Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons^™

Innovators For Good

Business Exchange

DePaul's Coleman Entrepreneurship Center and Driehaus College of Business helps business students turn their ideas into businesses. The article profiles four enterprises that are driven by innovating for good, from reducing invasive species to helping people on the autism spectrum with adaptive materials for educational purposes.

Minority Entrepreneurship: How Access To Capital And Strategic Decisions Affect Success, Thea Winston

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Many researchers have discovered that entrepreneurship is a source of financial freedom that if done successfully will ensure wealth for generations. With that idea in mind, minorities have seized that opportunity in record numbers with hopes that they will become prosperous. However, in addition to the increased success rate of minority-owned businesses, there is a rise in the failure rate of minority-owned businesses specifically in the African-American community. In this thesis, we will conduct a case study of three entrepreneurs at different stages that supports the theory that access to capital and strategic decisions affect the success of minority entrepreneurs. …

Business Plan: The Coffee Project, Lauren Porter

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

Executive Summary

The Coffee Project will be a specialty coffee shop in downtown Bartlesville, OK offering direct-trade coffee, tea, simple meals, and TCP merchandise. The shop will offer the standard specialty coffee drinks like cappuccinos, lattes, macchiatos and cortados, as well as shots of flavors and a selection of milk alternatives. In achieving its mission to provide great specialty coffee with a cause to Bartlesville, a portion of the profits from every food or drink purchase at The Coffee Project will be donated to local and regional charity organizations of the customers’ choosing. All net profits from TCP merchandise will …

Good Taste: Expanding Profits And Geographic Horizons Through Social Responsibility, Carly Cassidy

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Ilusión+, otherwise known as Ilusión Más, is a socially-responsible wine enterprise founded by Pau and Gina Torres, a couple from Tarragona, Spain. In 2013, Pau was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a motor neuron disease which causes muscles to weaken over time and eventually atrophy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke). In Spanish, Ilusión signifies hope and wishful thinking, serving as an optimistic name which embodies the resilient attitude of its owners (Word Reference). Ilusión+ selects wine from Spanish vineyards and distributes them in restaurants throughout the country under their brand and story. The company donates a portion …

The Impact Of Goal Settings And Groups To Support Small Businesses: Experimental Evidence Using Female Entrepreneurs In Abuja Nigeria., Nneoma Nwobilor, Imuetinyan Aiguwurhuo

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

"About 57% of women in Nigeria from age 15-64 are involved in some form of employment (World Bank, 2016). Most of these women are involved in informal entrepreneurship due to lack of education. These women who have no access to schooling are forced to find informal work to provide for themselves and their families (World Bank, 2016). This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of goal settings and support groups on small businesses among female small-scale business owners in Abuja Nigeria. The experimental research conducted used the experimental design created by the Family Independence Initiative of Oakland to explore ways …

Reward-Based Crowdfunding Technological Projects Determinants Of Success: A Quantitative Study, Khalid Mahmoud Fadlelmula Elkhidir

The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance

Crowdfunding success in terms of the achievement of target capital in reward-based crowdfunding projects is impacted by many factors (e.g., past created projects, campaign duration, pledged capital). This paper studies the determinants of success rate (pledged capital/target capital) or (P/T) in successful technological crowdfunding projects. The quantitative study started by data collection of 328 successful Kickstarter technological crowdfunding campaigns which are later decreased to 289 due to model censorship. Tobit model was adopted as the censored linear regression model to determine the existence of relationships between the dependent variable (P/T) and the independent variables. Results suggest that success rate is …

Vlogging In Korea: From Film Student To Youtuber, Kalyn Edwards

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Video blogging, or vlogging, has become its own genre on YouTube in almost a “reality show” type atmosphere. This project aims to examine that world of video blogging from a personal level, not only as a film student, but also from the perspective of an aspiring businesswoman. The goals of this project are to take on the role of a vlogger, along with all its struggles, while exposing myself to a new culture in hopes of appealing to a certain demographic. It appears as though we have gone from a world relying on telegrams and postcards to becoming a society …

Creative Micro-Entrepreneurship In Practice: Exploring Digital Tools For Small Creative Businesses, Olivia Messina

Honors Scholar Theses

For the scope of this thesis, my focus is on independently owned businesses

run by “creative micro-entrepreneurs.” I’m using this term, coined by the digital

selling platform Etsy, to encompass artists, craftspeople, and others who sell artistic

goods and services they have made themselves. In addition to being part of this

community personally, I also think that it is important for these small businesses to

have the resources they need to thrive in our rapidly changing economy. Selling

online, clothing & accessories businesses, and cooking & baking businesses are

among the top 5 “side hustles” for Millennials, making creative small …

Re-Imagining Business Enterprise As A Force For Social Good: Exploring Shared Values And The Future Of A Sustainable World, Regina Bernal

