Questions and Answers of Entrepreneurial Small Business

2. What is the primary target market segment for the Red Dress Collection, and how will Moran make this clear to her audience? Would offering several lines of clothing be cost-beneficial for this
3. What solutions would you suggest for his three problems?A student at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln (UNL), Michael Cain, built a loft for his dorm room bed.Others asked him to build one for
2. What parts of the plan should he make sure are included?A student at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln (UNL), Michael Cain, built a loft for his dorm room bed.Others asked him to build one for
1. If he was going to build a business plan to present to the university administrators, what type of plan should he develop (following the types mentioned in Table 8.3)?A student at the University
Business Plan Archives See if you can find a plan for your business at one of the business plan archive sites, because there is no shortage of business plans available for review on the Internet. For
Evaluating a Business Plan The goal of this exercise is to help you get used to scoring business plans the way bankers and investors do in the real world. Most financial professionals have checklists
9. What can you do to make the business plan easy to read and understand?
8. Passion is clearly important in the business plan presentation.How can you display your passion for the business during the presentation?
7. For a business plan being put together by a student in his late teens or early 20s, what are the most likely risks?
6. Students know people, including some who might invest in your business. What kind of business plan (e.g., informational, screening, key employee, full) would you give to other students?
5. What are the differences in a business plan for a start-up pizza business and for an existing pizza business?
4. What is the most important part of a business plan in general?Considering the way you plan to use your business plan, what will be the most important part of it?
3. You are going to attend an after-work gathering sponsored by your local chamber of commerce. Which of the types of short business plan presentations (vision statement, mission statement, elevator
2. Imagine you were presenting your plan to a consultant who specializes in your industry. Your goal is to get her help. Using the ideas in Table 8.1, what kinds of issues do you think would be of
1. What are the reasons to write a business plan?
9. In the life cycle of an industry, how can you tell when it has left the introductory stage and entered the growth stage?
8. What is the competitive advantage of a business, and how does it lead to success?
7. Small businesses that pursue a cost (or cost focus) strategy often do so by using a location in a very low-rent district, with the store itself made up of used furniture, no decorations, and a
6. How does the SWOT analysis relate to the selection of a strategic direction of the business?
5. Pick a small business with which all of the class is familiar. Discuss what are the customer benefits that business is trying to offer. Could they do a better job if they chose some other benefit?
4. What are the differences between innovative and imitative strategies? Which is more likely to be something a small business can pursue?
3. Imagine you have developed a new two-way GPS system for trucks and their dispatchers. Trucking companies are all over the country. So are you looking at a mass market? Why or why not?
2. A lot of famous entrepreneurs brag how innovative their product is, when it is fundamentally like the competition, although better in one way or another. How do you classify such entrepreneurs in
1. The book asserts “All strategy starts with the owner.” Many of the gurus of strategy say strategy starts with the environment outside the firm. Which do you think is true? Be ready to back it
4. Think of the life cycle of an industry. Give examples of industries that are at the different stages, and be ready to defend your classification.
3. Pick five online businesses in the same industry. From their Web sites, see if you can identify what they think is their competitive advantage. Do you agree with their assessment? Why or why not?
2. Look at local hamburger restaurants. How do they pursue imitative strategies, and where do they offer their innovations?
1. Go to the Online Learning Center and look for the Skill Module,“How to Generate Local Statistics from National Ones.”Develop a set of statistical estimates for an industry in your area. If the
3. What would you recommend to Tim to solve his problems?Tim Hayden’s eyes kept getting drawn back to his SWOT analysis. On the left side, his product SkyBOX had great strengths. It was a hardened
Using Porter’s five threats, which types of threat has Tim noticed so far? Are any of the other Porter threats relevant? Why?Tim Hayden’s eyes kept getting drawn back to his SWOT analysis. On the
Using the flaunt, fight, fix, flee, find, fire-up model, which strategic suggestion best fits VividSky’s situation?Tim Hayden’s eyes kept getting drawn back to his SWOT analysis. On the left
7. Based on the information you developed, you have decided that the maximum value of the KinderKare including the building and lot is $350,000. You have $35,000 that you inherited from your favorite
6. After discussing the KinderKare purchase with your banker, you decide to make a determined effort to purchase the business. To make a good decision, what information must you have, and how will
5. One evening when you went to pick up your child at the KinderKare, the owner mentioned to you that she would like to sell the business. You have always wanted to run a day care facility and would
4. Suppose that you have developed an idea for a new business service. You have limited capital and you do not want to drop out of college. How might you successfully start up a new business using
3. Suppose you had arranged enough capital so that you could either buy into an existing Outback Steak House or could start your own independent steak house restaurant. What are the advantages and
