GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

 1. Economic policy This defines the market systems established by the government, market structure and the extent to which all the firms compete under fair games rules. An open market system that leaves forces of demand and supply to control the distribution of resources allows entrepreneurship to flourish since it has more rewards for innovators. This allows opportunity identification arising from free entry into national and regional markets. 2. Administrative issues These include the procedural requirements for registration, licensing, taxes and financial reporting which may either facilitate or hinder entrepreneurial activities. Excessive number of rules and procedures discourage entrepreneurs from starting businesses, for instance, most small businesses consider paperwork as time consuming or cumbersome. 3. Infrastructure The availability of infrastructure and utilities such as good roads, power, communication facilities and lack of corruption and bureaucratic delays in obtai...

 1. It allows individuals and business people to save money that would be used to cover unexpected emergencies. 2. An entrepreneur is assured of business continuity as a result of the compensation after the loss has occurred. This gives the entrepreneur confidence, stable earnings, growing and expansion. 3. Customers increase their trust in the entrepreneur’s business as a result of the assurance in his or her business continuity. 4. The property of the business people are guarded against all risks like fire, theft, e.t.c. This gives confidence to entrepreneurs to undertake business operations. 5. Insurance companies act as trustees and referees to their clients who would like to get loans from commercial banks. 6. Insurance companies also give loans to business men who operate on large scale and have collateral security. The excess premium which is not spent on daily expenses of the company and investments can be lent out to earn interest for the insurance company. 7. Insurance po...

 Going into business is deceptively simple but staying in business and making a success of it is not. Success or failure are not the chance results of a toss of a coin. Being in the right place at the right time is partly luck but more so to do with good planning. Therefore setting up a business for the first time or expanding an existing business can be the road to riches and personal fulfillment. It can also be the road to financial ruin and personal misery. Successful businesses are a result of careful research, planning, enthusiasm, self confidence and commitment. If an entrepreneur identifies a business opportunity, it is ideal to carry out a feasibility study in order to ascertain whether the opportunity is viable/profitable. It also acts as a basis upon which financial assistance can be sought from the financial system. It can be broken into 3 categories, i.e market feasibility study, technical feasibility study and financial feasibility study. 1. Market feasibility study (i...

 1. Long and irregular working hours lead to fatigue and exhaustion. 2. There is uncertainty of income. The person is not sure of his income as it varies with the business performance. 3. It leads to low life style due to too much work. 4. A self-employed person bears all the risks of losses. 5. There is uncertainty of the future. This is because income upon which planning can be done is uncertain. 6. A self-employed person may not have definite tasks and responsibilities i.e incase he/she is alone in business he/she does all the business activities e.g purchasing, selling, accounting e.t.c.

 1. Locating the business in areas where they can easily access support services, markets as well as raw materials. 2. Undertaking research and development to come up with new products that meet the customers’ needs and beats off competition. 3. Ensuring good business management. This is done through creating a work environment that encourages productivity, hiring competitive people and training them, being able to think strategically, e.t.c. 4. Establishing good relationship with customers and ensuring that they are always satisfied with the products and cannot be taken away by competitors. 5. Conducting thorough market surveys before starting businesses to ensure that businesses went into are the ones whose output (goods and services) will be competitive, have a fair sized market and profitable prices. 6. Avoid over expansion. Expansion should only be done after careful review, research and analysis as well as identifying what one needs to add in order for one’s business to grow....

 1. Unsuitable location of the business. Even if a business is properly managed, a bad location leads to its failure. For instance, locating the business far from the market (customers) or source of raw materials. 2. Limited market for the business products. This normally results from competition, changing customer tastes, uncompetitive prices, e.t.c. 3. Poor management of the business. Businesses which are poorly managed, for instance when they are inefficient in the use of resources, do not keep proper records, use wrong costing and pricing methods, inevitably make big loses and in the end fail and close up. 4. Poor handling of customers. No business can afford to survive with dissatisfied customers. A business whose owner or employees are rude to customers and do not bother to attend to their individual needs cannot take long before it collapses. 5. Limited market research. This leads to failure to clearly define and understand one’s market, one’s customers and one’s customer’s ...

