Entrepreneurship Report: Entrepreneurial Ventures, Economy, and Skills

This report delves into the multifaceted world of entrepreneurship, exploring various types of ventures including startups, social enterprises, and large-scale businesses. It compares and contrasts these ventures, highlighting their similarities and differences, with a focus on the associated risks and the importance of a clear vision. The report analyzes the significant impact of micro and small businesses on the national economy, emphasizing their contribution to job creation, innovation, and overall economic growth. It also examines the characteristics, traits, and skills of successful entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, discussing the influence of their backgrounds and experiences. Furthermore, the report touches upon the role of small businesses and startups in the social economy, and the challenges and opportunities they face. The report underscores the importance of government support and encouragement for entrepreneurial activities to foster economic stability and growth. It also discusses the impact of Brexit on small businesses in the EU.

Entrepreneurship
1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1) Entrepreneurial ventures .......................................................................................................3
P2) Comparing different ventures................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
P3) Impact on economy by micro and small businesses..............................................................6
P4) Small businesses and start-ups adding to social economy....................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
P5) Characteristics, traits and skills of two entrepreneurs...........................................................8
P6) Entrepreneurial personality reflects motivation and their mind-sets.....................................9
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
P7) The impact of background and experiences........................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
2

INTRODUCTION
Entrepreneurship is utilising own skills and knowledge for developing self-ideas and
thoughts in the form of business. The widespread of multinationals has created a lot of job
opportunities for people but non-flexibility and less income has urged individuals to opt for
developing their own business and earn without any restrictions. In this report, the different types
of entrepreneurial ventures have been depicted with a comparison describing the similarities and
differences amongst them. Entrepreneurial ventures can be on a large scale or a business start-up
depending on the amount of resources and capital implied. This assessment consists of
information regarding the impact which micro and small businesses have on national economy.
Moreover, the basic characteristics and traits which are shown by famous entrepreneurs like Bill
Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have been portrayed in this report with a brief discussion about their
background and experiences during business development.
TASK 1
P1) Entrepreneurial ventures
When a person inputs resources and funds for developing his/her idea in the form of
business for self-defined goals and objectives, then this person is termed as an entrepreneur.
There are different types of entrepreneurial ventures which have been witnessed in current
market structures. These are described as follows:
Start-ups: An entrepreneurial venture which is formed with help of minimum funds and
with a motive to provide solutions to particular problems (Bae and et. al., 2014). Start-ups have
become the trending culture in various developing countries especially in the ones where strong
economic growth is perceived. It is possible that individuals can aim to launch their business
start-ups on a small, medium or large scale depending on the amount of finance and money
regulated. The amount of innovation in developing ideas has to be maximum for successful
functioning of businesses. For instance, the use of technology in developing shopping portals
like Amazon and Flipkart are some of the famous start-ups which became successful due to their
uniqueness (Drucker, 2014). Hence, business start-ups can be aided largely with help of
innovation and uniqueness.
3

Flavourly is a start up that found its financial support and much needed recognition
through Dragon's Den reality TV show. This start up is based on providing beer to customers on
a monthly subscription.
Social Entrepreneurship ventures: The society requires working on certain strategies
which aim to be beneficial for the weaker sections. When individuals work for the same
objective without considering the net profits and losses, then this type of entrepreneurship is
regarded as social ventures (Kirzner, 2015). Generally, a venture capitalists would less support
such kind of start-ups or businesses but once successful, good amount of recognition can be
attained by the concerned entrepreneur. Social entrepreneurship ventures are objected towards
the social good. Examples of social entrepreneurial ventures include: Settle Hydro, Doncaster
Refurnish, The Create Foundation CIC, etc.
Large scale ventures: There is huge number of multinationals working in the country and
abroad with an aim of business expansion. The entrepreneurs that operate businesses on this
scale are considered as owners of large scale ventures. Individuals develop their ideas into chain
of business quarters which help in economic growth and development of the country on a
massive scale (Baum, Frese and Baron, 2014). Large scale ventures have large amount of risk
involved unless the company becomes a brand name. For instance, when the owner of Red
Carnation Hotel had launched his idea in UK, there must have been some sort of risk involved in
the initial stages of his business development. Hence, large scale ventures involve high risk but
large profits too. Philip Green and Richard Branson are two of the top rated entrepreneurs with
their large scale ventures. Both these large scale entrepreneurial ventures were proposed with
mere investment and on a very small scale. But currently Topshop and Virgin Group have
strategically strong position in their respective operational industries.
The typology of entrepreneurship is basically classification which is done for getting
better understanding about the term and principle of entrepreneurship. The leader or the person
who develops his idea into practical applications is an important figure in the organisation. This
empirical figure has to perform appropriate researches so that decisions can be taken effectively
(Schaper and et. al., 2014). The typology of entrepreneurship related with aforementioned
ventures is related with the nature and attributes of individuals who are setting up such
4

