Entrepreneur Interview - Brigham Young University–Idaho



Entrepreneur Interview

To learn more about the entrepreneurial, experience, interview a successful entrepreneur as a group, in person. The person you interview should have a minimum of one year entrepreneurial experience. You will report your finding in an oral presentation to the class. Your assignment will include (1) 5-10 minute oral report in class, (2) 1 page self-assessment of what you personally go out of the interview. Be sure to rate yourself on what points you deserve in your paper. You will get 0 points if you do not attend the interview. Be sure that your oral presentation has a WOW FACTOR that might include: a short video clip of the business along with a PowerPoint, highlighting the main points you gained from the interview. A panel, with each team member highlighting key points. Think outside the box and make it fun and informative. Bring in examples of the product or demonstrate the service, make your presentation come alive!!! Don’t let the video clip drive your entire presentation. If you do use a video, make sure it is professionally done with supporting music and key points shown in the clip. This assignment is worth 75 points, so make it count!!!

The following are some questions you may use for your interview. Feel free to add to or delete from this list or to prepare another list with questions of your own. Your goal in this exercise is to get firsthand information about the entrepreneurial experience to help you determine whether entrepreneurship might be a career path for you.

1. Entrepreneurs begin with visions, or overall ideas for their businesses, and then they passionately pursue those visions. Describe the vision you had for your organization.

2. Did you start a business with your own idea, buy an established business, or buy a franchise? If you started a business based on your own idea, answer this question: In selecting your business idea, were you able to find something you love to do and are good at doing? How did you determine that your idea would fill a need in the marketplace?

3. Researchers have associated many personality traits with successful entrepreneurship. Which of these describe you? Which trait do you think contributed most to achieving your success? Explain why the trait you selected contributed so much to your success.

• Vision

• High energy level

• Need to achieve

• Self-confidence and optimism

• Tolerance for failure

• Creativity

• Tolerance for ambiguity

• Internal locus of control

4. Describe your typical workweek schedule, indicating what time your workday begins and ends and how many days per week you typically work.

5. Describe a setback or failure and how you responded to it.

6. Did you ever take a class or enroll in a program that taught you how to start and run a business?

7. Did you have a documented “Business Plan”? If yes, approximately how many hours did it take you to prepare it? Did you use it to explain and sell your business idea? Was it necessary to get the financing you needed?

8. Did you budget enough for your start-up costs? If not, what expenses did you not plan for that created a cash-flow problem?

9. Explain the procedure you followed to find financing for your new business. Did the process take more or less time than you anticipated? Was finding financing easier or harder than you expected? What’s the best advice you can give a person who is seeking financing for starting a new business?

10. What’s the most important entrepreneurial idea or advice that you would want to convey to college students contemplating going into business for themselves?

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