Entrepreneurship & Sales

LESSON 2 Fundamentals - Mindset & Behavior – Business Plan

Contents
• Entrepreneurial Mindset And Behavior
• Entrepreneurial mindset: 5 characteristics of entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization
• How to find Profitable Business Ideas
• Business Plan Preparation
• Business Plan Implementation
Entrepreneurial Mindset And Behavior

• A mindset is a cognitive belief system consisting of interrelated beliefs, assumptions, and

knowledge that we use to process information, inform our decisions, and guide our
behavior.

• An entrepreneurial mindset is a specific set of beliefs, knowledge, and thought processes

that drive entrepreneurial behavior. Those with an entrepreneurial mindset tend to:
• Believe in their ability to succeed and influence their own outcomes, empowering them to
take ownership of their lives;
• Have compelling goals that keep them future-focused and intrinsically motivated, driving
them to be self-directed, action-oriented, and highly engaged;
Entrepreneurial Mindset And Behavior

• Have an optimistic interpretation of adverse events and see problems as potential

opportunities, becoming highly resilient, resourceful, and solution-oriented even within
highly uncertain, resource-constrained environments;
• Be lifelong knowledge seekers with a focus on micro-experiments as learning
opportunities to test ideas, cultivating curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking;
• Display a high level of reliability, understanding that following through on simple solutions
can lead to unforeseen opportunities;

• Have a humanistic outlook, being other-focused and understanding that one creates value
by looking to solve problems for others; and
• Surround themselves with an intentional community of positive influence and critical
guidance
Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

1. Decisiveness

• To succeed as an entrepreneur, you must gain the ability to look at a problem or situation,
digest all available data (at that point in time), and make a confident decision to move
forward.

• Your ability as a decision-maker will make or break your future successes.

• When you can’t decide what to do, you delay taking action. In other words, you do
nothing. Think about how many dreams (and businesses) failing to take action has killed.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

• Example: The next time you are out for lunch at a restaurant, scan the menu once and
decide what to order. And do it confidently.

• This can seem trivial or unnecessary, but it absolutely isn’t.

• Being decisive takes practice to master and it begins with small decisions in the business
of daily life.

• From here you can build on your decisiveness and begin to use it in bigger and bigger
ways.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Characteristics of
Entrepreneurship

2. Confidence

• There are many skills you will need to learn to accomplish everything you want in life.

• But how do you act confidently when you don’t know what you are doing?

• You learn to act with confidence, the second characteristic of the entrepreneurial mindset.
And one the of the most important qualities of an entrepreneur.

• It is essential that you get used to the uncomfortable feeling of knowing that you don’t
know what you’re doing.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

• Whether it’s getting on stage to speak, launching your product, or learning how to start a
blog and publishing your ideas to the world, we tend to see others doing it and incorrectly
assume they’ve always been good at it.

• They weren’t born knowing how to speak confidently, launch successful products, or write
excellent books. They also weren’t born knowing how to become entrepreneurs.

• They learned and we can, too.

• The difference between appearing good or bad at something is often a matter of acting
confidently.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

• Example: Here’s how to become more confident, right now.

• Looking confident, practiced, and skilled is what we admire in others. But looking
confident and being confident are two different things. Seriously.

• Acting confident while getting on stage to give a speech to a packed room, even when
your hands are violently shaking, is essential to learn the art of public speaking.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

• Do you want to be a podcaster? Start podcasting.

• Do you want to become a professional chef? Start cooking.
• Do you want to be a copywriter? Start writing sales pages that convert.
• Do you have side hustle ideas you want to start? Stop watching Netflix every night.
• Do you want to learn email marketing? Start building your email list today.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

3. Accountability

• The entrepreneurial mindset comes from taking responsibility for your actions and
outcomes.

You need to internalize and accept that:

• Everything that happens at work – YOU are responsible for.

• Everything that happens to your business – YOU are responsible for.
• Whether you succeed or fail, it is YOUR responsibility.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

• From this moment forward, you must accept responsibility for everything in your life and
hold yourself accountable to it.

• What little time, money, or external support you have to accomplish your goals. Your
circumstances may not be your fault, but they are your responsibility.

• All that matters is what you are doing RIGHT NOW to find your success.

• There are no more excuses. Accountability is required of entrepreneurs as well as

successful employees. Stop passing the buck and blaming others.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

4. Resilience

• As an entrepreneur, you will need to learn to deal with making mistakes and failing. They
are inevitable and a part of your growth.

• If every misstep plummets you into self-doubt, you have to change the way you look at
being wrong.

• This mindset shift takes resilience and is foundational to the entrepreneurial mindset.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

• Success rarely happens in a straight line. Taking wrong turns and making mistakes is
something that happens to everyone.

• “The only people who don’t make mistakes are the ones who don’t do anything.”

