Characteristics of Entrepreneurial Venture

Schumpeter (1934) (cited in James et al. 1984) proposes five stages of behaviour, which are the characteristics of entrepreneurial venture: introduction of new goods, introduction of new method of production, opening of new markets, opening of new sources of supply, and industrial reorganisation. Fraser Doherty a young entrepreneur made his dreams come true when he set his own business of ‘Super Jam’ when he was 14 years old, using his Grand’s secret jam recipes. His goal was to make it healthier and better in taste than any other regular jams. He starts selling jam to local areas. Eventually his success grew as he was making thousands of jars in a month. Super Jam now supplies to major stores for example, Waitrose, Asda, Tesco and Morrison. Doherty plans to expand his work overseas (Sky News, 2010).

Jam in the UK has suffered in the past from consumer perception that it is old fashioned and suited to older people and most are unhealthy. Storey et al. (2010, p2) stats that companies should compete on quality rather than price as it is an important element of success for entrepreneurial firms. Super Jam revitalizes jam through original focus which was the key reason for his success. It contains super fruit, providing the jam with a novel functional food positioning that addresses consumers health needs. The super fruit contains antioxidants; a chemical that may help fight damages caused by disease and ageing (DataMonitor, 2009).

Super Jam has also been successful because it has involvement with customers and Doherty reaches to customers that buy jam often, for example, running ‘Super Jam Tea Parties’ for elderly people who live alone, in care homes or in sheltered housing. Doherty main target was older citizens as he quoted “All...

... middle of paper ...

... current factors like exchange rate fluctuations or tariff barriers could affect the company (Burns, P. 2007, p264).

The product life cycle has some important implications for the entrepreneur. Once the product matured then it needs to make the most of the cash flow it can generate (West, A. 1992, p16)

A most effective way is dealing with risk are making business plan, which is a document setting out how and why you will run your business. Business plan includes financial forecasts, market research and how many employees. A business plan is good to determine whether your business idea is reasonable, help owners to convince investors the business is a reliable position, reassure potential investors you are a sensible investment opportunity, map the future of the business, lists specific goals and objectives and manages cash flow (Smarta.com. 2010).