‘AWAKENING THE ENTREPRENEUR WITHIN YOU’
BY
ENGR. BASHIR
I.GARBA Snr,PE,MNSE,COREN
INTRODUCTION
The seminar is
aimed at empowering participants to own the process of entrepreneurship by
taking control of their business in a very innovative ways including the
setting of clear personal vision and clarity of purpose, in their lives and
business. It is difficult-to-succeed terrain for small business and
entrepreneurs; nothing comes easy in this world but if your purpose is clear,
it becomes easy, the clearer you are about your dream, the better you directed
toward its success.
Life in all its
aspect is a business and must be run as a business in order to succeed; deep
down we are all entrepreneurs but the difference between success and failure
lies in individual approach and ability to transform your technical knowledge
and business potential from a point of lower value to one higher value.
We should all
clarify our business, innovative and creative dreams with vision, commitment,
and passion which are the key ingredients of success with clarity of vision and
purpose that so many business out put.
The seminar
also, is a process of promoting local economic development through
self-employment, innovation and creativity among students of Ahmadu Bello
University zaria an assessment exercise to provide
relevant baseline information and generate ideas from young people and their
respective students associations on the effective ways to tackle
the challenges
facing the optimize business opportunity so as to adopt good business practices
to sustain their livelihood.
Engineering students usually find them
selves in a business environment without the knowledge of business .Many new
business formations are based on technology, making it essential that
engineering students are introduced to the relevant principle, process, and
practises of technical entrepreneurship. Further more, the pervasive
globalization of economy has dramatically changed the environment in which
engineers practice today. Unfortunately, the rigorous demands of engineering
students technical training, as mandated by the Nigerian universities commission
as a core requirement that apply to all students, leave little opportunity in
engineering curricula to prepare engineering students to function effectively
in this global, entrepreneurial environment to maximize the synergism and
provide more realistic learning experience that mimic entrepreneurial business
practice in technical companies or start-ups.
What is entrepreneurship?
It is the
ability to organize a commercial undertaking which may involve risk, or a
process through which individuals identify opportunities.
Entrepreneurship
is becoming more and more acknowledged as an important driver of growth,
innovation and job creation, traditional business education tends to focus on
disseminating information and training of analytical abilities, whereas the
vital skills for entrepreneurs are less about information processing and
analysis and more about creativity and action. Engineers with entrepreneurship
knowledge often become self-employed by starting new businesses compared to
business graduate. The art of managing a creative group is to ensure that the
condition are as conducive to good work as they can be, and only then to apply
the rules of efficiency, we need to recognize that entrepreneurial activity is
an inherent part of everyday life, and even the seemingly trivial activities of
everyday life have great capacity to move us in new and unexpected directions.
The emergence of entrepreneurship in Africa is
that it got localized and spread effect, took its own time. The concept of
growth theory seems to be closely related in explaining the theory of entrepreneurship
development as well. After the Second World War entrepreneurship received new
meaning for attaining economic development within the shortest possible time.
But in the process Development of business eateries is a complex phenomenon
influenced by both the internal and external factors. Internal factor originates
in policies and attitude of the entrepreneur themselves, and controlling the
business itself. External factors are beyond the control of the business
entrepreneur. They alone account for unpredictability of returns and risks
assumed by the entrepreneur. A steady growth can be observed on the business of
long cherished history of entrepreneurial development in Africa certainly
promised or the environment to be created by the countries in Africa
The entrepreneurial
Who is an entrepreneurial engineer?
Is an engineer
whose state of mind is oriented toward opportunity with intellectual,
financial, organizational arbitrage? The times are changing engineers work for
a number of firms or organization of different sizes and their work is evaluated
on interdisciplinary teams concerned largely with technical feasibility but
nowadays an engineer must have market technical and societal feasibility.
An
entrepreneurial engineer has the following techniques:
-Orientation
toward opportunity.
-Intellectual,
financial, organizational arbitrage.
-Technical and
non technical skills competence.
All the above in
the following order, 1, 2 & n skills
Invention
An invention is a new idea of an inventor, which
permits in practice a solution of specific problem in the field of technology.