• Resilience isn’t only helpful when dealing with catastrophic mistakes. It’s a way to handle
the small, simple decisions you’ve made that didn’t turn out right.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

5. Humility

• Humility is freedom from pride or arrogance, and it ties all of the characteristics of
entrepreneurship.

• From decisiveness to confidence, humility will keep you focused and centered.

• From accountability to resilience, you will continue to move forward through failure,
mistakes, and upsets.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

“If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.”

• Someone smarter than me.

• Along with humility comes coach ability — the ability to be coached.

• If you want to accomplish big things in life, you need to be willing to learn from others and
nourish a growth mindset.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship

• To do big things, you need to grow. To grow, you need to learn.

• No matter what you are trying to accomplish, someone already has done it before you.

• Thinking like an entrepreneur means seeking out mentors and coaches who have been
where you are trying to go — and having the humility to accept their guidance.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Leadership Styles

• Transformational Leadership is all about attracting followers and considering their needs
beyond the leader’s immediate self-interests.

• Transactional Leadership is based on the exchange of rewards for achieving results. Also
called autocratic or authoritative leadership.

• Culture-based Leadership is a type of leadership that focuses on common shared values,

beliefs, ethics, and attitudes.

• Charismatic Leadership motivates others to come up with innovation and creativity.

Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

• Visionary Leadership is based on painting that vision for the future and inspiring others to
follow.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Entrepreneurial Leadership Skills

Integrity

• Daryl Koehn (2005) concludes in her research that there is no well-defined definition of
integrity. She defines integrity for the entrepreneurial leader by quoting Ford (1976):

• “A good reputation is a priceless business asset that can be earned only through
consistently trustworthy behavior.” followed by: “Integrity properly understood is not some
add-on feature for business; it is at the core of sound business.”
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Active Listening

• Active listening is the ability to focus completely on the speaker and trying to understand
their message. Note that active listening is not only directed to the entrepreneur. Active
listening is also applicable to the employee.

• It’s a two-way street, like in a partnership. An entrepreneurial leader encourages and

ensures that both speaker and listener comprehend each others’ message.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Face the speaker and maintain eye contact:

• To develop effective listening skills, think of a situation when you have been
communicating something and the listener is scanning the room, looking at their computer
screen or looking out of the window. It is like trying to hit a moving target! There are
cultural differences but in the main by maintaining eye contact with the speaker is a good
ingredient for basic communications.

• Think of a time when someone is talking from the other side of a room, it becomes an
instinct to move closer to them to ensure eye contact is made. So, a good first step to
improve listening skills, put aside papers, books, mobile phones and allow the
communicator to talk with you and just being respectful. Non eye contact can send out
bad messages to the communicator!
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Be attentive but relaxed:

• Now that eye contact has been established, stay relaxed. There is no need to stare the
person out, it is fine to look away on occasions. The importance is to stay attentive. The
verb, to attend has several definitions, to be present, give attention, apply or direct
yourself, pay attention and remain ready to serve. Mentally block out distractions,
background noise, activities.

• Try not focus too much on the speaker’s accent or mannerisms. Focusing too much can
become a distraction. Finally, try and not let personal feelings or thoughts distract you as
well. You may not agree with what they are saying but at this point you can easily miss a
good point because you have been distracted.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Keep an open mind:

• We can all be judgmental so the importance here is keep an open mind during the
conversation. Try and not be judgement of the person or what they are saying, again this
will be a distraction from the main subject being discussed.

• Something that can be very annoying to a communicator is a “sentence grabber”, the

person that tries to finish the other person’s sentence. By doing this you will break of form
of rapport with that person. Especially important also not to jump to conclusions. How
many times have we witnessed press conferences where the journalist has made their
own mind up of the outcome which has not reflected what the speaker said?
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Listen to speaker and try and visualize what they are say:

• Remembering that we all have our own map of the world, try and build a picture in your
head of what the speaker is saying. During a lengthy conversation attempt to pick out key
words or statements that will help you retain the information. Mainly, concentrate only on
what is being said. Sometimes the subject may be quite boring, force yourself to refocus.
It is a skill and does require practice.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Do not interrupt or impose your solution:

• The golden rule here. How many times do we hear a parent speaking to a child “it is rude
to interrupt”? By interrupting is has proved to the speaker that you have not been listening
to them. Apart from being rude, it shows lack of self-control and in a dispute situation.

• You have lost! Interrupting gives a message to the speaker that, you think you are more
important than them, what I have to say is more interesting, I do not really care what you
think, this is not a conversation, it is a contest, and I am going to win!
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Wait for a pause to ask your questions:

• Of course, there will be a situation when you do not understand something and ask them
to clarify. Rather than interrupt, wait a small pause and then ask your question.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Ask questions only to ensure understanding:

• Yes, we have all been there. Think of the times in meetings or in a classroom when we
have those folks that like to the sound of their own voice. So annoying not only to the
audience but to the speaker as well. Sure, ask questions but only to ensure and backup
your understanding.

