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Unmet Needs of Entrepreneurship

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What needs of entrepreneurs are met by meeting the unmet needs of the customer? Do market conditions attract a person to take up entrepreneurship or is there a characteristic in us that attracts us to opportunities of a specific kind that is most likely to result in successful business ventures and aligned to who we are? Why do businesses exist? How to discover a customer's met and unmet needs? What is the role of needs in building a nurturing and growth oriented work culture in an organization? What is its impact on the personal life of the entrepreneur?

Needs play an important role as a motivating force that enables people to move into action. It impacts many areas of entrepreneurship. This book is an attempt to provide perspectives on the impact of "needs" on various aspects of a business.

The journey to understanding customer needs starts by framing a complete needs statement (CNS) and a complete unmet needs statement (CUNS). A model has been provided to help the reader frame these two important statements. Together, the two of them can be a useful tool in the hands of anyone working with a customer.
In the chapter Customer Needs Discovery Process and Logical Levels the model is extended and linked to the “neurological levels” of Dr Robert Dilts. Dilts's logical levels have been used extensively to categorize the meaning of needs, consequences, customer profiling and decision making criteria.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has started to gain prominence in business organizations. The ABCDE model (Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy) of Dr Albert Ellis is illustrated through examples. This model is useful in building EI in individuals and organizations. The disconnect between the desire for immediate action and the long term needs of an organization is analysed, and the application of the OFNR model (used in Non Violent Communication) is illustrated as well.

The chapter titled "Perceived Reality, Innovation and New Ideas Generation" has been dedicated to the need for innovation and new ideas generation. The chapter focuses on breakout innovation, its characteristics and the skills that one can develop to generate new ideas. Entrepreneurs often face the question, "Do I want to be a pioneer or a follower?" To bring clarity, I have analysed different decision making patterns that people employ in the chapter titled "Entrepreneurial Dilemma: Pioneer or Follower".

Growth, inclusiveness and the challenges of creating a motivated team are also explored in this chapter. The reader is introduced to the FROG model of motivation. This model highlights the role of catalysts in providing the momentum required to achieve one's goals.
The role of empathy in building a nurturing, compassionate organization is explored in the chapter titled "Connectedness and Empathy". How to connect to people, improve one's life and use language that is life enriching is illustrated using the model of Non-Violent Communication (NVC).

The book begins with the chapter "Getting Started in Entrepreneurship", which analyses the real reasons people are reluctant to taking up entrepreneurship. It also explores the attractiveness of the entrepreneurial journey, what you can learn from entrepreneurship, the brass tacks of starting a new venture, the desired characteristics of the startup team and the process of defining a mission and goals.

When businesses fail, the usual focus is on various numerical analyses. Seldom is there any focus on the personal challenges that entrepreneurs face and how they cope with failures. The last chapter, "Coping with Business Failures", deals with exactly this. I have explored strategies at the level of beliefs, emotions and behaviour.

I have illustrated many of the concepts using examples, real life excerpts and cartoons. Examples have been provided spanning the personal and professional life of an entrepreneur that highlights the application of the ideas to various contexts.

277 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2016

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About the author

S. Parthasarathy

2 books2 followers

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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Profile Image for Abhilash Ruhela.
644 reviews64 followers
March 20, 2018
I am just done reading a business book after completing a very intense spiritual book and the shift that my mind has taken is beyond explainable. Haha! Business books are known to be boring and meant only for the management people who do not have any life and always indulge themselves in books that are based upon how to be a good entrepreneur or manager and run the business. But not every business book is boring. I am just done reading S. Parthasarathy’s “Unmet Needs of Entrepreneurship” which also comes with a tagline saying “Why entrepreneurs do what they do”.

The book begins in an obvious protocol discussing about the goals, vision, mission etc. which made me remember my MBA books and it wasn’t much different from academic stuff. But as the book progressed, with chapters, author started talking with us in his own language and formulas which sounds logical. Author does not shy away from speaking the same thing in different manner to make you understand the point which actually makes this book readable and something which will make you learn something after you turn its last page.

Author has used easy English to explain his points rather than throwing random jargons to confuse the reader. I liked how author compared and managed to explain the met and unmet needs of an entrepreneur. My personal favorite chapter is where the author discusses the entrepreneur’s dilemma of being a pioneer or a follower. Also, the point discussed about entrepreneurs having empathy for his/her team is well projected. This book needs to be read by every person who wishes to be a good manager, leader or entrepreneur at best. I will give this book 4.25* out of 5.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA
Profile Image for S. Parthasarathy.
Author 2 books2 followers
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February 15, 2018
What needs of an entrepreneur get met by meeting the unmet needs of a customer? What is the main purpose of a business? Do market conditions attract a person to take up entrepreneurship or does the individual attract a specific kind of business opportunity? We often cite reasons external to ourselves when we wish to find a rationale for doing something. Is there a characteristic in us that attracts us to opportunities of a specific kind? Will these opportunities result in success and provide us with a personal sense of alignment to who we are? These perspectives provoke the reader to question, reflect and refine his or her thoughts on certain core fundamentals of entrepreneurship.

The author has shared interesting models to help businesses discover customer needs, define customers, segment markets, reach out to customers, and position their offerings. The need for emotional intelligence, growth, innovation, new idea generation, empathetic communication, congruent actions and resilience after business failures have all been explored in this book using various models, case studies and illustrations.
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