 Below are some of the strategies for handling negotiation challenges. 1. If the work load is increasing, one can look for tasks to eliminate, review the work he or she would hand him or herself, review the way to combine similar jobs or consider the use of temporary or part time help. 2. If the work load is declining, one can work on improving efficiency, do house keeping that has been postponed or start projects that could generate new work. 3. If there are problems of turnover, help employees identify with their group, try to develop stable work groups or review status implications in jobs. 4. If there is a group of employees who are controlling production, remove misunderstandings if there are any, find out if it is to the group’s advantage to slow down or find out and deal with the real problem. 5. If employees are dissatisfied with their pay, review bench mark jobs, i.e compare with similar jobs in other enterprises, compare with comparable jobs in the area, adjust assignment...

 1. Most small business owners are willing to try new approaches to make their businesses more successful. 2. Small businesses understand customer needs, identify new opportunities and fix problems quickly and efficiently. 3. Small businesses can quickly implement new business practices and adapt to changing market conditions. 4. When pursuing new opportunities, many small business entrepreneurs experiment and improvise. They accept failure as part of the path to success. 5. Small businesses are adaptive at doing with less. The resource constraints lead to their innovative mindset. 6. Small businesses traditionally rely on strong social networks to share information needed for innovative thinking.

 Change refers to giving a completely different form or appearance to an object. It involves transforming an object into a completely different one. It is inevitable in organizations. IMPORTANCE OF CHANGE 1. Adoption of new technology. Adoption of new technology is common in most organizations and this has made them increase productivity, for instance growing communication technology can enable business leaders search for experts online through search engines. 2. Response to customer needs. As the world evolves, customers need change and growth, creating new demand for new types of products and services and opening up new areas of opportunity for companies to meet those needs. This can be achieved through change. 3. Determines direction of economy. The economy has both positive and negative impacts on organizations and both can be stressful. For instance, in a strong economy, increasing demand for products and services will mean that companies must consider expansion, that is, addi...

 • Sex It refers to the biological differences between a male and female. • Culture It refers to more permanent rules, ways of behaving and thinking of people in a given community. • Society Is an organized body of people sharing common beliefs, attitudes and modes of action within a given social/political boundary. • Division of labour There are assumptions that there are things men can do or cannot do and which women must or must not do. The result is that in many societies women tend to end up with a heavier work load than men. • Labour market Occupational discrimination in employment (hiring, tenure and promotion) and in lack of child care facilities may discourage career aspirations in women and limit their contribution to development. Many times they are given subordinate positions even if they have the same qualifications which men for the reason that they have a double role, that is, of home care and their profession. This is demoralizing to women. • Access It is the means ...

 PARTIES TO BUSINESS ETHICS 1. The clients/customers who deal with the business 2. Employees 3. Government of a country or authority in which business activities take place. 4. Businesses which compete with the entrepreneur’s business. 5. The society within which the business is located. 6. The suppliers of business inputs. (A)BUSINESS ETHICS TOWARDS CUSTOMERS 1. Honesty Honesty should be in terms of the price charged for the quality and quantity of the goods and the delivery of products purchased by his or her customers. 2. Courtesy This is being polite, patient and sincere when dealing with customers. The entrepreneur should not sell expired goods to his or her customers. He or she should be seen providing a good service and not only interested in getting money from the customer. 3. Geniality The entrepreneur should be kind, cheerful and try to balance his or her temper when dealing with customers. He should never shout at or abuse the customer but instead try as much as possible...

 There are many possibilities for one who wants to start a business. These include; 1. Retail or wholesale type of business Retail businesses sell goods directly to the consumers usually in small quantities. Wholesalers buy goods often in large quantities from manufacturers or importers and then sell them to retailers and other distributors. 2. Franchise or independent type of business Many established companies offer franchises which are basically copies of their companies. If one buys a franchise, he/she is buying the right to sell the parent company’s goods/services in a specific area. Besides paying a franchise fee, he/she will also have to pay royalties perhaps additional fees to the franchisor. An independent business on the other hand is the one that one creates and nurtures on his/her own. Starting an independent business gives one the control and freedom that one will not get from a franchise operation. 3. Product or service type of business If one is a trained professiona...

 1. Determination of what one does best. Thinking about one’s interests will help him or her focus on his or her brain storming and give him or her the staying power to persevere through the tedious parts of starting a business. For instance, if one’s interest is dogs, then he or she can start a business that has to do with dogs. 2. One can take note of the obvious problem that he or she encounters in everyday life. He or she can keep a pad of paper and pen in the pocket, along the bed side table and start a pile of index cards with ideas written on them. Periodically one can throw away the ones that do not cut it and hang on those that might be before their time. 3. Reading newspapers. These contain ideas that one can adopt. Just every object that surrounds man has ever made someone a fortune. Therefore one can dream up ways to improve or rework those same products to create another big idea. 4. One can listen to and observe what is going on around him or her. Once one has acquire...

