Assignment: Personal Entrepreneur Ethnography
Write-Up Instructions
In one, single-spaced page (these could make a nice, 3 paragraph format if you want),
i. Discuss who you interviewed and provide some brief background about the business
ii. Discuss what you found to be the most interesting/meaningful/impactful things that emerged from your interview
iii. Explain what you learned about entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship, tying back to course material (topics covered in readings or discussions), and how that might affect your own entrepreneurial plans.
Presentation Instructions
Record a video and include the link in your write-up. You have three minutes to do the following:
i. Explain who you interviewed and the basics about their business
ii. Identify the 2-4 most significant takeaways that you had from your conversation, and root them in the things that came out in your interview ("I learned the importance of monitoring the activities of your competition so they don't sneak up on you. Mrs. Smith's Cookie business had an experience where they didn't do this, and it almost killed them [briefly explain incident]")
This video should be relatively polished, rather than stream of consciousness. Think through what you want to say (maybe jot down some notes) and consider recording it a few times to get it the way you want and within the time limit.
This is a list of suggested interview questions. You should not feel like you have to ask all of these or ask them verbatim, but this can provide you with a beginning if you need one.
I. Nature of Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurs
i. What does entrepreneurship mean to you?
ii. What are the important traits of a successful entrepreneur?
iii. How did you end up being an entrepreneur?
II. Innovation
i. How did you come up with the idea for your business? Where do you go to look for innovations for this business (or other businesses)?
ii. How do you evaluate the ideas you come across or come up?
iii. What do you feel are the tradeoffs between maintaining your "core" business and pursuing new ideas? How do you balance them?d
III. Success
i. How important has careful planning been to your success? Vs. the ability to adjust/make decisions on the fly?
ii. What were your make or break moments in this business? How did you get past them?
iii. What role has failure played in your success? How have you learned from and moved past your failures and mistakes?
iv. How do you feel your business has changed as it has matured (from the startup phase to where you are now)?
IV. Environments
i. What is the role of competition in your business activities? How has competition been a positive and negative force for you?
ii. What is your company vision? Culture? Did these "happen" or have you guided them? How do you work to reinforce them now?
iii. Has your company reached the point where it doesn't feel "small" or "intimate" anymore? When did that happen? How has it changed things?
iv. How does the global nature of the economy affect your entrepreneurial process?
V. Pitching
i. What advice would you give to entrepreneurs with ideas in search of financing?
ii. As an investor, what do you consider when deciding whether to support an idea?
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
i) The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
ii) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
iii) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.