Identity in Entrepreneurship Effectuation Theory - Essay Example

Reflective essay on capability for innovation AFFILIATION: Introduction Now-a-days, everyone is looking for developing and running their own enterprises and each individual wants to be assured that the business idea is viable which can run for long time period in the respective market. However, there are various entrepreneurial and personal skills required by the experts who want to create a prospering venture. As a person, I believe that I have capabilities of being an entrepreneur but I do realise that I need to polish my skills to learn the dynamics of the corporate world. With the help of this course, I was able to analyse my own personality and even identify my competencies and weaknesses. After thoroughly assessing the range of ideas for developing an entrepreneurial venture, I decided to move ahead with the online cake selling business. Recently, there has been robust growth in the virtual or online companies as this platform provides a cost effective and convenient alternative for staring a new business. In order to target specific market, I have narrowed down the segment to people residing in Hampshire in England. The latest trend in the baking industry is of social media which is providing a wide range of options to the customers and businesses simultaneously. For the companies, there are many benefits associated with these e-business opportunities such as reaching a wide target audience, interacting with the customers on one-to-one basis and using online advertising mediums for creating awareness and generating revenue effectively. Likewise, the customers get benefitted from making a wise selection among such a huge variety of choices and making sure that the orders are understood clearly by the customer representatives. Viability of the business idea Since there is a lot of competition in the market, the entrepreneurs have to make sure that they carry out proper market survey by utilising both primary and secondary sources of information. From the study conducted about Hampshire England, it is evident that the region is the most viable option for performing businesses especially the digital ones. It is mentioned by the Hampshire County Council that it is planning to get digital in near future so that the companies can manage their operations effectively. However, the ventures which are engaged in food related businesses have to abide by strict rules and regulations so that the items sold to the customers are healthy and hygienic. Even the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published various reports about the policies for running the businesses within the ethical boundaries. For my online cake selling business, I have reviewed all laws and will make sure that I don’t violate any of them. It is the requirement of the authority that the company is registered at least twenty-eight days before the business gets started. As I am planning to start my venture in May 2014, I will complete the registration process by the end of April 2014. Moreover, I have sent the samples of my cakes and cupcakes which will be available for my customers in the region. Reflection on entrepreneurial skills In addition to the legal complexities involved in the entrepreneurial businesses, there is a range of entrepreneurial capabilities required by the professionals. One of the most effective tools for performing self-analysis is the reflection exercise. This method allows the individuals to identify their capabilities and areas for improvements which can be a value added aspect for them. Although I have clarity about my business venture but it is equally important to evaluate my own personality to pinpoint my entrepreneurial and personal expertise. Also, reflection task allowed me to take a look at those abilities about which I was unaware myself. For instance, during the task of analysing the feasibility of my new venture of selling cupcakes online, I collected detailed and comprehensive information about Hampshire from a diverse range of sources. As this activity progressed, I realised that I possessed excellent and proficient interpretation aptitude as I was able to compile the data efficiently and scrutinise the findings with accuracy. It is mentioned by the experts that an entrepreneur needs to possess exceptional anticipating skills so that the individual can keep a bird’s eye on the competitor’s moves and remain well-informed about their future moves. Moreover, after deciding about moving ahead with this online cake selling venture, I decided to do market testing so that I had an indication about the possible sustainability of my proposed enterprise. I was given an opportunity of setting up a stall at the Winter Fair in a park in Hampshire. In order to make sure that I was able to attract right pool of customers, I decided to advertise about my kiosk on social networking site like Facebook and even on university website. My target profile comprises of all those people who are looking for affordable range of cupcakes and cakes for every occasion in the shortest possible time. With each step of this project, I was having clarity about my business venture and at the time of the event, I was able to generate appropriate number of visitors and surprisingly even generate huge amount of money. Eventually, my cost of the initial testing phase was recovered and I was delighted with the positive response of my customers. From this whole scenario, it was evident that the entrepreneur has to possess four crucial elements i.e. risk-taking, innovation, self-motivation and supportive attitude. I even applied the Herrmann Whole Brain Model to determine my level of creativity and I found out that I fall in the category of C and D (Bawaneh et al., 2011). The entrepreneurs belonging to C classification are those who believe in performing every activity with interpersonal thinking type. Even the individuals with D style of thinking are those who possess internal thinking quality. It means that my style of thinking is emotional, feeling based, interpersonal, integrating, synthesising, intuitive, holistic and kinesthetic. Thus, all my creative ideas revolve around the interpersonal and holistic viewpoints so that I can influence the people emotionally and synthetically. With the help of my online cake selling business, I will try to develop cordial relationships with my customers as I will present them with the most appealing offerings on all the important events of their lives. Even the repeated customers will be provided an opportunity for availing my discount offers as they will be loyal to my company. I will even start membership services for my customers so that I can present them with the attractive offers which will be in alignment with their preferences and choices. At the same time, I will ask my customers to give feedback about my offerings and even recommend areas for improvement so that I can stand out in this field. Since innovation is the backbone of the new enterprises, I will add a range of menu items which will even comprise of baked goods like croissants, muffins, breads, sandwiches and pizzas so that I can provide all bakery items made from fresh ingredients