AWAKENING THE ENTREPRENEUR WITHIN YOU

                ‘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.