Fundamentals of Management 7th Edition by Ricky Griffin

Exercise 6

Exercise Overview
Conceptual skills require you to think in the abstract. This exercise will help you apply your conceptual skills to an analysis of certain criteria for successful entrepreneurship.
Exercise Background
Now that you're about to graduate, you've decided to open a small business in the local community where you've been attending college. We won't ask where you got them, but we'll assume that you have enough funds to start a business without having to worry about finding investors.
Based solely on your personal interests, list five businesses that you might want to open and operate. For the moment, forget about technicalities such as market potential or profitability. If, for example, you like riding your bicycle, think about opening a shop that caters to cyclists.
Next, without regard for any personal interest you might have in them, list five businesses that you might want to open and operate. In this case, your only criteria are market opportunity and profitability. What types of businesses might be profitable in your chosen community? Use the Internet to gather information on factors such as population, local economic conditions, local competition, and franchising opportunities.
Finally, evaluate the prospects for success of each of the ten businesses that you've listed, and jot down some notes to summarize your conclusions.
Exercise Task
Reviewing your lists, the information that you've gathered, and the conclusions that you've drawn, do the following:
Form a small group of four or five classmates, and discuss your respective lists. Look for instances in which the same type of business appears on either both of your lists or one of your lists and one of a classmate's lists. Also look for cases in which the same business appears on one or more than one list with either similar or dissimilar prospects for success.