Why the business was started
This report is about a study that was conducted to determine the factors that motivated John Merck to become an entrepreneur selling computers, software programs, and related accessories, how the entrepreneur operates the business, the critical decisions John makes about the business, and the key lessons learned. When asked to address the research questions, the quick-witted John Merck reiterated that personal satisfaction, financial rewards in terms of profits, the need to transform the society as a cooperate social responsibility, the need for change, creativity, and the need to work independently motivated him to start the business.
The entrepreneur asserted that the reasons for starting the business could be grouped into internal and external categories, with the internal factors including those that were self-driven and external factors including government support, availability of resources, and the after-sales services provided by various manufacturers of computer hardware and software products. In addition, John claimed that several opportunities existed in the market, including an increasing demand for computers among the people of different demographic profiles, a factor that could increase sales and profits.
Description of the business
John Merck’s business deals in selling computers, computer-related software and hardware, and in offering computer-related support and aftersales services. John’s business is best described as operating at the retail level because of the direct contact he makes with customers.
Critical business decisions
After Merck joined the computer business world, little did he realize that he could encounter challenges that compelled him to make critical decisions to make the business sustain itself. Among the decisions was to create the right strategy that could enable the business to grow from there. It was at the start of the current operational levels, determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to be able to determine the right position and strategize for competitive advantage. Another area of focus was the Cash Conversion Cycle, where the entrepreneur was required to determine the profits that could be generated from the business because a business must survive on profits.
Here, the key components considered were the sales volume, delivery of the products to the customers, how billing and payment were done, and the inventory of the computers and other products and the market. The main aim was to identify and shorten the cash cycle, minimize mistakes, and improve the business model.
According to Mark, the critical questions to ask were what, when, and how the business could be done. The questions address issues such as who the target market could be, the characteristics of the market segments, the demographic profiles, the income levels of the target customers, how to make value for the customers, how to communicate the value, the budget to use, and what motivates the customers to buy.
Key lessons
After the study was completed, it was established to be an entrepreneur. One has to be driven by intrinsic motivation before extrinsic motivation, such as government support. Other issues include the ability to identify existing opportunities, extensive information on customer needs and expectations, how to conduct a SWOT analysis, evaluate ones’ business capabilities, and determine whether the profits could sustain the business. In addition, to be an effective entrepreneur, one has to ask several critical questions and make challenging decisions for the business to grow. Decisions were key drivers to the success of the business.