1.

ENREPRENEURSHIP CULTURE IN KENYA

Introduction

An entrepreneurship culture is a system of shared values , beliefs and

norms of members of an organization or community .It includes:
Valuing creativity and tolerance of creative people, believing that
innovating and seizing market opportunities are appropriate behaviors
to deal with the problem of survival and prosperity environmental
uncertainity and competitors, threats and expected community and
organizational members and to behave accordingly.
An entrepreneurial culture will lead to the growth of trade and industry
Entepreneurial cultural practice in kenya
The cultural practices of entrepreneurs varies from country to country
depending on
 The material resources
 The industrial climate
 The social and political system
The developed regions especially kenya due to policing of funds lacks
silled labour
Existence of minimum social and economic overheads to curb
emergencies of innovative entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs does not emerge out of industrial background with
developed institutions to support and encourage it.
Kenya has immitators entrepreneurs lacking enough innovators unlike
other countries like South Africa.
Steps towards promoting entrepreneurship by the government
1.Increase small scale industrial sector
There are small cottage industries e.g the Tabaka soapstone.they have
increased and the government is developing schemes to help
entrepreneurs
2.Increase investment in service sectors by increasing investment in
quality service especially in the
 Transport sector
 Repair service
 Entertainment sector
 Hospitality sector
3.Increased in rural entrepreneurship development promoting rural
entrepreneurship by
 Promoting agro exports e.g eggs,meat e.t.c
 Develop of brick making.
4. Promoting women entrepreneurs
 Encoring women to a variety of ventures
 Education programmes
Other steps
1.Through educational development in institution government
participation would greately promote entrepreneurship
2.Introduction of the study of entrepreneurship as a core subject in not
only in universities but also in tertiary institutions.
3.Taxi holidays for initial periods of 5 to 10 years of a new venture.
4.Help by the government organizations which have facilitated building
new infrastructure e.g roads,loans,training institutions etc
2.BUSINESS IDEAS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Business idea; A business idea is a concept that can be used for
financial gain that is usually centered on a product or service that can
be offered for money. An idea is the first milestone in the process of
building a successful business
Ways of generating business ideas
 You need a great ideal when to start new business.
 Business ideas need to respond to market needs.
 Business ideas need to respond to changing consumer needs and
wants
 Business ideas helps entrepreneurs stay ahead of competition
Sources of business ideas

a) Surveys.
Business ideas can be generated from market surveys indicating or
showing which sector is viable or possibly void of products. People can
check the market to come out with appropriate conclusions on which
sectors are not flooded or occupied.

b) Training.
Business ideas can be acquired through training individuals where they
are equipped with necessary skills and knowledge from schools and
such other institutions of training.

c) Experience.
An idea can also be generated from experience. Experience in itself
comes from constant touch on a particular aspect. For instance, an
individual might have an experience in accounting through his or her
occasional involvement with accounting issues.

d) Hobbies.
Hobbies are what one is fond of doing most of his or her time. At least
each and every one finds something interesting and comfortable doing
every time. Well, that might be a source of a business idea.

e) Talents.
A business idea can also come from individual talents. You are best in
what you are talented in and this might form a good base for starting a
business if you spot an idea in that area. For instance, if you are
talented to play football, you might spot an idea in supplying football
kits to customers in the market.

f) Strengths of an individual.
An individual's strength can also serve as a source of idea which is
tuned to an idea for carrying out business. For instance, if you have a
particular strength in helping out clients through consultations, that
could form a base to start a business.

g) Market gaps (niche)

Spotting a gap in the market can also form an idea. A market gap in this
business.
Ways of generating business ideas
1. Become inquisitive
Start being interested and involved in what is going on around the
world. Find 30 minutes a day to read popular blogs, news portals, or
watch hot news.
2. Focus on problems
Successful business ideas solve real problems.
Learn about the problems people face in daily life. Talk with family and
friends about their problems at work, in sport, with clothing, food, etc.
Think about your own problems and difficulties. Is everything perfect in
your life? Probably there are things you would love to improve or
change. Think about it.
3. Explore
Web surfing can be a great way to have fun and get some cool ideas.
Visit popular entertaining websites, question and answer platforms,
popular forums and learn social media trends and what people are
talking about. What are some hot topics of discussions and popular
shared posts on social networks? It can be a good source of ideas.
4. Travel more
Travelling is one of the most excited and effective ways to get inspired
and generate ideas for business. Visit different countries, meet new
people, learn about cultures and spend time sightseeing. It is like a
breath of fresh air in daily life.
Make traveling be a part of your regular lifestyle. Set a plan, for
example, to visit one new city or country every month. You will see how
much creativity it will evoke in you.
5. Build your network
Building a good network will give you an opportunity to switch from
working hard to working smart. Connecting with professionals in the
sphere of your business niche can bring not only an understanding of
the highest customers’ needs but can help you to get tons of smart
advice from influencers and top leaders.
6.Stay relaxed but focused
When you feel that you need to generate business name ideas as soon
as possible and start putting all your efforts into this process, you can
hardly create something really successful.
Just try to relax, have more rest and sleep well. But always be attentive
to what is happening around you.
Try to do the following: Perceive every event happening with you as a
sign. Stay focused and write down what is happening – anything
interesting or strange that came up to your mind during the day.
Practice it for a week or so and then analyze everything you wrote
down. Combine different thoughts and ideas and see if they can help
you with your future product or service development

7. Analyze old ideas

Why invent something new if you can use already tested and working
ideas.
Analyze more deeply the ideas that have already been implemented.
Think about the opportunities to change and improve them

Business opportunities; This is an attractive idea which provides the

possibility of a return for the entrepreneur taking the risk.Such
opportunities are presented by the customer requirements and lead to
provision of a product or a service which creates or adds to the values
of buyers or end users.

