Small Business Entrepreneurship Syllabus - BBA (PU)

Course Objective

The main objective of this course is to impart students the knowledge and skills of entrepreneurial small businesses so that students may successfully apply them to start and manage such businesses as a career option or help and advice their owners and managers for smooth operations.

Course Description

To achieve the objective, this course deals with the nature, role and ethics of small business, characteristic features of entrepreneurs, business ideas, options for starting of small business, small business strategies, business plan, small business marketing, small business management and small business accounting and finance.

Course Outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Understand the fundamentals small business entrepreneurship
• Recognize opportunity and generate ideas for small business
• Use the skills of starting up a small business
• Develop small business strategies and plan
• Appreciate the need for business advice and assistance
• Consider the issues small business management
• Comprehend the need for small business accounting and finance

Course Contents

Unit I: Introduction                                                                                                   6 hours

Concept of small business; Characteristics of small business; Advantages and disadvantages of small business; Small businesses versus high growth ventures; Small business owners versus entrepreneurs; Motivation for choosing; Opportunities and rewards for starting small business; Starting a small business: entry competencies; Factors affecting success and failure of small business; Role of small business in the Nepalese economy; Small business ethics.

Unit II: Small Business Ideas                                                                                    4 hours

Sources of business ideas; Screening ideas; Ideas, opportunities and creativity: innovative frame of mind; Avoiding pitfalls; Types of innovations small businesses develop; Feasibility of an idea: pilot testing; Methods of being creative

Unit III: Starting Up Small Business                                                                        7 hours

Starting a part-time business: significance, types and success factors; Starting a full-time business: new, purchasing and franchising; Starting a new business: advantages and disadvantages, increasing chance of success; Purchasing an existing business: advantages and disadvantages, determining value of business and structuring the deal; Franchising: advantages and disadvantages, franchising opportunities and legal considerations

Unit IV: Small Business Strategies and Business Plan                                            6 hours

Strategy in small business; Small business strategy process: pre-strategy, benefits, strategy selection and competitive strategy; Life cycle and business strategy; Concept of business plan; Key element of business plan: vision and mission statements, elevator pitch, executive summary and business plans; Strategizing for business plan; Contents of business plan; Presenting business plan

Unit V: Business Advice and Assistance                                                                  5 hours

Concept of business advisor; Types of professional advisor; Advisory styles; Sourcing advisors; Choosing a professional advisor; Forms of support for new and small business in Nepal; Government assistance; Private sector assistance; Assistance from INGOs and NGOs; Business incubation and incubators

Unit VI: Small Business Marketing:                                                             7 hours

Product and pricing strategies; Promotion strategies: determining value proposition, market segmentation, developing message, conveying message; Process of personal selling; Customer relationship management: strategies and steps; Distribution: direct marketing, Internet, distribution issues for direct marketing and non-direct marketing

Unit VII: Small Business Management                                                                    5 hours

Forms of small business organizations and their relative advantages and disadvantages; Organization structure; Acquisition of staff; Management process; Concept of operations management; Operations management process; Physical site factors: premises, location and layout; Inventory and supply management

Unit VIII: Small Business Accounting and Finance                                     5 hours

Need of accounting for small business; Setting up accounting system; Financial reports; Uses of financial accounting; Managing cash flow; Preventing cash flow problems; Sources of small business financing; Choosing right source of financing; Managing receivables and inventory; Budget for small business

Basic Text

Katz, J. and Green, R..Entrepreneurial Small Business. Tata McGraw-Hill Education, New Delhi.

References

1. Shaper, M., Volery ,T., Weber, P., and Lewis, K. Entrepreneurship and Small Business. Wiley India, New Delhi.
2. Zimmerer, T., W. and Scarborough, N. M. Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. Prentice-Hall of India Ltd., New Delhi.
3. Roy, R. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
4. Khanka, S.S. Entrepreneurial Development, Chand & Co., New Delhi