 (A)HOW TO PRESENT A PRODUCT TO THE CUSTOMER When presenting a product to a customer, an entrepreneur should consider; - The target customer’s needs. - Customer’s privacy, convenience, ability to use the product, e.t.c. - Giving samples, guarantee, e.t.c to back up the product. - Presentation aids like photographs, catalogues and charts to back up the product. (B)HOW TO BARGAIN WITH CUSTOMERS In bargaining with customers, the entrepreneur should; - Be a good communicator. - Avoid dominating the customer. - Try to convince the customer as to why the product is being sold at the offer price. - Give counter offers like reduction in price. - Offer in delivery services. (c)HOW TO GIVE PERSONAL ATTENTION TO CUSTOMERS - Understand customers’ wants and needs and bring products to satisfy them. - Sell products at the right prices, in the right quantity and quality. - Use the right promotion at the right time in order to meet the customers’ wants and needs identified. (D)HOW TO COLLECT OVERD...

 1. Selecting a business opportunity or type of business to engage in, for instance, trading business, service provision business, manufacturing, agro business, e.t.c. 2. Conducting market survey for a selected type of business. This involves gathering information from respondents by communicating with them. 3. Collecting all the relevant data concerning the different aspects of the business and establish the costs of different items like machinery and equipment, raw materials, transport, e.t.c. 4. Drafting the business plan. 5. Discussing the drafted business plan with technical/knowledgeable or experienced people in the similar business. 6. Making a final business plan. 7. Finalizing the business plan process by preparing an action plan for the implementation of the planned activities.

 1. Population size and growth rate The rate at which the population is growing determines how great the business opportunities in a country emerge. A big population presents opportunities like wide market and cheap labour. Uganda has the third highest growth rate in the world, estimated at 3.5%. 2. Level of education and experience The entrepreneur’s ability to start and operate a business is influenced by the experience and level of education he/she attained. Education highly influences entrepreneurship development in terms of formal skills, business management skills, negotiation skills and networks. However, in Uganda the successful and potential entrepreneurs are those with less training and experience. People who are highly educated are analytical and are risk averse yet less educated people tend to be creative and therefore risk taking. 3. Income levels This defines the differences in social economic status of individuals in the society. People with lower income levels tend ...

 1. The relegation of women to the home following colonization associated with training of men for assistant administration roles and clergy. 2. Discriminatory labour market practices leading to low pay, low status work for women. 3. The masculine image of science projected in text books, media and popular assumptions. 4. The nature of science occupations which are not easily combined with child rearing and care. 5. Poor facilities including teacher supply, quality and equipment. 6. Limited role models and career guidance. 7. The double demand on girls, i.e the traditional and school learning activities. 8. Early marriages 9. Limited access to finance by women. 10. Parent perception of cost/benefit of educating girls, especially low income families.

 According to the entrepreneurial school, when 3rd world entrepreneurs enter into business, they regard it not as an impersonal activity of the ‘economic man’ but as a personal activity designed to enhance the status of the family and end up being reluctant to give up family control. Several factors necessitate close ties between family and business. They include; 1. Joint family funding. Some members of the family tend to pool their resources together to start a new enterprise. In this way, all those members do have a say on the business operations and influence decisions. 2. Inheritance Some businesses are inherited and passed from one generation to another. In such ventures, the business entity is seen as a whole and this becomes a family business. 3. Fear of hired management They tend to believe that business management by an outsider is affected by such malpractices like thefts, embezzlement. Therefore family management is seen as a way to decrease and protect family property ...

 ADVANTAGES OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES 1. Decision making is easier compared to large enterprises. 2. They require relatively less capital to start. 3. They have low operational costs due to fewer number of workers. 4. They are flexible in that they can even be located in rural areas. 5. Sell goods in small quantities which consumers can afford. DISADVANTAGES OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES 1. They do not enjoy economies of scale like large enterprises. 2. It is not easy for them to obtain a loan from the bank like large enterprises. 3. They easily collapse as soon as the owner dies. 4. They frequently suffer from customer changing tastes and preferences. 5. They have limited storage facilities especially for perishable goods. 6. They produce low quality products leading to limited market. 7. They lack skilled man power to manage them.

