According
to David Rae (2007, 3-5) he describes an entrepreneur as a person who acts in
an enterprising way, identifying and creating opportunities through business
ventures. Viewing an entrepreneurship as the "subject" of
entrepreneurs, ''encompassing'' both academic knowledge and practical skills
used to be an entrepreneur. In this definition, it is clear that being an entrepreneur
and embarking on entrepreneurship, involves taking a calculated risk and being
able to find opportunities that turn those risk into economic benefit.
Bearing
in minds the quality features of an entrepreneur, I decided to come up with both
business and social enterprise idea. My Enterprise idea is to create a film
consultancy business in my home country Nigeria. Here is a two minutes pitch which
can be found on 'YouTube' http://youtu.be/foXlDT23wb0
and also other related link. Though the video interview was conducted by Irokotv but I
was given the permission to use the video to support my enterprise idea. This
can be found on 'YouTube' http://youtu.be/SO2aXnEK4yw
A
plethora of films which are produced are of substandard quality in which a number
of the films, lack ideology, poor research and story content, picture quality. This
link provide you more understanding on the subject matter http://www.nigeriafilms.com/news/9293/12/the-future-of-film-distribution-in-nigeria-femi-od.html
Thus it might be fair to say most of these movies do not fit to be in 21st
century world of entertainment because of low budgeting techniques employed by
many film makers. Due to these problems, I believe it will be beneficial for
the key players in the film industry to
be fully equipped on the best practices practiced in the developed world like
in the United Kingdom, United States, France etc. Thus, the idea of my enterprise
idea, stems from this vacuum in the film industry. http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/arts-a-review/15609-education-is-not-respected-in-nigerias-film-industry
At the initial stage of developing
the idea, I assumed every key players in the film industry as my target
audience because the film market is a very wide and highly competitive market which
encompasses various key potentials in the three geographical region in Nigeria(West[Lagos],
East[Enugu], North[kano,kaduna).My market research identify a business case for
my enterprise idea because many film makers in the industry are looking for
where they can have a quality knowledge on film development.
Apart from the economic growth the
Nigeria Film Industry is experiencing right now as it has become a phenomenon
which has helped in shaping perceptions of Nigeria and Nigerian
society,Nollyhood churns out about 50 full length features a week, making it
the second most prolific film industry after Hollywood. I feel my enterprise
idea could help key players in the industry improve in the following areas
which includes
·
To help
identify their objectives that will meet their personal and professional
goals
·
To help build a communication balance
among film makers and stakeholders in the film industry.
·
Personal development for filmmakers as
they require.
·
Providing training and knowledge-sharing
with filmmakers, marketers, screenwriters
Annual Figures
|
Nigeria(Nollywood)
|
India( Bollywood)
|
USA( Hollywood)
|
Revenue
|
US$0.25 Billion
|
$1.7 Billion
|
US$51 Billion
|
No. Employed
|
1,000,000
|
WIP
|
1,969,500
|
No of Movies
|
1,200
|
1,091
|
1,000
|
Filming location
|
Lagos, Enugu,
|
India, Australia
|
World Wide
|
Distribution
|
Nigeria,disapora,
w/Africa
|
India,disapora,W/Africa
|
Global
|
Film Education
|
N/A
|
(3 major)
|
Multiple
|
Sources:mediafacts,2011
Testing and researching the
Nigerian film Industry market helped identify my key potentials client in the
industry because my target audience is back home in Nigeria where there is a
high demand for a film consultant. With my background knowledge in film
techniques, I am conversant with the genres of film the Nigerian audience
always want to watch. This will enable me have a systematic methods to use in
disseminating the word to my target clients and capture their interest. However
to help me understand the competition and target market and competition, I
contacted two film producers in the Industry, Mr Harry Young and Olasco films Ventures Ltd, from our
discussion, I was enlightened about the challenges hampering the continua growth
in the Industry which is due to changes in market trends, lack of government
support, the core politics has made it difficult for film practitioners and
stakeholders in the industry. For key players to stay more focus, they seek for
external advice from film consultant in developed countries. Thus, their advice
was if my enterprise idea is going to
become a reality, I need to take a lots of calculated risks, do more research about
the competition in the market and also since I am in the United Kingdom right
now, I should seized the opportunity to learn from the professionals.
