Entrepreneurship:

A Catalyst in Nation Building

 Chapter 2:
Opportunity Seeking, Screening,
and Seizing
 Learning Objective

To know the importance of

opportunity seeking, screening, and
seizing in entrepreneurship
Opportunity Seeking
 Entrepreneurial Mind Frame,
Heart Flame, and Gut Game
The entrepreneurial mind frame allows the entrepreneur to
see things in a very positive and optimistic light in the midst of
crisis or difficult situations.
The entrepreneurial heart flame, also known as surging
passion, refers to the entrepreneurs fulfillment in the act and
process of discovery.
The entrepreneurial gut game, also known as intuition, refers
to the ability of the entrepreneur to sense without using the
five senses.
 Sources of Opportunities
Macro Environmental Sources
of Opportunities
1. Socio-cultural Environment
2. Political Environment
3. Economic Environment
4. Ecological Environment
5. Technological Environment
 Sources of Opportunities
Industry Sources of
Opportunities
Participants in and industry include:
1. Rivals or competitors in a particular type of business. True
rivals or competitors are those competing for the same or
similar markets.
2. Suppliers of input to rivals as well as suppliers of machinery
and equipment, suppliers of manpower and expertise, and
supplies of merchandise.
3. Consumer market segments being served by rivals or
competitors.
4. Substitute products or services, which customers shift or
turn to.
5. All other support and enabling industries.
 Sources of Opportunities
Micromarket
Micromarket refers to the specific target market segment
of a particular enterprise. These are the target customers
that represent the immediate customers of an enterprise,
meaning those who are currently buying the goods or
services offered by the enterprise and its direct
competitors. It likewise pertains to a clearly defined
location or specific customer group that an enterprise
wishes to serve.
 Sources of Opportunities
Consumer Preferences, Piques,
and Perceptions
Consumer preferences refer to the tastes of particular
groups of people. In contrast, consumer dislikes refer to
the things that irritate customers. Either way, the
entrepreneur can explore opportunities brought about by
consumer preferences or dislikes.
There are times when the product is not changed by the
enterprise but what changes is the way consumers
perceive the product.
 Sources of Opportunities
Other Sources
Another potential source of opportunity is the
entrepreneurs own set of skills or expertise, or hobby.
New knowledge as well as new technology can be the
source of highly innovative opportunities.
1. Customer preferences change over time.
2. Peoples tastes in clothes, music, shoes,
entertainment, dance, sports, hobbies, and even
careers have evolved over the years.
3. What piques customers is a great source of
opportunities.
4. Before the customer is won over, there is first a
battle for the mind. Next, there is a battle for the
heart. Finally, there is a battle for the wallet.
 Sources of Opportunities
Other Sources
5. The longer the customer wants to use the
product, the greater the chances of creating
lasting loyalty.
6. Opportunities abound in shaping consumer
perceptions or occupying spaces in their minds or
places in their hearts that have not yet been filled.
 Sources of Opportunities
Other Sources
7. New inventions, new systems and work processes,
new insights about the human psyche, new
applications for old knowledge, new revelations
about how the physical world works, new
interpretations, new combinations based on the
convergence of previous technologies, new
outlooks about how life should be led, and a host
of other new things are tremendous sources of
opportunities.
8. Determining personal preferences and
competencies lay the foundation for a new
business venture.
 Sources of Opportunities
Other Sources
9. Unexpected occurrences in both the external and
internal environment of the enterprise indicate
that significant changes are happening and
opportunities are sprouting.
Opportunity Screening
 The Personal Screen
In screening opportunities, the entrepreneur first has to consider
his or her preferences and capabilities by asking three basic
questions:
1. Do I have the drive to pursue this business opportunity to
the end?
2. Will I spend all my time, effort, and money to make the
business opportunity work?
3. Will I sacrifice my existing lifestyle, endure emotional
hardship, and forego my usual comforts to succeed in this
business opportunity?
If YES is your answer to all of the above, then you can begin your
earnest pursuit of that opportunity.
 Risk-Return Grid for
Screening Opportunities
 The 12 Rs of Opportunity
Screening
1. Relevance to vision, mission, and objectives of the entrepreneur.
The opportunity must be aligned with what you have as your
personal vision, mission, and objectives for the enterprise you
want to set up.
2. Resonance to values. Other than vision, mission, and objectives,
the opportunity must match the values and desired virtues that
you have or wish to impart.
3. Reinforcement of Entrepreneurial Interests. How does the
opportunity resonate with the entrepreneurs personal interests,
talents, and skills?
4. Revenues. In any entrepreneurial endeavor, it is important to
determine the sales potential of the products or services you want
to offer. Is there a big enough market out there to grab and nurture
for growth?
 The 12 Rs of Opportunity
Screening
5. Responsiveness to customer needs and wants. If the opportunity
that you want to pursue addresses the unfulfilled or underserved
needs and wants of customers, then you have a better chance of
succeeding.
6. Reach. Opportunities that have good chances of expanding
through branches, distributorships, dealerships, or franchise
outlets in order to attain rapid growth are better opportunities.
7. Range. The opportunity can potentially lead to a wide range of
possible product or service offerings, thus, tapping many market
segments of the industry.
8. Revolutionary Impact. If you think that the opportunity will most
likely be the next big thing or even a game-changer that will
revolutionize the industry, then there is a big potential for the
chosen opportunity.
 The 12 Rs of Opportunity
Screening
9. Returns. It is a fact that products with low costs of production and
operations but are sold at higher prices will definitely yield the
highest returns on investments. Returns can also be intangible;
meaning, they come in the form of high profile recognition or
image projection.
10. Relative Ease of Implementation. Will the opportunity be
relatively easy to implement for the entrepreneur or will there be a
lot of obstacles and competency gaps to overcome?
11. Resources Required. Opportunities requiring fewer resources from
the entrepreneur may be more favored than those requiring more
resources.
12. Risks. In an entrepreneurial endeavor, there will always be risks.
However, some opportunities carry more risks than others, such as
those with high technological, market, financial, and people risks.
Opportunity Screening Matrix
 Factors That Are Contained in a
Pre-feasibility Study
Market potential and prospects
Availability and appropriateness of technology
Project investment and detailed cost estimates
Financial forecast and determination of financial
feasibility
Things to Consider in Writing the
Feasibility Study
1. A more in-depth study of market potential to
ensure that the business proposal will reach the
forecasted sales figures
2. Proof that the product or services being offered
has the right design, attributes, specifications
and preferred features
3. Proof that the entrepreneur and his or her team
have the necessary experience, skills, and
capabilities to maximize the ventures chances
of success
Things to Consider in Writing the
Feasibility Study
4. Legal visibility
5. More detailed costing on the different assets
and more justification for the production and
operating expenses
6. More thorough analysis of the technology and
its sustainability
Opportunity Seizing
The question for the entrepreneur
in Opportunity Seizing is