An invention may be or may relate to a product, a device, a substance or a
process and is normally patentable if it is new, involved an inventive step and
is industrially applicable.
Inventor
An inventor is the person who makes an invention, or
one who first conceive of an invention, in detail and with enough specificity
that one skilled.
Innovation
In a broad sense
innovation covers the whole process of creation, development, and application,
commercialization of new ideas, products and processes in any branch of the
economy. Innovation is a practical solution to technological problem of a
specific enterprise, which is new for that enterprise. It is also the result of
a complex process involving the transformation of an invention
Technovation
A solution to a specific problem in the field of
technology proposed by an employee of an enterprise for use by that enterprise,
and which relates to the activities of the enterprise but which, at the date of
proposal, has not been used or actively considered for use by that enterprise.
Creativity
Creativity can be defined as a combination of novelty
and appropriateness and has been associated with problem-solving and novelty
generation as well as with reactive and adaptive behavior that allows people to
cope up with turbulent environments. Even if psychological perspective are most
common, one common way of structuring creativity research is to divide it into
person, process, product and press, where the person approach includes research
on personal characteristics and traits; process research is more behavioral and
involves creative thinking and techniques: research on creative products can be
investigated through measures of their quality and quantity and press refers to
factors within and especially outside individuals which affect the creativity.
Have a Strategic plan
Strategic plan
becomes a blueprint for the future of a company. It gives the company a clear
track to run on, and benchmarks against which to measure success. A strategic
plan allows the company and everyone in it, to focus on high value activities.
The purpose of strategic planning in business is to increase the return on equity,
the financial return on the capital invested in the business. A good strategic
plan enables the people in the company to focus on those few things the company
can do to get the highest returns from the people and resources at work in the
business. As an individual, you will also be more focused and effective when
you have a personal strategic plan. However, instead of attempting to increase
your return on equity, your aim in personal strategic planning is to increase
your return on energy. Just as a company has financial capital to invest in its
business activities, you have human capital to invest in your life. Your human
capital is mental, emotional, and physical. Your goal is to get the highest
possible return on your investment of yourself in your work and in your
personal life.
Take Action on Your strategic Plan
Once you have a
list of activities, select at least one and take action on it immediately. From
the first time you take action on your list you will begin to see progress.
This progress will motivate you to take additional actions, you will begin to
experience examples of synchronicity in the events and circumstances that
surround you, will feel more in control of your life.
By writing,
planning, and working toward your goal, you will activate your reticular
cortex. You will be more aware of people and possibilities around you that can
help you to achieve that goal. You will have more energy and focus. You will be
more clear and positive; you will begin to create your own future. And all it
takes is a piece of paper and a few minutes of your time.
The
Information needed to make your own business.
- Prospects and scope of a particular industry or
business.
- Technical details.
- Quantum of investment etc.
- Information about different field about the
particular trade.
- Purpose of being in the business.
- Responsibilities towards customers, employees,
society etc.
- For marketing of your product be aware of strength
and weakness of your product.
- Factors offering market demand.
- Cost and model of distribution etc.
- Manufacturing process.
- Plant and machinery.
- Availability of new materials.
- Production costs’.
- Manpower.
- Fund requirement of working capital.
- Assessment of profitability and repayment of term
loan.
Implementation of Plan
- Final selection of product
- Prepare project report
- Registration:
- Apply to Financial Institutions.
- Provisional Registration.
- Obtain Licenses.
- Apply for shed, Land and Power etc.
- Arrange your capital.
- Plant Layout.
- Construct shed.
- Obtain utilities.
- Order for raw materials supply etc.
- Recruitment and training of manpower.
- Arrangements of sales network.
- Trail run/sales promotion technique.
- Introduction of product.
- Commercials production return.
Design, fabrication/constructions= prototype=
production and services analysis = market strategies
Design
Is
that area of human experience, skill and knowledge which is concerned with
man's ability to mould his environment to suit his material and spiritual needs
which involves finding solutions that fit the user, task, and context of use?.
