Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal: Personal Journey Reflection

This journal assignment, a reflection on strategic entrepreneurship, begins with a self-assessment of the student's entrepreneurial traits based on the GET2 results, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and risk tendencies. The student then analyzes an inspiring entrepreneur, Dick Smith, examining his leadership style and business ventures, including Dick Smith Electronics and Dick Smith Foods. The journal delves into the history of Dick Smith Holdings, exploring its business model and eventual closure, followed by an analysis of open business models, SWOT analysis, and the application of the Blue Ocean Strategy to improve the company's performance. The final section reflects on the knowledge gained about entrepreneurship, innovation, and their significance in the economy, emphasizing the interconnectedness of innovation and entrepreneurship for successful business projects. Appendices include figures and references to support the analysis.

Strategic Entrepreneurship
Student’s Name:
Student’s ID:

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Table of Contents
The Journal - The Personal Journey............................................................................................................2
First Personal Journal Entry Set...............................................................................................................2
Second Personal Journal Entry Set..........................................................................................................2
Third Personal Journal Entry Set.............................................................................................................3
Forth Personal Journal Entry Set.............................................................................................................4
Fifth Personal Journal Entry Set (Reflective Overview)..........................................................................5
References...................................................................................................................................................7
Appendices..................................................................................................................................................8

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The Journal - The Personal Journey
First Personal Journal Entry Set
1. My medium need for achievement shows that I am less driven than most of the enterprising
persons. I am good at offering a balance between the high autonomous, distinctive and team-
oriented employees. I could show a good balance between the need to idea creation and the
need to achieve success by following these ideas. I have a low tendency to take a risk and is
comfortable in the existing business strategy. I have a low locus of control which means that
I have doubts about several personal capabilities.
2. I have some strengths of the entrepreneurship which means that I have some features of the
entrepreneur and have the capability to set up the ventures in particular contexts and
situations from time to time.
3. I am Hipster the idea creator as I have the tendency to establish small businesses or work in
businesses where my entrepreneurship skills could be utilized through my entrepreneurial
ideas. It is on the basis of the GET2 results.
Second Personal Journal Entry Set
1. The entrepreneur who inspires me is Richard Harold Smith or Dick Smith. His father was a
salesperson and an executive of a bookstore at Angus & Robertson. His mother was a
housewife and his grandfather was a photographer. Smith was weak in his studies and have a
speech defect. He had studied in Roseville Public School and later studied at North Sydney
Technical High School. Dick Smith Electronics, Dick Smith Foods, and Australian
Geographic were founded by him. The firm of media production Smith & Nasht was founded
by him with the aim of movie production on the topic of global issues. He had adopted and
followed the six-step method CASHED for efficient leadership and engagement of the staffs.
C stands for communication to clear the misunderstandings, A stands for advice and no
assumptions for knowing everything, S stands for simplicity, H stands for honesty, E stands
for enthusiasm to do the works and D stands for discipline for hard work. Smith has
described that the implementation of this method is important as some might give wrong
advice. He also said that it is vital for the workers to have an ownership sense in the process

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of engagement and motivation and contribution as a part of larger business planning
(Höglund, Holmgren Caicedo & Mårtensson, 2018).
2. Dick Smith is an Australian pilot, filmmaker, explorer, entrepreneur, editor and famous for
his aviation adventures. He might have limited education in schools and high school, but his
curiosity and innovativeness turned him as a success and survival stories of Australia. In the
year 1968, when he founded Dick Smith Electronics, his outstanding entrepreneurial talents
had first made an appearance. In the year 1982 when he sold his company, he was already a
household name and his company was a leading company in the market of small electric
materials from calculators to computers. Smith became the most generous persons of
Australia as a philanthropist when he made donation of $1 million to the Smith Family
charity. He bought The Australian Encyclopedia in the year 1987. He started a new firm,
Dick Smith Foods, in the year 1999 which aims at distributing Australian-made products by
Australian-owned firms and supported the local charitable groups. He and his wife had
donated $1 million to the Scouts Australia, in December 2008 with the aim of utilizing that
money for encouraging the responsible and young people. All these qualities of Dick Smith
inspired me chose him as my ideal entrepreneur.
Third Personal Journal Entry Set
1. The Dick Smith Holdings Limited or the Dick Smith, Dick Smith Electronics or DSE)
was a wholesale stores chain in Australia which sells consumer electric materials,
hobbyist electric items, and electronic project equipment. It had extended successfully in
New Zealand and unsuccessfully in many other nations. Dick Smith founded this firm in
Sydney in the year 1968 and it was owned by him and his wife till they sold 60% of the
firm’s shares to Woolworths Limited in the year 1980. The rest 40% was sold after two
years. The firm had closed in the year 2016 after Anchorage Capital Partners acquired it
for many years. He had introduced the business in the year 1968, in small premises of a
car parking with $15 rent in the city of Sydney in Neutral Bay with AU$610. At first, the
business had concentrated on installing and servicing car radios. In the year 1969, the
success of the business led to the need of bigger premises. It was first shifted to Atkinson
Street, St Leonards and afterward to Carlotta Street, Artarmon with their branded store
near the Pacific Highway, Gore Hill. The firm began to expand by the end of the year
1970. In the year 1980, 20 stores were more developed and Smith and his wife sold 60%

