Entrepreneurial Venture - Josmis Dairy Cream Company - Case Study Example

Entrepreneurial Venture Name Institution Course Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Enterprise Awareness 3 An Entrepreneurial Mind-set 5 Entrepreneurial Capability 8 Entrepreneurial Effectiveness 9 Conclusion 10 Reference 10 Introduction Entrepreneurship has received a lot of attention from policy makers and scholars due to its importance in the society (Alvarez and Barney, 2010). Entrepreneurship entails the establishment of a new business entity or even acquiring an existing business from another person. There are many things that motivate people to be entrepreneurs. Profit is the main driving force for most entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are known to contribute positively to economic progress. However, entrepreneurship is not an easy undertaking as many businesses have failed at a higher rate (Quality Assurance for Higher Education, 2012). In order for a business venture to be effective and succeed, there is need for enterprise awareness, entrepreneurial capability, and entrepreneurship mind-set. The paper will talk about the knowledge and understanding of the entrepreneurial activities taking place in the manufacture of ice-cream, entrepreneur qualities that I have that can drive success of the company and the skills I need to acquire in order to the company to survive. My venture company will take part in manufacturing ice-cream that serves the needs of its customers in the United Kingdom. The business name will be Josmis Dairy Cream Company which will be engaged in making premium quality ice-cream. It will also be involved in producing, distributing and marketing of its ice-cream products in the country. Enterprise Awareness In order to start an enterprise venture it is important to first generate a business idea. Some sources of business opportunity include inadequacy or a gap in the market, changes in the market structure, demographic changes, changes in taste and preference of consumers, and growing need of a product etc. (Nightingale and Coad, 2013). In the United Kingdom, the ice-cream manufacturing industry is considered a multi-million pound sector and customer focussed. Ice-cream consumption is perceived as a treat and celebration and therefore ice-cream products should bring happiness to customers (Alvarez and Barney, 2010). The desire to create an ice-cream business should consider some essential aspects such as how the ice-cream is made, the equipment required for production, the investment and income expected and the method of expansion among others. Enterprise awareness is an important element required for the success of any venture. There are three main stages involved in ice-cream production (Budholiya, 2014). The first stage involves heat treatment of raw materials which include milk, water, sugar, and fats including butter and cream and milk powder. They are then blended in order to emulsify the fat mixture. In this stage of heating, pasteurisation is done at temperature between 65 and 850C in order to kill harmful bacteria in the ingredients (Budholiya, 2014). The second stage involves cooling the heated mixture usually at 70C or lower before favours including strawberry, chocolate and vanilla among others are added. The third stage involves freezing the mixture to temperature between -60C and -90C through churning or whipping process (Budholiya, 2014). The result is a soft-serve ice cream which is then divided into correct qualities ready for distribution. The initial set-up of the enterprise will require about £50,000 or more due to the purchase of a basic production kits, raw material, freezer, and renting of a manufacturing area and workshop place. Ice cream manufacturing is a business venture that has potential in the United Kingdom market. It has the potential to generate some substantial amount of income. However, this depends on the creativity and innovation put into the business (Barry, 2016). According to lean start-up model by Eric Rels, lean start-ups often result to success. Lean ventures do not start with a business plan. They develop a business model that acts as an abstract representation of a business venture. They are not focussed on product development but rather customer development and rely on ideas that work and eliminate those that don’t (Alvarez and Barney, 2010). In order for my business venture to survive in the industry, I would be required to adapt a lean start-up model. I will have to research on other ice cream companies in the area and develop a business model that includes market research, business structure, advertising strategies, investment finance and target audience (OECD, 2010). It is important to create awareness of the activities involved in ice cream production in order to be able to deal with any challenges that might come up in future. Being unique and different from the competitors may boost the business competitive advantage. For instance, in order to create value for consumers, I will develop a number of products that would be served as complementary to the ice cream such as cookies, waffles and bottled drinks. Also, I will have to focus on the jobs, the pains and gains that drive customers (Baron, 2006). This can be done through collection of data from the market. An Entrepreneurial Mind-set Not every person can be an entrepreneur. It is the mind-set that can distinguish between an entrepreneur and an ordinary person (Zahra, Sapienza and Davidsson, 2006). Becoming an entrepreneur means engaging in the entrepreneurial mind-set. There has been an argument as to whether entrepreneurs are born or made. Behavioural theory of entrepreneurship is based on specific behaviours of a leader. According to this theory, a leader’s behaviour is the best determinant of his or her leadership influences and this is able to predict leadership success (Shirokoya et al., 2016). This theory offer real marketing potential since behaviours can be conditioned according to a particular stimuli. In contrast with the trait theory that leaders are born, behavioural approach counters the argument as it proposes that an effective leadership is all about taking into consideration the actions and not the mental qualities as suggested by the trait theory. According to the theory, leaders can be taught leadership and leaders can learn even if they are not born with the leadership traits through teaching and observation (Shirokoya et al., 2016). An individual can be made a leader by training and teaching him or her appropriate and effective behavioural responses for any particular situation. In order for the ice-cream venture to successful, I need to identify my entrepreneurship qualities and work on attaining those that I lack. I am a ISTJ person. An ISTJ people have great loyalty to relationships and other commitments and they tend to have a strong sense of responsibility. As a ISTJ person, I go to any trouble to complete my day-to-day tasks. I enjoy working alone but do not kind working in teams when need arises. To me, competence and responsibility are very important and I expect other people to be dutiful and trustworthy in their endeavours. In addition, I have a huge respect for facts, am practical, sensible and realistic. I am logical and analytical especially during decision making since I prepare taking logical and tough-minded approach. In all my endeavours, I rely