2. If you were able to enter into any small business that you desired, what things would you look for in the business?
1. What is the best way to get into business? Why do you think so?
3. Visit the Small Business Administration Web site franchising page at http:///www.sba.gov/starting_business/startup/franchise.html . Using the links on that site, find a franchise business that you
2. Find out how the owner of the business where you are employed got into business.
1. Using the resources of your library, find the name and address of an active business broker in your area. Arrange an interview with the broker. Write a report detailing what methods the broker
What information should Gwendolyn obtain before making a decision to purchase the business?Gwendolyn Bonnefille, a single mother, is barely scraping by. Although she earns a fair salary working in
Suppose that the income statement is reasonably accurate. What do you think about the purchase price?Gwendolyn Bonnefille, a single mother, is barely scraping by. Although she earns a fair salary
What do you think about Sly’s explanation of the differences between his income statement and his 1040 Schedule C?Gwendolyn Bonnefille, a single mother, is barely scraping by. Although she earns a
Tim felt he needed to go full time to take the SkyBOX “to the next level.” Can you think of ways he could have continued building up the SkyBOX while sticking with a part-time approach? What
Why would Tim’s employers’ plan to change business directions make becoming a full-time entrepreneur more attractive?In the four years since missing St. Louis Cardinal Mark McGwire’s 70 th home
Tim had concentrated on mastering the business and technology angles of the SkyBOX, but was slightly taken aback when asked about how his personal life would change if he went into entrepreneurship
People talk about entrepreneurs depending on luck. Tim saw Terry Loebel only that one time.Their conversation was one of the factors leading Tim to decide to go full time with Vivid Sky and the
5. Create a to-do list for the upcoming week using the technique described in the chapter. Prioritize your tasks using the 1-2-3 method, and use the list for a week. Ask yourself if you felt having
4. Create your own first-pass customer base. List family members;friends; people you know from religious, fraternal, civic, and school organizations; and people who provide you goods and services.
3. Research pricing your product or service electronically. Go to eBay.com (if you are selling a product) or eLance.com (if you are selling a service), and enter the term for your product or service.
Check the kind of licensing you need for a part-time business in your state. Go to www.business.gov and click on “Register, Licenses & Permits.” Type in your business’s zip code or city and
Search for art fairs in your area using Google maps. In the search box type “art fair” (leave off the quotes when you type)and the city and state you are checking on. When you look at the
Of the two ethical problems prevalent to part-time small businesses(moonlighting and aggrandizing), which do you think is the biggest problem for entrepreneurs? Why?
What kinds of tasks do small businesses most often outsource?Why do you think they are popular tasks to give to others?
When managing your time using a to-do list, how do you go about prioritizing the list? Why?
What are the differences between party and door-to-door retailing?
How would you use multichannel marketing to promote your part-time businesses? If you had to use one of the nonfree approaches, which would you choose and why?
If you were going to start a home-based consulting business in a dorm room what do you think would be the greatest challenge to face? What about if you were starting the same business from home?
What are the three situations in which it might make more sense to go into business part time rather than full time?
How do you think Wolf and her staff continue to identify new opportunities for AltiTUNES?Amy Nye Wolf had completed a backpacking tour across Europe in the mid-1980s when she saw a store selling
What innovations did Wolf add to AltiTUNES to make her idea unique?Amy Nye Wolf had completed a backpacking tour across Europe in the mid-1980s when she saw a store selling music at London’s
What did she copy from the store in Heathrow?Amy Nye Wolf had completed a backpacking tour across Europe in the mid-1980s when she saw a store selling music at London’s Heathrow Airport. Wolf
How did she evaluate whether it was a good opportunity or not?Amy Nye Wolf had completed a backpacking tour across Europe in the mid-1980s when she saw a store selling music at London’s Heathrow
How did Amy Nye Wolf discover her business opportunity?Amy Nye Wolf had completed a backpacking tour across Europe in the mid-1980s when she saw a store selling music at London’s Heathrow Airport.