An engineer follow the following processes Research, conceptualization,
Feasibility assessment, Establishing the design requirements, preliminary
design, production planning and tool design, production.
Tools for Design Thinking
The design thinker uses a set tools and skills that
inform and facilitate the innovation process, from visual tools like sketches,
mind maps and prototypes to mental processes like brainstorming, building on
the ideas of others, and creating scenarios. They operate on principles that
encourage collective ownership, like “all of us are smarter than any of us,”
and adhere to ‘rules’ that promote organizational creativity, like having
permission to fail, experiment, take risks, and explore the full range of their
faculties. They rely on their “ability to be intuitive, to recognize patterns,
and to construct ideas that have emotional meaning as well as functionality.”
But these practices and techniques are not unique to the design thinker.
Design thinking is a “human-centered approach,” and
for me that means truly getting down to the core of what we think it means to
be human, of what it ‘should’ look like, and how we want to experience life.
The art of collectively inventing what we want, how we’d like to interact with
it, and what we can do to make it happen. In my mind, this is at the heart of
design thinking.
Product design management;
helps to create a distinctive design. In product-focused companies, design
management focuses mainly on product design management, including strong
interactions with product design, product marketing, research and development,
and new product development. This perspective of design management is mainly
focused on the aesthetic, semiotic, and ergonomic aspects of the product to
express the product's qualities and to manage diverse product groups and
product design platforms.
Brand design management;
helps align products within the product range and establishes a clear design language.
In market and brand focused companies, design management focuses mainly on
brand design management, including corporate brand management and product brand
management. Focusing on the brand as the core for design decisions results in a
strong focus on the brand experience, customer touch points, and reliability,
recognition, and trust relations. The design is driven by the brand vision and
strategy.
Corporate brand design management
Market and brand focused organizations are
concerned with the expression and perception of the corporate brand. Corporate
design management implements, develops, and maintains the corporate identity,
or brand. This type of brand management is strongly anchored in the organization
to control and influence corporate design activities. The design programme
plays the role of a quality programme within many fields of the organisation to
achieve uniform internal branding. It is strongly linked to strategy, corporate
culture, product development, marketing, organizational structure, and
technological development. Achieving a consistent corporate brand requires the
involvement of designers and widespread design awareness among employees.
A creative culture, knowledge sharing processes,
determination, design leadership, and good work relations support the work of
corporate brand management.
Product brand design management
The main focus of product brand management lies on
the single product or product family. Product design management is linked to
research and development, marketing, and brand management, and is present in
the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. It is responsible for the
visual expressions of the individual product brand, with its diverse
customer–brand touch points and the execution of the brand through design.
Service design management:
deals with the newly-emerging discipline of service design. Service design
management deals with the newly-emerging field of design; it is the activity of
planning and organizing people, infrastructure, communication, and material
components of a service. The aim is to improve the quality of the service, the
interaction between the service provider and its customers, and the customer's
experience. The increasing importance and size of the service sector in terms
of people employed and economic importance requires that services should be
well-designed in order to remain competitive and to continue to attract
customers. Design management traditionally focuses on the design and
development of manufactured products; service design managers can apply many of
the same theoretical and methodological approaches. Systematic and strategic
management of service design helps the business gain competitive advantages and
conquer new markets. Companies that proactively identify the interests of their
customers and use this information to develop services that create good
experiences for the customer will open up new and profitable business
opportunities.
Companies in the service sector innovate by
addressing the intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability, and perish ability
of service.
- Services are intangible; they have no physical form and they cannot be seen before purchase or taken home.
- Services are heterogeneous; unlike tangible products, no two service delivery experiences are alike.
- Services are inseparable; the act of supplying a service is inseparable from the customer’s act of consuming it.
- Services are perishable; they can not be inventoried.
Service design management differs in several ways
from product design management. For example, the application of international
trading strategies of services is difficult because the evolution of
service 'from a craftsmanship attitude to industrialization of services'
requires the development of new tools, approaches, and policies. Whereas goods
can be manufactured centrally and delivered around the globe, services have to
be performed at the place of consumption, which makes it difficult to achieve
global quality consistency and effective cost control.
