LIFE ORIENTATION

ENTREPRENEURSHIP
BOOKLET
Entrepreneurship
What is an Entrepreneur?

Lets explore…and as you do:

Consider possible opportunities
in each type of entrepreneurship
venture that will be discussed!
Different forms of Entrepreneurship

• E-commerce (e-Business)
• Small Business
• Innovative
entrepreneurship.
• Design entrepreneurship
• Social entrepreneurship
• Cultural entrepreneurship
• Tourism entrepreneurship
 E-business of E-commerce
Definitions How do e-businesses work?
E-business or Electronic Commerce (e-
These business transactions can be done
commerce) means a trade activity of buying in four ways:
and selling of goods, products, or services • Business to Business (B2B),
over the internet. • Business to Customer (B2C),
E-commerce is also known as electronic • Customer to Customer (C2C),
commerce or internet commerce, it is an • Customer to Business (C2B).
umbrella term that includes the act of
The standard definition of E-commerce is a
running business, i.e., buying/selling/ commercial transaction which is happened
advertisement, online with an intention of over the internet.
broadening/sustaining the customer base
for profit. E-business is part of e-commerce Examples of e-businesses
and it only deals with the processes involved
• Amazon,
in that transaction.
• Flipkart,
These services provided online over the • Shopify,
internet network. • Myntra,
Transaction of money, funds, and data are • Ebay,
also considered as E-commerce. • Quikr,
• Olx
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Advantages of E-Commerce Disadvantages of E-Commerce
• E-commerce provides the sellers with a global
reach. They remove the barrier of place
(geography). Now sellers and buyers can meet in • The start-up costs of the e-commerce portal are
the virtual world, without the hindrance of very high. The setup of the hardware and the
location. software, the training cost of employees, the
• E-commerce will substantially lower the constant maintenance and upkeep are all quite
transaction cost. It eliminates many fixed costs
of maintaining brick and mortar shops. This expensive.
allows the companies to enjoy a much higher • The e-commerce industry has a high risk of
margin of profit.
failure. Many companies riding the dot-com
• It provides quick delivery of goods with very wave of the 2000s have failed miserably. At
little effort on part of the
customer. Customer complaints are also times, e-commerce can feel impersonal. So it
addressed quickly. It also saves time, energy and lacks the warmth of an interpersonal
effort for both the consumers and the company. relationship which is important for many brands
• One other great advantage is the convenience it and products.
offers. A customer can shop 24×7. The website
is functional at all times; it does not have • Security is another area of concern. Credit card
working hours like a shop. theft, identity theft etc. remain big concerns
• E-commerce also allows the customer and with the customers.
the business to be in touch directly, without any • Then there are also fulfilment problems. Even
intermediaries. This allows for
quick communication and transactions. It also after the order is placed there can be problems
gives a valuable personal touch. with shipping, delivery, mix-ups etc. This leaves
the customers unhappy and dissatisfied.
 Small businesses
Definition Examples of small businesses
• Small businesses are corporations, • Handyman.
partnerships, or sole proprietorships • Woodworker
which have fewer employees and/or • Online Dating Consultant Sewing and
less annual revenue than a regular- Alteration Specialist. ...
sized business.
• Freelance Developer
• Thus it is a business that operates at a
small scale with fewer employees, • Personal Trainer
capital, machines and has a limited • Freelance Graphic Designer
revenue base. • Life/ Career Coach
• Outside of government regulations, • Estate agent
any business with under 500 • Photographer
employees can be considered a small
business • Gardening services
• A business which functions on a small • Builders
scale level and involves less capital • Hairdressers
investment, less number of labour and • Internet café
fewer machines to operate. • Small retailers
• Fruit and veg vendors
• House shop/corner cafe
• Etc.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Advantages Disadvantages

• Independence -as a business owner, • Possible income instability. ...

