References
Essay Learning Objective:
01-05 Recognize
how small
businesses are
important to our
economy and your
community.
98.
Award: 1.00 point
Jamal cleaned and organized his mother’s walk-in closet and both Jamal and his mother were very
pleased with the results. His mother commented that Jamal had a knack for this sort of thing. After
organizing his aunt’s closet and one for his cousin, Jamal got the idea of starting his own business
cleaning and organizing closets. He could bootstrap the part-time business, working from home and
he only needed a small advertising budget which he financed from his savings. Jamal worked for
weeks on a business plan and then launched his business, Closet Jewels with an ad campaign in
local media. After six months, Jamal still did not have any customers and had received repeated
feedback from prospects that while the idea of a clean and organized closet was appealing, the
prospect was not willing to pay someone to organize their closet. Jamal closed Closet Jewels after
eight months.
Dissect Jamal’s path through the entrepreneurial process. Did he complete all the steps? Explain
why Jamal’s business failed to succeed?
Closet Jewels did not prosper because customers were nonexistent. Without customers, there is no
profit. Jamal started on the entrepreneurial process with the first step—feel. Jamal had success
organizing closets and had a feeling about starting a business providing the service to others. What
Jamal failed to take action on was step two in the entrepreneurial process—check. Smart
entrepreneurs check the likelihood for success of their idea through feasibility analysis or a
customer development process, repeating these until they have a winning idea. Jamal did not
complete this step and had to discover the answer the hard way, after he had launched the
business. Jamal followed step three, plan by making a detailed business plan and even made it to
step four, do, by launching the business.
References
Essay Learning Objective:
01-01 Understand
the scope of small
business in the
United States.
99.
Award: 1.00 point
Explain VIGE and its connection to small business opportunities in other countries. How is this
linked to the national economy?
One approach to exporting that has grown dramatically in the past 15 years is using e-commerce,
particularly auction sites like eBay, to handle global trade. The formal title for this is virtual instant
global entrepreneurship (VIGE). VIGE depends on using websites like eBay (for products) or Upwork
(for services) to quickly establish a global presence. The VIGE site provides the assurance of
honesty on the part of buyers and sellers, using rules, warranties, and most of all, mutual ratings of
buyers and sellers. Originally, small business was synonymous with local business, but VIGE is
changing that notion. Small businesses now account for over 33 percent of the value of all goods
and services exported from the United States, and represent nearly 98 percent of all exporting
firms.
References
Essay Learning Objective:
01-05 Recognize
how small
businesses are
important to our
economy and your
community.
100.
Award: 1.00 point
101.
Award: 1.00 point
Explain the pivot strategy as one of the seven key strategies of the entrepreneurial way. Why is it
also called the corridor principle?
The pivot strategy holds that you should go ahead and start the business in any way you can and
look for better opportunities as you go along. This approach is also called the corridor principle
because until you start going down the corridor (or doing your business) you can’t tell what
opportunities you might find.
References
Essay Learning Objective:
01-06 Recognize the
seven key strategies
of the
entrepreneurial way.
Identify and briefly describe the three forms of entrepreneurship represented in the term CSI
entrepreneurship.
The three forms of entrepreneurship included in CSI entrepreneurship is: corporate, social, and
independent entrepreneurship. Self-employed founders of for-profit firms are involved in what is
called independent entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurships includes founders of not-for-profit
organizations or for-profit social ventures, such as charitable and civic organizations. Finally, with
corporate entrepreneurship, the focus is typically on bringing a new product or service to market, or
opening new markets for your firm.
References
Essay Learning Objective:
01-01 Understand
the scope of small
business in the
United States.