 These are businesses which are registered with the Registrar of Companies. For a person to start such a business, he/she must be aware of the licenses, labour laws, taxes and permits required to avoid breaking the country’s laws. ADVANTAGES OF FORMAL BUSINESSES 1. They are legally recognized. 2. They are properly organized. 3. It is easy for them to get loans from financial institutions. 4. They have a sound base for further growth and development. 5. They are reliable and somehow permanent and therefore it is easy to get skilled human resources. DISADVANTAGES OF FORMAL BUSINESSES 1. They are always governed by laws and rigid regulations. 2. They are not adaptable to changes. 3. They are not easy to start because of the involved procedural formalities.

 Below are some of the negotiation challenges. 1. Time pressure At times there are unexpected time pressure and attempts to push one straight to one’s fall-back position by another party. For instance, the other party early in the negotiations may say “let’s skip the haggling, just give your best price”. This kind of pressure is challenging to negotiation. 2. Influence of another decision maker In negotiations, there is lack of openness and honesty from either parties or from one party. When in negotiations, one may discover that one is not talking to a decision maker, for instance, the other party leaves the room and returns five minutes later saying that “my boss would never agree to that”. 3. Delay tactics Some negotiators tend to delay the negotiation in order to make one become more nervous or make one feel under pressure so that one agrees to what they want in order to keep the discussion short. This tactic is used frequently by senior people on more junior people. 4. Last mi...

 1. Availability of market/real demand. Market means people or institutions willing and able to buy goods and services of a business. 2. Availability of required resources. These refer to the means required for production of goods and services, for instance, capital, raw materials, labour, land, e.t.c. 3. Reasonable level of return on investment. The rewards/profits realized from the business should be acceptable depending on the level of investment by the entrepreneur in terms of risk and effort. 4. Availability of required technical skills. This refers to the machines and skilled manpower needed for production of goods and services. These should be available and affordable for a business idea to be feasible and viable. 5. Acceptability in community. For a business to be viable and feasible, it should conform to the social norms and be liked by society. For instance, a bar business would not be viable in a Muslim dominated community. 6. Favourable government policy as regards inve...

 1. It helps the entrepreneur to search for, establish and disseminate organizational goals to the different departments in the organization. 2. It facilitates development of plans and strategies to achieve goals. Once goals have been articulated, strategies are evolved, discussed and communicated. 3. It facilitates the allocation of resources of the organization in the most effective way. This is done through agreeing on discussions and directives on how the resources will be deployed. 4. It facilitates identification, selection, development and appraisal of organizational members. 5. It helps an entrepreneur to implement organizational policies by giving instructions to subordinates and their supervisors. 6. It enables managers to influence, direct, motivate and create a conducive working environment for organizational members. This is done through written or verbal communication which involves giving workers instructions and guidance. 7. It enables the entrepreneur to get feedba...

 Every business can benefit from innovation in the following ways; 1. Developing new products. A firm can make an exclusive basis based on the review of the needs of the end- users of its production and their environment. Through innovation, new technologies can be located. 2. It assists in marketing Innovation helps in packaging and positioning the business products for global distribution, for example, developing state-of-the-art electronic commerce and distribution programs. 3. It helps in developing additional distribution channels and added value that can make one’s service stand out. 4. It helps the entrepreneur to find new applications for existing software. Therefore improvement in effectiveness eases the use and perceived value of one’s software. 5. It enables the entrepreneur to successfully market on internet. Through innovation, an entrepreneur can review his or her objectives and compare to customer needs. He or she can determine what is not working and implement a sol...

 Entrepreneurs are the ones that conceptualize, implement, maintain and expand business in the face of risks and uncertainty. They achieve and growth by identifying opportunities and marshalling the necessary resources to capitalize on those opportunities. An entrepreneur can be described as someone who; i. owns and manages his/her own business. ii. identifies new products/services or opportunities. iii. is creative and innovative. iv. organizes and controls resources to ensure a profit for the business. v. has the ability and insight to market, produce and finance a service or product. vi. has financial means or can obtain financing to support the business. vii. is willing to take calculated risks. (b)THE INTRAPRENEUR An intrapreneur is a person who focuses on innovation and creativity and who transforms a dream or an idea into a profitable venture, by operating within the organizational environment. He or she identifies opportunities within an existing business and creates profit...