you're your own boss. • Potential of financial risk - the
financial resources needed to start
• Lifestyle - owning a small business gives and grow a business can be
you certain lifestyle advantages. extensive.
• Financial rewards as compared to • Finding Customers can be a
working for someone else challenge
• You stress less - nothing is more stressful • It’s difficult to hire talented people.
than a cash flow crunch. • Longer working hours.
• Learning opportunities as you progress • Ties to a physical location.
with your business • Limited expertise.
• Access to fewer resources.
• Creative freedom and personal
satisfaction • Possible lack of guidance
• Stress - as a business owner, you are
• Your finances are easier to forecast · the business
• It gives you a sense of control. • Time commitment - often start
• Set Your Own Schedule i.e. you decide businesses so that they'll have more
how many hours will work time to spend with their families. ...
• Undesirable duties.
• Build Self-Confidence.
• Reliance on individual relationships.
• You Can Take Time Off
• Feel Pride of what you started from scratch
• You deliver better work
 Innovative entrepreneurship
Definition How does it operate
• Innovative entrepreneurship is the • Create solutions, products, or services
practice of establishing creating to help people change their lives.
new/unique business ideas/ways of • Can identify and seize opportunities
running a business with an intention to and may turn it them into profitable
generate profit, assist their community businesses.
and accomplish company goals. • It carries the zeal to find much-needed
• Innovative entrepreneurs develop solutions, which also means that it also
business to meet the needs of an can take on risks.
organization and customers with an The following are few examples of
intention to improve their success through innovation.
competitiveness in the market.
• Technology companies triggering a
paradigm shift by impacting industries
• Apple – changed music and
consumer electronics
• Uber – changing the taxi business
• Airbnb – changing the
accommodation industry
• Amazon – changing retailing
 Innovative entrepreneurship
Technology companies creating new The following brands have taken familiarity and made it
markets / industries relevant with modern technology to create a winning product
/ service.

• Google – with” Search, etc. ” for a • Nintendo - Pokemon Go is a world-class example of how
much better online experience– Nintendo became relevant again by simply reinventing
changed the Advertising world with itself through a modern game that activated gamers of all
AdWords– impacting the mobile, car, ages and genders. Pokemon Go incorporates virtual reality
utility, etc. industries elements, gamification, and commerce at scale in a way
that has never been done with such precision.
• Facebook – established the ” social • Snapchat - Snapchat brought photo sharing forward into
network ” market the modern age and brought back a real interest in photos
• WhatsApp – established the personal and communicating through photos. They were successful
communications market because they incorporated the social element and added
ways to edit the pictures and add things to them that
• Steam – established the online made it even more fun for their audience. They also
market for licensing games brought the photo-sharing concept into the digital online
• Companies making something old new age and made it interactive.
again • GoPro - GoPro effectively took an old product that
everyone has, re-purposed it, and made a fortune. GoPro
is nothing but a good-quality camera. However, they
managed to make it attractive, target a large niche of
passionate customers and create a new category for
themselves. The beauty behind this brand is targeting a
group of people who are tight-knit and large enough to
build a sizable business.
• Netflix - As one of the cornerstones of the home
entertainment industry, DVD rental stores seemed like
they were around forever. Then along came Netflix. Not
only did the brand reinvent the delivery of DVDs, they
transformed movie rental altogether with streaming
service.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Advantages Disadvantages

• Businesses can initially charge higher • Very costly and time consuming.
prices for new products before • Businesses can run out of money if
competitors’ products come on the they invest too much and don't get
market. products to market quickly enough.
• Being innovative good for a firm's • End up wasting resources by
reputation. developing something that doesn't
• If they have been first in the past - sell.
people naturally interested in future • Businesses not able to produce new
products. product on large scale at low enough
• Innovations in processes add value to cost - no guaranteed return on
existing products / services. investment.
• Businesses with lots of innovative • Businesses risk ruining reputation if
products can take advantage of new product is poor quality.
economies of scope.
 Design entrepreneurship
Definition: How does it operate?
• Designing/generating ideas that
are humanly desirable, • Designers become proactive in
identifying needs/challenges people
technologically feasible and might have and create/design solutions
financially viable. to such needs/challenges in the form of a
• The process of deeply business venture.
understanding customer needs
and then creating/designing a Examples of businesses:
product or service that addresses • Website designer,
their unmet needs. • video editing,
• digital prints,
• graphic design,
• clothing designer,
• Envato market (A platform where
designers, developers, photographers,
illustrators and producers can sell their
products – People with experience in
these industries offer their skills on
“Envato” and interested clients pay, for
them to take on their projects).
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Advantages: Disadvantages:

• Design entrepreneurship stimulates the • There are too many responsibilities to

