Factors Paper, by MLS, Str Regis

Hi prof,

Below is my factors paper.

Thanks,

Mark

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MARK LESTER SALVADOR

TS ENTREP - FACTORS PAPER

Ateneo-Regis Graduate School of Business

December 13, 2011

What factors do I possess that makes me a Business Entrepreneur?

As your purpose becomes clear, there is a point where you decide whether you will continue to pursue your career in the corporate world or pursue the dream of becoming an entrepreneur.   It has always been my dream to become a business entrepreneur one day.   As I have envision it to happen in the future, there are instances where I begin to ask myself if I possess the right qualities of becoming a successful entrepreneur.  Though there are some factors that would define a successful entrepreneur, it is important to look at the basic and make a self assessment if an individual has the characteristics to be an entrepreneur to begin with.

I have come across this website of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) who promotes entrepreneurship by providing highly tailored financing, venture capital and consulting services to entrepreneurs.  They have an entrepreneurial potential assessment tool which I chose to use for my self assessment.  There are three profiles measured here namely, 1) motivation, 2) aptitudes, and 3) attitude.  See below my self assessment and the result.

To what degree do the statements below correspond to you?

1: Totally disagree, 2: Somewhat disagree, 3: Somewhat agree, 4: Totally agree.

		1	2	3	4
1	I like to give myself challenges when I take on a new project				O
2	I am fairly at ease in difficult situations			O
3	Where others see problems, I see possibilities				O
4	I always worry about what others will think before doing something important			O
5	I am fairly curious and I am continually in search of discovery			O
6	I am a lot less effective in stressful situations		O
7	I want to build something that will be recognised publicly				O
8	When faced with difficulties, I look for alternative solutions			O
9	For me, what counts is action				O
10	For me, it is possible to influence one's destiny				O
11	I am capable of imagining how we can make things work			O
12	When I take on a project I have confidence that I will carry it out successfully				O
13	I shoot for excellence in everything I do				O
14	According to me, we somehow make our own luck			O
15	In general, I distrust my instincts		O
16	I have no problem working for someone else			O
17	I try to be the first or the best in my area of competency				O
18	For me, taking risks is like buying a lottery ticket: it’s a question of chance		O
19	I am capable of seeing many solutions to a problem			O
20	I prefer having the final say				O
21	I always try to learn lessons from my failures				O
22	For me, everything is possible if I believe I can do it				O
23	I prefer using the good old ways of doing things			O
24	Success is mostly luck		O
25	A certain level of stress stimulates me			O
26	It is easy for me to motivate others to work with me				O
27	I often feel stuck by a difficult situation			O
28	I can easily imagine many ways to satisfy a need			O
29	After a failure, I am able to pick myself up and start over				O
30	I am not always ready to make sacrifices in order to succeed		O
31	I don’t like to influence others		O
32	To be satisfied with myself, I take on easy projects		O
33	When I take on a project, I am not always convinced that I can carry it out successfully	O
34	I like to lead others				O
35	I always try to take calculated risks			O
36	I have a hard time functioning in uncertain or ambiguous situations		O
37	I am always in the midst of launching new projects			O
38	I have a hard time anticipating events, trends	O
39	I really enjoy situations where there are rules to respect			O
40	Today, without a lot of money, we can not take on a whole lot		O
41	Being too ambitious is often perceived poorly		O
42	I have a tendency to put off difficult tasks until later		O
43	I am the kind of person to see the glass as half empty instead of half full	O
44	There is a time for thought but action is more important				O
45	I am not afraid to take on initiatives				O
46	No matter what we do, it doesn’t depend on us	O
47	I prefer being my own boss				O
48	I don’t consider myself more ambitious than others		O
49	I always give the best of myself in everything I do				O
50	I manage my stress well in ambiguous and uncertain situations				O

HOW TO INTERPRET THE RESULTS?

If the horizontal range of your results does not exceed the vertical range, it means that your results for this dimension are below the average obtained by entrepreneurs.  If the horizaontal range exceeds the vertical range, your results are above average.

Your general profile

GENERAL PROFILE	168
Motivation	64
Aptitudes	66
Attitudes	38

Based on the general profile results above, I am above average when it comes to motivation and attitude and a little off the average in terms of aptitudes.  Below are the details of the explanation per category.

Your Motivations

Motivation factors determine behaviour.  They are the underlying reasons that induce someone to act.

MOTIVATION	64
Need for achievement / success	17
Power / control appeal	19
Need for challenges / ambition	18
Self-sufficiency / freedom	10

Need for achievement / success

The need to achieve is demonstrated by a desire to progress, excel, perform.  A person who has this characteristic likes to set his own objectives and get feedback about what he is doing to excel.  Such people are often very competitive, especially with themselves.

Power / control appeal

People who like power and control are often imbued with the desire to lead and influence.  In concrete terms, such people want to organize and coordinate actions and mobilize resources.  They also like to arouse admiration and acquire social status.

Need for challenges/ambition

Challenge and ambition are closely related to the need to achieve.  These people are constantly looking for ways to take on difficult projects, achieve their dreams. They have a constant need to learn.

Self-sufficiency / freedom

People who are looking for independence and freedom want to be their own boss and be able to make the set their own constraints – in short, make decisions independently.

Your Aptitudes

Aptitudes are natural inclinations, competencies, abilities.  Certain aptitudes predispose someone to be an entrepreneur.

APTITUDES	66
Perseverance / Determination	13
Self-confidence / Enthusiasm	16
Tolerance towards ambiguity / Resistance to stress	19
Creativity / Imagination	18

Perseverance / Determination

Perseverance is demonstrated by persisting in one’s efforts, constant determination to find solutions to problems.  People who persevere and are determined will display tenacity and are able to bounce back quickly.

Self Confidence/Enthusiasm

Self confidence gives someone a belief in his own resources and abilities, make him proud of himself.  Someone who has self confidence knows his own value, and is optimistic about his ability to achieve.

Tolerance towards ambiguity / Resistance to stress

This is an important characteristics in an entrepreneurial profile.  People who can tolerate ambiguity are able to handle and manage the stress created by uncertainty.  They are adaptable.

Creativity / Imagination

Creativity often is evidence through someone who is curious, inquisitive, able to anticipate things and to imagine various solutions to a problem.

Your Attitudes

Attitudes are made up of perceptions, our feelings about something.  They are judgements we make, ways we look at things.

ATTITUDES	38
Perception to act upon one’s destiny	20
Action oriented	18

Perception to act upon one’s destinty Some people attribute their success to luck, others attribute it to their own efforts.  People with an entrepreneurial profile tend to believe they have the power to influence events. Action required One fundamental characteristic of the entrepreneur is being action-oriented.  Eagerness to take action and diligence are fairly common traits of entrepreneurs.  They believe they have to act to be successful.

Conclusion Based on the result of the assessment, most of the results I got are above average which tells that I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur.  However it also shows that there is a need for me to improve on some elements of both motivation and aptitude profile.  There is a need to prepare myself to be more self sufficient and the ability to take on the risk of becoming an entrepreneur.  It also shows that though there is a strong confidence, there is a need to push further the determination to get things done and take the lead to make things happen. Being a successful entrepreneur also requires to be creative and imaginative. Need to ensure that the creative mind is working all the time to think of ways on how to improve the product offering in order to create value to customers. This self assessment is helpful in providing a guide for an individual to improve himself as they decide to jump into the entrepreneurship arena.  There are other assessment tools that you can still use, at the end of the day, what matter is how you transform yourself to become an entrepreneur. 3.5 http://www.potentielentrepreneur.ca/client/questionnairenewsection1en.asp