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of the shares to Woolworth Ltd. The rest 40% was sold to Woolworth in the year 1982. In
the year 2008, after the review of Woolworths on the division of consumer electric items,
Dick Smith Electronics modernized its leading store in Hornsby, New South Wales,
under the brand of Dick Smith Technology. In the month of 31st January of the year
2012, Woolworths had declared that it would shut down 100 stores of Dick Smith
business and sold the firm to Australian company of investment Anchorage Capital
Partners in the month of September in the year 2012 in $20 million. In the month of
January of 2016, the shares value of Dick Smith Holding had fallen by more than 80%
(Michael, Storey & Thomas, 2017). After failing to get any buyer for their stores, it was
declared that the all the 363 stores of DSE in the city of Australia and New Zealand will
be shut down with 2460 employees will lose their jobs. It was finally shut down on 3rd
May in the year 2016.
2. My reason to choose this company is that the firm still has a general reputation, although
the firm had closed at present. Dick Smith was a reputed leader. The company and its
leaders used to admire the initiatives of other firms like their campaigns for marketing,
engagement with the society and the training programs. This firm used to offer good
career strategy and growth to attract the best skills of the market.
Forth Personal Journal Entry Set
1. Open Business Model utilizes external resources, research information, growth, and
commercial processes. But, with the rise in competition, technical reduction and life
cycles of the products, rising technology, the complexity of the products and high
uncertainty level had made Dick Smith Holdings depend on the external resources for
creating and adopting value (Hitt & Duane Ireland, 2017). The advantages of this model
are that lessens the commercial cost, fastens the business growth, shares the risks with
other companies, forms steady values for them and connects with the collective values.
The disadvantages of this model are that it misreads the possible influence from the
external factors, leakage of important resources and skills, higher costs of transactions
and negative forces.
2. Strengths
 The DSE had a strong name of their brand

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 It had the big store network for the consumer electronics with almost 400 stores in
New Zealand and Australia.
Weaknesses
 The company only concentrated on the sale of computers and electronic goods.
 DSE was only limited in local areas of Australia and New Zealand.
Opportunities
 The business in Australia and New Zealand gave opportunities to Dick Smith to
access the world market.
 The demand for electronics goods was increased by technological developments.
Threats
 The demand for the electronics goods had changed from due to a change in
generations.
 The cost of rents of the old and new stores had increased due to rise rising
competition.
3. The Blue Ocean Strategy is the planning of marketing that is adapted to decrease the
expenses and open the path to new markets and builds new demand. It is all about
forming and capturing the new markets and creating an inappropriate competition. The
Blue Ocean Strategy is applied to those companies that do not exist at present. In this
strategy, demand is made instead of fighting for the demands. It provides several
development opportunities which are both fast and profitable. By this strategy, it is
possible to improve the business model that was adopted by DSE. The Open Business
Model of DSE could be improved by adopting the Multisided Platforms Model. This
model helps to attract more than one set of clients and also generate adequate capital to
attract and provide service to all the clients at the same time.
Fifth Personal Journal Entry Set (Reflective Overview)
1. I had gained knowledge about the significance of entrepreneurship and innovation for
creating a healthy and strong economy. I had also realized the main concepts and theories
of the entrepreneurship. In today's world, entrepreneurship is important for economic

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growth. The development of the industries, regions and the employees relies on the
growth of the entrepreneurship. I had learned that the entrepreneurship and innovation are
interconnected with each other, which provides many opportunities to the entrepreneurs.
2. I had noticed the changes that entrepreneurship and innovation are important components
for creating successful business projects. The innovation constantly develops and
improves the enterprise with new or better goods or services, more effectively or
enhancing the business models. The entrepreneurs are capable of changing it in
innovation from invention.

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References
Hitt, M., & Duane Ireland, R. (2017). The intersection of entrepreneurship and strategic
management research. The Blackwell handbook of entrepreneurship, 45-63.
Höglund, L., Holmgren Caicedo, M., & Mårtensson, M. (2018). A balance of strategic
management and entrepreneurship practices—the renewal journey of the Swedish Public
Employment Service. Financial Accountability & Management, 34(4), 354-366.
Meyer, G. D., Neck, H. M., & Meeks, M. D. (2017). The entrepreneurship‐strategic management
interface. Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset, 17-44.
Michael, S., Storey, D., & Thomas, H. (2017). Discovery and coordination in strategic
management and entrepreneurship. Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset,
45-65.

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Appendices

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Figure 1: Analysis of Dick Smith Holdings
(Source: Meyer, Neck & Meeks, 2017)