Entrepreneurial Venture
Starting a new business can be rather a challenging task. One has to understand a variety of concepts and the way they are connected with each other. The entrepreneurial activity requires profound theoretical knowledge of the area of business. Nevertheless, a theory is not enough in professional activity. One’s personal traits, such as readiness to work and study hard, are significant as well. It is necessary to set exact goals and know how to accomplish them. Every entrepreneur should possess leadership abilities and skills. In the following paper, notions of enterprise awareness, entrepreneurial mindset, entrepreneurial capabilities, and entrepreneurial effectiveness will be evaluated from the perspective of the café shops industry.
Defining Basic Concepts
Before the examination of the café shops industry and entrepreneurship, it is necessary to be aware of the general meanings of basic notions. This understanding is compulsory for the ability to put it into some other context. The term “enterprise awareness” comes from the approach known as Disciplined Agile Delivery. This approach refers to the way an organization should organize the working process. Enterprise awareness is a central element of DAD. It presupposes the realization of the role a working team plays in the wider world. Besides, one of the aims of enterprise awareness is to unite various divisions of the same organization. Thus, teams and professionals should collaborate, define their goals, and understand that their achievement is a part of something larger (Higgins 2015). In such a way, enterprise awareness promotes the efficient work and accomplishment of shared goals.
However, this meaning of enterprise awareness is taken from the Disciplined Agile Delivery. The other way of understanding this notion is directly connected to entrepreneurial effectiveness. According to Rae (2014, p. 44), ‘enterprise awareness is ‘what enterprise means to me’; that is, why and how it is relevant and useful in your life’. It is what one thinks of him or herself as an enterprising person.
The other notion that should be examined is the entrepreneurial mindset. This concept refers to the personal traits of the entrepreneur. Thus, one should understand that being an entrepreneur is not simply about doing a particular business. Thousands of people have various businesses, but they are not entrepreneurs. Rae (2014) writes that an entrepreneurial mindset comprises of such constituents as social identity personality, motivations, goals, ambition, resilience and confidence, self-discipline, time-management, personal traits of character. Turner (2015) goes into details and defines exact traits typical for successful entrepreneurs. The author writes that a true entrepreneur is more likely to take action rather than wait for permission. They welcome changes, are open to new opportunities. Successful entrepreneurs are ready to face challenges. They are good listeners, and failure cannot scare them.
Entrepreneurial capability includes the knowledge and skills necessary for business practice. Some of such skills or information may be received in the college while others can be accumulated only during entrepreneurial activity. Rae (2014) provides a description of behaviours, attitudes, and skills that belong to entrepreneurial capabilities. Innovation, creativity, the efficient decision-making process, recognition, creation of opportunities, communication skills, and interpersonal skills comprise capabilities. According to Ireland, Hoskisson and Hitt (2011), three types of innovation (internal, cooperative, and from acquisitions) are significant for receiving the best entrepreneurial opportunities. Three basic concepts of entrepreneurship form the so-called “entrepreneurial effectiveness” — the ability to organize the process and conduct successful business steps.
Understanding the Industry
As it has been already mentioned, starting a new business can be rather a challenging task. The lack of experience may lead to false assumptions and hopes. Thus, every beginning entrepreneur should conduct a deep analysis of the industry to understand major trends, possible difficulties, and the competitiveness of the market.
The business is going to be a part of the coffee shops industry. The type of shop is a brasserie. Alexiou (2011, p. 137) defines brasseries as ‘large, cheerful, brightly lit places that open early and close late (some are open 24 hours a day), and have an immense selection of dishes…you can usually get a meal any time of day, even in hours when restaurants and bistros are closed, and the food is relatively inexpensive’.
Chains of coffee shops and independent coffee shops present this industry in the United Kingdom. The main competitors in the country are Costa Coffee, Starbucks, and Caffe Nero. Liang and Rou-An (2012) have conducted an analysis of the coffee industry in the UK. They have come to the conclusion that coffee industry is a highly competitive sphere in the state due to the variety of factors such as service, prices, the atmosphere in the shop, and quality of drinks. According to the investigation of the UK coffee market by Fergus Walsh (n.d.), a growth of coffee culture is the most important consumer trend that affects the coffee market.
