Chandaria Business Innovation and Incubation Centre, Kenyatta University

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¡ What will we have achieved at the end of the session?§ We will have identified your abilities useful for opportunity identification§ We will have learned creativity techniques to come up with original ideas§ We will have learned basic criteria to evaluate business opportunities

¡ Why is this important for your business?§ Identifying and evaluating business opportunities is the basis and starting

point for entrepreneurship.

¡ How will we achieve this?§ We will discuss your personal strengths, abilities and talents that you can build

on to identify business opportunities.§ We will use metaphors and brainwriting as techniques to “think outside the

box”.§ We will conduct a feasibility analysis on the basis of criteria considered to be

important by successful entrepreneurs.

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¡ Chance to meet a market need

¡ As a creative process in which novel and valuable business ideas are produced

¡ A creative combination of resources to deliver superior value

¡ New goods, services, raw materials, markets, and organizing methods can be introduced

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¡ Initiates entrepreneurial ventures

¡ A continuous process throughout the entrepreneurial process

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¡ Talents¡ Interests¡ Hobbies¡ Etc

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¡ To enable one pursue those business ideas that match your strength (focus).

¡ It is the best tool for accomplishing your goals and satisfaction.

¡ Your time and energy are devoted to things that you do exceptionally well.

However it takes some creativity, but it's to your advantage to focus on your strengths.

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¡ [Pg. 1-3]¡ List your strength, interests/hobbies, skills / talents

¡ List under-/unemployed resources you have in your home, community or university

¡ Write down the business ideas that you can generate from your strength, interests, hobbies, skills/talents and resources that you have. List as many as you can generate!

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¡ The above exercise is like a mirror - that you see yourself and what others see.

¡ When you know yourself that well then you can know the business ideas that you can pursue.

e.g. You can smile easily and relate to people well (strength), then a public relations business would be appropriate for you.

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¡ Think of the people that you know, locally, nationally and internationally.

¡ Write them down and categorize them in whatever way is beneficial to you e.g. entrepreneurs, professionals, politicians, relatives, former school mates etc.

¡ Think of ways in which these people will be beneficial to you and at what stage in the entrepreneurial process.

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¡ Your strengths, hobbies and unique abilities are your most precious assets, and then social networks and good relations with people are the second important assets.

¡ The people you relate or work with will always complement what you don’t have.

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¡ Have a one to one talk with one of your closest friend or relative that you trust on what your strengths are.

Write them down and compare them with the ones you generated in an earlier exercise.

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¡ Join these three dots using three straight lines. Join the dots in many ways as you can identify.

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Imagine if you were something else,

¡ If you are a foreigner in a country, what do you need?¡ If you are a baby, what do you need?¡ If you are an old man, what do you need?¡ If are a street kid what do you need?¡ If you are a fish, what do you need?¡ If you are living on the moon what do you need?¡ If you are a traveler, what do you need?

Use as many metaphors as you can because this is what makes you more creative

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¡ Write down at least 20 outrageous ideas individually. They should be creative in the process.

RULES:Don’t evaluate the ideas, don’t be too critical, all ideas areallowed, even absurd or foolish ones, come up with ideas thatare as funny or as silly as possible, all ideas will not beevaluated, do not judge any idea, ideas should not be toodetailed or complicated!

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¡ "We must step back and see if the solutions to our problems lie outside the box.“

¡ Think creatively, without hindrance by the traditional or conventional constraints.

¡ Avoid “Me too” business ideas (Common business ideas like boda boda, hotel, grocery shops, saloons) unless you are offering something unique

¡ Avoid the obvious/status quo

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¡ Out-of-the box thinking requires an openness to new ways of seeing the world and a willingness to explore.

¡ Out-of-the box thinkers know that new ideas need nurturing and support.

¡ They also know that having an idea is good but acting on it is more important.

¡ Results are what count. 18

¡ What are some of the businesses being run in Kenya that you know of that “Think outside the Box” (very creative).

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¡ How easy is it to solve problems by creating businesses? (pain points)

¡ Every problem offers chance to open/start a business that may offer a new product/ service, raw materials, markets, and organizing methods can be introduced through the formation of new means, ends, or means-ends relationships

ØAlways see problems as opportunities20

¡ Identify a community and list all the problems thatthey face.

¡ Select problems that have potential solutions.¡ Analyzing the problems, choose one and list more

than ten solutions to this problem.¡ How many of these solutions are business ideas?

Note: When looking out for solutions identify the skills,resources and knowledge that you can use in implementingthe solutions in the community

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¡ A human need is a basic requirement that anindividual wishes to satisfy

¡ Needs are a basic part of human life, and aretherefore not created by businesses.

¡ Businesses only try to influence demand bydesigning products and services that are attractive,affordable, available and work well for the customer(satisfaction).

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Look out for peoples’ needs, e.g.:

ØWhat exists is too expensive and we need something cheaper, ØWhat exists is not easy to use so we need a user

friendly one, ØQuality of existing product or service is not good

enough

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¡ Existing product/service provider weaknesses

¡ Application of existing products for new functions

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¡ The term “evaluation” typically communicates a judgment, which determines whether a developing opportunity will receive the resources to mature to its next stage.

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¡ The evaluation components used were generated from a focused group discussion of successful Kenyan entrepreneurs as shown in the slide

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¡ Using a scale of 1 to 5 evaluate at least five of the business ideas that you have generated using the evaluation process below

Feasibility Analysis¡ Do I know how to do it (Related experience)?¡ Does this business idea match my personal goals?¡ Do you have the right Skills and Knowledge?¡ Will my strength support this business idea?¡ Am I willing to work hard to realize this business? (Passion)

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Do you have the right …§ Skills and Knowledge§ Experience§ Match personal goals§ Strength § Passion

Rate each item on a 1-to-5 response scale where:§ 1= strongly disagree § 2= disagree § 3= undecided (Neutral)§ 4= agree § 5= strongly agree

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¡ The final score for the business idea on the scale is the sum of their ratings divided by the number of all the items That is, if the respondent gave a 1, 4, 3, 5,2 for the items in the illustration no.3. Then the Final score will be 1+4+3+5+2 = 15/5 = 3.

¡ This score gives an undecided view so it is advisable not to implement this business idea unless you have other strong points to implement it.

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¡ Develop an elevator pitch for your business idea. Theobjective of this elevator pitch is to solicit support for yourbusiness idea within 60 seconds.

Key points to consider:

¡ What is unique about you business idea? (What do you bring to the table that is different?)

¡ Does it meet customer needs or solve their problems?¡ Do you have a passion for this business idea? What motivates you?¡ It should be concise and clear. Use simple words that are easily

understood

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