Question
Explain any six ways adopted by entrepreneurs to generate ideas with at least one example for each.

Answer

Ways adopted by entrepreneurs to generate ideas:
Brainstorming: This process involves engendering a huge number of solutions for a specific problem (idea) with emphasis being on the number of ideas. In the course of brainstorming, there is no assessment of ideas. So, people can speak out their ideas freely without fear of criticism. Even bizarre/ strange ideas are accepted with open hands. In fact, the crazier the idea, the better. Taming down is easier than thinking up.
Market research: Market research (also in some contexts known as industrial research) is any organized effort to gather information about target markets or customers. It is a very important component of business strategy. The term is commonly interchanged with marketing research; however, expert practitioners may wish to draw a distinction, in that marketing research is concerned specifically about marketing processes, while market research is concerned specifically with markets.
Idea mapping: Idea or mind mapping is a technique in which you create an image of a central idea in the middle of a blank page then draw branches from this image to break down the idea into different topics. Different colors, images and shapes are used to help stimulate your thinking. Idea-mapping can boost your creativity by helping you organize your thoughts in a visually stimulating way thus drawing on both the creative and logical sides of your brain.
Market gaps (niche): Spotting a gap in the market can also form an idea. A market gap in this case is used to mean some important area that is not occupied. Sometimes, a particular area in the market may be empty with nobody really providing some goods or services needed by customers. This is what can be formed to an idea..
Using hobbies to generate ideas: Hobbies are what one is fond of doing most of his or her time. At least each and every one finds something interesting and comfortable doing every time. Well, that might be a source of a business idea.
Day dreaming and fantasising: The word “daydream” itself involuntarily triggers an uninhibited and playful thought process, incorporating the participant’s creativity and resourcefulness to play around with the present problem. Plenty of famous inventors have engaged in daydreaming in the past, thereby setting off ideas that contributed to life altering inventions.
Surveys: Business ideas can be generated from market surveys indicating or showing which sector is viable or possibly void of products. People can check the market to come out with appropriate conclusions on which sectors are not flooded or occupied.

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It's Natural. It's Yummy: It's Natural Ice-cream

It's natural. It's yummy. Those who have tasted it, swear by it. The unique feature of the ice-creams manufactured by Natural Ice-cream is that, they contain no artificial flavours, preservatives or stabilisers, only fresh fruit pulp or dry fruits.
Started as a 300 sq ft ice-cream parlour at Juhu, a North-West Mumbai suburb, in 1984, the brand is a runaway success. It now has 89 franchise outlets across West and South India: 47 in Mumbai, 29 in the neighbouring urban clusters of Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pune and the rest scattered across selected cities of Maharashtra and neighbouring states. Ten more will be opened in the current financial year. Natural's revenues have risen from 14 lakh in 1986 to 40 crore in 2010-11. The franchises may be many, but the manufacturing hub is just one, located in another Mumbai suburb, Kandivali. Every morning, a fleet of trucks rolls out from the factory carrying the ice-cream to all the Natural outlets, thus ensuring quality is not compromised.
The store at Juhu has been renovated and expanded repeatedly and is now more than 3 times its original size. 'It is a landmark in the area', says a beaming Kamath. It all began after Kamath broke away from his elder brother's ice-cream business, Gokul Ice-cream, in 1983. 'I took my share of the inheritance and set-up Natural', says Kamath. From the start, he was at enormous pains to keep to quality, a trait he maintains to this day. Seasonal fruits are bought in bulk daily from the market, with only the best quality ones being chosen. The extracted pulp is heated, to get rid of unwanted bacteria and then stored in aluminium sealed packages.
Kamath, who from the start involved himself in every aspect of manufacture and distribution, says, he has experimented with 60 different kinds of fruit. (In case of non-seasonal fruits, however, Kamath has no choice but to buy pulp and get it machine processed).
The means, Natural uses to enforce quality control, however, impose their own limits on the brand's expansion. All the temperature control in the world cannot preserve the taste and more importantly, the freshness of ice-cream beyond a specified number of hours, during which Natural's trucks can cover only a finite distance. This explains why Natural's outlets are largely in Western India and it has no outlet yet in the national capital, despite the obvious business opportunity Delhi presents. "The National Capital Region has remained an elusive destination', admits Pai.
But the scenario may soon change. Though, Natural officials are reluctant to share details of their financial relationship with the franchises, they do reveal that plans are a foot for a major change in operational strategy. The man responsible is Kamath's son, Srinivas, who was inducted into the business in 2009. Srinivas, 27, believes that since it is dealing in perishable products such as ice-cream, Natural has to set-up manufacturing units in other locations, if it wants to keep expanding.
Srinivas wants to set-up 'mega shops' in far away cities and towns, which will both manufacture natural Ice-creams and sell it. 'Raw materials will be supplied from here, as well as trained workers who will make the ice-cream at the mega shops', says Srinivas. 'Frozen, non-perishable fruit pulp and processed milk can be stored for a maximum of 4 days without harm. That is enough time to transport them to wherever the mega shops are opened.
Again, in a change of strategy, Natural intends to open only one shop in these far away areas. 'Instead of investing in multiple franchises, Natural will have just one mega shop per town', Srinivas adds. Natural will also impose its conditions: the outlet must have atleast 2000 sq ft floor space and must be located in a central area. The first such outlet is set to open shortly in Chandigarh, depending on its success, more such shops will follow.
Natural is in no hurry to get to Delhi, but it has big plans when it does. Delhi is very big market. To meet its demand, we'll have to double our existing capacity', says Pai. Natural's ambitions go even further. 'Our founder wants Delhi to be the launch pad for Natural's global ventures, especially in West Asia', he adds.
  1. Why has quality control became a deterrent to Natural's expansion plans?
  2. How do they plan to overcome the above deterrent?
  3. What are their future plans?
  4. 'Instead of investing in multiple franchises, Natural will have just one mega shop per town,' says Srinivas. What do you understand by multiple franchises?
Why is Return on Investment (ROI) deemed as a yardstick for the performance of an enterprise?
The following data of Yashasvi & Amrita Co. producing three products , for the period ending 31st March, 2013 is as under:
Product
Detergent Powder
Detergent Soap Bar
Detergent Liquid
Units
40,000
30,000
30,000
Variable Cost per unit
15
9
10
Selling Price per unit
30
15
21
Fixed Cost are 6,01,620 per year.
From the above given information ,You are required to calculate contribution of each product, firm's composite break-even point, profit.
How franchising helps start-ups?
Explain the Steps for the development of the tool of cash management that helps an entrepreneur in knowing how much cash generation and expenditure is anticipated over a chosen period of time in future.
Answer each of these questions in about two hundred and fifty words:
What is meant by moving up the value chain? Explain with the help of an example.
What is manpower planning? Why is it necessary for every business unit?
Discuss briefly the evolution of franchising and the present scenario in India, citing relevant examples.
Give the salient features of Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008.
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