Managing SMEs: A Reflective Journal on Entrepreneurship and Business

This document comprises a student's reflective journal entries on managing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The journal covers ten weeks of learning, delving into concepts such as entrepreneurship, innovation, risk management, and financial planning. Week 1 introduces the definition of SMEs and the characteristics of entrepreneurs, emphasizing innovation, uncertainty, and risk. Week 2 differentiates between innovation and invention, discussing strategies for SME growth. Week 3 explores the nature of small businesses, focusing on risk and uncertainty management. Week 4 examines assumptions made by small businesses, like profit maximization. Week 5 highlights the importance of business planning. Week 6 discusses strategies for monitoring performance and growth. Week 7 focuses on financial resource generation. Week 8 emphasizes the importance of innovation for small business success. Week 9 covers risk minimization and management in small businesses, and Week 10 summarizes the key learnings from the previous weeks, highlighting the differences between small and large business operations. The journal provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities in managing SMEs.

Managing Small and Medium
Sized Enterprises

Table of Contents
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ENTRIES.............................................................................................3
Week 1.........................................................................................................................................3
Week 2.........................................................................................................................................3
Week 3.........................................................................................................................................4
Week 4.........................................................................................................................................4
Week 5.........................................................................................................................................5
Week 6.........................................................................................................................................5
Week 7.........................................................................................................................................6
Week 8.........................................................................................................................................6
Week 9.........................................................................................................................................7
Week 10.......................................................................................................................................7

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ENTRIES
Week 1
In this week, I have learnt the concept of the entrepreneurship and SME which further help
me in identifying that in UK around 99.9% firms are SMEs. I have learnt that small and medium
business have less than 250 employees with the turnover of less than 50 million and balance
sheet total of less than 43 million. This helps me in identifying and selecting the SME such as
Verdant Leisure for my project. This week I have also learned the types and functions of the
entrepreneurs and how their personal vision and effective communication make them a perfect
and famous entrepreneur’s. This further help in writing the nature of the Verdant Leisure
entrepreneur and the start-up process of the SME. Along with that I have also learned the three
most important concept such as innovation, uncertainty and risk which further help me in
understanding that these words are the part of the SME entrepreneurs. They basically focus on
the change, opportunity and organization management to achieve the goals and objectives of the
business. I have also learnt the types of the entrepreneurship such as corporate, social and
international along with the factors which affects the growth of business.
Week 2
In second week, I am prompt to learn about the difference between the innovation and
invention and from where the good ideas come in the mind of the owner. I have learnt that
innovation are the new ideas and prototypes which are socially and commercially accepted. With
the help of this learning, I am able to understand and recommend innovation strategy to the
Verdant Leisure business in order to improve the quality of products and services. This also one
of the best ways for SME growth and development strategy. In this week, I have also learned the
Incremental and radical example of innovation of product and services or process which further
help me in identifying the current level of the SME of my project. I have learned the different
characteristics of new business ideas such as sustainability, high profit margin, not easily copied
by the competitors etc. This helps me in defining the source of the competitive advantage of the
Verdant Leisure company of my project. Not only that I have also identified the difference
between the large and small business in the term of employees, turnover and balance sheet total
and their impact over the innovation. It is because generally SME enjoy more benefits of
innovation as compared to large business.

Week 3
In this week, I am very excited to understand and learn the nature of small business and its
characteristics along with the concept of risk and uncertainty. This session helps me to
understand that the risk is always attached with the unplanned events while the uncertainty is the
result of the plan which are totally unknow to the businesses. For example, while doing my
project on SME I have found out that the continuously changes in the factors and uncertainty of
external business environment create risk for the company to lose the market. And at that time
the entrepreneurs tend to be more optimistic and adopt reactive and proactive strategy to identify
this uncertainty and the risk attached with it. This session has enhanced by critical thinking
power with the help of which I am able to identify the challenges of the SME for my project and
how it causes risk to the Verdant Leisure company. I have also learned the ways through which
the small business can reduce the uncertainty such as focusing on short-term survival rather than
long-term profitability. This further helps me in my project by recommending the ways to the
company for mitigating risk.
Week 4
The fourth week has helped me in learning the assumption which is taken by the small
businesses such as profit maximization objective, external constraints, main indicator of success
etc. This help me in taking the assumption while preparing the project on SME where Verdant
Leisure as a medium sized business has assumed its one of the objectives is profit making. Not
only that I have also analysed how the Verdant company uses various commercial marketing
determinants proactively to expand their business of bespoke holiday parks and self-catering
holiday service in various countryside locations. In this session, I have also learned that the small
business feels less law and regulation pressure as compared to the large business. I have also
identified and learned that the small business has lack of separation between the business and
owners because there are only one owner present. For the proper preparation of my project, this
session helps me a lot. It is because for explaining the Verdant current growth and development I
have uses the measure of success such as human, financial, social, natural and physical capital.

