Which of the following is not one of the 4 steps of the entrepreneurial process?

• Carlos Barraza
• October 23, 2018
• Business Planning, Entrepreneurship

The entrepreneurial process stages that needs to happen to start a business is not easy for anyone. Many people have reasons to be an entrepreneur, many say the things that should be done, and a few are the ones who really do what is needed to start. It is very common to see people who think, but a few who act. The entrepreneurial process stages can be developed one step at a time, but some entrepreneurs are the ones who continue on this lifestyle.

The entrepreneurial culture and spirit is on those who decide to take one step ahead to achieve success. It is a long-term process, that visionaires will have to keep on working to transform their environment. There are several models created by academics, that shows what is the entrepreneurial process about.

Entrepreneurial process definition

The entrepreneurial development of a person goes beyond education, which requires various factors to take place this complex process. I added the definition of William Bygrave, a professor at Babson College, about the entrepreneurial process.

The entrepreneurial process is a set of stages and events that follow one another. These entrepreneurial process stages are: the idea or conception of the business, the event that triggers the operations, implementation and growth.  A critical factor that drive the development of the business at each stage as with most human behavior, entrepreneurial traits are shaped by personal attributes and environment.

The attitudes of the people are those who are shaping their own surroundings, if an entrepreneur looks for the characteristics of successful people, their chances of success increase, specially if they belong to an entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Entrepreneurial process stages

In the rest of the article it can be found two models that reflect what the entrepreneurial process is. In this section I will mention the stages of the model of the University of Pretoria, trying to simplify main points that an entrepreneur should consider.

1. Idea generation

The entrepreneur begins to wonder why there is not available a product or service, why not improve certain things, how to generate income to cover their expenses, etc. Thousands of questions might rise, so them will help to identify opportunities to meet the market needs. In previous years, there where not enough amount of goods and services. It was a little bit easier to position a business, however now it requires a search for information and market analysis to see the possibility of success. It is possible that at this point in the entrepreneurial process, there are many people, since the generation of ideas can be much easier. However, the step towards a decision making is where many can stop and perhaps even abandon the idea from the starting a business.

2. Decision making and business planning

A critical point in the entrepreneurial process is deciding to start the project. Be active and stay motivated are the main factors for the entrepreneur to start landing his idea. Asking what resources are needed and where he will get them, is vital to generate at least one way forward for the entrepreneur. The development of the business plan will mark only a guide that can be used as reference.

3. Project creation

The project is conducted when the entrepreneur decides to seek and obtain resources. Getting financiation is difficult, and perhaps one of the main obstacles to start a business. When the entrepreneur begins to invest the resources and and begin operating, it is a point release of stress, as the entrepreneur will see the first steps of his company.

4. Management and control

After having pass through the first months of operation, the company will see if it decreases, maintains or increases in sales. The entrepreneur should strive to maintain revenue growth before worrying about having a nice office. Managing a business is not easy, but the experience that entrepreneurs acquire over time will surely ease the handling of all resources. Perhaps one could say that the entrepreneurial process ends here, but I think it is no longer an entrepreneur, and he becomes a full businessman or businesswoman.

The entrepreneurial process model of the University of Pretoria

Within the study and analysis of the University of Pretoria, they made its own model, which mixes different ideologies of different authors to adapt their entrepreneurial model. This model stands out more for its definition of stages and events throughout the process.

4 Entrepreneurial process events stages

Within the entrepreneurial process, there are different events that are generated along the process.

1. Innovation

It is the time when the entrepreneur generates the innovative idea, identifies the market opportunity, and look for information. Also, it begins to see the feasibility of ideas, the ability to get value from it and how to generate the development of the product or service.

2. Triggering event

This event is the gestation time of the project. The entrepreneur begins to motivate himself to start a business and to decide to proceed with. The business plan is created, as well as the identification of the resources required, the project risk, the source of the funds and how they would use them.

3. Implementation

This event includes the incorporation of resources and arm the project to launch their new business to the market. The strategy and business plan begin to develop day by day, and the use of resources are invested in favor of building a successful company.

4. Growth

The ideal event for any entrepreneur is to see how their company is constantly growing. The activities of the previous event, ideally lead the business to a stage of maturity to maximize profitability for better benefits. Growth is the stage of the entrepreneurial process in which is reflected time and effort spent by the entrepreneur. At this time, to keep up the pace of the business growth, the entrepreneur must keep up his personal development to continue also his internal growth. This growth is eventually collaborative it there is an entrepreneurial ecosystem improvement that also aids the mutual work.

The entrepreneurial process model by Hisrich and Peters

One of the models on the entrepreneurial process is of Robert Hisrich, a professor at the Thunderbird School of Global Management and Michael P. Peters author of several books on entrepreneurship. This model establishes the various factors and events surrounding the entrepreneurial process.

Developing a business plan early on your entrepreneur path

It is generally advisable to write a business plan as early as possible step in the entrepreneurial process of starting a new venture.

A business plan is a written document that describes in detail how a business, usually a new one, is going to achieve its goals for entrepreneurial success.

Creative individuals bring together their ideas in such plan and develop a clear roadmap for moving forward.

It is also a good idea to update your business plan regularly as your business grows and changes, as it is a big picture of your idea and it can help you to be guided of what new products or services should be implementend when you are about to start and are already on the go.

Often, a business entrepreneurial plan is prepared for investors or as a way to get a small business loan by many entrepreneurs.

A business plan lays out a written plan from a marketing, financial and operational standpoint. 

The components of a business plan vary depending on the type of business, but generally, they should include an executive summary, a business description, a market analysis, a competitive analysis, a service or product line section, and a marketing and sales strategy.

Additionally, a business plan should include financial projections for the business, including a balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.

The Entrepreneurial Process Video Example

Frequently Asked Questions

What is entrepreneurial process?

The entrepreneurial process is a set of stages and events that follow one another. These entrepreneurial process stages are: the idea or conception of the business, the event that triggers the operations, implementation and growth.  A critical factor that drive the development of the business at each stage as with most human behavior, entrepreneurial traits are shaped by personal attributes and environment.

Why entrepreneurship is a process?

Entrepreneurship is a process because there are different events that have to occur in order to develop a project.

As stated before, there are a set of events such as innovation, triggering event, implementation and growth.

To become an entrepreneur, different set of skills are develop under time, that is why along the entrepreneurial journey, he or she will learn along that path.

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