on facts. I will only support change if it has demonstrated potential for success. People see me as calm, reserved, consistent and orderly. One important question that I need to ask myself before thinking of starting an enterprise venture is whether my personality and qualities will make me a great entrepreneur or leader. According to OECD (2011), in order for creation of a new venture to be possible elements such as idea, abilities, plan, resources and character traits are required. There are a number of characteristics and qualities that differentiate an entrepreneur from an ordinary person. For instance, entrepreneurs are known to be free thinkers who often think beyond mere imagination (Klinger and Schundeln, 2011). They often are in pursuit of better, unique and effective ways of doing things. In addition, entrepreneurs are problem solvers. They tend to search for answers to challenges and problems encountered in their business. One important factor that determines who becomes an entrepreneur is creativity. All entrepreneurs are considered creative. The entrepreneurs who have succeeded over the years are those who are the most creative and innovative (Dev and Don, 2005). An entrepreneur’s ability to come up with new ideas and innovate quickly is often the key to business success. Risk tolerance also determines who becomes an entrepreneur. Rewards do not come without taking risk (OECD, 2011). The ability to make the most of an opportunity depends partly on the ability to tolerate risk. People who fear taking risk do not succeed in business. People with high score in relation to openness to experience are imaginative, creative, risk-takers and subtle. A good entrepreneur is one who has a vision, takes high personal risk, and is sensitive to the follower’s needs and engage in behaviours termed as novel (OECD, 2011). Risk taking is considered an important element of entrepreneurship, without it, business organisation cannot succeed. My personality distinguishes me from so many people as it makes me critical and curious. And as such, I do not fear taking risks and am a good problem solver. With my logical and analytical character, I am a natural problem-solver and innovative. With these qualities, I am able to start and operate an ice cream venture successfully. Entrepreneurial Capability An ice cream venture will be faced with intense competition and so in order to be competitive, there are a number of practical, social and conceptual skills that are required. Some skills that are required in order to run an ice-cream manufacturing company include a sense of choosing the flavours and ideas that will be able to appeal to the consumers. An individual should have an idea of what the customers want and should be able to have effective customer service skills (OECD, 2013). Customer service is the ability and desire to respond and meet the customers’ needs and the desire to achieve customer satisfaction. Behaviour indicators of customer service include customer service orientation, influential and persuasive and trustworthy (OECD, 2013). A custom of brilliant customer service will engage the customers and at the same time drive the organization into achieving its goals and objectives. In addition, just like any other business venture, the operation of ice cream manufacturing company will require a decent understanding of finances, capital expenditure, and profit margins among others. Having some finance skills will ensure better decision making (Adner, 2003). In addition, for a person to become an effective entrepreneur, he or she should have good leadership skills. With unique leadership skills an individual is able to start and make a business succeed. Leadership challenges can lead to the failure of an organisation. Entrepreneurs should possess effective leadership skills which can lead to effective teamwork and open communication within a workplace (Lussier and Achua, 2004). Therefore, in order for the ice-cream business to succeed, I will be required to acquire leadership skills through training and development. Also, ice cream manufacturing will require mastering of technical skills. Technical skills may include the operation and running of machinery, mixing of ingredients and packaging of the products. Other important skills that would be required for successful ice-cream manufacturing company include communication skills, people skills, and marking skills among others (Adner, 2003). In order to improve skills needed in ice cream manufacturer, it is important to invest more in training and development. Putting emphasis on training and development has the potential to enhance the workforce skills in order to meet the demands of the customers and to improve the quality of services (Adner, 2003). Entrepreneurial Effectiveness Success of the business venture can come in form of me not being able to keep up with the customers’ demand and production requirements (Adner and Kapoor, 2010). In order to ensure continuous entrepreneurial effectiveness and success, there is need to expand the ice cream manufacturer. I can do this by increasing the capacity and upgrading the machine and equipment to larger once. In order to this, more resources will be required. More resources can be gotten from investors and business grants meant for start-ups (OECD, 2010). This will ensure growth and entrepreneurial effectiveness. In order to support the generation of business, my venture will be able to create jobs for people. The growth of the company will require more workers and employees to meet the market demands. And as such, my business will contribute to the economic growth of the country. The career choice for starting an ice cream manufacturing company includes a business related course. It is important to have some idea of how to operate a business and how to organize finances (OECD, 2011). With some bit of knowledge in business, I will be able to drive the company into achieving its intended goals and objectives. Conclusion In conclusion entrepreneurship can be termed as the establishment of a new business entity or even acquiring an existing business from another person. My business venture is ice cream manufacturing company called Josmis Dairy Cream Company. Ice cream manufacturing is a business venture that has potential in the United Kingdom market. In order to succeed, I need to have the knowledge and idea of how the operation of such a company takes place. The qualities that make a good entrepreneur include risk-taking, creativity, problem solving and innovativeness. With my ISTJ qualities, I have the potential to drive growth and success of the business venture. In addition, the skill requirements for ice cream manufacturing start-up include general finance skills, leadership skills, technical skills and marketing skills among others. Starting a new business venture is not an easy undertaking and therefore, the success of the ice cream venture will depend on the effort make in understanding the needs of the consumers. Reference Adner, R 2003, Corporate effects and dynamic managerial capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 24(10), pp. 1011-1025. Adner, R & Kapoor, R 2010, Value creation in innovation ecosystems: how the structure of technological interdependence affects firm performance in new technology generations. Strategic Management Journal, 31, pp. 306–333. 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