ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES: Comprehensive Report, 2024

This comprehensive report delves into the multifaceted world of entrepreneurship and small businesses. It begins by exploring various entrepreneurial ventures, differentiating between small businesses and entrepreneurial ventures, and analyzing their similarities and differences. The report investigates the diverse range of entrepreneurial ventures in both the public and corporate sectors, providing examples like 3M and W.L. Gore. It examines the scope, development, and growth of entrepreneurial ventures, highlighting the management methods and challenges faced by business owners. The report further analyzes the importance of small and start-up businesses to the social economy, presenting data on their impact on employment and turnover in the UK. Finally, the report determines the characteristic traits and skills of successful entrepreneurs, contrasting them with other business managers, and examining how background and experience can influence entrepreneurial motivation and mindset, using examples of Bill Gates and Henry Ford.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES 1
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES
Name of student
Name of institution
Name of instructor
Course code
Date

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES 2
Table of Contents
TASK 1......................................................................................................................................2
Entrepreneurship ventures in relation to the typology...........................................................2
Differences and similarities between entrepreneurial ventures..............................................3
Investigate a diverse range of entrepreneurial ventures to demonstrate an understanding of
entrepreneurship in both public and corporate sectors...........................................................4
Critically examine the scope, development and growth of entrepreneurial ventures.............5
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................6
TASK 2......................................................................................................................................7
Interpretation and analysis of data..........................................................................................7
Importance of small and start-up businesses to the social economy......................................8
The differences to the economy made by small, medium and large businesses....................8
Local, regional, national and international impact of small businesses.................................8
TASK 3....................................................................................................................................10
Determine the characteristic traits and skills of successful entrepreneurs that differentiate
them from other business managers.....................................................................................10
Characteristics of an entrepreneur........................................................................................10
Assess and analyse how aspects of the entrepreneurial personality reflect entrepreneurial
motivation and mindset........................................................................................................13
Examine, using relevant examples from the case study, how background and experience
can hinder or foster entrepreneurship...................................................................................14

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES 3
Analyse the link between entrepreneurial characteristics and the influence of personal
background and experience to specific successful entrepreneurs. Critically evaluate how
the background and experience influence entrepreneurs, both positively and negatively.
Illustrate your answer by comparing and contrasting examples that you have researched
independently from the case study.......................................................................................15
Bill Gates..........................................................................................................................15
Henry Ford........................................................................................................................16
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................17

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES 4
TASK 1
Entrepreneurship ventures in relation to the typology
The continued development in entrepreneurship has resulted in an increase in the attention to
starting own businesses. More people now prefer starting own businesses than seeking
employment opportunities. The skills and motivations possessed by the entrepreneurs result
in the different types of business ventures. The reason for the different ventures arises from
the different behaviour portrayed by the entrepreneurs based on the different skills and
motivations (McCabe, 2017).
The entrepreneurial ventures that exist include the small business venture, which refers to an
independently owned entrepreneurial operation, which does not engage in new innovative
ideas. Additionally, the business does not dominate the field of operations. The business
allows other businesses to lead in the market with technological and market advances. The
business prefers to operate using the usual proven methods while encouraging little and
necessary improvements in operations (Rajesh K. Singh, 2010). The small business type
investors relate to the push type of entrepreneurship, which is characterised by less product
differentiation, a small market scope and high emphasis on minimising expenditures. The
characteristics result in the business not exploiting new opportunities to prevent high
expenses, which the entrepreneurs do not wish to incur. The small business entrepreneur
lacks the motivation to increase the size of operations and the number of customers when
compared to entrepreneurial ventures (Mi, 2013).
The other business venture is the entrepreneurial venture, which aims at making profit, and
growth using innovations. The business exploits gaps and resources in the market to ensure

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES 5
continued growth and development. Entrepreneurial ventures stand out in the market when
compared to the small business ventures. The business venture falls under the new craftsman
typology due to the emphasis on winning large customer numbers and increasing operations.
The ventures have many employees who serve the needs of customers with the aim of
increasing the size of operations. Moreover, the new craftsman entrepreneurs have more
starting capitals since the businesses usually embrace high technology and emphasise on
serving large markets (Nanda, 2014).
Differences and similarities between entrepreneurial ventures
Entrepreneurship ventures have various differences arising from the characteristics of the
owners and the nature of the venture. The differences help in distinguishing the various
ventures and choosing the best alternative to pursue. The differences include such as the
levels of risk experienced by the ventures (Suranovic, 2010). The entrepreneurship venture
managers face more risk of failure than small business managers. Therefore, the
entrepreneurs recognise and accept the fact that the business may fail which leads to loss of
money and time invested in the company. On the other hand, the small business managers
also face risk but to a lesser extent since the attainment of positive cash flows and constant
revenues means less risk. The risk reduces since the businesses do not wish to increase
operations or try out innovations and marketing strategies (Hill, 2018).
Additional differences arise from the skill set possessed by the different business owners. The
entrepreneurs have a unique vision that helps in identifying the current and future customer
needs. The investors’ design products to suit customer needs and involve in innovations to
solve future market demands (Monanghan, 2011). Additionally, the entrepreneurs emphasise
on developing strategies than fulfilling routine tasks that maintain the organisations status
quo. On the other hand, the small business managers do not need to have the predictive skills
since the organisations do not intend to change in the future. The reason for not requiring the

