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Tag Archives: famous entrepreneur

Rise of Entrepreneurship

Thursday, December 18, 2008
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The word ‘entrepreneur’ was derived from French words ‘entre’, which stands for ‘between’ and ‘prendre’, which means ‘to take’. The word was originally tagged to people who take on risk between the buyers and sellers or start a new venture (Barringer and Ireland, 2006). However, in the contemporary business, the essence of the entrepreneurial behaviour is identifying opportunities and putting useful ideas into practice. Therefore entrepreneurship can be defined as the process by which individuals pursue opportunities without regards to resources they currently control (Barringer and Ireland, 2006, p5).

In recent times entrepreneurship has attracted a lot of attention and is seen as an attractive career path, which has resulted into a barrage of literature and research into the subject of entrepreneurial behaviour (Papers4you.com, 2006). This is evident in the fact that Amazon.com holds nearly 5,800 books that deal with one or the other aspect of entrepreneurial behaviour (Barringer and Ireland, 2006). However, most of the literature is repetitive in nature describing the same personal qualities of passion for business, tenacity despite failure, execution intelligence etc. This coupled with a flurry of women entrepreneurs like Anita Roddick of the Body shop sometimes ends in a debate about women being better equipped with the qualities of being an entrepreneur. On the other hand, it is increasingly becoming apparent that while opening a business is easy, the real challenge is to keep the business open. This is evident in recent statistics provided by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) suggesting that 20% of the new firms in the US failed in the first year itself (Barringer and Ireland, 2006).

However, the significance of entrepreneurial activities to economic development is immense as the fundamental requirement for an entrepreneurial start up is a new and innovative business idea (Papers4you.com, 2006). Schumpeter was the first one to recognise that new technologies and products developed by the entrepreneurs will over the time make current technologies obsolete, terming is as ‘creative destruction’ (Welsch, 2005). The whole entrepreneurial process goes through a few common steps vis-à-vis deciding to become an entrepreneur, developing a successful business idea by doing a feasibility analysis, industry analysis and coming up with an effective business model. After a business model has been drafted the next step would be to move from an idea to an entrepreneurial firm, which would include assembling firms initial management team, get a sound financial back and writing a business plan which would help draw the finances. The last and the final step would be to manage the firm to ensure sustained growth (Barringer and Ireland, 2006).

Entrepreneurship is hence a long journey through the steps mentioned above and requires skill and qualities to execute them successfully. However the belief that ‘entrepreneurs are born, not made’ is a myth and a through knowledge of the field would enable a smoother journey.

References

Barringer, B and Ireland, R. (2006). ‘Entrepreneurship: Successfully launching new ventures’. Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

Welsch, H. (2005). ‘Entrepreneurship: the war ahead’. Routledge, London.

Papers For You (2006) ” P/B/604. Theories on entrepreneurial behaviour”, Available from Papers4you.com [18/06/2006]

Papers For You (2006) ” P/B/423. What are the origins of entrepreneurial behaviour?”, Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtbus34.htm [17/06/2006]

About the Author: Copyright © 2006 Verena Veneeva. Professional Writer working for http://www.coursework4you.co.uk

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Colonel Sanders – Perseverance, Success & Entrepreneurship

Thursday, December 18, 2008
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Whether you like KFC or not, the story of Colonel Harland Sanders is truly amazing. This story is inspirational because it’s an example of how perseverance, dedication, and ambition along with hard work can create success; regardless of your age.

Humble Beginnings
Harland Sanders was born September 9, 1890 near Henryville, Indiana. His father died when he was just 6 years old, leaving him the man of the house with a mother and two younger siblings; a brother and a sister. He picked up the art of cooking very quickly and mastered many dishes by the age of 7. During his early years, Harland worked different odd jobs such as farm-hand, streetcar conductor, soldier, fireman, self-taught lawyer, insurance salesman, and steamboat operator.

Mastering Chicken
At the age of 40, he was cooking for travelers out of his service station. His cooking fame spread and soon there were huge lines for his food. Sanders then moved across the street to a motel/restaurant to service the high demand. During this time, Sanders had also been tinkering with his special herbs and spices to make the perfect fried chicken.Colonel Sanders in tradmark white suit

The Secret Ingredient
During his search to make the perfect chicken, he was approached by a pressure cooker salesman who convinced Sanders to invest in this product to quicken his cooking process. He ended up investing in 12 pressure cookers. Somewhere around this time, Sanders also ended up reaching his trademark 11 herbs and spices.