Will I be able to manage, to my advantage,

the critical success factors and avoid the
critical failure factors?
 Key Points in Going about the
Questioning to Craft a
Positioning Statement
1. What are the main customer segments?
2. What are the different product attributes and
features of each of the competitors?
3. What are the existing marketing practices of the
various competitors?
4. What are the market preferences of consumers
when it comes to the products being offered?
Grids for Competitor Analysis
Analysis of Competitors Products
Options or Directions in Coming up
with a Product/Service Concept
1. The first is to create a concept similar to the winning
products in the marketplace and ride with the obvious
market trends
2. The second is to find a market niche that has not been
filled by the competitors.
3. The third is to conceptualize a product in a positioning
category where the participants are rather weak.
4. The fourth is to conceptualize a product that would
change the way customers think, behave, and buy, thus
making existing products obsolete and old-fashioned.
 Designing, Prototyping, and
Testing the Product
Designing means that the entrepreneur must render the
concept and translate it into its very physical and very real
dimensions (measurement). This entails building a prototype
of the product that will be ready for actual testing by the
entrepreneur and then, later on, subject to testing by
potential customers through focus group discussions (FGD),
surveys, product demonstration sessions, and the like.
 Designing, Prototyping, and
Testing the Product
Designing means that the entrepreneur must render the
concept and translate it into its very physical and very real
dimensions (measurement). This entails building a prototype
of the product that will be ready for actual testing by the
entrepreneur and then, later on, subject to testing by
potential customers through focus group discussions (FGD),
surveys, product demonstration sessions, and the like.