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES 6
predictive skill is that the organisation does not concentrate on fulfilling future customer
demands or adopting innovations. Moreover, the managers focus most on administration
ensuring the fulfilment of routine activities in time and budget (Mi, 2013).
Furthermore, the ventures differ in terms of the working environment since the
entrepreneurship adapts the creator’s personality while the small businesses focus on
organisation and efficiency. The entrepreneurship experiences many ideas flowing, high
energy levels and excitement (Grunig, 2013). However, the small businesses adopt a relaxed
approach that intends to maintain efficiency and organisation.
However, the ventures have a similarity, which is pursuing success such as earning profits,
having a large market share and mitigating risk of failure. The ventures start to achieve
various objectives such as earning a profit or filling a gap in the market. Therefore, the
owners work hard to achieve the set objectives while checking for potential risk, which could
cause failure (Giovani J.C, 2010).
Investigate a diverse range of entrepreneurial ventures to demonstrate an understanding of
entrepreneurship in both public and corporate sectors
The corporate sector entrepreneurship refers to businesses that make part of the economy and
aims at making profit with the operations. Corporate sector businesses are owned and run by
individuals while public sector businesses belong to the government. (Silvestro, 2010).
The 3M Company gives a good example of an entrepreneurial venture, which is in the public
sector. The business is famous for products such as sandpaper and masking tapes. 3M is a
public sector business because of the sale of shares in the public stock exchange with
Vanguard group holding a majority of the shares (Sprinthall, 2011).
Additionally, a good entrepreneur venture found in the corporate field is W.L. Gore. The
company specialises in fabric developed from copied fluoropolymers. The business is
privately owned and does not sell shares in the public stock exchange. The company

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES 7
personnel usually dedicate 10% of the business time to think of new ideas and operational
innovations (Nanda, 2014).
The entrepreneurship venture owners do not directly handle the business clients. The owners
play the role of innovators to produce goods and services that satisfy the customers in the
targeted markets. The business personnel also get ample time to innovate and come up with
new ideas, which the business supports (William Stallings, 2012).
Small businesses also exist as both corporate and public businesses. The small businesses
grow and develop to become public companies when the owners sell shares to the public
through the stock exchange. For example, when a business sells more than half of the shares
to the public or the government, then the business becomes a public entity. On the other hand,
the business also maintains the private status when the business does not trade shares to the
public. The small businesses operate as corporates due to the lack of registration with the
national stock exchange where the public subscribes the shares. Therefore, the owner
continues enjoying total control and ownership over the business (Williamson, 2013).
Critically examine the scope, development and growth of entrepreneurial ventures
The owners of the business ventures have unique methods of managing the operations to
ensure success. The methods of management usually arise from the natural characteristics
and skill of the owners. Additionally, the aim of the businesses also calls for specific
management approaches, which the business owners adapt (Shafer, 2013).
Entrepreneurial ventures help to grow and develop the business and to stay at the top of
competition at all times while serving a large market. The entrepreneurial ventures do not
fear external threats due to the possession of innovation ability, which enables staying above
competitors’. Therefore, the ventures allocate the employees ample time to produce
innovative ideas relevant to the business operations. The innovators stay relevant to the
business due to the powerful vision of the company, which requires new ideas to achieve.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES 8
The businesses have experienced success and growth due to the application of innovation and
allowing the employees to apply creativity in the daily operations.
The small business usually depends on the owners to grow and operate successfully. Since
the businesses are sole proprietors of family owned, then the owners cater for all the
expenses. However, the business owners understand and appreciate the risk presented by
operating in the small business market. Additionally, the small businesses require that the
owners deal with the competition in the market. The businesses face stiff competition and
rely on the owner to come up with strategies to beat the competition and survive in the long-
term. The small businesses beat the competition by buying other competing organisations in
the same market. The employees follow the guidelines set by the owner in the
accomplishment of tasks. Therefore, the employees lack much space for innovation, which
means that the business does not experience many new ideas (Hill, 2018).
Conclusion
The business owners should focus on the success of the business by applying innovation and
predicting changes in the market to satisfy customer needs. Additionally, the entrepreneurs
should develop the necessary skills required in the running of the businesses. However, the
businesses should acknowledge competition and come up with innovations, which beat
competitors and maintain the customers.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES 9
TASK 2
Interpretation and analysis of data
UK small businesses have thrived over the years with the economy experiencing an increase
in the start-up ventures. In the year 2017, UK had a record of 5.7 million privately owned
businesses, which increased in the year 2016 to 2.2 million. Additionally, the number of
businesses that had employed persons increased by 41000 and the non-employing businesses
added by 155000 in the period between 2016 and 2018. Therefore, UK’s economy has seen a
growth in the success of small and micro businesses over the three-year period, which has
improved the country’s economy (Rhodes, 2017).
The UK defines a small business as that having less than 250 employees working in the
various sectors. Micro-businesses operate with a number of employees ranging from 0-9. The
micro-businesses added to 5.4 million, which accounts for 96% of the ventures (Rhodes,
2017).
The small businesses have influenced the economy through the creation of employment and
increasing the turnover. The micro businesses have employed 8790 persons in the period of
three years, which accounts for 33% of the country’s total employment. Additionally, the
small businesses have increased the employment by 4% having employed 4059 persons over
the three-year period. The medium-sized businesses have also contributed to employment
with 3297 persons, which accounts for 1% of the country’s total population. The provision of
employment opportunities helps in the growth of UK’s economy (Rhodes, 2017).
Moreover, the businesses have resulted in an increase in the UK’s turnover. The micro
businesses accounted for an increase, in turn, over by 824 billion while small businesses have
resulted in a 540 billion increase and medium businesses have accounted for 541 billion turn

