Short Course in Entrepreneurial Skills

Since 1970 the Small Business Advisory Bureau offers business advice to prospective entrepreneurs in starting an own business. With the expertise available it is intended to draw the attention of prospective entrepreneurs to various business opportunities, the factors influencing the establishment and managing of an independent business, the unique problems facing business owners and methods of preventing or solving such problems. Existing theories regarding the management and operation of a business will be addressed, but the emphasis during the presentations will be on the practical application of the theories to minimise unemployment in South Africa.

Purpose of the course

The course aims to prepare participants to perform development, marketing, and management functions associated with owning and operating a business. It includes defining and understanding the meaning of the words entrepreneur and entrepreneurship and the different forms of businesses that can be used to start a business. This includes knowledge of the importance of small businesses and their economic problems, the importance of feasibility and viability studies, and what such studies entail. The course equips participants to manage and perform the management activities involved in running successful businesses. For this purpose, they need to identify the basic management elements, additional management tasks, and the explanation of management information. Understand and explain the importance of administrative processes in small businesses, such as a record-keeping system, balance sheet, income statement, and retail businesses' pricing policy. The course also aims to equip participants to perform a viability assessment on a new or existing business and explain the difference between a trademark and patent concepts. Participants will learn about taxation in South Africa and how to assess the legal rules relating to various contracts' validity. They will learn the importance of insurance for small businesses, describe market segmentation and market segmentation processes, understand marketing elements and how to keep customers satisfied.

Admission requirements

Participants must be entrepreneurially orientated with the necessary skills that are required to become entrepreneurs. Numeracy skills to do basic calculations must already be in place.

Learning assumed to be in place

Grade 12 or an equivalent qualification with preferable or applicable working experience in the small business environment.

