Short quiz 1

Time’s
10 5
minutes minutes

Up!!!
The Skills & Core
Competencies of an
Entrepreneur
Little-Known Facts About Famous Entrepreneurs
• Bill Gates, Microsoft Innovator

• If Bill Gates drops a thousand

dollar bill, it's not financially
worth it for him to pick it up.
Why? Because he's already made
that much in the four seconds it
takes to bend over.
• Harland "Colonel" Sanders,
KFC

• Another great example of

perseverance, Colonel Sanders
had trouble getting his famous
chicken just right. The secret
recipe was rejected over 1,000
times before a restaurant finally
added it to the menu.
• Soichiro Honda, Honda
Founder

• Before founding his automotive

company, Soichiro Honda
actually applied for an engineer
position at Toyota Motor
Corporation. He stayed
unemployed for a long time
before starting his own business.
• Kim Kardashian, Pop Culture
Icon

• Before she was the queen of

selfies, Kim Kardashian
mastered the art of eBay selling.
She once purchased seven pairs
of Timberland boots for $700,
then sold them for $2,500. Do
you think she did duck face out
of pure satisfaction?
 • SKILLS

• considered as the personal ability to do things

well.
 The Sources of Skills
Skills

Knowledge Experience Aptitude

 Knowledge
You need knowledge in several areas when starting or
running a business. For instance:

• Business Knowledge

• Entrepreneurial Knowledge

• Opportunity-Specific Knowledge

• Venture-Specific Knowledge
 Aptitude
•
61% of founders are heart driven

• 25% of survey sample is Luck-dominant

• 70% of entrepreneurs did not start with a formal

business plan

• 65% of founders had a childhood entrepreneurial

venture
 Experience
Three types of pre-launch experience that helped them succeed:

• they had worked in the same industry as their new business,

• they had worked in a related industry, or

• they were serious and frequent users of the products.

 Entrepreneurial Skills
• refers to the set of cognitive, technical and
interpersonal skills required in the
practice of Entrepreneurship
 Cognitive Skills
• The brain is the center of
cognitive skills.
(understand, learn and
apply new information,
solve, create, innovate)
 Problem Solving Skills
1. Defining the real problem
2. Gathering information about the problem
3. Formulating alternative solutions
4. Evaluating alternative solutions
5. Selecting and implementing the optimal
solution
6. Evaluating the decision
 Defining the real problem
• This step is critical to the whole process of
solving business problems
• The real problem must be correctly
identified
Gathering information about the
problem
• The information must be timely, relevant
and reliable
 Formulating and evaluating alternative
solutions
In this step, the following must be
quantified:
• Effect on the business in general
• Effect on the work force
• Effect on the suppliers and utility
 Formulating and evaluating alternative
solutions (continued)
• Effect on the end users and prospective
consumers
• Effect on the future operation of the business
• Effect on the other departments
• Financial implications
 Technical Skills
• Information technology
• Feasibility and business plan preparation
• Technical writing skills
• Marketing
• Management and finance
Interpersonal Skills
• Verbal communication
• Non-verbal
communication
• Listening skills
• Leadership skills
• Skills in negotiating
What does it mean to be competent?
 The Entrepreneurial Competency
Core Competencies

Entrepreneurial Entrepreneurial Entrepreneuria

concepts & character l
principles traits skills
 The Entrepreneurial
Competency as Source of
Competitive Advantage
 What is competitive advantage?
• Refers to the strategic position and condition of the entrepreneurial
venture that

• 1. provides necessary attributes to outperform competitors,

• 2. distinguishes the venture competitor

• 3. achieves superior performance in the industry, and

• 4. produces a product or develops production methods that can hardly be

copied by competitors.