International Entrepreneurship Module Reflective Essay

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REFLECTIVE ESSAY

Table of Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................3
2.0 BUSINESS MODEL.....................................................................................................................3
3.0 TEAM....................................................................................................................................... 4
4.0 MARKET STRATEGY..................................................................................................................5
5.0 REFLECTION AND SELF ANALYSIS.............................................................................................6
6.0 CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................... 8
7.0 REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................9
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
International entrepreneurship is an effort to discover, evaluate and exploit the opportunities
available across the borders. By perusing this module, I got an experience of the business
development process and the challenges that come across while setting an international
business. The key to create a sustainable business is to form a team of talented individuals with
similar passion and goals and use the best in class technology to reduce the cost of operations
and ensure the reach to a large number of customers. This module focused on an international
business venture named Discounted parcel Services (DPS). This business idea makes a
combination between the retail customers, travellers and the traditional courier service
providing companies to make a system in which the travellers may carry the courier along with
their baggage to deliver it to an international location. While developing this business idea, we
worked as a team to plan different human resource, operation, finance and marketing related
functions to carry on the project and I learned some useful skills such as better negotiation,
creativity, risk-taking, team-work and interpersonal communication.
2.0 BUSINESS MODEL
In the current international entrepreneurship model, we were addressing an excellent
entrepreneurial opportunity of an international courier service. The business idea clicked to all
of us because there are no cheap alternatives for the customers seeking to transport their
baggage in international locations. At present, there are mainly three or four large companies
dominating the international courier space and there is certainly a chance for a new
entrepreneurial venture which can devise a low-cost model for the retail customers.
We realized that reducing the effective cost of the courier charges will be the unique selling
proposition of this new business. By brainstorming on a number of ideas we finalised a business
model in which the travellers will be used to carry the couriers along with their baggage and the
local courier services will also be included in the supply chain so that they can deliver these
packages from ports and airports to the retail delivery points. To make a negotiation with the
local courier services, I personally held meetings with these local courier services and explained
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to them the whole business idea. During this task, I learned how to effectively communicate
with the people and negotiate on price-related issues so that the cost-effectiveness of the
business can be maintained (Brewer and Holmes, 2016). I also realised that it is necessary to
document the whole business idea and present that idea in an interesting manner so that more
and more people can be associated with the business.
Initially, the focus was on addressing the needs of the local customers in search of an
appropriate courier service which can help them parcel their belongings in a cost-effective way,
later we realized that the business model has an opportunity in the international market so we
decided to plan the operations on a global level. The customer, first of all, will visit the website
of the company and register itself for the service. Whenever the service is required the
customer can send the shipping item to the local facilitation centre. From the facilitation
centre, this baggage is delivered to the traveller who gets an opportunity to check the parcel
before accepting. The traveller then takes this baggage on the flight as his personal baggage
and delivers it to the local facilitation provider outside the airport (Chong et al., 2012). After
due inspection, the package is delivered to the desired address by the local courier services.
While developing this whole idea, we had to use our creative and analytical abilities to suggest
the most feasible steps for the delivery chain. The development of the software which regularly
provides the updates to the customer about the current location of the parcel was also a
challenging task but with the team effort, we managed to develop this business model
successfully.
3.0 TEAM
I am very satisfied with the team effort that we put to get things done. The thought process of
all the team members matched perfectly and this is the reason we were able to conduct
interactive business sessions without any outside support. As the business model extensively
uses software and internet related technology, we decided that we need to hire experts in the
field of information technology so that they can design best software solutions based on our
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requirements and make sure that the systems are providing hassle-free access to the different
parties associated with the business (Capozzi, et al., 2011).
We hired experts in website design and internet marketing solutions so that best-in-class
mobile apps and websites can be designed. In addition, a team of business development
managers was also hired which will handle the network of local courier companies. It also
included a marketing manager to manage the brand awareness. Some other team members for
the finance and operations department were also hired. While looking through a range of
candidates I learned that the best candidates are those talented individuals who are compatible
according to the mission and vision of the company. I also learned that a larger pool of
candidate provides a variety of option to choose from and hire the best candidate for the team.
I noticed that a hassle-free technology to connect the traveller and the local courier services is
the key to business success. The team members worked day and night to develop software
which is capable of providing a seamless online market place to the courier companies and give
tough companies to the bigger courier companies. We decided that the website should have an
additional feature of comparing the prices of big courier companies with our small start-up.
Developing the online profile of the company is necessary to tap the needs of the growing
internet savvy generation.
4.0 MARKET STRATEGY
We decided to focus the market strategies in the three key areas which were shippers,
travellers and local courier service providers. The shippers need to be mobilised through social
media campaigns so that they can become aware of the services provided by the company. I
believe that our business model is highly based on the internet, mobile phone and computers
and therefore it is necessary to focus on these online channels so that the targeted customers
can be reached easily. Local courier agencies also play a crucial role in the successful delivery of
baggage. Collaboration with the major local courier company is planned so that they can be
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convinced to provide the services at minimum possible cost. While working on this strategy we
also planned on the expenses which will be required for developing the IT infrastructure. It was
calculated that the initial investment in App development Facebook advertising and domain
and server charges for a website will cost around 10,000 GBP and we can get the support from
some venture capitalist as we are the first movers in this field.