development of new markets, this happens contend/juggle with particularly at the
due to the creation of new products and budding stages of the business, you might
services which lies solely within the hands of not be able to execute all successfully and
the entrepreneur. that might lead to failure.
• Design entrepreneurship reduces time and • You work from anywhere, at any time and
costs to the market for new products and you are always on call, doing something for
services the company and this is very
• It reduces customer complaints as these can taxing/exhausting.
be resolved and attended to immediately. • It is very difficult create a balance between
• It builds a strong and unique identity for your work and life.
business. • Some areas of your life are bound to suffer
• It boosts customer loyalty as goods and due to personal neglect.
services sold are original. • Personal income becomes irregular,
• It leads to increased sales of goods and particularly when the business is new and
services. that might yield economic stress.
• It improves the position of the business in
the market.
• It improves environmental record and
compliance with regulations.
 Social entrepreneurship
Definition How does social entrepreneurship work?
• For the longest time, most entrepreneurs chose to accumulate
Social entrepreneurship has various meaning and wealth in more private sectors. Building a company, hiring
each is driven by the main objectives of those employees, manufacturing products and running a well-oiled
involved in a business for a social course/change. machine was the best approach to be a successful entrepreneur in
Social entrepreneurship could be defined as follows: days past. Today, entrepreneurs can work to improve social issues
and challenge real world problems through their businesses. A
new business model has emerged which meshes (interconnects)
• A social entrepreneur is a person who with government and social organizations. Non-profits and
establishes an enterprise with the aim of solving businesses have teamed up to form a hybrid business model, led a
social problems or effecting social change by a new generation of social entrepreneurs.
(Online dictionary, 2022).
• Social entrepreneurs are essentially a new • These leaders can successfully tackle social issues while
breed of business-minded people who have generating profit for shareholders at the same time. Widespread
evolved with a universal goal of making the usage of ethical practices such as impact investing, conscious
world a better place while also running profitable consumerism and corporate social responsibility programs
companies that satisfy consumers' demand facilitated the success of social entrepreneurs.
(Schahegger & Wagner, 2003).
• Social entrepreneurship deals with running or
starting up a business/ company supplying • Some social entrepreneurs use their know-how and business
environmentally or socially beneficial products savviness to make the world a better place. They combined
and services. traditional business models with an important social mission in
• For example, running a community bakery could ways that can help to make significant changes in places around
have various social benefits: it could lead to the world for decades.
constant food supply to communities and it could
also employ people from the community, thus • Mainly, it involves running a business whose profit is used to
reducing unemployment (Schahegger & Wagner, address a social problem. It could also involve running a business
2003). in order to provide services needed by communities in which it
• Social entrepreneurship is doing business for finds itself.
a social cause or to address a social problem/ a
prevalent problem engulfing society at a • The main focus of social entrepreneurship is not only to make
particular point in time (Online dictionary, 2022). profit, but to use part of the profit to alleviate communities. In
other words, the profit that could be generated is directed to
endeavours dealing with social change and self-maintenance.
Characteristics of social entrepreneurship Social entrepreneurship in action in South Africa
•SiyaBuddy: SiyaBuddy is a venture focused on
recycling and waste management. The company buys
• Practicality when solving social problems, waste from local collectors and sells it to recycling
• Philanthropic bent, companies. SiyaBuddy creates jobs for waste pickers
• Faith in team work, while helping to clean up the environment.
•Ebonoko Foundation: Ebonoko was started in 2012
• Money management, as a way to empower the youth through education.
• Commitment to improve social welfare, The social venture empowers young people through
• Healthy impatience, mentorships, bursaries, donations, expos, and book
donations.
• The desire to change,
•Repurpose Schoolbags: Repurpose Schoolbags is a
• Innovation, for-profit enterprise in South Africa that addresses
• Risk taking. the problem of school children living in rural areas
that don’t have access to proper school bags. The
• Social entrepreneurs are innovative, company creates school bags from up-cycled plastic
resourceful, and results oriented. bags to help school children while creating a positive
• They draw upon the best thinking in both environmental impact at the same time.
the business and non-profit worlds to •Maths Centre South Africa: An organisation that
develop strategies that maximize their aims to improve maths, science, and technology
social impact education in South Africa. The organisation provides
learning methods, programs, and resources to
improve the impact of South Africa’s education
system.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Advantages Disadvantages

• On the positive side, many people are more • Getting carried away by focusing more on
willing to support social entrepreneurs helping communities than generating income
thanks to the positive impact they make. for the survival of the business.
• In a world that faces many environmental • Investors may be hesitant to fund social
and social problems, social entrepreneurship entrepreneurship, especially, if the idea does
is one of the best ways to make a difference. not lead to more profit.
South Africa is brimming with budding social • Young people may be swallowed by the
entrepreneurs. notion of consumerisms that they may view
• While there may be many challenges to social entrepreneurship as a waste of time.
getting this kind of venture off the ground, • Difficulties accessing funding
the opportunities for using entrepreneurship • Difficulties in creating a sustainable social
to drive social change are huge. entrepreneurship venture
• Social entrepreneurship shows us that it’s • Being able to turn a profit while still making a
possible to create a successful business while positive social impact
still achieving more than just profits. This
gives many entrepreneurs a whole new kind • Competing with larger enterprises
of inspiration to succeed.
Cultural Entrepreneurship

Definition How does it operate?

