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You may not interview a member of your family

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You may not interview a member of your family... father, mother, spouse, sibling, aunt, uncle, etc. The Live Case Study will require you to go out and meet a ‘real live’ entrepreneur and interview him or her. It is NOT OK to simply get information from a website. You may interview the entrepreneur over the phone... it is not required that you meet with them in person.

The Entrepreneur must meet the definition of ‘Entrepreneur’ contained in the book.

Entrepreneurs should be in business at least one year at the time you interview them. They should have at least one employee... W2 vs 1099. They should be actively engaged in operating the business at the time you interview them. Retired Entrepreneurs are not ideal and should be cleared before you interview them.

You must provide complete contact information for the Entrepreneur including

· phone # (no excuses... everyone has a phone #)

· email address (no excuses... everyone has an email)

· website (if they have a website) and

· their business address (no excuses... every business has an address)

NOTE: Failure to provide the above information will result in a loss of 10 points.

As part of your required course work for MANA 3325 you must perform an Interview of an Entrepreneur who is actively in business AT THIS TIME. You may not base your interview on a business that was formed and closed or sold in the past. It must be a currently running business.

The following is your guide to how to conduct the interview and what I want you to learn and report back on your Case Study. You should expect to write 4-5 pages with single spaced lines and paragraphs... 1500 - 2500 words total on your Case Study. If you double space you should expect to have an 8-10 page document.

 

NOTE: The Entrepreneur selected must meet the definition of Entrepreneur that includes being both a risk taker and an innovator. Attorneys, Financial Planners, Insurance Agents, Real Estate Agents, Doctors, and similar business owners will not qualify. Only Owners, CEOs, Presidents, and Partners in companies will qualify. If the individual is a CEO they must also own more than 20% of the stock in the company. If you are not sure ask me and I will let you know if the person fits.

Entrepreneur Contact Information Required:

· Entrepreneur Name

· Business Address

· Ph#

· Website

· Email Address

Questions You Are Required to Ask:

1. What Products or Services are being sold? Describe in detail.

2. What was the initial vision or thought or motivating circumstances that triggered the business?

3. What is the Vision Statement?

4. What is the Mission Statement? NOTE: If the Entrepreneur does not provide one you must provide what you believe the Mission Statement and the Vision Statement are for the business based on your interview.

5. When was the business formed?

6. What kind of business entity is the business?

7. Why was that form of ownership selected?

8. What are the Key Factors of Success?

9. Who are the competitors? List at least 5 competitors. Perform a brief competitor analysis indicating what competitive advantages these competitors enjoy.

10. What competitive advantage does the entrepreneur enjoy?

11. What competitive and environmental threats does the entrepreneur face?

12. What specific goals has the entrepreneur established for the next 1, 3, and 5 years?

13. Is the entrepreneur succeeding at accomplishing the goals that they have thus far set?

14. How could the entrepreneur improve their business? Provide suggestions based on your analysis of the business.

15. Why did you choose this entrepreneur to interview?

16. What marketing is the entrepreneur using? Is it effective? Do you recommend other choices?

17. Tell me why you think this business will succeed, struggle, or fail over the next 2 years.