the box and lead the team to work in a smart manner with fewer resources and
increased outcome
Vision- The successful entrepreneurs are determined to accomplish their objectives
and goals for the long term and short term and with perseverance and creative mind
they achieve the results in the fixed time (Mueller, 2011)
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Risk winning- The entrepreneur, Alan Sugar’s career was at huge risk at the time of
startup but with his risk analyzing skills, he was successful in overcoming all the
obstacles and won over the risks
15

M3 DIFFERENT LINES OF ARGUMENT IN RELATION TO
CHARACTERISTICS OF ENTREPRENEURS
There are some contradictions that persist in relation to the characteristics f the
entrepreneurs which give rise to some questions. Two of them are-
The first question is that do the entrepreneurs have an imaginative mind and
possess innovative ideas? This statement can be justified as in the UK, entrepreneurs
are coming up with new and innovative ideas and their statistics are increasing year by
year. The creative and imaginative people with wonderful ideas have a platform such as
Dragon’s Den to present their startup idea and start their business. These individuals
have the capability to bring revolution in the market but sometimes fail to bring
innovation in the business because of lack of focus on innovation and just emphasis on
business expansion (Fillis and Rentschler, 2010).
Another statement that contradicts is that are the entrepreneurs emerging in the market
are ready to take risks in business? One of the most significant characteristics of a
popular entrepreneur is his ability to take risks in business which sets him apart from
other business managers. The new entrants starting a new business venture have to
take risks at every step of the business establishment and this is an essential trait to
sustain else the entrepreneurs will just remain to be business managers.
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P6 ASSESSMENT OF HOW CHARACTERISTICS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL
PERSONALITY REFLECT ENTREPRENEURIAL MOTIVATION AND MINDSET
An individual with an entrepreneurship approach needs to give and obligate motivation
for assessment of his abilities to progress in the business and get success thereby.
Some motivational aspects can help in changing mindset of entrepreneurs for better
performance in their field.
Management skills- The business person are required to collect and analyze all the
business resources before implementation. The task for management of resources
utilized in the business is important for the entrepreneurs to execute. This can be the
management of human resources and infrastructure etc. and if at the initial levels the
resource management is practised in an efficient manner then the entrepreneur can
expand his business and run it in a similar way (Oosterbeek, et al. 2010)
Communication skills- For establishing effective interaction with the clients and other
stakeholders, it is vital for an entrepreneur to have an entrepreneurial mindset for
communicating and handling the clients
Operational planning- the planning process for executing operations at various
functional levels of business is important for the entrepreneur to avoid further
hindrances and this must be done with a positive mindset and perspective of all the
stakeholders
Extrovert nature and behaviour- the body language and behaviour of an entrepreneur
such as his gestures, vibes, assertiveness, social connections etc. help to identify the
true personality of an entrepreneur. These aspects need to be looked upon by the
business tycoons for maintaining good relations in the business world and also motivate
employees for keeping positive perspectives while at work.
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P7 EXAMINATION OF HOW INDIVIDUAL’S BACKGROUND AND
PAST EXPERIENCE CAN FOSTER OR OBSTRUCT
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Entrepreneurship is impacted by past background of entrepreneurs and their family
backgrounds. An entrepreneur has prevalent knowledge about the business if a family
member has been a successful entrepreneur in early times so the descendants are well
aware of how to run business in an effective manner and what are the existing
loopholes that must be addressed first. The family environment also impacts the future
entrepreneurs which have an impact on building mental and emotional balance in the
person to take important and tough decisions for running a business in future (Short, et
al. 2010). The family background of an individual also helps in identifying the strengths
and the weaknesses of an entrepreneur as if the person has lived in a healthy
environment in relation to upbringing, family traits or other general leadership
characteristics then there will be no hindrance in the path of becoming a successful
entrepreneur. On the contrary, an environment with the negative mindset of people can
prove to be difficult for the merging entrepreneur having a problem in decision making
and resolving the issues of business.
Having past experiences of working in an entrepreneurship environment help the
individual to take necessary actions with carefulness after analyzing the negative and
positive results of the situation. The individual will be aware of the possible risks and
issues that may occur in the business operations. In case of Ensoft, the company can
recruit those employees that have past experiences of the business so that they face no
difficulty in to critical situations and also can act accordingly with strategic planning to
cope up with such circumstances (McLeman, 2014). If the organization is running a
business by implementing best approaches for entrepreneurship then the chances of
conflict and risks are reduced to some extent.
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M4 ANALYSIS OF LINK BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURIAL CHARACTERISTICS
AND IMPACT OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND BACKGROUND TO
PARTICULAR SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS
An individual develops different entrepreneurial characteristics from the environment
and family ethics and values. The traits in an individual like good family culture and
ethical values help in determining the entrepreneur traits. Individuals acquire the
leadership capabilities from good education practices, culture, family values and social
background that help them to become successful future leaders and entrepreneurs.
Strong decision-making abilities, positive attitude and emotional balance are gained
through personal social experiences that an individual experiences in the past with the
colleagues and friends (Zhao, et al. 2010). These social-behavioural characteristics are
in later times passed on to the employees that work under the leadership of
entrepreneur in an organization that aids in the fast growth of the company and lead its
competitors in the market.
An entrepreneur will acquire good decision-making abilities at the business level when
that person will have strong decision-making power, long-term orientation, family values
with good ethics and many other values. Many more qualities that help an entrepreneur
to form policies and effective decisions include ample knowledge about the market
trends, the scope of business and its nature and demographics and other factors
(Makhbul and Hasun, 2010). It is increasingly important for the business person to have
good knowledge about business operations so that they have a competitive edge in the
business and accomplish more opportunities for the betterment of the business.
19

CONCLUSION
The process of establishment of a new business in the market is an uncertain task for
the entrepreneurs. The absence of knowledge and ineffectual capabilities of the
entrepreneurs do not allow them to effectively run their businesses in the present
market scenario. So, it becomes essential for an entrepreneur to poses all the vital
characteristics and traits become a successful entrepreneur and excel in the business
world.
The assignment has covered different aspects of business ventures by the
entrepreneurs and their relationship. Furthermore, characteristics and traits of a
successful entrepreneur have been explained along with the explanation on how the
background of the individual has an impact on entrepreneurship. Also, the link of an
entrepreneur with his background and past experience has been examined.
20

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