William Wresch, Ph.D. wresch@unizwa.edu.om Extension 982 Entrepreneurship William Wresch, Ph.D. wresch@unizwa.edu.om Extension 982

My Background Associate Dean, College of Business University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Owner of two businesses College professor 40 years Fulbright Scholar (University of Namibia)

My Products Software Books

Course strategy In fall 2016 this course will be required of all students in every university in Oman. Our job this semester is to experiment with new approaches to the course. Changes from the past: Use of Case studies Creation of a business plan Student presentations No examinations

Why Entrepreneurship? Why do you think someone starts a new business? Who benefits from new businesses?

Successful Entrepreneurs Steven Jobs & Steve Wozniak Apple II computer – 1977 ($3000) Why? Friends, hobby, location He was raised in Cupertino, California (now the heart of Silicon Valley)

Unsuccessful Entrepreneurs Dan Bricklin Inventor of the Spreadsheet Visicalc Visigraph Visidex Did not protect his work with patents Hired Mitch Kapor who copied his software

Successful Entrepreneurs Pizza Hut Frank and Dan Carney Wichita State University students

Successful Entrepreneurs Elon Musk Tesla Motors Model S costs over $100,000 Highest rated car by Consumer Reports 0-100 km/h in 3.2 seconds Top speed 249 km/h 475 km/charge

Entrepreneurship in Services Health Clubs Shipping facilities Coffee shops Tour services What is the nature of each service?

Reading Assignment for next week History of McDonalds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_McDonald%27s Assessment #1 – Due 16 September 3:30 pm In 1 page (single spaced) answer these questions: What was the basic strategy of the company? What was changing in the world that helped them grow? What personal and financial resources were needed for success?

Reasons for Entrepreneurship Lots of people become entrepreneurs for lots of reasons Personal need/interest – Dan Bricklin needed a better way to do finance calculations Culture – in Silicon Valley, California, everyone is starting a business Resources – Stanford University is the support system for many companies Opportunity – Tesla cars are based on new technology – and – concern for climate change

Review Take a piece of paper Write A business you could start based on food A business you could start based on a hobby A business you could start with your friends

Innovation in Business Some products are in two forms – digital and physical Some products can be bought two ways – on-line or in stores Books Sales Channel Web Stores Bits Books (ebooks on BN.com) Physical (hard books ordered on-line) (hard books bought at a book store)

Innovation in Business Some products can be bought two ways – on-line or in stores Pizza Alternatives -- Ordering pizza over the phone versus on a website Sales Channel Web Stores Bits Physical Pizza (on-line ordering) (store or restaurant)

Innovation in Business Some products can be bought two ways – on-line or in stores Oman travel guide Sales Channel Web Stores Bits Oman images and travel guides – bought on-line and downloaded Physical Oman images and travel guides printed on paper - bought on-line and shipped Oman images and travel guides printed on paper - bought in shop

Which Business is cheapest to start? Pictures of Nizwa Fort, sold on-line Date baskets, sold on-line CD filled with Oman pictures, sold at a store Date baskets, sold at a store Sales Channel Web Store Bits Digital product, on-line sales. You need a web site Digital product, store sales. You need a product, a store, clerks Physical Physical product, on-line sales. You need a website and an inventory Physical product, store sales. You need a product, a store, clerks

Which Business is cheapest to start? CDs of Omani traditional songs Coffee shop Restaurant Hotel Car sharing service App for your phone Clothing store Clothing web site Sales Channel Web Store Bits Digital product, on-line sales. You need a web site Digital product, store sales. You need a product, a store, clerks Physical Physical product, on-line sales. You need a website and an inventory Physical product, store sales. You need a product, a store, clerks

Concerns for on-line Businesses You see sales moving to the web, so you put your business information there. What problems do you face? What does it take to be noticed on the web?

Example – On-line clothing sales Initial Steps Example – On-line clothing sales 1. Start with Customers – Do customers perceive a problem? How serious is the problem? What if they don’t have a problem, but you can present them with an opportunity they hadn’t imagined? (lower cost, higher quality, wider selection, special fashions) Exercise – describe a clothing website you think customers might value.

Initial Steps Example – On-line clothing sales 2. Rough out your solution – What might your website contain? What operational capacity will you have (will you store inventory? Custom tailor? Ship to homes? Deliver within 24 hours? Allow all returns?) Exercise – Outline your website and your operational activities.

Initial Steps Example – On-line clothing sales 3. Test your solution – Find early adopters – lead customers. Who would be most interested in your clothing? Who might influence others to use your web site? Will they place an order with you? Will they give you money? Exercise – How would you find these lead customers?

Example – On-line clothing sales 4. Cycle through your solution – Initial Steps Example – On-line clothing sales 4. Cycle through your solution – Initial Customer need Your solution Customer validation Your customers may be different than you thought. They may want different products, different web features, different operations capacity.

Review Take a piece of paper Write A product people buy in stores AND on the web A business you could start based on a hobby A business you could start with your friends A business that would be cheap to start A business that would be expensive to start Put your name on the paper