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CHAPTER 2: Opportunity Seeking

Objectives:
1. Know what is opportunity seeking
2. Identify the Market Source of Opportunities

Opportunity Seeking
Entrepreneurs are innovative opportunity seekers. They have endless
curiosity to discover new or different ideas and see whether these ideas will work
in the marketplace. This is what separates entrepreneurs from the ordinary
businessman whose main objective is simply to earn profits from producing,
buying, and selling goods.
Entrepreneurial Mind Frame, Heart Flame, and Gut game
The entrepreneur mind frame allows the entrepreneur to see things in a very
positive and optimistic light in the midst of crisis or difficult situation.
If there is one of commonality between an inventor and an
entrepreneur , it is their surging passion or the entrepreneurial heart frame.

The final ingredients is the entrepreneurial gut games. The refers to the ability of
the entrepreneur to sense without using the five senses.
The Money Sources of Opportunities
There are many to uncover or discover opportunities. Some have to do with looking
at the big picture and noticing emerging trends and patterns. Other have to do with finding
out what specific customers segments are being targeted in the marketplace. Still, others
come from new technologies and new knowledge.
Macro Environmental Sources of Opportunities
The macro environment refers to the “big or macro forces” that affect the area, the
industry, and the market which the enterprise belong to. They influence how business
should be conducted, how consumers will behave, how supply and demand will move,
how different competitors would position themselves, and how the cost of doing business
will proceed.
1. Socio-Cultural Environment
The socio-cultural environment includes the demographics
and cultural dimensions that govern the relevant entrepreneurial
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endeavor. Taking this aspect into consideration help the entrepreneur

assess the trends and dynamics of the bigger consumer population, their
beliefs, tastes, customs, and tradition.
2. Political Environment
The political environment defines the governance
system of the country or the local area of business. It
includes all the all, rules, and regulations that govern
business practices as well as the permits, approval, and
licenses necessary to operate the business.
3. Economic Environment
Supply and demand force mainly drive the macro-economic
environment .There are the same factors that the interest and
foreign exchange rates that with the movement of the market forces.
In many country, the income levels and the purchasing power of its
people as well as the competitiveness (or un competitiveness) of its
industry and enterprises are source of opportunities.
4. Ecological Environment
The ecological environment includes all natural
resources and the ecosystem, habitat of men, animals,
plants, and minerals. There is a growing awareness in the
world today that will make this factor more and more
important for counties, industries, and business.
5. Technological Environment
New scientific and technological discoveries which often lead to
the launch and commercialization of new products with superior
attributes or to rendering the old ones obsolete, are the entrepreneur’s
nightmare. In such cases, the entrepreneur is left with no choice but
to invest in new technologies in order to keep up with competition.

Example of Relevant Opportunities and Threats to a Fast Food Chain

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Factors Opportunities to the Threats to the Enterprise

Enterprise
Social
 Increasing  Increased customer
double income in base for the fast food
the family(i.e., chain
mother and  More healthy product
father are both offering are
working) demanded by
 Trends toward customers.
healthier food
choices
Political
 Tax exemption  Increased purchasing
for 13th month power of the
pay and other consumers leading to
bonuses up to higher retail sales.
₱70,000.00
passed by
Congrats.
Economics
 ASEAN  Opportunities the  Smallest suppliers
Integration in enterprise to equal to difficulty coping
2015 (countries other ASEAN with greater
start belong to markets competition by
ASEAN trading foreign
at new tariff)
Ecological
 Increased usage
of eco bags

Industry Source of Opportunities

After a macro environment the next biggest source of opportunities are the industry
and the market. One of the most difficult aspect about industry analysis is defining what
constitutes industry in the first place.
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Market Source of Opportunities

The entrepreneur must also be able to measure the actual demand and supply as
well as the potential demand and supply of the industry that the enterprise belong to.
Equally important is the monitoring of the prevalence of product substitutes and their
market impact of the existing players in the industry.
Micro-market
Micro market refers to the specific target market segment of the particular
enterprise. These are the target customers that represent the immediately customers of
an enterprise, meaning those who are currently buying the goods or service offered by
the enterprise and its direct competitors. It likewise pertains to a clearly defined location
or specific customer group that an enterprise wishes to serve.
Consumer Preferences, piques, and Perceptions
Consumer references, piques, and perceptions can be source of opportunities.
Consumer preference refers to the tastes of particular groups of people. Some
example are the clothes people wear, the food they eat, the music they listen to, and the
movies they watch.
Other Sources of Opportunities
As an opportunity seeker, the entrepreneur will surely discover other sources of
opportunities. Unexpected successes (or failures) can lead to good opportunities.
Another potential source of the opportunity is the entrepreneur’s own set of skills or
expertise, or hobby. New knowledge as well as new technology can be source of highly
innovative opportunities.
1. Costumer preferences change over time
Ex: The prevalence of sugar free product is now becoming the new normal,
particularly to product that used to be sugar full like soft drinks and desserts. Cola
manufacturers have long introduced their respective sugar free cola drinks.
2. People’s tastes in clothes, music,shoes, entertainment, dance, sport,
hobbies and even careers have evolved over the years.
Ex; The 1980s could be best described as the era that gave birth to music
television or MTV.
3. What piques customers is a great source of opportunities
Ex; Government related service are now made more available to the public
because they have opened up satellite office in major malls,.
4. Before the Customers is won over, there is first a battle for the mind. Next,
there is a battle for the heart. Finally, there battle for the wallet.
Ex; When the new smartphone came out, customers were being convinced by the
different competitors on what was the best choice to make.
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5. The longer the customers want to use the product, the greater the chances
of creating lasting loyalty.
Ex: among Filipinos, there is this old adage of “nakasanayan na” (got used to it)
especially when it comes to loyalty to certain products.
6. Opportunities abound in shaping consumer perceptions or occupying
spaces in their minds or place in their heart that have not yet been filled.
Ex: a television commercial of a supplementary drink for diabetic instills fear od
death in the mind and heart of its potential consumers.
7. New invention, new system and work processes , new insight about the
human psyche, new application for old knowledge, new revelations about
how the physical world works, new interpretation, new combination based
on the convergence of previous technologies, new outlooks about how life
should be lead, and a host of other new things are tremendous sources of
opportunities.
Ex; Due to the advancement of technology applied to the medical field, opem
surgery has become a thing of the past when removing smaller cysts or tumors.
8. Determining Personal preference and competencies lay the foundation for a
new business venture.
Ex: The mushrooming of culinary school indicates the booming interest of student
in pursuing their love for cooking and baking.
9. Unexpected occurrences in both the external and internal environment of the
enterprise indicate that significant changes are happening and opportunities
are sprouting.
Ex: Who would have thought that videos taken by closed-circuit televisions (CCTV)
would make waves in the news headlines as one of the best evidence in a crime?

Please refer to the link below For further Examples of opportunity seeking, screening and
seizing:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV1eYQj4e7k

Please refer to the link below For further discussion of feasibility study:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI6_snOjlm0

Reference:
www.rexpublishing.com.ph
Entrepreneurship by Dr. Eduardo A. Morato Jr.