businesses. The amount of research work and analysis is important to be performed by each
person because of their vision and objective to be successful.
The typology is basically considered as classifying or separating the different types of a
subject according to certain criteria. When considering entrepreneurial ventures, there are
different typologies. Entrepreneurial ventures can be classified on the basis of their development
stages i.e. first generation, second generation or classical entrepreneurs. On the other hand, there
is another typology which can be used for the same purpose, for example, classifying on the
basis of capital ownership as private, state and joint entrepreneurs. The typology that is used here
is classification on the basis of scale of operation. This includes large scale and small scale.
Social entrepreneurs fall in the category of others.
P2) Comparing different ventures
The similarities that are related with each and every entrepreneurial venture holds is risk
associated with the idea. Job security and continuous flow of income is the comfort that is
provided to people when they work for a multinational firm (Kuratko, 2016). But business start-
ups and the entrepreneurial ventures do not have such guarantees. They are focused more on
effective use of skills so that the threats which come up in the form of risks are handled or
managed. Another similarity is the ownership or complete authorisation over each and every
activity without any interference. Be it large scale, small scale, start-ups or social venture, people
have their own rights, rules and regulations which are supervised by them till certain extent (Bae
and et. al., 2014). This sense of liberty helps in motivating and encouraging in earning more
profits.
The nature of business doesn’t matter much unless there is a vision behind the working of
entrepreneurs. Every individual has to have a vision and mission for running successful business.
Hence, irrespective of the type of entrepreneurial venture, every company has a vision for which
it functions. The thing that differentiates these companies or businesses is the amount of
resources and the significant returns they get on applying inputs (Carland and Carland, 2015).
For instance, social entrepreneurship might not lead to much recognition but there are chances
that profits will be quite high. Those running voluntary just for the welfare of people will earn
name and recognition if their activities are genuine and satisfactory. On the other hand, large
scale businesses require large amount of resources. Be it employees, transportation facilities,
5

monetary helps, working space, etc. everything has to be large in quantity right at the initial stage
(Hart and et. al., 2015). This implies that there is great risk associated with a large venture and
people have to belong to a financially strong background so that appropriate monetary support
can be gathered for polishing the idea.
Entrepreneurship is completely associated with courage, confidence and the willingness
to achieve dreams (Carraher and Paridon, 2015). People who work for their own dreams become
the torch bearers and inspirations for others in the form of successful entrepreneurs. There is a
huge difference between a business start-up and a large scale entrepreneurial venture. Apart from
the type of resources and turnover acquired by the individual, the nature of working is different.
A start-up owner would prefer to test and check his products and services on a small or even
micro level at the initial stage while large scale entrepreneurs might not opt for this step (Singer,
Amoros and Arreola, 2015). Hence, the impact of failure faced by former one would be very
high as compared to the latter one. This also implies that large scale entrepreneurial ventures can
be successful only when there is full-proof planning and strategic decision making involved. If
owners of large businesses themselves plan to spread out new ventures they also have to perform
proper market research so that risks and threats are lowered (Goffee and Scase, 2015).
TASK 2
P3) Impact on economy by micro and small businesses
The path of prosperity for small and micro businesses is quite challenging. There are
large number of regulations and less access to finance when brand names are not associated with
such entrepreneurial ventures. Markets and job opportunities although are generated in less
quantity but they are still essential for the development of national economy (Glaeser, Kerr and
Kerr, 2015). Innovation is highest amongst micro and small businesses because they tend to grab
attention of potential customers from the best possible product or service. British economy has
experienced good growth and development with help of increasing small businesses. The amount
of support and encouragement provided to such ventures is quite less but there it is essential
because the slower small businesses excel, major challenges shall be experienced on both
national and international level (Morris, 2015).
The large enterprises which function as brand names are supported by various small
micro and small businesses when considering minute operations. For instance, a 7 star Hotel will
6