The Process of developing an
enterprise idea is not a simple process because it involves a lots of research
and know the right platform to use in developing the idea. As entrepreneur, I
consider the process to be very important because I have been able to identify
and understand the platform of building a successful business idea which has to
do with making a frame-work for the business, brainstorming, selecting the best
business ideas and research. More-so, the process has given me a
wider scope in understanding the five key requirements of setting up a good
business plan. Here is a link to my business canvas. Its available at http://canvanizer.com/canvas/AhG31kzQye4
Regardless of the process of developing an enterprise idea, the other vital key is the PITCHING PROCESS. Pitching your idea is very important in every entrepreneurial business because it keeps afresh of the business idea. The process is a vital key instrument that help introduce the business to the audience. Sometimes good pitching does not win the deal but the most important is developing the business idea which is like setting up a platform to kick start the business. This will give the audience or sponsorship an insight of the business and will also show if the business ideal will make in the business market or not. At the initial stage of my pitching process, it was challenging due to my shyness, fear and it's my first time of pitching. But subsequent practice and criticism by my course-mate, course tutor has helped me improve my pitching, know what to say at the right time, it should be catchy and punchy.
Regardless of the process of developing an enterprise idea, the other vital key is the PITCHING PROCESS. Pitching your idea is very important in every entrepreneurial business because it keeps afresh of the business idea. The process is a vital key instrument that help introduce the business to the audience. Sometimes good pitching does not win the deal but the most important is developing the business idea which is like setting up a platform to kick start the business. This will give the audience or sponsorship an insight of the business and will also show if the business ideal will make in the business market or not. At the initial stage of my pitching process, it was challenging due to my shyness, fear and it's my first time of pitching. But subsequent practice and criticism by my course-mate, course tutor has helped me improve my pitching, know what to say at the right time, it should be catchy and punchy.
The next step is to build up a
start-up plan, this has to do with conducting the best and most efficient
market research. Thus it will be to research on the following areas which
correspond with a typical business plan outline. They Include
·
Film Industry: Trends, threat(internal/external),major
players, growth rates, opportunities
·
Competition: All competitor profiles,
including what they do well and poorly.
·
Target Market: Geographical Location,
profiles, Demographics.
·
Products/Services: Description of their services,
charges rate, area of specialization and channel.
My market research consist of two
separate information collection strategies, primary and secondary research. The
primary research will address questions as regards to how my potential
customers responds to my company name, how much my potential customers willing
to pay for my services/product, of what benefits will my product/services be to
them and how important will my online services be to the customers outside my
local because the Nigeria Film industry is a wide and highly competitive in
nature. Underneath we have Three geographical zones that produced films, Lagos
as the headquarter(Produced the highest number of both English and Yoruba
films) Enugu(Produced 20percent films)Kano/Kaduna( Produced 10percent of films
which are in Hausa Dialect). Conducting my primary research will be in
different steps. They Include,
·
Face-face interview: with the few
potential clients i know in the film industry and those who I don't know.
·
Phone interview: I know this sound
unprofessional but I consider it as clandestine method( i.e. calling my
competitor and posing as a customer to get their rates. This will help me
understand my competitors price rates
· Online Surveys: The main purpose is to
disperse the surveys to those individuals representing my potential customer.
This will help me get easy feedback as regards to my product/services
My Secondary research will provide
the Market Analysis for me, it will give me a snapshot of my market size,
growth potential, Threat, customers profiles, competitors and product pricing.
This will help me understand the market segment and determine where my own
prices should fit within the market place. Using the internet and other
reliable sources will give me access to useful information.
On a general note, I believe I am on
the right track because my market research has provided an insight to get my
enterprise idea on the right foot which prove invaluable as I move to the next plan.
And now that I have understand the market research basis, I will get into the
habit of studying on the film market regularly. However I would like to know
what you guys think about the idea and if it's viable one or not.
SOURCES
Book
Rae, D. (2007) Entrepreneurship
from Opportunity to Action; Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan.
Online
Sources
Don Hofstrand. Idea Assessment and Business
Development Process,0ct 09 [online] Available from :http://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/html/c5-02.html
Accessed 3rd July 2013.
Dragan Sutevski. Entrepreneurship
in a Box, 2013 [online] Available from: http://www.entrepreneurshipinabox.com/
Accessed 3rd July 2013.
Lilyquist M(2013) Business a do
your own market research[Online]Available fromhttp://homebusiness.about.com/od/Setting-Up-Your-Business/a/do-your-own-market-research.htm[Accessed
8 July 13]
Research and Intelligence Sources Media Facts 2011,
The Nigeria Media and Entertainment Industry [online] Available from: http://research.bglgroupng.com/Documents/EconomicNote/ECONOMIC%20NOTE%20-The%20Nigerian%20Entertainment%20Industry.pdf
Accessed 3rd July 2013.
Online
Journal: Madichie O. Nnamdi(2010): The Nigerian Movie Industry 'Nollywood'- A Nearly
perfect Marketing Case Study in Journals of Marketing Intelligence&planning
Vol 28, No. 5, pp. 625-649, 2010
[Online] Available from: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1876669
[Accessed 8 July 13]
Interviews with Harry Young Film
Production Company and Olasco film ventures ltd 5th July 2013.
Olufemi www.femiadegunte.blogspot.co.uk