The same survey concludes that the quality of coffee is essential for most visitors. Up to seventy per cent of consumers are looking for new flavours. What concerns design trends for 2015, customers want to have their personal space, feel the “individuality” of the coffee shop, and be able to visit the place at any time during the day. The interest in coffee shops increases among consumers. No more than ten people visited coffee shops on a daily basis five years ago. Now, approximately fifteen people buy coffee every day (Shubber, 2015).
What concerns possible barriers to entry, it depends on the aims of the entrepreneur. Opening a small shop is an easy and quick task. The most urgent activities include renting a place, remodelling, and installation of equipment. It is much more challenging to become one of the big players in the sphere (Altmann 2007).
Basic Concepts and Coffee Shop Industry
The following part of the paper is devoted to the direct analysis of enterprise awareness, entrepreneurial mindset, and capability from the perspective of the coffee shop industry.
Enterprise awareness of the cafe shop industry requires the knowledge of possible direction for the development of the business. One has to know both advantages and disadvantages of the industry. An example of a good enterprise awareness can be the story of two brothers from Colorado, who have roasted beans of coffee with the help of personal technology that uses the power of the sun. They understood that they could use the natural resource (sun) to open a new business (Center for Rural Entrepreneurship 2013).
In my opinion, a new business, brasserie, should be a social enterprise. The example of café working on the basis of social enterprise is Hope Café. The owner of this café provides opportunities for people who suffered from mental illnesses (McPhee 2015). For me, the future brasserie should provide opportunities for people who want to learn something new and earn their living. The combination of professional staff and those who desperately need a job represents my entrepreneurial vision of the coffee shop.
The development of an efficient entrepreneurial mindset is the second important factor. Emerson (2015) enumerates several useful habits. In my opinion, appropriate goal setting is necessary for the coffee shop industry. One should not expect to become as popular as Starbucks. Proper expectations are signs of a good knowledge of the area. Thus, my primary goal is to attract visitors from the local area. Hessinger (2013) suggests that maintaining quality control is another important aspect of the successful entrepreneurial mindset. I do believe that only good coffee with excellent flavour should be sold in brasserie as far as it attracts consumers.
I consider that I have to work on the development of entrepreneurial capabilities. Entrepreneurial capabilities and culture are crucial for the successful launch of new ventures (Entrepreneurial capabilities and culture n.d.). I plan to create a particular culture of the place via design and appropriate social media campaign. In the process of business growth, it is important to acquire dynamic capabilities. They are ‘the abilities to reconfigure a firm’s resources, and routines in the manner envisioned and deemed appropriate by its principal decision-maker(s)’ (Koryak et al. 2015, p. 96).
However, the described aspects may not be enough for the efficient launch of new business and the highest level of entrepreneurial effectiveness. I am not familiar with a lot of nuances. I can learn something new during the practical implementation of plans. Also, I think that I should improve my leadership skills and abilities; otherwise, I will not be able to become a successful entrepreneur.
Reference List
Alexiou, J 2011, Paris for Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken.
Altmann, M 2007, Coffee shop industry — strategic analysis. Web.
Center for Rural Entrepreneurship 2013, Growth Entrepreneurs Profiled. Web.
Emerson, M 2015,How to cultivate entrepreneurial mindset. Web.
Entrepreneurial capabilities and culture n.d. Web.
Hessinger, S 2013, 10 mindsets of successful entrepreneurs. Web.
Higgins, T 2015, Becoming enterprise aware. Web.
Ireland, R, Hoskisson, R & Hitt, M 2011, Understanding Business Strategy, Cengage Learning, Boston.
Koryak, O, Mole, K, Lockett, A, Hayton, J, Ucbasaran, D & Hodgkinson, G 2015, ‘Entrepreneurial leadership, capabilities and firm growth’, International Small Business Journal, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 89-105.
Liang, W & Rou-An, W 2012, Analysis of coffee shop market. Web.
McPhee, E 2015, Hope Café serves more than coffee. Web.
Rae, D 2014, Opportunity-centred entrepreneurship, Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Shubber, K 2015, Everyone wants a taste of booming UK coffee market. Web.
Turner, M 2015, 12 signs you have an entrepreneurial mindset. Web.
Walsh, F n.d., The UK coffee shop market. Web.