function smoothly only when small level organisations like the ones provided food supplies or
the transportation ones are functioning. This implies that there is continuous requirement of
appropriate growth of small businesses so that larger enterprises are not hampered and the
overall customer demands are met on time (Goffee and Scase, 2015). There are huge numbers of
manufacturing and production units which are functioning on minute levels for providing raw
material and basic resources to the large enterprises.
In 2014, about 5.2 million businesses were reported in UK and amongst them 99%
belonged to the small and medium business category. This implies that coverage of these
entrepreneurial ventures is quite large and if any sort of consequences lead to deteriorations in
the growth then national economy and development is hindered (Bae and et. al., 2014). Hence, it
is the responsibility of government to encourage more ideas and support the entrepreneurial
activities so that there is stability in growth of the country. If more micro and small scale
enterprises are initiated then economy is increased and a sudden rise in Gross Domestic Product
of UK can be visualised.
Contribution of SME to employment: In the year 2014, small and medium enterprises have
contributed about £1.6 trillion in UK. This depicts that about 47% of the entire private sector
turnover is contributed by only SMEs. This figure also depicts the importance of small and
medium businesses when considering national economy. The employment rate is about 60% of
the complete private sector and 24.3 million individuals are currently functioning. The country's
majority economy is driven by this sector. Amongst the overall workforce, 81% is indulged with
small and medium enterprises (UK Small Business Statistics. 2017). However, in 2016, about
99% of the businesses operating in all the industries comprises of small and medium business.
Hence, it is stated that small enterprises are major employment generators and contributors to
economic stability of country.
P4) Small businesses and start-ups adding to social economy
European Union is considered as one of the strongest collaborations in the world due to
successive cooperation from different European nations. Currently UK has taken the decision to
move out of the EU and develop separate governance (What does Brexit mean for business
funding in Wales?. 2017). This phenomenal decision is known as Brexit. Post Brexit there have
been various situational challenges that the country has been facing. Although the decision was
7

predicted to be a path for downfall of UK but the country managed to accelerate growth in terms
of GDP by increase of 0.5%. This has been possible due to small businesses and business start-
ups. There have been significant developments in the entrepreneurial activities in the country
(The importance of small businesses in the UK economy, 2015).
Understanding of Brexit and social economy: Brexit is a terminology which is used to refer to
the withdrawal which was announced by UK from the European Union. The Prime Minister
David Cameron announced official resentment of UK from the Union and also declared that by
2019 UK will completely step back from EU. There are two types of economies i.e. private and
public. The social economy is considered to be a third type of economy which includes
contribution from social groups and organisations. The cooperative societies, charities and social
entrepreneurial ventures are contributing to the social economy.
The increase in social economy can be witnessed in the form of more number of start-ups
and innovative approaches in production and manufacturing. People have utilised technology in
such a way that there has been major developments (Singer, Amoros and Arreola, 2015). The
country has also revised its policies and regulations regarding the foreign direct investment and
immigration codes. This will help in inviting more multinationals to operate from UK so that
globalisation and industrialisation can be enhanced in the country. Small and micro scale
companies are the source of income for local people and developments in the markets are faster
through these companies (Schaper and et. al., 2014). Hence, the social economy is supported
greatly with help of these entrepreneurial activities especially after the effectiveness of Brexit
decision.
Knowledge and the urge to acquire innovative techniques are important for smooth
functioning of businesses (The 5 Types of Entrepreneurs. 2017). Entrepreneurs have to look up
for ways in which these attributes can be inculcated and the government has to play its part
properly here. Certain provisions and encouragement drives have been developed by the country
government to encourage entrepreneurial activities so that more number of small and micro scale
business start-ups can be developed. The social economy can be strengthened when there is
effective leadership and entrepreneurship. Workshops, seminars and training programs have been
initiated by the government to encourage small and micro businesses so that economic downfall
is not experienced (What does Brexit mean for business funding in Wales?. 2017).
8

