© Pearson Education Ltd 2018. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free. 73
(b) Explain one reason why some entrepreneurs run their businesses from home. (4 marks)
Quite a number of entrepreneurs set up their businesses from home. They may be tradespeople, such
as plumbers, painters, small builders or electricians that use their home as a base for their business.
Or, increasingly, they may work from a room or an office at home. For example, self-employed writers,
accountants, software designers, tutors and financial analysts. There are two key benefits for
homeworkers. The time and expense spent travelling to and from work is eliminated. They also enjoy
more flexibility. For example, they can take meals and breaks whenever they want and a parent may
be able to fit work around the needs of their children.
(c) Analyse two important skills that entrepreneurs like Mikie Monoketsi need to run a business. (6 marks)
Not only do entrepreneurs need to possess a number of important characteristics to be successful,
they will also need to use a wide range of different skills. To begin with, it helps if entrepreneurs are
qualified to some extent in their chosen line of business. For example, an entrepreneur setting up a
flying school may require piloting experience and an instructor’s certificate. Someone starting a
commercial radio station will need some broadcasting, transmitting and programming experience.
However, it is possible to set up a business in unfamiliar fields. There are also examples of
entrepreneurs entering quite diversified lines of business without any relevant experience.
In this case, Mikie Monoketsi emphasised the importance of good communication and networking
skills. Mikie used gyms to develop partnerships, get connected and meet people to help build her
business. For example, she met a helpful executive producer of a spice manufacturer at a gym who
gave her lots of useful advice. Mikie also appears on television and radio which gives her the
opportunity to explain her vision on health and fitness, demonstrate exercise routines and occasionally
promote her business!
Another important skill which Mikie emphasised was financial management. She said it was very
important to monitor spending and account for every single cost – especially labour, packaging, cost
of sales, and time. Mikie discovered that a failure to record all costs meant that even though she was
increasing sales she wasn’t making more money. She had failed to take into account the samples she
was giving out. Samples are very important in the food industry and their costs must be recorded.
Finally, she also recognised (eventually) that the business could not fund wasteful personal spending.
Such transactions were much reduced when she realised that the business was suffering. To keep up-
to-date with transactions Mikie recorded all expenses in a notebook and invoiced all customers. Once
she started doing this the performance of the business improved.
(d) Evaluate whether Mikie’s motives for setting up Mama’s Spices & Herbs were (i) financial or (ii) non-
financial. (20 marks)
People set up businesses for a wide range of reasons. For example, they may not want to work for an
employer any more, they may want to develop a personal interest into a business or they may have
been made redundant. A very large proportion of entrepreneurs start businesses because they want
to make money. They often think that they could earn far more if they worked for themselves. Profit is
the motivator for many entrepreneurs and most businesses would not exist if it wasn’t for the desire to
make a profit. Two approaches to generating profit can be identified. Some entrepreneurs try to make
as much profit as they possibly can in a certain time period. This is called profit maximisation. These
entrepreneurs are motivated by money and their key focus is the financial return on their efforts. It
might be argued that entrepreneurs that try to maximise profits are likely to take bigger risks. This is
because there is usually a direct relationship between risk and reward.
In this case, Mikie may have had a non-financial motive for setting up her business. She was
passionate about healthy eating and living. She carried out some research into the eating habits of
people living in the neighbourhoods of Diepsloot, Randfontein, Cosmo City and Lion Park. She found
that the spices people used were cheap and contained high levels of salt and other unhealthy