A good business opportunity must be capable to meet the following;

 Real demand; i.e it should respond to unsatisfied needs or

requirements of customers who have ability to purchase and are
willing to exercise that choice.
 Return on investment; provide timely durable and acceptable
returns or rewards for the risk and effort required
 Competitive;-equal or better-from the viewpoint of the customers
than other available products and services
 Meet objectives; Meet the goal and aspirations of the person
taking the risk
 Available resources an competencies; be within the reach of
entrepreneur in terms of resources, competency ,legal
requirements etc
Qualities of a good business opportunity
A good business opportunity should possess the following qualities:
a. Legality-capable of operating within the law
 b. Growth-have potential to grow
c. Uniqueness- stand out in the industry/market
d. Marketability- should appeal to the intended market
e. Competitiveness-be ahead of peers
f. Financial feasibility-within economic means of the entrepreneur
g. Social acceptability-within acceptable norms of the society
h. Operational feasibility-easy to implement

3.BUSINESS LIFE CYCLE

The business life cycle is the progression of a business in phases over
time and is most commonly divided into five stages: launch, growth,
shake-out, maturity, and decline. The cycle is shown on a graph with
the horizontal axis as time and the vertical axis as dollars or various
financial metrics. In this article, we will use three financial metrics to
describe the status of each business life cycle phase, including sales
,frofits and cash flow
Stages of business life cycle
Phase1:Launch
During the launch phase, sales are low but slowly (and hopefully
steadily) increasing. Businesses focus on marketing to their target
consumer segments by advertising their comparative advantages and
value propositions. However, as revenue is low and initial startup costs
are high, businesses are prone to incur losses in this phase
Phase 2:Growth
In the growth phase, companies experience rapid sales growth. As sales
increase rapidly, businesses start seeing profit once they pass the
break-even point. However, as the profit cycle still lags behind the sales
cycle, the profit level is not as high as sales. Finally, the cash flow during
the growth phase becomes positive, representing an excess cash
inflow.
Phase 3:Shake out
During the shake-out phase, sales continue to increase, but at a slower
rate, usually due to either approaching market saturation or the entry
of new competitors in market. Sales peak during the shake-out phase.
Although sales continue to increase, profit starts to decrease in the
shake-out phase. This growth in sales and decline in profit represents a
significant increase in costs. Lastly, cash flow increases and exceeds
profit.
Phase 4:Marturity

When the business matures, sales begin to decrease slowly. Profit

margins get thinner, while cash flow stays relatively stagnant. As firms
approach maturity, major capital spending is largely behind the
business, and therefore cash generation is higher than the profit on the
income statement.

However, it’s important to note that many businesses extend their

business life cycle during this phase by reinventing themselves and
investing in new technologies and emerging markets. This allows
companies to reposition themselves in their dynamic industries and
refresh their growth in the marketplace.

Phase 5:Decline

In the final stage of the business life cycle, sales, profit, and cash flow
all decline. During this phase, companies accept their failure to extend
their business life cycle by adapting to the changing business
environment. Firms lose their competitive advantages and finally exit
the market.

4.LEGAL ASPECTS OF A BUSINESS

Laws and government regulations have a significant impact on
enterprise formation and regulation.They include:
1.Employment/Labour law
Almost all businesses use some sort of employment law. Employment
law is the area of law that governs the employer-employee
relationship. Therefore, if the business has more than one employee,
then the business likely uses employment law. This area is made up of
both state and federal laws and includes many different subjects with
the common goal to protect workers' rights. For employees, these laws
work to:

 Prevent discrimination
 Promote health and safety
 Establish a minimum required level for economic support
 Prevent work disruption due to disputes between labor and
management

2.Lincesing Law

A legal document that grants you the right to operate a business in your
city. Depending on your business, there are other licenses that may also
be required.

3.Environment Laws

Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law

that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of
regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal
principles, focus on the management of specific natural resources, such
as forests, minerals, or fisheries.

4.Trade and patent law

Patents protect the rights of inventors. They give the patent owner the
right to stop others from making, using, or selling an invention. Patents
usually last 20 years from the date the patent application was filed.
5.Business taxi laws

When you start a business, one of the first things you need to do is
register your business with the IRS. The IRS tracks businesses through
an Employment identification number (EIN) so you need to apply for
one. You also need an EIN to open a business bank account, apply for
business licenses, and register with a payroll service, among other
things. You can apply free at IRS.gov.

6.Business formation law

There are many options, including: a sole proprietorship, a limited

liability company, an S-corporation, a partnership or a C-corporation.
Each business type provides varying levels of protection against liability.
They also have different reporting and tax requirements.