Contributions of SME to social economy: The small and medium enterprises are considered to
be economic powerhouses because of their significant contribution in the economy stability of
country. Despite of the declaration of Brexit as a national issue, the social economy has not been
disturbed. Small and medium businesses contribute to be about 60% share holder in generating
employment. Furthermore, the turnover of this section of businesses is about £1.6 trillion in
2014. The figure is rising eventually with improvements in techniques and operational
methodologies. People gather most of the employment opportunities from small and medium
enterprises. The social economy is also affected by ethical issues which includes environmental
impact of the business activity on nature and surroundings. The small and medium enterprises
have an overall positive impact over social economy of UK.
Businessmen who have been functioning currently in the country have a different
perspective towards the exit of UK from EU and its restrictions. There are certain drawbacks that
have come up with this decision and the most dominant of them all is the citizenship of
individuals who have been working in the country but belong to different nationalities. In such
cases they might leave their current employment and immigrate to some other member state if no
proper regulations are formulated (What does Brexit mean for business funding in Wales?. 2017).
This implies that staffing would become a challenge for the country’s small businesses. But
entrepreneurial ventures help in filling these gaps and strengthen the social status and economic
growth of the country simultaneously.
TASK 3
P5) Characteristics, traits and skills of two entrepreneurs
Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are two renowned names in the world of information
and technology. Displaying exceptional behaviours, these two individuals worked with at most
dedication and hard work to fulfil their ideas and visions into reality. Bill Gates co-founded
Microsoft one of the biggest technical giants that has manufactured efficient products and
gathered world recognition within a short period of time (How Bill Gates Became a Leadership
Legend. 2017). This entrepreneurial venture can be considered as a start-up with success rate of
100%. Bill Gates is included in the list of wealthiest individuals of the world since 1987 till date.
Currently, he is considered as the richest person in the world. His vision to transform the world
of personal computers has created a revolution in computer manufacturing and operation.
9

Facebook is an indispensable part of everyone’s life today. But about 10 years back when
internet was emerging and people were finding new ways to stay connected, one individual
thought of providing a phenomenal solution. The belief in his idea and effortless techniques
utilised for developing this medium resulted in Facebook being an international medium for
staying connected (The 5 Types of Entrepreneurs. 2017). This person is Mark Zuckerberg the
youngest billionaire and ranked fifth richest person in the world. Being listed continuously in the
list of most influential people, Mark Zuckerberg is considered as a youth icon and inspiration to
believe in dreams and set up own traditions and paths instead of working aimlessly.
One singe quality which is present in these two entrepreneurs is vision. When an
individual has vision regarding what he/she has to do then it becomes easier for organising rest
other actions (Naudé, 2013). Another quality that differentiated these two successful individuals
from rest other business managers is simplicity with extra ordinary approach to simple things.
Success stays for a long time only when there is respect towards others and equinity in actions.
Mark Zuckerberg is famous for his cool behaviour in almost every work situations and stress
times. This implies that he knows how to manage anger and anxiety without affecting co-
workers’ performance (Morris, 2015).
Critical thinking is also one of the chief qualities which have been portrayed by Mark
Zuckerberg and Bill Gates. Despite of behaving casually with colleagues and both these
entrepreneurs have critical thinking approach towards every single issue. The past decisions of
both these personalities depict that no decision has been taken without putting serious efforts and
critical evaluation of the issue (Kuratko, 2016). Communication is the key to development and
change management. Entrepreneurs who manage to balance effective communication amongst
his clients and employees becomes successful in achieving his goals and objectives.
P6) Entrepreneurial personality reflects motivation and their mind-sets
Motivation is an emotional aspect that helps in developing the skills and willingness of
individuals towards workspace and business organisations. Entrepreneurship is a part of an
individual’s personality (Kirzner, 2015). The working styles of different business entrepreneurs
develop a separate impact over the functioning of business. For instance, Mark Zuckerberg
works with equanimity. This quality has helped him develop strong bonds with his colleagues
and employees. He has never lost his patience or cool in any stressful situation. This quality has
10