• Never move the speaker away from their subject when asking a question by asking
something that is so far away from the initial subject.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Using our senses, try and feel what the speaker is saying:

• Pure human senses here. If the subject is of a sad nature, then show and feel sadness
and if joy and happiness then show joy and happiness. Remembering 55% of our
communication is body language, pick up from one or two of our senses, visual, audible,
kinesthetic, smell and taste.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Give the speaker regular feedback:

• Agreeing and nodding during the conversation is a signal to the speaker that you are still
following them and have trained into their thoughts. Expressions like “oh yes, I agree”, “I
can understand why you were upset”. Facial expressions are sometimes enough to
ensure that you have followed the conversation. The main purpose here is to give the
speaker confidence that you are following them.

• In meetings or more complicated scenarios always good resonate the task or action to
ensure you have fully understood.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Pay attention to what is not being said, non-verbal dialogue:

• Us humans are complicated creatures, just a movement of an eye can send signals. Be
aware of your own body language when in a conversation and notice the speaker. Eye
cues, lower lip and sloping of shoulders are all good signs to look out for.

• Listening or intensive listening skills must be practiced, and it does take time for all of this
to become natural.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Clear Communication

• Clear communication means that messages come across as intended. As simple as this
sounds, it’s challenging to achieve. Everyone has a filter, which makes them view the
world differently.
• A filter that is an accumulation of their upbringing, norms, values, character traits, thinking
styles, etc.
• Actually, everything they have experienced in life so far. The way they view the world is
their unique way. So, did the other understood your message as you intended it?
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Constructive Feedback

• Giving constructive feedback means that the other receives informative help and
instructions on how someone is currently performing and what someone can do about it to
improve their performance.

• Therefore, it is always intended positively, even if it addresses specific issues or

concerns. Employees, in general, seem to forget that sometimes. They are inclined to see
it as negative feedback, a judgment. Not as an encouragement to start learning new
behavior.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Openness

• Usually refers to how open-minded someone is. Someone with an open mind enjoys
trying new things, hearing alternative views, meeting strangers, and learning new
methods. It hinges on aspects of an entrepreneurial spirit: being creative, recognizing an
opportunity, and flexibility.

• For any leader, it means valuing new experiences and new thought processes of the
people they work with. In combination with active listening, it can be powerful leadership
skills.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization
The FIVE Personality Traits
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Reliability

• Reliability means that people can count on you. You say what you do, and you do what
you say. It is closely related to responsibility. A leader who takes responsibility finishes his
tasks and follows through to the final detail.
• Even more important, they communicate back to people in case of delay or problems. It
can be troublesome for the more entrepreneurial individuals as they embrace opportunity
and end up doing something different.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Patience

• Working with people can be tiresome because it takes time to understand each other
properly. Clear communication is never 100% clear, and it can, therefore, blur
communication on tasks, targets, and deadlines and – in the end – organizational
performance.

• It can even destroy relationships and partnerships. It requires a leader to remain

committed and be persistent. You need patience for this. In business, it’s a virtue because
many entrepreneurial individuals are impatient.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Drive

• Apart from having a vision for the future of the business, the business leader needs to
have the drive to get there. Most business owners want to improve their performance, but
that’s very different from having the drive to realize something the company has never
achieved before.

• The business owner can have a clear vision for the future, an entrepreneurial strategy,
and the required business and industry knowledge. Still, without a drive to succeed, the
entrepreneurial venture is doomed to fail.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Agility

• Being agile is an essential business asset. Adapting to fast-changing situations, especially

in tiring times like the Covid-19 era. Agility is the power of moving quickly and easily.

• It requires that you need to be able to think and draw conclusions quickly. It can be a
temporary detour without losing sight of your vision.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Creativity

• The entrepreneur is creative, by definition, some argue, but should the management of a
company be creative too? It is more important for the business leader to create an
atmosphere where people can be creative.

• It is managing for creativity rather than trying to manage people’s creative mindsets. This
implies that owner-managers don’t have to be creative themselves, although it would help
innovation and the creative process. So, some level of creative thinking is needed.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Organization

• Entrepreneurship and management are very distinctive from each other. Entrepreneurship
is seeing possibilities and exploiting them to create value for the business’ clients and co-
workers.

• Management is controlling the processes towards value creation. The organization is a

broader concept than managing the entrepreneurial team to improve the lives of others.
Instead, it is execution power to turn big ideas into reality.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Empathy

• Empathy means being able to understand the needs of others, as well as being aware of
their thoughts and feelings. One might argue that active listening is the same as empathy
or at least closely related.