 1. Global finance Globalization has brought in new opportunities to entrepreneurs in terms of international finance. Global finance presents opportunities in the areas of international payment system, current exchange rates and international fiancé bodies like World Bank, IMF, International Dispute commission and International Insurance policies. 2. Global trade Increase in trade across national boundaries provides opportunities to different individuals and industries as well as negative impact to other industries. Therefore entrepreneurs have to be alert to global changes in order to take advantage of those opportunities/benefits. These include; - Accessibility to international markets - Easier access to information through vast communication networks like world wide web at minimal costs. - Strengthened trade agreements among regions, for instance COMESA, EU, EAC, e.t.c. 3. Government global policy An economy that is liberalized encourages entrepreneurs. In Uganda most sectors of...

 1. Political climate Political instability has affected different regions in Uganda for the last 40 years. It robbed Uganda of many entrepreneurs and more entrepreneurs have lost life time savings and business assets while others have been forced to close. Nowadays, Uganda’s political state has stabilized giving potential entrepreneurs an opportunity. 2. Government policy of taxation and subsidization policies which increase legitimacy, stimulate demand, or grant subsidies to entrepreneurs increase the organizational founding rate. On the other hand, very high taxes also serve to discourage potential entrepreneurs. 3. Size of government expenditure High level of government expenditure in health, education or defense encourages many entrepreneurs to emerge and respond to the opportunity. However, the bulk of Uganda’s government monetary and fiscal policies are aimed at appeasing donor agencies and multi-lateral financial institutions at the expense of business in general. These pol...

 1. Culture This refers to the customary practices and beliefs that people uphold. Societies with a social system that places a high value on entrepreneurship have a high rate of entrepreneurship development. On the other hand, cultures where people are risk averse and do not attach much importance to hard work and persistence are not conducive to entrepreneurship. 2. Social financial support Availability of capital creates favorable conditions for the entrepreneur. Therefore there will be more company formations when financial resources are available. 3. Social identification This captures how individuals relate themselves to surrounding environment, particularly to the social environment when they perceive themselves as entrepreneurs. In an environment where people are proud of entrepreneurship as a career, the chances of success are high. 4. Role models These are individuals influencing an entrepreneur’s career or styles. When people/potential entrepreneurs come into contact wit...

 Gender equality is a prerequisite to meaningful gender partnerships. Equality in this sense is one that wants to see everybody given the same opportunities and ensure that basic rights and obligations are similar for all groups so that nobody feels or is treated as being more or less worthy than others. This is the basis for true and effective gender partnerships. The following are the reasons why there is a need to promote gender partnerships; 1. To increase the abilities of women to participate in the labor force. 2. To promote the development of women entrepreneurs. 3. To promote employment for women as a strategy for poverty reduction. 4. To increase the numbers, sustainability and success of women in business. 5. To support organizations that promote women entrepreneurs in the formal and informal economy. 6. To eliminate threats of exploitation or victimization. 7. To ensure that each member/individual is justly rewarded for his or her services.

 1. Emotions Usually family problems like divorce, separations, health or financial problems create difficulties for family members which end up affecting the business. 2. Informality This takes the form of absence of clear policies and business norms family members. 3. Tunnel vision There is a challenge of limited outside opinion and diversity on how to operate the business. 4. Challenge of compensating family members Dividends, salaries and compensation for non-participating family members are not clearly defined and justified. 5. Role confusion The roles and responsibilities for each member are sometimes not clearly defined. This results into overlapping of functions. 6. Poor managerial skills There is hiring of family members who are not qualified, lack skills and abilities for the organization. In addition, it also becomes difficult to fire them even when it is clear that they are not working out. 7. Inadequate succession planning Most family organizations do not have a plan f...

 1. Specialisation A great personal brand must be precise and concentrated on a single core strength, talent or achievement. 2. Leadership Endowing a personal brand with authority and credibility demands that the source is perceived as a leader by people in his or her domain of influence. 3. Personality A great personal brand must be built on a foundation of the source’s true personality (true features). 4. Distinctiveness An effective personal brand needs to be expressed in a way that is different from the competition. 5. Visibility A personal brand should be seen over and over again, until it imprints itself on the consciousness of its sphere of influence. 6. Unity The private person behind a personal brand must adhere to the moral and behavioural code set down by that brand. The private conduct must mirror the public brand. 7. Persistence Any personal brand takes time to grow and while you accelerate the process, you cannot replace it with advertising or public relations. 8. Goo...

