62 ENTREPRENEURSHIP
necessary for SCA. Does the company have a competitive advantage? A sustainable compet-
itive advantage? What recommendations about resource procurement and development
would you make for this company?- Interview an entrepreneur. Ask the entrepreneur to describe the keys to successful entrepre-
neurship. Ask the entrepreneur to estimate how much of his or her success was the result
of luck or unknown factors. Do the answers seem to fit the resource-based model? - Inventory your personal resource base by using the six types of resources described in the
chapter. Evaluate these resources by employing the four criteria. Comment on your individ-
ual potential to start a business that has the prospect of achieving SCA. - If you are in a group with other students, inventory the group’s resources and repeat exer-
cise 3. - Assume you have access to your college or university’s resources. Redo your inventories (see
exercises 3 and 4). How have you increased your potential for competitive advantage?
EXERCISES FOR WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN
Beginning with this chapter, the exercises are designed to prepare the student to develop and
write a business plan. These exercises may be done either individually or in a group setting.- Exercise envisioning. Sit in a quiet and dark room and begin to think about what kind of
business you would like to start. Close your eyes and let your mind’s eye see yourself work-
ing in that business. What do you see? Is it a manufacturing business, a service or retail out-
let, a construction site, or something else? Notice the physical setting and the people. What
are they doing? Which are employees and which are customers? Are the people happy?
Busy? Confused? - Develop 20 ideas for a new business. Make the 20 ideas into 100 ideas, no matter how
unusual or apparently strange. Sort the ideas into the 10 best, and make the concepts more
original. At the end of the exercise, you should have 20 to 30 truly creative new business
ideas. - For each of the group or individual’s best ideas, do the following short assignment:
a. Describe the business in 25 words or less. The description should include the
product/service, the customer, and the technology employed.
b. Describe the opportunity that you believe this business exploits. In other words, why do
you think this is a great business idea?
c. Describe the resources you believe you would need to execute this new venture idea. Use
the six categories from Chapter 2. Which resource(s) will be the source of competitive
advantage?
d. Estimate how much money it would cost to actually get this business started. The esti-
mate will be very rough, but try to make an educated guess.