• That’s not true. However, it is easier to listen actively when an entrepreneurial leader
possesses compassion. But the other way around is not valid: leaders who listen actively
are empathetic.
Entrepreneurial Leadership in an Organization

Vision

• An entrepreneurial leader does business for a reason. An intensely felt mission gives
them the drive to go and work hard for their company every day. What is it that they want
to achieve with all stakeholders of their company?

• The vision is the concrete image of a point in time in the future, an attractive future picture
of a beautiful reality where the lives of others have been improved.
 Royal Challenges

Activity 1 Activity Link :

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LQFo5VloU2xzjMsQmNHdS3BAUp6bWyx-
Pkog/viewform?usp=sf_link
How to Find Profitable Business Ideas

Things you're already good at (hobbies/skills).

Things you've done for work

Things people ask you for.

Things you want to learn.

Business Plan Preparation

• Draft an executive summary

• Describe your company
• Perform a market analysis
• Outline the management and organization
• List your products and services
• Perform customer segmentation
• Define a marketing plan
• Provide a logistics and operations plan
• Make a financial plan
Business Plan Preparation
1. Draft an Executive Summary.

A good executive summary is one of the most crucial sections of your plan—
it’s also the last section you should write.

The executive summary’s purpose is to distill everything that follows and give
time-crunched reviewers (e.g., potential investors and lenders) a high-level
overview of your business that persuades them to read further.
Business Plan Preparation
2. Describe Your Company

This section of your business plan should answer two fundamental questions:
who are you, and what do you plan to do?

Answering these questions provides an introduction to why you’re in business,

why you’re different, what you have going for you, and why you’re a good
investment bet.
Business Plan Preparation

3. Perform a Market Analysis

No matter what type of business you start, it’s no exaggeration to say your market
can make or break it.

Choose the right market for your products—one with plenty of customers who
understand and need your product—and you’ll have a head start on success. If
you choose the wrong market, or the right market at the wrong time, you may
find yourself struggling for each sale.
Business Plan Preparation

4. Outline Management and Organization

The management and organization section of your business plan

should tell readers about who’s running your company.

Detail the legal structure of your business. Communicate whether

you’ll incorporate your business as an S corporation or create a
limited partnership or sole proprietorship.
Business Plan Preparation

5. List your Products and Services.

Your products or services will feature prominently in most areas

of your business plan, but it’s important to provide a section that
outlines key details about them for interested readers.
Business Plan Preparation

Customer segmentation often includes:

• Where they live
• Their age range
• Their level of education
• Some common behavior patterns
• How they spend their free time
• Where they work
• What technology they use
• How much they earn
• Where they’re commonly employed
• Their values, beliefs, or opinions
Business Plan Preparation

• Price. How much do your products cost, and why have you made that decision?
• Product. What are you selling and how do you differentiate it in the market?
• Promotion. How will you get your products in front of your ideal customer?
• Place. Where will you sell your products?
Business Plan Preparation

• Suppliers. Where do you get the raw materials you need for production, or where are your
products produced?

• Production. Will you make, manufacture, wholesale or dropship your products? How long
does it take to produce your products and get them shipped to you? How will you handle
a busy season or an unexpected spike in demand?

• Facilities. Where will you and any team members work? Do you plan to have a physical
retail space? If yes, where?
Business Plan Preparation

• Equipment. What tools and technology do you require to be up and running? This
includes everything from computers to lightbulbs and everything in between.

• Shipping and fulfillment. Will you be handling all the fulfillment tasks in-house, or will you
use a third-party fulfillment partner?

• Inventory. How much will you keep on hand, and where will it be stored? How will you
ship it to partners if required, and how will you approach inventory management?
 Business Plan Preparation

9. Prepare a Financial plan

No matter how great your idea is, and regardless of the effort, time, and
money you invest, a business lives or dies based on its financial health.

At the end of the day, people want to work with a business they expect
to be viable for the foreseeable future.
Business Plan Implementation

Use the SMART method when developing implementation tasks. SMART stands for specific,
measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. Using this method when creating an
implementation plan helps you make sure you outline realistic tasks and time frames for
implementing a business strategy.

List necessary resources to carryout implementation activities. Resources may include

budgets, personnel, business technologies or software, outsourced professionals and other
resources necessary to successfully implement a business strategy.

Set deadlines for each implementation task. By providing a deadline for each individual
implementation task you hold yourself and your team accountable to implement a strategy
within a reasonable time frame.
Business Plan Implementation

Determine the right format to inform employees of implementation tasks. This may
include creating a company-wide memo, holding a company-wide meeting or addressing
an implementation plan in a video message.

Compose a strategic implementation plan (SIP) document. An SIP document outlines the
purpose of an implementation plan, deadlines for tasks, resources needed to complete
tasks, role assignments and other important information for company personnel to
reference when carrying out implementation plans.
Q&A Session