Week 5
In this week, I am prompt to learn about the concept of plans and planning because I have
learned that for business planning is most important because it provide road map and direction to
the organization. Planning the business is important because it work as an analytical and
communication tool with the help of which the company can achieve what ever they want to
achieve. For example, while preparing my project I have first identify the aims and objectives
which help me in tracking and managing my direction of the report. Basically, planning is a
guide to action with the help of which we can manage our whole work. Beside using this
learning in my current project, the planning concept will also use by me in my entire life because
it helps me in achieving my career goals and objectives. But in this session, I have also learned
the 10 reasons where the company need not to write any business plan. The business plan is
important to assess the banks from where the companies can acquire loan for the purpose of the
expansion. And for this the company also need to consult expert and best advisors.
Week 6
In this session, I have learned the different strategies which help the company in
monitoring their operational and financial performance. This also help me in learning the
different strategies of the growth and development along with the process and phases of the
growth such as financial, strategical, structural and organizational growth. This helps me while
preparing my project in identifying the growth challenge and recommending the best strategy to
cope with the challenge. The growth option such as market development, market penetration,
product and service development and diversification has been learned by me in this week with
the help of which I am able to analyse the real world personally. I have also learned the ratio
analysis in this week which basically not used under my project but will definitely help me in
analysing the financial performance of the business in future. I have also learned the meaning of
consolidation in this week which state that the maturation is the part of the growth which have to
be consider by the entrepreneur in order to take the key decision. I have also learned the way
through which the company can build success into the consolidation phase because success is
always based on promises for tomorrow.

Week 7
This week taught us the way company can generate its finances. This is significant factor
or area that needed to consider for the business unit to generate the financial resources in
business. In order to generate the financial resources business ventures can approach to different
banks, financial institutions, investors and other such funding options. The lectures has also
taught about the customer funding option. Agency theory and information asymmetry is also
learnt in the lecture. The agency theory clearly highlighted and guided about how the financers
approach to the new venture. The lecture note also identify the worry sign for the bank that are
frequent access, development of hard core borrowing, lack of financial information, ability of
business, inability to meet forecasts and continuous loss in business, decline profit margins and
rapidly decreasing sales of company. Early stage finance is also very significant in the funding
choices. This make it more significant for the finances of the firm that if the company or venture
capable enough to generate funds at a very early stage of business life cycle this would certainly
support and help the entity to make a business successful. Peer to peer lending is another key
option that certainly favour the business to generate effective funding in business.
Week 8
Entrepreneurship and small business houses are the backbone of the economic growth.
The professionals and intellectual have already motioned that in process to boost up and enhance
the economic growth this is significant to ensure that the small business houses and
entrepreneurs of the country are growing rapidly. The overall growth of the economy is
fundamentally based on the growth and development of small business house and entrepreneur.
The majority of time entrepreneur try to focus over innovation and some kind of technical
advancement in process to make a business successful;. This is an obviuous fact that small
business houses and the entrepreneurs face issues like lack of financial resources and stability.
This become necessary for the small business houses and entrepreneurs to give emphasis over
the innovatin and to create some new ideas so that immediate success could been achieve in the
business. Innovation and creative mindset become a key for the entrepreneur to address success
in the business idea they follow. With support of innovation and creative ideologies
entrepreneurs and small business hoses try to cater all the needs of the customer which already or
existing business houses found unable to deliver at the same time.

Week 9
We have already learnt the fact that risk has always been a part of business. Especially
for the small business houses and entrepreneur the risk is more significant is that this become
important for the small business ventures and entrepreneurs to minimise the risk involved under
the small business. This is a part of the small business and entrepreneur is that minimising risk
become crucial for the small business house as the financial resource at a small business venture
is already minimum in number. The fact that also influence is that the small business entire face
lack of separation from its original owners. The business owner contains keep on influencing
every single element or area of small business. This also certainly affects the business operations
of small business and the Enterpreneurship business. This is fundamentally important for the
business house the it can contribute in each direction so that overall growth of the business could
been finalised. We have also understood that management in small business is a key to entertain
the success in the business. This is important that the management at a small business house
should be in such way that risk of the business could be minimise and the potential operations
could been achieve the best level of growth and development.
Week 10
In this week we have covered all the learning identified from each individual eek. This week
was more like a recall sessions in respect tio the learning of each individual session. This is
equally important for the learner to also recall every learnig entertained from the each individual
session. Entrepreneurial and small business houses and their operations are different and
completely significant from the large business group. The difference is majorly based on the
financial resource and availability of different resources that create a different at a mass level.
This makes it more important for the small business house that this is so much needed to
effectively channelizes the entire campaign. This is so much essential that the small business
houses should look at each stage of business decision making in a best way possible. This is also
understood that this is important to utilise the financial resources but along with this it is equally
important to choose the right source of finance ad funding option. This make it more important
to choose the best possible source of finance so that company could face a less financial burden
in against to repay the original loan.

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