#4 Nurturing an entrepreneurial mindset - an exercise

Entrepreneur Thinking: This exercise was set to determine the value people place on their intrinsic business-esteem or business-acumen level of confidence.

Show a series of items to a group of people.
Let each person determine;

• The value of each item independently
• The amount they would pay for the item
• How much they would sell the item for and why people would pay such price

The value they associate to the item is irrelevant in isolation, but when compared to the other two numbers, you can observe a trend:

The amount they would pay relative to value (typically lower) is based on on their level of people-influencing skills. The lower this number is from the ascribed value, the more confident the respondent.

The amount they would sell for is down to the value they believe they’re capable of adding. The higher this number is from the ascribed value, the more innovative the respondent believe themselves to be.

e.g. A Watermelon

Businessman (?)
Value: £1.20
Will Pay: £1
Will Sell for: £1.50
——
Entrepreneur (?)
Value: £1.20
Will Pay: Negotiated fee - less about the value, more about negotiation.
Will Sell for: £5

Other influencing factors:

• subject matter expertise
• level of interest
• market awareness
• self esteem
• exposure

Whilst some of these qualities are based on personality and exposure, there are learnable traits that individuals can undergo in order to expand that distance

Much of the innovations that can be introduced to the carefully selected objects is attributed to individuals’ social awareness. Awareness of social conditions required to consider turning a watermelon into a cocktail… and the value of a cocktail at a bar, compared to a slice of watermelon anywhere else.

*As a creative exercise, costs of implementation and feasibility are not considered at a thorough level.