and all customers will be delivered these items within two hours of production. In the enterprise, there will be certain subordinates who will be managing by business activities and I will have to make sure that they remain motivated to suggest unique ways of operations. Moreover, I will provide them a work environment which is friendly, risk-taking and interesting so that they are willing to make valuable contribution in the company. I have realised that the entrepreneurs have to encourage their personnel so that their level of productivity is enhanced and the company is able to generate huge amount of profits simultaneously. Even the effectuation theory was applied to classify my entrepreneurial type and I found out that I comply with the bird in hand principle (Nielsen & Lassen, 2012). According to this opinion, the entrepreneurs initiate the projects with what they already have. First of all, the person will analyse the personality such as who am I, what do I know and whom I know. At this initial stage, the individual’s tastes, experiences and education play an important role in deciding about the business of new venture. Hence, it can be said that I will work on my idea on the basis of the sources and tools I have rather than the goal-oriented approach. Developmental needs for effectiveness of new business In order to make sure that I am able to run a prosperous and outstanding online cake selling business, I have to develop my communication skills so that I can interact efficiently with my customers and employees. At the same time, I have to learn the art of employing the genuine and top rated social media tools so that I can reach my consumers proficiently and even expand my customer base. Moreover, there is extensive need of getting in touch with leading entrepreneurs who can shed light on the aspects which have to be taken care of while running the company. In additional to the legal requirements of the business, I have to focus on developing brilliant back-end operations so that quality of my ingredients is of consistently superior level. There is even requirement of proficient customer complaint handling system so that all the queries of customers are handled on timely manner. I have to design a system in which all the stakeholders are satisfied and the venture runs smoothly for a long time period. Since the testing phase of the physical business has been conducted, now I have to implement my virtual e-commerce plan so that I can penetrate in the online market. In order to make my innovative idea a worthwhile enterprise, I have decided to undertake few initiatives such as attending a range of seminars and workshops on development of areas which need to be improved. Likewise, I will arrange interviews with the leading entrepreneurs especially in the baking industry so that they can provide valuable insight about the important aspects of the businesses. Since interpersonal capabilities are mandatory requirements of the entrepreneur as a lot of interaction has to be done with customers, employees and suppliers of the ingredients, I have decided to get enrolled in an online communication skills course. With the help of this program, I will be able to enhance my oral and written capabilities. In order to remain competitive in the market, I will carry on market survey on an ongoing basis. With the help of this plan, I will be able to anticipate my competitors’ likely moves and even respond proactively to the challenges faced because of their attempts. I will even develop my leadership competencies by doing internship at a leading bakery as this hands-on experience will be fruitful for my career. Moreover, I will try meeting up with chefs and bakers so that I can gain insight about the key requirements of the back-end operations. I will try to integrate every function of the enterprise with the help of an innovative IT system so that my organisation can run smoothly, proficiently and successfully. Hence, I believe that I have the potential of running an entrepreneurial enterprise effectively by addressing all the important areas of entrepreneurship. Conclusion As the competition in the business world is getting competitive and the number of entrepreneurial organisations is increasing, it is evident that the entrepreneurs will have to make very decision strategically. Simultaneously, it is mandatory that a vision is set for the new venture by working out the feasibility of the unique idea so that the company can thrive fruitfully. As I want to make my career as an entrepreneur, I have decided to perform reflection exercise on frequent basis. I have already conducted this activity so that I can carry out my self-assessment and get engage in activities which will allow me to develop the right set of competencies required in this field. Also, equally important is to utilise the available data about the target market so that the new venture is realistic and practical. Hence, I have performed all important tasks to check the sustainability of my new project. I am satisfied with the evaluation conducted by me and I have analysed the resources accessibility position so that I can go ahead with the planning and implementation phases of my unique business idea of sealing cakes and cupcakes online. References Bawaneh, A.K.A, Abdullah, A.G.K., Saleh, S. and Yin, K.Y., 2011. Jordanian students’ thinking styles based on Herrmann Whole Brain Model. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(9), pp. 89-97. Nielsen, S.L. and Lassen, A.H., 2012. Identity in entrepreneurship effectuation theory: a supplementary framework. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 8(3), pp. 373-389. List of Evidences Hampshire which is a county in the south of England is situated in the half-way of West and East ends of the South Coast. As of 2011 census, it has population of about 1.32 million which is a 6.3% increase from 2001. With the Southampton and Portsmouth regions, the population is about 1.76 million. It is believed to be the third populous England’s country. Even the population comprises of Baby Boomers (Hantsweb, 2012). In order to respond proactively to the changing dynamics of the industry, Hampshire City Council has decided to implement Digital Hampshire plan so that it can take advantage of the online mediums. The three main aims of Digital Hampshire are to boost digital inclusion, enhance Hampshire’s economy and offer modern public related services (Hampshire City Council, 2012). For meeting the requirements of performing digital selling business, Food Standards Agency (FSA) has developed certain rules and regulations for such entities. There are even some guidelines given for cake bakers so that they can be assured that their enterprises work within the legal framework of the region (Food Standards Agency, 2007). References Food Standards Agency, 2007. Distance selling guidance for food businesses. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 5 March 2014] Hampshire City Council, 2012. Digital Hampshire. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 5 March 2014] Hantsweb, 2012. Key facts about Hampshire and Hampshire City Council. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 5 March 2014] Read More