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES 10
over. Therefore, the businesses have played a role in the increase of revenues earned by the
government and the country’s GDP (Rhodes, 2017).
Importance of small and start-up businesses to the social economy
The small and start-up businesses play an important role in the social economy. Therefore,
one cannot ignore the impact of small businesses on the economy. The small businesses
provide additional employment opportunities in the economy. Studies on the social economy
show that the small businesses account for more than 5.6% of the country’s employment
(Taylor, 2015).
Moreover, the small and start-up businesses generate revenue for the economy. The small
businesses contribute to the growth of the economy through payment of taxes to the
government. Additionally, the businesses also result in a rise of the GDP through the money
goods and services produces and the revenues generated by the ventures (Taylor, 2015).
The differences to the economy made by small, medium and large businesses
The businesses result in an improvement in the economy by solving economic problems and
adding to the revenues. The businesses result in the increase in levels of employment in the
country, which solves the problem of unemployment. The government recognises the impact
of business and therefore supports ventures with incentives such as tax holidays and subsidies
(Cherry, 2017).
Furthermore, the businesses increase the revenues collected by the UK government. The
government collects funds from other revenue sources and adds to the revenue generated
from the businesses. Therefore, the revenue collected from businesses result in amounts of
revenues, which the government could not reach if the businesses did not exist (Cherry,
2017).

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES 11
Local, regional, national and international impact of small businesses
Small businesses influence the local economies by improving the way of lives of the people.
When a business is opened within an area, the people get more product varieties to purchase.
Additionally, the small businesses offer employment opportunities to local talents. The
businesses also benefit the local economies through the development of infrastructure such as
roads and communication (Lucas Matejovsky, 2014).
Furthermore, small businesses influence regional economies through providing self-
employment (Lucas Matejovsky, 2014). Self-employment determines the levels of regional
development due to the reduction of unemployment and increase in revenues. Therefore,
small businesses influence the regions by improving the living standards and increasing the
financial ability of individuals.
Moreover, the small businesses influence the national economy by increasing the gross
domestic product and the revenues from taxes. The GDP increases due to the goods and
services produced by the small businesses. Additionally, the small businesses pay taxes to the
government, which increases the revenues collected from the economy (Lucas Matejovsky,
2014).
The small businesses influence the international economy through linkages with other
countries, introducing new products and increase the amounts of exports and imports. The
linkages arise from businesses relations with sellers and buyers from other countries. The
businesses also import and import products, which raises the international economy (Lucas
Matejovsky, 2014).

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES 12
TASK 3
Determine the characteristic traits and skills of successful entrepreneurs that differentiate
them from other business managers.
Entrepreneurs have certain qualities and skills, which guarantee success in leadership, and
business management. The confident entrepreneurs have high self-esteem and search for
lasting solutions to risk and possibility of failure. The entrepreneurs know how to attain
knowledge and education from various institutions while persevering difficulties faced in
commerce. The entrepreneurs aim at achieving success in business operations, which calls for
passion and hard work despite the challenges faced when starting the business (Brown,
2008).
Characteristics of an entrepreneur
Entrepreneurs have discipline and organisation in the business operations to achieve success.
The businesspersons follow strict timelines in the accomplishment of tasks and duties, which
ensure the success of the business. Additionally, the entrepreneurs invest in personal ideas,
which change how the market for certain products is viewed. For example, Steph Croft-
Simon introduced new organic popcorns to the market where customers were used to
popcorns made with artificial flavours (Flynn, 2011).