 There are three major competences namely; (i) A body of knowledge (ii) A set of skills (iii) A cluster of traits KNOWLEDGE Knowledge is defined as a set or body of information stored, which may be recalled at an appropriate time. In the business context, it may be manifested by information or familiarity with aspects such as; (i) A business opportunity (ii) Customers (iii) Production process (iv) Business management (v) The market (vi) Competitors (vii) Technical matters (viii) Sources of assistance However knowledge of the business is not enough in starting and operating a business without skills. SKILLS A skill is defined as the ability to apply knowledge and can be acquired or developed through practice, for instance driving or swimming. Therefore reading or learning about driving or swimming (knowledge) will not enable one to drive a car or swim if he/she doesn’t practice. Skills may be of technical or managerial nature. Technical skills include; (i) Engineering (iii) Financia...

 This is a management tool that involves laying out a series of sequenced steps that enable the entrepreneur to implement the planned activities of a business in a sequenced way to meet its set targets. IMPORTANCE/USES OF AN ACTION PLAN TO AN ENTERPRENEUR 1. It helps and guides the entrepreneur to remain focused during implementation of his/her business activities. 2. It helps the entrepreneur to identify business obstacles (barriers) in advance and take appropriate measures to overcome them. 3. It helps the entrepreneur to locate the various sources of information and the resources needed for a business. 4. It helps the entrepreneur to obtain feedback on the progress of the business. 5. It helps an entrepreneur to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of his/her business and those of competitors. 6. It serves as a table for implementing the business plan (business activities)

 1. Personal leadership. Social entrepreneurs lead by example. They have an ability to influence other people. 2. Ethical and principle centred Social entrepreneurs are principle centred in the sense that they make decisions on rules and values. 3. Goal oriented and visionary Social entrepreneurs start with a positive vision and then set attainable goals to reach that vision. 4. Good listeners Social entrepreneurs listen to people’s ideas and comments to learn from their mistakes. This allows them to improve their performance. 5. Risk takers Social entrepreneurs take moderate risks that have a reasonable chance of success. They try to lessen risk by involving many other people. 6. Empowering Social entrepreneurs believe in an use the potential of the people they help. 7. Advocators Social entrepreneurs speak up and take action for what they believe is right even if there is opposition. 8. Optimistic and flexible Social entrepreneurs tolerate uncertainty. Despite changes, they are p...

 1. Persuading members of the family and showing the rationale for hiring a professional manager from outside the family circle. 2. Spelling out concisely and clearly the specific roles and functions that are to be performed by every member of the family in terms of specific lines of authority and responsibilities. 3. Advising and convincing the family members to register the enterprise and have it operate as a company with a legal identity rather than physical human identity. 4. Ensuring informal counseling and guidance services to the members of the family enterprise who seem to behave ‘stubbornly’ contrary to the agreed guidelines set by the family members. 5. Inviting experts in the field of management, law, finance or technical incase there are controversial issues so as to help clarify issues and assure members of the family enterprise that the issue was healthy or unhealthy for the enterprise. 6. Ensuring that remunerative packages are tied to the types and amount of work in...

 Insurance is an aid to trade while gambling is a risk matter or act of game where people work on chance or luck. SIMILARITIES 1. In both cases, many people contribute towards a common pool. 2. At least two or more members are involved, i.e in insurance there is the insured and insurer while in gambling there are gamblers. 3. In both cases, either chance or misfortune determines who takes money from the pool. 4. Many people contribute but one or few take the money. 5. They both involve some element of gaining by one party, i.e if the risk does not happen, the insurer takes the money while in gambling, the winner benefits. DIFFERENCES 1. Insurance is a legal business which is recognized by the state while gambling in most cases is illegal and a social crime in society. 2. In gambling, the event specialized against must occur, i.e one side must win where in insurance the risk insured against may not or may occur except with life assurance. 3. Insurance helps the unlucky one to be res...

