EDS 121

COMPONENTS OF
ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURES
COMPONENTS OF THE
ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURES
 There are five (5) components of
entrepreneurial ventures. These
include;
 (i) The Entrepreneur
 (ii) The Opportunity
 (iii) The Structure
 (iv) The Resources
 (v) The Strategy
(i) The Entrepreneur

 The entrepreneur is first and the

most important component of
the entrepreneurial venture. The
entrepreneur himself decides the
combination of all other
components.
CONT’
 The entrepreneur is the one who
makes a conscious decision to
launch a venture, designs the
structure of the business, source for
the resources to be used for the
business and formulate the strategy
to adopt for the success of the
business.
CONT’
 The managerial and
entrepreneurial skills of the
entrepreneur is the most
significant key to success in
launching and sustaining
business venture.
(ii) The Opportunity
 Hunting for or creating opportunity is
the soul of any entrepreneur.
 In any country, there are thousands
of opportunities available to any
would-be entrepreneurs.
 Although there are business opportunities
every where, they do not easily come by.
Cont’
 There is need for engagement in a serious
search before a viable opportunity can be
obtained
 Why? Because, not all open doors are
doors of good business opportunity.
 A wise man once said that an
entrepreneur should have nose to sniff
opportunities just like journalists have
nose for news.
CONT’
 He must be able to see opportunity where
others see obstacles.
 Opportunity may come in form of new
poduct, new business, new market, new
technology or modification of an existing
product.
Cont’
 An entrepreneur needs to be very
sensitive in his quest for viable
opportunities.
 He needs to apply PESTI techniques
to scan his environment for
identification of good business
opportunities
CONT’
 However, an entrepreneur must be very
careful in his process of identifying
opportunities, as some of them are not
real entrepreneurial opportunities.
Opportunities must be analyzed to
determine the magnitude of expected
economic or commercial returns.
CONT’
 All opportunities need to be screened to
ensure that the right opportunity is
embarked upon.
 Every other component depends on this
component.
 It determines both the use of business
resources and the strategy to adopt.
(iii) The Structure
 Structure refers to the type or kind of
venture that is launched.
 It is determined by the form of ownership
(sole proprietorship, partnership or a
corporation) which the individual wishes
to adopt.
 There are various phases of ownership
structure.
CONT’
 You can start with one, may be as a sole
proprietor and end up finally as a PLC.
 The structure also defines the relationship
between the financier and the owner of the
business.
 However, the entrepreneur determines the
form of ownership he would like to
undertake for his business.
(iv) The Resources
 Resource is one of the important
components of entrepreneurial ventures.
 The required resources must be sourced
and obtained for a viable business
venture.
Cont’
 Most new ventures are under capitalized
when launched which may largely account
for their early failure.
 Few others may have excess capital if not
properly managed may equally lead to
failure or poor return.

Cont’
 Still others, possible the right amount of
capital to just commence.
 Start-up-capital may take the form of liquid
cash or materials or money worth.
 In addition to financial resources, human
resources must be sourced for.
CONT’
 The number of managerial staff required
for a business depends heavily on the
nature of the venture involved and the
amount of growth desired by the
entrepreneur.

Cont’
 Wisdom demands that you do not over
staff or under staff.
 You do not hire who you cannot pay
regularly and do not hire who you cannot
fire.
CONT’
 At the beginning, you may be the
managing director, the manager, the
accountant, the secretary, the cleaner or
even messenger.
 As the business grows you can increase
your staff strength.
(v) The Strategy
 Once a venture is launched and it appears
viable, then a specific strategy must be
adopted to sustain the business.
 The competitive strategy that an
entrepreneur chooses will significantly
affect his potential for success.
CONT’
 Competitive strategy refers to those plans
or activities the firm uses to achieve
growth in sales, increase market share, or
maximize profit or survive in the business
environment.
 Many businesses have failed due to the
absence of strategies or poorly packaged
or executed strategies.
 SUMMARY
 Components Required Actions
 The Entrepreneur: An individual who makes a
conscious decision to
undertake a business venture.

 The Opportunity: A market opportunity is

identified and analyzed.
 SUMMARY
 The Structure: The entrepreneur decides
whether to launch the venture as a
sole proprietor, a partnership or a
company.
 The Resources: The required resources are
identified. Financial commitments
from investors are secured.
 The Strategy: Overall business objectives,
strategies and detailed plan of
action are determined
THANK YOU