Factors that I possess/do not posses that qualify me to be an entrepreneur:
Skill
|
Not Developed
|
Beginner
|
Quite Capable
|
Very Capable
| |
creative thinking
(I find new ways to solve problems) | |||||
planning and research
(I know how and where to find information and how to use it.) | |||||
decision making
(I study my option, then decide) | |||||
organization
(I set priorities and organize to achieve them) | |||||
communication (oral)
(I speak and present clearly and effectively) | |||||
communication (writing)
(I produce accurate, clear, error-free writing) | |||||
team building
(I know how to assemble, motivate, and empower an effective team) | |||||
marketing (selling)
(I know how to sell and can describe what selling involves) | |||||
financial management
(I know how to manage cash flow and how to read a bottom line) | |||||
record keeping
(I can identify and use business forms; file and record financial transactions) | |||||
goal setting
(I set and work toward short-, medium-, and long-term goals) | |||||
business management
(I can manage people effectively, delegate responsibility, and answer for the bottom line) | |||||
Rating
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
8
| |
Factor
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
3
| |
RxF
|
0
|
1
|
6
|
24
| |
SCORE
|
31
| ||||
Criteria:
| |||||
Score
|
Evaluation
| ||||
26-36
|
Individual possesses key attributes of entrepreneur
| ||||
13-25
|
Individual has good foundation to develop entrepreneurial skills and characteristics
| ||||
<12
|
Individual is not yet entrepreneurial
| ||||
Table 1. Entrepreneurial Skills Self Assessment[1]
Notes on the above self assessment:
I am a problem solver at heart. I have a degree in Physics which inherently looks for solutions and explanations for what is happening in the real world. I have also worked as a product analysis engineer in several semiconductor companies where the cause of failures of semiconductor chips have to be understood to be able to come up with correct and appropriate solutions and actions and prevent ‘failures’ from happening again. Being a problem solver allows one to be methodical but ingenious and resourceful as the best and appropriate methods to analyze and solve problems are planned and examined for the simplest solutions with the lowest effort/resource at the shortest time. Being a problem solver allows one to be creative which is the heart of all entrepreneurs. Moreover, research is part and parcel to come up with the most logical failure events and mechanisms that can be presented to business customers.
I am also goal oriented – finishing college from one of the top universities in the country with a degree in Physics at that (coming from a single source income with my father being a an elementary school teacher), financing a two story house for my parents, financing a kidney failure treatment for my father and his eventual organ operation, having my own car and my own condo unit, all before the age of thirty. It may not be much but I did it fairly without resorting to gimmicks. I pulled in overtimes, played with stocks (when the semiconductor stocks were still hot), dabbled into buy and sell and set-up a small grocery store to help support all these.
Apart from these, I also have experience in project management and continuous improvement methods, customer relations and quality and quality systems management which makes one become a better-rounded person and as an entrepreneur. Project management and continuous improvement skills enhance the logical and methodical ways of achieving goals and at the same time coming up with risks assessments to prepare one for unexpected conditions. Customer relations give one skills to better handle customers and issues they may have. Finally, with the entry of low cost productions, quality is a matter of product differentiation as no amount of bargain basement prices can equate to the serene sense of feeling of having a safe, quality- assured product adhering to international or industry standards.
Finally, I am a leader. I have led a team of 12 from being a local manufacturing support to a global one in my stint in product analysis with productivity increasing two-fold even with the increased complexity of products being analyzed. This was done in two years time from the roadmap inception, laboratory lay-outs and plans to the resources needed in terms of capital expenditure and manpower training, contacts in outside laboratories and networking with international subject matter experts. These shows entrepreneurial skills, on a smaller scale maybe, but still the same visioning and bottom line expectations, same set of control and detail- oriented characteristics. 3
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