Course outcomes and assessment criteria

Course outcomes and the associated assessment criteria

Study Unit	Outcomes	Assessment Criteria
	On completion of the CEd offering, the participant should be able to demonstrate:	The participant will reach the CEd offering outcomes if he/she is able to:
(1) IE: Introduction to entrepreneurship	basic knowledge and informed understanding of the meaning of the words entrepreneur and entrepreneurship. comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the importance of small businesses in the economy. comprehensive knowledge and understanding of specific small business problems	identify and explain the difference between entrepreneurs, investors and managers. identify and discuss the general characteristics of entrepreneurs. demonstrate the skills that entrepreneurs must possess. define small businesses and discuss why people operate small businesses. Identify and address shortcomings in operating small businesses. discuss the unique external and internal problems and failures of small businesses.
(2) IO: Entrepreneurial ideas and opportunities	comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the importance of feasibility and viability studies and what such studies entail an ability to access and process sources of business ideas and the role of creativity and innovation in the development of business opportunities.	explain technical and market feasibility studies. identify and discuss the analyses of competitors, personnel and financial feasibility studies. explain the role played by creativity and innovation in developing business opportunities. discuss the factors that influence creativity and techniques to improve creativity to start a business. explain how one must evaluate business opportunities.
(3) EMS: Entrepreneurial management skills	an ability to operate and take full responsibility for the management and the management activities involved in running successful businesses. an ability to identify the basic management elements management of a team/group/system/process by identifying additional management tasks	explain different definitions of management. draw a schematic presentation of the management process. identify and explain planning, organising, activation, leadership and control as a basis for management. discuss and explain the advantages of thorough planning. discuss and explain the requirements for thorough planning. explain and understand the planning process. discuss the organisational process and symptoms of poor organisation. explain influence, authority and power in managing a business. discuss the control proses in running a business. explain and discuss the requirements for a control system. explain and discuss motivation as an additional management task. explain and demonstrate the communication process as an additional management task. explain and demonstrate coordination as an additional management task. explain and demonstrate delegation as an additional management task and explain the delegation process. explain and demonstrate discipline as an additional management task. explain and demonstrate human development and explain how entrepreneurs must manage themselves.
(4) AS: Entrepreneurial Administrative skills	comprehensive knowledge and understanding of management information comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the importance of a record-keeping system. comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the administrative processes in small businesses.	demonstrate and name the information required by management in small businesses. discuss important daily, monthly and annual information that is of importance for businesses. explain and understand the use of a daily cash sales register. develop, explain and describe the use of a goods received register. describe the use of a payments register. outline receiving procedures of goods and demonstrate how the goods received register must be completed. demonstrate the collection of information in small businesses. explain and discuss the different documentation required for small businesses. explain and understand the use of a daily cash sales register.
5) FS: Entrepreneurial Financial Skills	comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the balance sheet and the importance thereof comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the income statement and the importance thereof comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the pricing policy in retail businesses comprehensive knowledge and understanding of how to do a viability assessment on a new or existing business comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the pricing policy for manufacturers and businesses rendering services	identify and evaluate the difference between assets, liabilities, and owners' equity in businesses. explain and differentiate between current assets and current liabilities. illustrate and understand the accounting equation. discuss own capital and outside capital in businesses. calculate and explain the return on investment. explain revenue and expenditure. explain and distinguish between the concepts, gross and net. calculate the purchase price of a product, selling price, and cost price. calculate and define the concept costs of sales. list and understand operating expenses and compile an income statement. distinguish between the concepts, gross profit, and markup. calculate a markup percentage and the gross profit percentage on a product. explain and list factors that influence prices for retail businesses. explain and apply the concept, theoretical gross profit percentage, in practice. calculate an average gross profit percentage of a business. compile a running cost budget. determine and calculate the break-even turnover of a business. determine and calculate the budgeted turnover and ideal turnover of a business. determine and calculate the cash break-even turnover of a business. explain and compile a turnover budget. explain and compile a purchase budget. explain and compile a cashflow budget. outline and explain the tasks of a financial manager. differentiate and explain the cost classifications of direct and indirect material and labour. differentiate and explain the cost classifications of direct and indirect overheads. explain the flow of cost in a production process. explain the difference between variable and fixed costs. calculate the break-even point for a small industrialist. calculate the material costs of a product. calculate the productive hours available per annum for businesses. calculate the labour rate, overhead rate, and a profit rate for businesses. calculate the cost price and selling price of products or services. compile a production cost statement and income statement.
(6) LS; Entrepreneurial legal skills	comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the different forms of businesses that can be used to start a business the ability to identify the difference between the concepts, trademark and patent understanding taxation in South Africa. the ability to select and implement the legal rules related to various contracts' validity. comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the importance of insurance for small businesses	discuss and explain the differences between the various forms of businesses. discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the various forms of businesses explain how trademarks and patents are identified. motivate the necessity of registering trademarks and patents. explain and discuss the tax structure in South Africa. distinguish between the various kinds of taxes for small businesses. explain how tax is calculated for the different forms of businesses. explain and calculate value-added tax on products. calculate input and output VAT for businesses. discuss and explain various factors surrounding contracts. explain factors that influence consensus between two parties. identify and discuss the various factors surrounding insurance. explain the basic requirements of insurance. list and explain the various kinds of insurance that are important for small businesses
(7) MM: Marketing Management Skills	segmentation and the market segmentation processes knowledge of the elements of marketing and how to keep customers satisfied	explain market segmentation implications to improving marketing efforts. identify and explain geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behaviouristic segmentation bases identify and describe the elements of marketing and the influence of each on businesses. explain the influence of products, pricing, place, promotions, and people in marketing the products of small businesses. explain market investigation. determine a gap in the market and where to establish specific businesses. describe how to inform customers of the business on the products they are buying. describe how to attract customers to businesses. describe the importance of shop layout. describe and discuss the importance of product displays in retail businesses. describe and discuss the importance of customer relations
(8) Small Business Planning Skills	comprehensive knowledge and understanding of starting a new business venture comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the steps in preparing a business, and basic requirements for writing a business plan. comprehensive knowledge and understanding of how to ensure success with a business plan	discuss and describe the importance of a business plan. determine the strengths and weaknesses of a proposed business idea. explain technical viability, market viability, organisational abilities and determine your own financial situation discuss the title page, table of contents, and the executive summary in a business plan. determine a mission and vision statement for a business. explain and discuss products and types of business. explain and discuss the marketing plan. explain and discuss the financial plan. explain what must be contained in a business plan and what not. explain how one should use a business plan. write a business plan for a new business venture.

Assessment

80% attendance of compulsory study schools or attendance over ten days because a huge amount of the theory is backed up with practical examples during the contact training. Assessment will be done through case studies during the contact sessions. One test per subject or one assignment and a final examination on each of the subjects. To pass a subject, participants have to obtain a final mark of 50% or more. The weight of the assignment and/or test mark is 40% and the examination mark 60% in the determination of the final mark. A sub-minimum of 40% must be obtained in the examination of each subject to pass that specific subject. If participants fail and the assignment and/or test mark was more than 40%, they can write a re-exam in that specific subject and the maximum mark obtained by participants will be a 50% allocation as a final mark. To obtain the Short Learning Programme in Introduction to Entrepreneurship skills cum laude, participants have to complete the programme within one academic year and have to obtain an average of at least 75% for all eight subjects.

Method of assessment

• Continuous assessment will take place.
• Participants have two (2) opportunities per study unit for formative assessment to achieve at least a minimum of 50% per formative assessment.
• Participants must receive a minimum of 50% for the summative assessment to pass a study unit. Participants will be allowed a second opportunity to resubmit should they not meet the minimum of 50% per module.
• To pass the study unit, participants must achieve 50% in the summative as well as 50% in the formative assessments.
• Participants need to pass all the study units to obtain a certificate of competency.
To obtain cum laude, participants must complete all the study units with an average of at least 75% for all study units within the first registration of a study unit.

Additional information

Programme number

H78-100-1

Mode of delivery

Contact

Target group

The unemployed youth and people who want to enter the business world to start their own businesses. People who want to start their own businesses from home and who want to later move into formal businesses.