As a strategy to develop a more knowledge-based society, the EU and its Member States have defined eight essential key competences to be prioritized and promoted among European citizens. One of the key competences is the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship and includes “the ability to turn ideas into action through creativity, innovation and risk-taking, as well as the ability to plan and manage projects.”
To succeed as an entrepreneur and to be able to stand up to competition with other companies offering the same or similar products, the difference between success and failure can depend on important details. It can depend, for example, on the entrepreneur’s creative abilities and how purpose-driven the entrepreneurship is.
Creativity is described as an “ability to innovate, to break free from established perspectives”. This is in line with a growth mindset that is considered an important characteristic in entrepreneurship and is the opposite of a “fixed mindset”. An individual’s ability to think creatively helps the person to think innovatively and to see new opportunities that allow an entrepreneur to, for example, better ensure that their company follows the current market and demand. It could be offering their customers, in addition to the usual popular coffee latte (which is fixed on the menu), another temporary product such as the trendy “bubble tea” that is changed to another product at regular intervals. It could also be about the entrepreneur wanting to “reward” their regular customers, maximise the opportunity to retain their existing customers and therefore review the possibilities of giving some form of discount to these customers in a way that makes it still profitable for their business.
What does goal-oriented entrepreneurship mean? When a company starts up, a business plan should be drawn up. It should, among other things, highlight a business idea, potential financing and goals that the company should strive for. By setting goals for a company, guidance is also set on “where the organization is headed”. Is the company’s priority goal to expand? Is the goal to make a profit of a certain amount? The goals set should be followed up on regularly. This goal-oriented management can play a decisive role in the company’s success and expansion.
The advantage of establishing goal-oriented entrepreneurship:
A clear vision is set for how the company should be run
A clear picture of what the business plan looks like
Within the SkillsXcellerate project, we produce material that will make it easier for those of you who have dreams of becoming or who are already young entrepreneur. The business canvas model (link) is a material that gives you knowledge and tools about 10 important parts to reflect on when building your business plan. With the help of the model, you can, for example, reflect on questions such as “what problem should your company/product solve”? and “what unique value can your company/product provide to the customer”?
Another material we have developed within the SkillsXcellerate project is the compendium Growth mindset and entrepreneurial competences (link), which will provide youth workers with knowledge and tools to better support young entrepreneurs. For example, the compendium includes information about the SMART method used to set clear and realistic goals.
SkillsXcellerate is in line with the EU’s strategy to develop a more knowledge-based society, which includes, among other things, individuals being able to think innovatively, using their creativity and daring to take risks. By equipping youth workers with the life skills required to guide and help young people begin their entrepreneurial journey. The project aims to increase the number of young entrepreneurs in Europe, with a particular focus on engaging youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. With the support of a youth workers and non-formal education the ambition is that more youths dare to “go for it” and take their first step into the entrepreneurial business.
Sources:
https://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/kreativitet
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/SV/TXT/?uri=LEGISSUM%3Ac11090
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC101581