 These are enterprises employing a maximum of four (4) people, with annual sales turnover of maximum Uganda shillings twelve million (12,000,000) and total assets of maximum Uganda shillings twelve million. CHARACTERISTICS OF MICRO ENTERPRISES 1. They require very little money to be started. 2. They require very simple technology to operate. 3. Their sales are usually low. 4. They usually employ the services of their owners who may be assisted by one or two persons, usually family members. 5. They may not need fixed premises to operate from but where they do, they may be housed in temporary structures. 6. They do not have to be registered before they commence operations but may have to obtain operating licenses from the local authorities. Examples of micro businesses include kiosks, hawking, groceries, bicycle repairing, road side selling, e.t.c.

 Common sources of business ideas include the following; 1. Mass media This includes newspapers, magazines, television and the internet. These form a great source of information, ideas and often business opportunities, for instance one may read that there is more interest in physical fitness. In this, one may need to look for new enterprise ideas that are related to physical fitness such as sporting goods, health foods. 2. Hobbies/interests These are activities pursued for pleasure and relaxation. They are often a source of ideas for new enterprises, for instance one enjoys photography he or she may be able to expand his or her hobby into a profitable full-time enterprise. A business related to one’s hobby will enable him or her to spend more time doing what he or she enjoys. 3. Vocational training/personal skills and experience A business idea can be developed from one’s area of training. For instance, a teacher who starts a private school, a carpenter who starts a carpentry works...

 1. Innovators have compelling visions. They believe that they are part of something better to come in business and that their willingness to contribute to the vision will make that happen. 2. An innovator is opportunity oriented. He/she always seems to find an opportunity in any situation. One has enough confidence that if one thing does not work out, there is always another way to do it. 3. An innovator is self-disciplined. He/she knows that it takes self-discipline to achieve results. They prioritize their time so that they do the important work first. 4. An innovator is passionate about what he/she believes. Successful people have great passion for what they do. They put their efforts in achieving a particular thing and are totally focused on it till they achieve their goal. 5. An innovator is inner-directed. They are goal-oriented and do not need any one else to motivate them (they are self-driven). 6. An innovator is extraordinarily persistent. He/she just keeps on going and ...

 Innovation is the way of transforming the resources of an enterprise through the creativity of people into new resources and wealth. It relates to renewal or improvement and this takes place when people change the way they make decisions or make choices outside their norms. This leads to new product categories as well as increasing productivity. There are a variety of innovations which include the following; 1. Business model innovation This involves changing the way the business is done in terms of capturing value, for example WBS Vs Bukedde television, MTN Vs Warid Telecom, e.t.c 2. Marketing innovation This involves the development of new marketing methods with improvement in product design, packing, product promotion or pricing. 3. Organizational innovation This involves the creation or alteration of the business structures, practices and models and may therefore include process, marketing and business model innovation. 4. Process innovation This involves the implementation of...

 The following four-step basic decision making technique can be applied to coping with changes; 1. Understanding the situation. For example, assuming that one is operating a moderately successful shop in a small town. The change situation constitutes a new shopping area being planned for the out skirts of the town. One should determine what changes he or she should anticipate in the driving and restraining forces acting on his or her small business. For example, will the new shopping area drive customers away, will any of the big businesses be relocating, is his or her area showing any sign of deterioration? If he or she takes no special action, what are chances of declining and eventual business collapse? Therefore one should examine every aspect of the situation before defining the problem. 2. Defining the problem. The problem might be defined as a need to take some kind of action now that will have one of four different effects. (i) Prevent the new market area from eventually de...

 1. Change usually benefits some people while it hurts others. This is especially true when change is seen as damaging in some way. 2. Many changes require either an initial financial investment or short term economic hardship before long term can be realized. 3. For the small business owners, the time and effort necessary for planning and implementing the change cause him or her to resist change, for example, adoption of new record keeping system will require a major effort and without it finances could become hopelessly confused. 4. The need to feel secure when a small business seems to be running smoothly. Any change may represent a threat to security because varying degrees of uncertainty are involved in the change. However, there is no real security in keeping things as they are when everything else outside the business is changing. 5. Some people resist change because they feel they are not capable of handling it. This may be due to general lack of self-confidence, deficienci...

 The following are some of the reasons for writing a business plan; 1. To test the feasibility of the business idea. It enables the entrepreneur to establish whether the idea for starting the business is possible or not. 2. To give the business the best possible chances of success. It encourages the entrepreneur to pay attention to both the broad operational and financial objectives of the business and details such as budgeting and market planning. 3. To secure funding such as loans. The business plan enables the entrepreneur a much better chance of getting the money he/she needs to continue operating. 4. To attract investors. Investors normally need a well-written document they can take away and study before they make any investment commitment. 5. To make business planning manageable and effective. It helps an entrepreneur to see what goals have been accomplished, what changes need to be made, or what new directions the business should take.

