Enterprising Skills and Commercial Awareness Report - Cornerstone UK

This report assesses employability and enterprising skills through a personal reflection and a commercial analysis of Cornerstone, a UK-based startup. The first task involves a self-assessment of enterprising qualities, highlighting strengths like extroversion, creativity, and networking abilities, while acknowledging areas for improvement such as listening skills. The second task focuses on Cornerstone, examining its success factors, including its innovative business model, effective operations management, and strong customer relationship management. The report concludes that Cornerstone's unique idea, efficient execution, and customer-centric approach have contributed to its success in the UK market. Desklib provides students with access to similar solved assignments and study tools.

Employability
and
Enterprising
[Document subtitle]

TASK 1
Being enterprising is the ability that a person possess owing to his or her resourcefulness or sense
of initiation. This ability plays a vital role in the success of an individual’s personal as well as
professional life. A person who is resourceful is considered valuable to an organization. On the
other hand, a sense of initiation comes with inherent confidence and willingness to perform.
As a person, I have always believed that I am largely enterprising. I have always been an
extrovert and I find it relatively easy to speak to people of a team and make them feel
comfortable. This sense of initiation makes me a good leader. I have also always been fond of
reading and that is why I often have good knowledge about different discussion topics. My
creativity enables me to think out of box and come up with new ideas. I believe I need to
improve upon my listening skills. As I often tend to get aggressive during discussions. However,
I am working towards improving this.
I have always been a confident person and I try to create a comfortable environment for those
around me. However, I believe that every person cannot be enterprising in every situation.
Therefore it is important to enter a career field which suits our competencies. Given my interests,
I would be highly competent and enterprising in a sales job that allows me to speak to different
people and apply my negotiation, convincing and persuasion skills.
Being enterprising also involves taking the right decision at the right time and being able to make
the best of every situation. I have always grabbed the opportunities that have come my way and I
have worked hard towards making the best of every situation. I am a practical person and even
case of a crisis I have my emotions under control and hence I can make practical decisions and
deal with different situations in an effective manner.
‘An individual’s network is the individual’s true net worth’. I truly agree with this saying and
this is why I have always worked towards building a strong network of people across different
industries. I build deep, positive and mutually beneficial relationships with people. Therefore
even in unforeseen situations, I trust the fact that I will be able to get the right help from the right
people.

My confidence, extroversion, creativity, network, communication skills along with my strong
control over my emotions make me a very enterprising person. I am certain that I would work
hard and work smart in every situation that I encounter which is why I will always be an asset for
the organization or a team that I am a part of. I will continue to work on my weaknesses and
enhance my skills to gain a competitive edge over my peers and competitors. I wish to prove
myself in different situations and leave a significant mark in the industry that I will enter.
TASK 2 – Commercial awareness
The organization is discussion is Cornerstone. It is startup based out of United Kingdom which
was established in July 2014. The business works towards providing a one stop solution to all the
shaving needs of people. Men from different parts of the country can fill out details and join the
cornerstone membership. As a part of this membership, customers would receive their shaving
kits at their doorsteps as and when requested.
I have personally shown interest in this startup because of the inspirational story that the brand
holds. Oliver Bridge is the founder of the business and within a short span of time, Cornerstone
has created waves and is definitely a disruptive innovation. The organization aims at building a
clientele of 250000 customers by the end of 2018. The organization has garnered a lot of
attention across all social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.
The fact that the organization is doing well is also evidenced by its customer reviews. Most of
the customers have opted for a yearly membership and are truly happy with the services.
Customers’ complaints on social media are almost nonexistent. Happy customers have even
made videos on YouTube to promote the brand. The user generated content is often the best and
the most authentic promotional material available on the internet (Ashley and Tuten, 2015).
Cornerstone is successful owing to the brilliance behind the idea. The firm identified a need or a
gap in the target market and decided to fulfill it. The brand has also put significant efforts in
maintaining the promised level of customer service. Their operations management is highly
effective and ensures that products are delivered to customers at the right time, in the right
setting and using the right packaging. Customers have reviewed that they receive their packages
on time.

Customer relationships management also plays a vital role in the success of any business
(Armstrong, Kotler, Harker and Brennan, 2015). Cornerstone trains its employees and delivery
boys to communicate well with the customers, greet them with respect and address their
grievances at the highest priority. Cornerstone has a lively culture that breeds open
communication within the business. This has led to a trusting and respectful team of people who
work together.
Cornerstone’s unique idea, effective execution and efficient customer relationships management
has guided the brand to success. Its social media presence and customer’s reviews are evidence
enough that the brand is doing well for itself. Cornerstone has a long way to go and has set rather
impressive and aspirational targets for the business. The story of how Oliver Bridge took the
business from an idea to a million dollar enterprise, at a young age of 28, is truly inspiring. The
firm has defined a new industry for itself and is currently a leader in the same. This is why not
only cornerstone is a highly resourceful brand but it is also a perfect example of a successful
startup ruling the UK market today.

References
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson Education.
Ashley, C. and Tuten, T., 2015. Creative strategies in social media marketing: An exploratory
study of branded social content and consumer engagement. Psychology & Marketing, 32(1),
pp.15-27.