Some say that his 11th secret herb/spice was nothing more than regular sea salt. Whatever it was, it worked and sold a lot of chicken. In 1935, Sanders was made into an honorary Colonel by the governor of Kentucky for his cooking skills.

Forced Retirment
Fast forward to 1950. The Colonel is 60 years old and has to shut down his restaurant business because a new highway was being built where his restaurant was located. Colonel Sanders decided to retire and lived off of $105 in the form of social security checks. Not wanting to accept this as his fate, he decided to franchise his chicken at the age of 65.

The Comeback – Relentless Perseverance
He started travelling by car to different restaurants and cooked his fried chicken on the spot for restaurant owners. If the owner liked the chicken, they would enter into a handshake agreement to sell the Colonel’s chicken. Legend has it that Colonel Sanders heard 1009 “no’s” before he heard his first “yes”.

Ok, let me repeat that.

He was turned down one-thousand and nine times before his chicken was accepted once!

Colonel in front of his first KFC store The deal was that for each piece of chicken the restaurant sold, Sanders would receive a nickel. The restaurant would receive packets of Colonel’s secret herbs and spices in order to avoid them knowing the recipe. By 1964, Colonel Sanders had 600 franchises selling his trademark chicken. At this time, he sold his company for $2 million dollars but remained as a spokesperson. In 1976, the Colonel was ranked as the world’s second most recognizable celebrity.

The Legacy
Fast forward to today. KFC is one of the largest fast food franchises in the world. Over the years, the company has been owned by RJ Reynolds (now Reynolds American; NYSE: RAI), Pepsico (NYSE: PEP), and is currently under Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM). Yum Brands family also includes Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silvers, and A&W Restaurants. This brand is the largest restaurant operator in the world in terms of units.Yum Brands – A&W, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, & Long John Silvers
It’s amazing how the man started at the age of 65, when most retire, and built a global empire out of fried chicken.

Now… I’m hungry.

About the Author
The Million Dollar Idea – Deepak




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Stop Wishing & Start Doing

Thursday, December 18, 2008

There is an opportunity at the end of this article for you to share your thoughts and comments.

Do you wish you had more money, wish to win the lottery, wish for business success, wish for … insert dream here.

If you spend all your time wishing, you won’t realize the results you are seeking. To get success or to achieve the things you are looking for, you need to dig deeper.

In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill says: “Wishing will not bring riches. But desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring riches.”

This is a powerful statement. Read it again and think about what he is saying. How many people do we know wish for riches and success but do nothing to achieve it. That statement synthesizes all the elements you need to gain the riches you desire. Not only does it cover the desire (why), but putting the steps in place to get where you are heading.

It’s hard to get anywhere without a plan, and a plan is what will keep you moving toward that goal much more rapidly than some abstract wish.

I think this is the greatest and overlooked element of a home business … planning. So many people start out in business with a vague goal (which you can translated into a wish). This new business will get them to that goal … ie staying home with the kids or quitting a job. They have a vague idea of what they want but no plan to handle obstacles … and certainly not a plan that does not “recognize failure.”

What do I mean by that. Many people start in business assuming that if they do one thing, the money will start rolling in. And, unless it is some get rich quick scheme, it won’t work. At the first sign of disappointment or failure, they give up and their dreams gather dust on the shelf.

By building a plan that acknowledges there will be tough times and more importantly, has a plan to address it, has a greater chance of success. You need to address contingencies … how you will overcome challenges, and I would argue it includes a list of coaches and mentors you can call for help and support.

While we are all independent business people, we are not in business alone. Robert Kiyosaki says investing is a team sport. He’s right. You need a strong team around you to be able to succeed. You team should be made up of professionals but also mentors and coaches who can provide you with guidance and support as you grow … both personally and in business.

So, if you’re now ready, start writing. Put a plan on paper that outlines how you are going to build your business and what you are going to do and invest each and every day to get there. Write it down and refer back to it regularly to readjust or change elements in the plan to reflect current situation.

With this plan, success is not a wish, it can be a reality.

About the Author
Jennifer Lavoie is a home-based business coach and published author. Using Robert Kiyosaki’s teaching, she helping others to build passive income businesses and retire early and free. http://www.retirefree.ws


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