Week 3
| 1. Why do ethics matter in entrepreneurship? Ethics matter in entrepreneurship in short because good ethics is good business. Doing things the right way, being honest, and doing things legally are all core values that business should embrace. If a company is unethical, consumers can lose trust in the company or brand and it will result in a loss of business and revenue. As a person and a business, you build a relationship and a reputation. I cannot even count how many times I have told someone to go to a different restaurant for lunch if I know a certain place has a history of bad performance. Even though ethics matter in entrepreneurship, the things that are legal are not always moral. |
| 2. How does my own personal budget relate to an entrepreneurship budget? According to Doctor Zhang in our module, our personal budget is the beginning of a determination on how much money can be put into the entrepreneurial project. Drafting a budget is like a plan to turn your dream into a reality. 3. Why do we need budgets? Any business I can come up with will not have infinite cash or assets. A budget is necessary because we have to balance our spending with our borrowing and earning. We need to be earning more money than we are spending OR we need a plan with a budget on how much we can afford to lose while investing in future profits. The budget is also responsible for removing some of the chaos caused by everyday life. Budgets should plan for accidents, incidents, and insurance in order to mitigate risk in entrepreneurship. |
| 4. What is social entrepreneurship? While social entrepreneurship and business entrepreneurship both aim to create a better way of doing things, Social entrepreneurship is more focused on doing good things for people than it is focused on earning money. Our Module eloquently recites a line from Groot & Dankbaar, ” They (social entrepreneurships) differ from business entrepreneurships in that social entrepreneurs have a double bottom line in which they seek social value in a addition to financial value, or a triple bottom line in which financial profit, social impact, and environmental impact determine value.” Social entrepreneurship is different from charity because social endeavors depend upon earned income and look to generate revenue as a part of their approach to achieving social change. I might consider myself a social entrepreneur after reviewing some of the descriptors such as empathic, nonconformist, and curious. 5. What are the most significant legal issues entrepreneurs face? One of the first legal issues a business faces is how to choose a legal form of the organization. Choosing the correct legal form gives your business the correct legal protection. The form we choose also determines the taxes for the business, reinforcing the concept it is important to choose the correct form. In my personal life, I don’t think I could handle a sole proprietorship because it has the least legal protection. I am a terrible worry wort and I would not want to risk my house and car for a business, especially if I am already living reasonably well. The ability to start for cheap is not attractive to me, but the obstacle of starting with money may prove to be insurmountable for me. |