helped him to imbibe motivation amongst people. Productivity is increased in this situation.
Moreover, this aspect of entrepreneurial personality reflects that mind-set of Mark Zuckerberg is
to develop a positive working atmosphere in the company (Hart and et. al., 2015). He wants to
differentiate his organisation from other normally functioning multinationals.
On the other hand, Bill Gates had a unique vision of transforming computer operations
and taking technology to a next level. He believes that five qualities are essentially important for
developing a successful business. These include timely negations, accepting criticism, optimistic
approach, fearless towards failures and focus. People often have extreme optimism towards
worst situations but fail when they face failures (The 5 Types of Entrepreneurs. 2017). This
implies that they lack confidence and courage while taking decisions. Hence, it is essential that
an entrepreneur must have these qualities for sustaining smooth flow of business processes.
The aforementioned qualities and attributes help in building motivation and clarity in the
minds of employees. Progress and development can be achieved only when there is motivation
amongst employees and their satisfaction levels are reached. It is important to note that
entrepreneurs can gain an understanding towards the problems and issues which occur with the
staff members only when there is effective communication. Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates
implied this fact into practical applications while developing strategies. Be it customers or
employees, they kept taking feedbacks on priority (How Bill Gates Became a Leadership
Legend. 2017). All the issues be it small or big are resolved with at most effectiveness.
There is a great impact of personality and the characteristic traits on the functioning of
business. The attitude leader portrays is accepted by employees in every situation but the impact
varies according to leader’s response. For instance, if a person is short tempered then he/she will
shout on his subordinates at every point and this depicts that people will get irritated and
annoyed. Overall motivation levels are disturbed and people are not able to produce effectiveness
in their work. Hence, it is important that entrepreneurs should be able to cope with different
stressful situations in an optimistic way and by providing a controlled approach (Gupta, Chiles
and McMullen, 2016). This shall help in enhancing the motivation levels in organisation.
11

TASK 4
P7) The impact of background and experiences
The journey towards successful business enterprise is full of different kinds of
experiences. All these help in generating learning which is further applied in taking future
decisions. Family backgrounds play a vital role in shaping the personality of an individual. It
becomes a socio-cultural factor that enhances or hinders the development of a person especially
when entrepreneurial activities are concerned (Baum, Frese and Baron, 2014). For instance, if
family is not supportive and there is continuous mental disturbances caused to a person’s
emotional status, then concentration over business decisions will be disturbed and hence,
effectiveness decreases. On the other hand, if family is supportive and strengthening the
background fosters entrepreneurship.
Business organisations cannot function effectively without teams. There is a great
influence of the entrepreneur’s work on the working of teams. Past experiences must be
considered as a source of learning instead of backing down from future decisions. When
individual doesn’t has any sort of positivity in his background, the number of demotivating
factors increases. This means that level of optimism decreases and the employee motivation is
affected. As a result, overall productivity of the company is affected (Carland and Carland,
2015). Hence, it is important for the entrepreneur to develop skills that will help in curbing the
demotivating factors and produce a positive approach towards the situation.
Experiences can be both positive and negative depending on the situation. Mark
Zuckerberg faced a lot of criticism during the initial years of Facebook. He has also faced a lot of
legal complications which led to judicial proceedings. But these experiences did not affect the
functioning of company. Despite of these facts, it led to more growth and development of
organisation. This implies that the personality of Mark Zuckerberg is full of optimism and
positivity. He has complete focus on the development and well-being of employees, clients and
customers rather than mourning on the losses that had occurred in past. Hence, it can be inferred
that experiences be it negative or positive foster entrepreneurship.
Apart from the leader or entrepreneur there are many more people who are engaged in the
development of an organisation (Drucker, 2014). These include senior managers, venture
capitalists or investors and financers, directors and the advisory boards. A person has to correlate
12