Pick a business idea and research its industry and market.What did you learn? What are some creative questions you might ask about contemporary trends in this business? How could you find out the
Keep a journal in which you can record your ideas as they come. Sometimes we get breakthrough ideas while our brain is incubating as we sleep. By the time we wake up in the morning we have lost them,
Next time you are working on a problem or looking for new ideas (your major in college? Where to move on campus? What do to this weekend?), go to a museum, a park, or anywhere outside the ordinary
2. List 15 new uses for a popular product or service. Try paper clips, or coffee mugs, or home delivery. Use SCAMPER to generate new uses and make connections to other uses.
1. As you go on errands or walk around your campus, notice all the things that you could improve. Make a list of things that frustrate you or things that could be made even better. Does your list
8. How can entrepreneurs ensure that their business stays innovative and fresh? Why do you think some small businesses lose their creative edge as the business grows?
7. What should a good feasibility study contain? What questions can it help you answer to determine if your business idea is a sound one?
6. What are the differences between imitation, incremental, and radical innovation strategies? How can you assess which one is right for your business?
5. What should you watch out for as you are searching for new opportunities?
3. How can entrepreneurs evaluate the merit of a new idea?
At his death, Washington’s distillery was the largest in the United States. Did this make Washington a high-growth entrepreneur or a small business owner? Why?When he stepped off the podium in
Washington’s farm was operating even as he got the distillery off the ground. What kind of problems could that raise for the ex-president?When he stepped off the podium in front of Federal Hall in
What advantages would George Washington bring to James Anderson’s idea for a Virginia distillery?When he stepped off the podium in front of Federal Hall in New York City on March 4, 1797, George
4. Select a local family business owner or female or minority entrepreneur whom you admire, and research the person’s business and professional background. Interview this person if possible. What
3. Pick small businesses with which others in the class are familiar and analyze what level of professionalization they display. Be ready to explain the basis for your classification.
2. Which entrepreneurial competencies do you possess? Be ready to provide examples and explain why you made these choices.You can use the result of Skill Module 3.1 to aid you in this.
1. Which of the entrepreneurial personality types fits you the best? Be ready to explain why.
8. What makes the situation of late career entrepreneurs problematic?What can they do to smooth their way?
7. What is the major challenge facing women- and minorityowned firms? How can this be solved?
6. What are the strengths and weaknesses of a team?
5. When does it make sense to create a business using a minimalized approach to professionalization? Why is that so?
4. Could someone with good industry-specific knowledge but low competency in basic business skills be successful as an entrepreneur in that industry? Why or why not?
3. An entrepreneur started a business from scratch and grew it to a multimillion-dollar operation. After about 10 years he sold his business and bought a boat in order to take a round-the-world
2. Why is it important to recognize that there is more than one type of entrepreneurial personality?
1. What are the different types of entrepreneurial personality?
2. Did your group members help you think about aspects of the decision you didn’t think of yourself?How might you change your ethical decision-making process because of what your group said?You
1. How did your individual answers differ from your group’s answers? Were your answers generally the ones the group decided to adopt? Why or why not?You have recently been hired as the purchasing
6. Defend the course of action you’ve decided to take to a small group of your classmates.You have recently been hired as the purchasing manager at CDI Electronics, a small electronics research
5. Using Figure 2.4, recommend your “best” ethical course of action, and see if it passes any or all of the four ethical tests. What do the four tests tell you about your possible decision?You
4. The case tells you some of the obvious solutions or courses of action. What are some of the creative solutions you can come up with?You have recently been hired as the purchasing manager at CDI
3. What do the four questions defining a moral problem (page 43) tell you?You have recently been hired as the purchasing manager at CDI Electronics, a small electronics research firm. You’ve been
2. Is this a situation that matters in the short term or the long term? Why?You have recently been hired as the purchasing manager at CDI Electronics, a small electronics research firm. You’ve been
1. What is the important decision you’re faced with, and why is it an ethical dilemma?You have recently been hired as the purchasing manager at CDI Electronics, a small electronics research firm.
As a small business owner, what can I do to prevent unethical behavior?
How might I use this self-understanding in the future if I own my own or manage a small business?

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