Through this module, I learned that a business not only needs to plan internal factors such as
human resource, finance and marketing but it also has to plan about several external factors
such as competition. For this purpose, we conducted market research and explored different
business ventures with a similar business profile. In this research, we discovered that
Manyship.com and tiny carrier.com are some of the companies which are in direct competition
with our business. Some indirect competition is also offered by local courier outlets which are
providing these services at the exceptionally low process. Some big players like DHL are also
working on a similar idea but we have an advantage of the first mover (Lee, 2010).
We planned for other strategies for the business such as a permanent IT partner which will help
us on daily issues related to the IT support and up-gradation. The legal issues related to the new
business also need to be planned in advance so that the business stays up-to-date on all these
issues. While making the strategy for the business, I was given the responsibility to finalize the
right marketing strategy for the business. I started a Facebook campaign for the business which
needs to be updated regularly with the new content. Writing the content for these social media
platforms I improved my writing skills which will help me excel further in the carrier.
5.0 REFLECTION AND SELF ANALYSIS
Through this module, I learned the practical elements which are necessary for running a
business. Overall, I have a feeling that I have developed my interpersonal and creative skills by
brainstorming on a number of ideas and negotiating the business terms with a number of
business partners. In this journey, I also came across with my weaknesses but the good thing
was that I was ready to learn from my mistakes and used this as an opportunity to enhance my
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current knowledge base. The process of reflection further helped me develop my personal and
professional skills and find better ways to achieve a goal.
Undertaking this entrepreneurial activity, I learned to understand the business environment
and the process of making entrepreneurial networks to simplify various business processes and
ensure effective collaboration between different stakeholders of the business. I not only
learned about the business process, but I also learned about ‘myself' as this module gave me an
opportunity to reflect upon my capabilities and learn new skills which are necessary to run a
business successfully. This module also came up as a nice opportunity to improve my
communication skills (Ryan, 2011). Prior to this module, I was not comfortable talking with the
strangers or addressing a set of audience but while developing the idea for the new business
we need to communicate with different business people and give a presentation about the
business ideas which helped me improve my public speaking skills. As we gave a presentation in
groups my fellow team members gave me feedbacks about my weak areas and I further
improved my communication skills.
As a team the coordination between all the members was excellent, at some points he has
differences in opinion but we resolved these differences by the means of thoughtful
discussions. Some of the team members have good planning skills while some were good at
negotiation; we managed different tasks by balancing the skills of different team members and
doing the task as a team rather individual. Brainstorming session held in between was a great
source of ideas for us. Different ideas from the team members help in understanding a different
point of views on a problem. While deciding the appropriate social media platform to market
the services for the business, the team members who were very active on the social media gave
some useful inputs which helped us select the right social media platform for advertising the
business offerings (Lee, 2010). The ability to take risk is a part of any business. While working in
the team, I realised that the ability to take risk increases while working in a team. Facing the
risks of the business together and building on each other’s skills were the best experiences of
working in a team.
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6.0 CONCLUSION
The primary lesson I learned from this module is to maintain enthusiasm throughout the
project. At the initial stage, the team members stay motivated because of the excitement and
faith in the idea but gradually this excitement starts fading and the person starts feeling
disheartened with the range of challenges coming in the way. At such times, it is necessary to
be determined towards achieving the long term goals of the team and do not set back by the
initial difficulties. In the current business scenario, the focus should be on using digital
technology in an innovative way to create new business opportunities. This business module
gave me a range of experiences and lessons which will be helpful for me when I will set a
business venture of my own. I realised that during this project, my ability to work in a team and
understand the point of view of the people who do not have the same thought process as mine
is enhanced after working on this project.
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7.0 REFERENCES
1. Brewer, E.C. and Holmes, T.L., 2016. Better communication= better teams: a
communication exercise to improve team performance. IEEE Transactions on
Professional Communication, 59(3), pp.288-298.
2. Capozzi, M.M., Dye, R. and Howe, A., 2011. Sparking creativity in teams: An executive’s
guide. McKinsey Quarterly, 2.
3. Chong, D.S., van Eerde, W., Rutte, C.G. and Chai, K.H., 2012. Bringing employees closer:
the effect of proximity on communication when teams function under time pressure.
Journal of Product Innovation Management, 29(2), pp.205-215.
4. Lee, L., 2010. Fostering reflective writing and interactive exchange through blogging in
an advanced language course. ReCALL, 22(2), pp.212-227.
5. Ryan, M., 2011. Improving reflective writing in higher education: A social semiotic
perspective. Teaching in Higher Education, 16(1), pp.99-111.
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