South Africa has one of the highest failure rates of new Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in the world. Approximately 70% to 80% of small businesses fail within the first five years of their establishment and 4% survive after 10 years. Research indicates that this failure is often due to entrepreneurs not understanding basic business concepts. In a fast changing business environment that is becoming more volatile and uncertain due to various crises (for example the COVID-19 pandemic, tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the ever increasing cost of living, slow economic growth, and the inability of the national energy provider to resolve the country’s power crisis) it is essential that aspiring entrepreneurs and new business owners have a solid foundation of knowledge on which to build a sustainable businesses.
Entrepreneurship and How to Establish your own Business (seventh edition) is a foundational book covering the key areas of entrepreneurship and small business development. This new edition explains important business concepts in layman’s terms and uses updated examples to focus on:
-the entrepreneur’s personal skills set
-role models in the field of successful entrepreneurship
-thinking ’out of the box’ to find opportunities in the market
-evaluating business ideas
-drawing up a business plan
-setting up a business
-legal and other business requirements that apply to new businesses.
The book, written by authors with many years of experience and interest in entrepreneurship, is ideal for undergraduate students in the field of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. Owners of small businesses, aspiring entrepreneurs and any person with an interest in understanding how a business is successfully established and managed will also fi it invaluable in providing guidance on the intricacies of becoming a successful entrepreneur.