and coordinate activities and ideas of all these individuals so that mismanagement doesn’t take
place. The background and experiences teach a person the etiquettes and tactics which can be
utilised for developing relations and delegations. Hence, they help in fostering entrepreneurship
when taken in an optimistic way. Bill Gates has mentioned in many of his interviews that a
successful entrepreneur is one who has the ability to deal with all sorts of criticism and negative
comments gracefully (How Bill Gates Became a Leadership Legend. 2017). Henceforth, one has
to take the negative effects of his background and experiences in a positive way and utilise them
in building stronger organisational dynamics.
CONCLUSION
It requires great amount of hard work and dedication to make a business idea work in the
long run. In this report, the basic qualities which are required for becoming a successful
entrepreneur have been depicted. Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates are the best example to
understand the journey to successful entrepreneurial ventures. Brief discussion regarding
different types of entrepreneurial ventures and their relation with typology of entrepreneurship
has been provided in this report. Moreover, the basic differences and similarities which can be
identified in these ventures has also been depicted. This report has informative content regarding
the impact that occurs when small and micro businesses function in the country.
Economic growth is de-stabilised and disrupted when there is less number of micro and
small entrepreneurial ventures. These are significantly important for the growth and development
of the country and also for stabilising the growth post Brexit. This report also contains
information regarding the impact experiences and backgrounds can have in fostering or
hindering entrepreneurship. Apart from leadership, innovation is another aspect which is affected
due to these two attributes.
13

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bae, T. J. and et. al., 2014. The relationship between entrepreneurship education and
entrepreneurial intentions: A meta‐analytic review. Entrepreneurship Theory and
Practice. 38(2). pp.217-254.
Baum, J. R., Frese, M. and Baron, R. A., 2014. The psychology of entrepreneurship. Psychology
Press.
Carland, J. W. and Carland, J. C., 2015. A model of potential entrepreneurship: Profiles and
educational implications. Journal of Small Business Strategy. 8(1). pp.1-14.
Carraher, S. M. and Paridon, T. J., 2015. Entrepreneurship journal rankings across the
discipline. Journal of Small Business Strategy. 19(2). pp.89-98.
Drucker, P., 2014. Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge.
Glaeser, E. L., Kerr, S. P. and Kerr, W. R., 2015. Entrepreneurship and urban growth: An
empirical assessment with historical mines. Review of Economics and Statistics. 97(2).
pp.498-520.
Goffee, R. and Scase, R., 2015. Entrepreneurship in Europe (Routledge Revivals): The Social
Processes. Routledge.
Gupta, V. K., Chiles, T. H. and McMullen, J. S., 2016. A process perspective on evaluating and
conducting effectual entrepreneurship research. Academy of Management Review. 41(3).
pp.540-544.
Hart, M. and et. al., 2015. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor United Kingdom 2014 Monitoring
Report.
Kirzner, I. M., 2015. Competition and entrepreneurship. University of Chicago press.
Kuratko, D. F., 2016. Entrepreneurship: Theory, process, and practice. Cengage Learning.
Morris, M. H., 2015. Entrepreneurship as Experience. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management.
Naudé, W., 2013. Entrepreneurship and economic development: Theory, evidence and
policy. Browser Download This Paper.
Schaper, M. T. and et. al., 2014. Entrepreneurship and small business.
Singer, S., Amoros, J. E. and Arreola, D. M., 2015. Global entrepreneurship monitor 2014 global
report. Global Entrepreneurship Research Association, pp.1-116.
Online
How Bill Gates Became a Leadership Legend. 2017. [Online]. Available Through:<
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/250607>. [Accessed on 24th March, 2017].
14

The 5 Types of Entrepreneurs. 2017. [Online]. Available Through:<
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244210>. [Accessed on 24th March, 2017].
The importance of small businesses in the UK economy. 2015. [Online]. Available Through:<
http://smallbusiness.co.uk/the-importance-of-small-businesses-in-the-uk-economy-
2492626/>. [Accessed on 24th March, 2017].
What does Brexit mean for business funding in Wales?. 2017. [Online]. Available Through:<
https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2016/nov/11/what-brexit-mean-
business-funding-wales>. [Accessed on 24th March, 2017].
UK Small Business Statistics. 2017. [Online]. Available
Through:<https://www.fsb.org.uk/media-centre/small-business-statistics>. [Accessed on 27th
May, 2017].
15