 Entrepreneurial environment refers to a combination of external factors and their organic integration which make an impact in the business startup process by the entrepreneurs. CHARACTERISTICS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ENVIRONMENT 1. Resource scarcity/limited resources These include inputs like land, capital and labor. The scarcity of these resources affects the ability of new firms to enter into this environment. 2. Opportunity orientation This is the ability to recognize and analyze market opportunities. Entrepreneurs search for or create opportunities all the time and shape themselves to seize and quickly take advantage of opportunities before they are lost. 3. Uncertainty This environment is full of unknowns or risks. Entrepreneurs demonstrate an ability to accommodate uncertain situations. This allows them to act without full information and clarity about situations. By tolerating uncertainty, entrepreneur’s perception of risk that may otherwise impede action is decreased allowing t...

 1. It helps entrepreneurs to be trustworthy by recognizing that the customer is the king. This helps to maintain and attract new customers. 2. It enables business people to meet obligations of their customers and business partners regardless of anything else. 3. It increases business turnover through fair pricing of product. 4. It increases business profits. Good business ethics towards customers increases total sales of the business as well as its profits. This facilitates business growth and expansion. 5. It leads to societal recognition. A business person who is ethical builds the image of reliability and establishes reputation with his or her customers. 6. Easy access to human resources. By practicing business ethics, a business earns good reputation which enables it to get human resources to work for it. 7. Easy access to business inputs. By practicing business ethics to suppliers, the business is able to easily access raw materials and other production inputs from the societ...

 The process of determining either the success or failure of one’s business idea takes the following steps; 1. The idea stage This involves getting the idea and imagining the possibilities. Market research is conducted. One can gather information from industry associations, web searches, magazines, newspapers, government departments, e.t.c The aim is to gain a general sense of the type of customers one’s products or services will serve. The research plan should spell out objectives and give the entrepreneur information that he or she needs to go ahead with the idea. The entrepreneur should utilize experts in planning and conducting research sessions. 2. Idea analysis This involves evaluating the idea that has been generated. The idea can be looked at from four perspectives, i.e company, customer, competitor and collaborators as discussed below. - Company One can think of an idea in terms of its product/service features, the benefits to customers, the personality of the company, wha...

 Innovation can result from internal and external forces. INTERNAL FORCES 1. Unexpected occurrences. These can be failures or successes. It is through unexpected occurrences that new ideas are born from new information brought to light. 2. Incongruities This results from a company’s or industry’s perception and reality, for instance, the demand for steel continued to grow between 1950 and 1970, in the steel industry fell. This incongruity caused some innovators to develop a steel mill with a less expensive method of making steel. 3. Process needs These are innovations inspired to support some other products or process. For example, newspaper publishers devised advertisements to cover the expense of printing newspapers using the new printing equipment acquired. 4. Industry and market changes. Innovation is stimulated by changes in the market to meet the changing customer needs and to compete favorably with new products on market. EXTERNAL FORCES 1. Demographic forces This affects al...

 REWARDS FOR BEING AN ENTERPRENEUR 1. Self-actualization/personal fulfillment. 2. Feeling of freedom and independence. 3. Providing jobs and benefits others e.g suppliers, bankers, sub-contractors, work force and customers. 4. Creating economic value e.g products/services, incomes for workers, it’s for shareholders. COSTS OF BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR. The entrepreneur; 1. works long hours. 2. is always concerned about the business. 3. needs high energy. 4. sacrifices other important aspects of life. 5. has limited social life. 6. does not have much time with family and friends. 7. needs financial investment.

 In the business plan preparation, the entrepreneur is expected to have broken down all the contents of the plan under the following sub headings; 1. General description of the business. 2. Statement of mission, goals and objectives. 3. The Marketing plan 4. The Production plan 5. The Financial plan 6. The Organisational plan (Administrative/Management plan) 7. The Action plan General description of the business This involves giving summarized information about the business. Therefore general description of the business involves establishing the name, address and location of the business, the type of business being planned, the needs of the market it seeks to fulfill, a summary of how the intended business will be different from other businesses (uniqueness) as well as making an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) that the business is likely to face. Statement of mission, goals and objectives These are brief statements indicating why the business...