• Starting a business that specializes in
selling cultural products or offering a • Entrepreneurs may use creativity to design
service that is unique to a specific cultural cultural products in a way that can attract
group/which is a heritage of a specific potential customers.
community. • Entrepreneurs may also venture into offering
• Using culturally endowed services related to cultural activities, for
items/wares/folklore to run a business. example, offering cultural tutorial lessons,
running workshops on how different cultures
have used culture for their livelihood, etc.

Examples of businesses
• Cultural art gallery stalls
• Cultural clothing stores
• Theatre performance on cultural plays
• Cultural music productions
• Cultural food restaurants
• Paid trips/expeditions to cultural heritage
sites
• Publishing and selling of cultural books/ e-
books, etc.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Advantages Disadvantages

• Cultural entrepreneurship can help bring societal • It may run the risk of misrepresenting certain
unity/togetherness as the business market gives cultural customs/rituals/garments/attire etc. if not
customers exposure to different cultural heritage. well researched.
• It may create an easy platform for aspiring • It may experience backlash from certain cultural
entrepreneurs who may not have the financial groups who may claim sole custody of certain
means to start a business, thereby enabling them to wares/oral history/knowledge systems.
use their cultural heritage to generate an income. • Finding potential customers may be a challenge in
• It may be used as a means of reviving old cultures the current modern society, which may lead to
which may be at the risk of dying/being lost. inconsistent income for the cultural entrepreneur.
• It may give entrepreneurs an opportunity to be • The cultural entrepreneur may have to put in a lot
agents of social change in their communities while of effort and time to attract potential customers
at the same time boosting their local economies. and to build a reputation for his/her business to
sustain the market.
• Staying competitive may not be easy as the
entrepreneur may constantly need to enhance
his/her creative skills to overcome the competition.
• Cultural entrepreneurs may struggle to make a
specific cultural history meaningful to a wide range
of people from various other cultures, which may
lead to them running a risk of making profit/no
return on investment in the products.
 Tourism Entrepreneurship
Definition How does it operate
• Creating and sustaining businesses in the
tourism sector by being innovative and • This is about entrepreneurial
thinking beyond what exists currently to opportunities in the tourism sector.
increase. • It could be any type of businesses offering
• Johannesson & Huijbens, 2010 describe a variety of tourists products and services.
Tourism Entrepreneurship as a strategy for • It entails development of tourism business
economic development in underdeveloped activities and opportunities in avenues
countries. such as: Accommodation, transport, shops
entertainment etc.
Walking tours Fashion Mini-bar
• Exploring a tourist destination on foot like walking in the • Available for tourists to access clothes, accessories and
city. This gives you the opportunity to explore and other essentials especially when they have forgotten to
experience some hidden gems and other pieces of pack some for their tour.
history that you might miss out if you’re using a mobile • Options to buy or rent are also offered.
kind of transport.
• Specifications such as size, colour etc. could be
outsourced for the guests on request
Airbnb Rentals
• A market place where you can rent a room, apartment Translators
or a house at a cheaper price.
• Those who are eloquent in multiple languages are
• Entrepreneurs can register their apartments/houses to relevant to this regard hence this could be a business
rent out to tourists idea
• Help foreign tourists with translation

Local Cuisine Cooking Classes Cultural /Heritage Tours

• This is about teaching tourists how to prepare • This is about travelling to experience places, artefacts
interesting and unique local meals/dishes for them to and activities that represent stories and people of the
experience different flavours as well as history behind past and the present including cultural historic and
the different types of food. natural resources.
Souvenir Shops • Three types of heritage tourism are natural, cultural and
• These shops offer locally inspired gifts that are unique to a
those built for the purpose, see examples below:
particular tourist destination’ • Visiting museums, historic buildings and town sites,
• Tourists can buy to take back home as, remembrance e.g key eating local food, participate in local festivals and
holders, branded caps, beads etc. events, works of monumental sculpture or paintings etc.

Airbnb Management Company • Takeaway Hotel Rooms

• This kind of company comes in handy for helping those • Instead of locating a hotel nearby, this service allows
entrepreneurs who listed multiple rentals with daily logistics. tourists to choose the exact location of their hotel
E.g rooms.
• It is a tourism business which assist with the day to day
renting of spaces on the Airbnb.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Advantages/benefits of Tourism Entrepreneurship Disadvantages/downside of Tourism
Entrepreneurship
• Creating employment opportunities/job
creation • Unpredictable market
• Generate & increase income for economic • Technological advancement
growth of the country • Ineffective and inefficient management
• Creation of new sustainable businesses • Lack of entrepreneurial capacity/expertise
• Develop rural economy
• Develop infrastructure
• Attract foreign investors
• Encourage women entrepreneurship
• Promote cultural exchange vs. foreigners and
local people
• Conservation of the natural environment,
cultural assets and traditions
• Alleviation of poverty and inequalities