M.A. in Leadership Studies: Capstone Project Papers

The world is at a crossroads when it comes to understanding business models and their impact on the world and the environment. Business enterprise fuels the economy and plays a key role in society. However, business enterprise has also been in the spotlight recently due to the damages it has inflicted on society and the environment. We have finite resources on this earth and “business as usual” will no longer suffice for 21st century business models. Companies and leaders are called to re-imagine different business models that integrate a more holistic view of profit, humanity, and the potential for business …

Implications Of Social Media Use On Instruction And Student Learning: An Exploratory Study, Mayur Desai, Lucy Ojode

Southwestern Business Administration Journal

Despite being a norm in contemporary organizations including in academia, there is limited understanding how multimedia technology use might impact learning. We have also seen a rise in the use of social media applications such as Facebook, tweeter, Instagram, skype, flickr, and blogging among students, but it is unclear the extent to which the academe embraces these applications. In this study, we examine the potential role of multimedia technology and social media use in the learning process. We explore the potential implications for instruction and on student learning of the marriage between multimedia technology and social media use. Focusing on …

Leveraging Decision Making In Cyber Security Analysis Through Data Cleaning, Chen Zhong, Hong Liu, Awny Alnusair

Southwestern Business Administration Journal

Security Operations Centers (SOCs) have been built in many institutions for intrusion detection and incident response. A SOC employs various cyber defense technologies to continually monitor and control network traffic. Given the voluminous monitoring data, cyber security analysts need to identify suspicious network activities to detect potential attacks. As the network monitoring data are generated at a rapid speed and contain a lot of noise, analysts are so bounded by tedious and repetitive data triage tasks that they can hardly concentrate on in-depth analysis for further decision making. Therefore, it is critical to employ data cleaning methods in cyber situational …

Book Review - Drive: The Truth About What Motivates Us, Wyatt Pagano

Marriott Student Review

This is a book review of Drive: The Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink.

Book Review: Made To Stick, By Chip And Dan Heath, Danielle Adams

Marriott Student Review

This is a book review of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath.

Getting To Yes: Negotiating Agreements Without Giving In, Spencer Evans

Marriott Student Review

Getting to Yes is full of tips, tricks, and techniques that will help you “get to yes” in all your negotiations. Getting to Yes takes superficial haggling to a new level, focused on creating value for both parties in the negotiation.

When The Far East Becomes The Near East, Kylan Rutherford

Marriott Student Review

America is in a critical stage of change in its international roles. The world has shifted away from the dated Cold-War binaries and surface-level, orientalist understandings of the East. The rising generation in America has the potential to connect with the international world in unprecedented ways, but for that to happen we have some homework to do.

Money In Whose Pockets? A Brief Insight On Current Minimum Wage Discussions, Ayric Westfall

Marriott Student Review

Minimum wage policies have existed in the United States for over 80 years. But with an everchanging society, how can we as every day citizens and business leaders be better informed about minimum wage? Using research from various sources and professionals, we will examine arguments for and against minimum wage, inequalities in wages today, and regional variations of minimum wages. The relationship between business and workers is symbiotic; workers need businesses to survive and businesses need workers to make a profit. Understanding our role in this conversation is key to developing solutions for everyone.

More Than Just A Resume, Bett Andersen

Marriott Student Review

No abstract provided.

Nonprofits: Big Problems, Small Budgets, Anna Gazdik

Marriott Student Review

Nonprofit Organizations are given big problems to solve and almost no resources to solve them. This paper examines how nonprofit organizations are evaluated, and how we can improve such evaluation to increase results.

Dynamic Values: Confronting And Capitalizing On Religious And Lgbtq Diversity, Wyatt Pagano

Marriott Student Review

No abstract provided.

Indicators Of Restaurant Success, Dallin Williams

Marriott Student Review

In order to ensure the success of their business restaurants must take into account three key business attributes: 1) profitability, 2) liquidity, and 3) solvency. These attributes will be described as well as how they can be measured through accounting ratios. By tracking these ratios, restaurants can ensure their success by maintaining the ratios at safe levels; doing so will help restaurants identify and solve problems as they arise

Business Mind To Business Owner: Finding Startup Success, Ammon Kou

Marriott Student Review

Entrepreneurs face a host of challenges when starting a business. Three business owners share their experiences.

Executive Spotlight: Jesse Barnes, Highvista Strategies, Victoria Beecroft

Marriott Student Review

No abstract provided.

Unpacking The Briefcase Of Business Aversion, Brooke Gledhill

Marriott Student Review

An editorial asserting that improved business skills across professions will lead to progress for individuals, organizations, and the global community.

Editor's Letter: Bridging The Gap, Marianna Richardson

Marriott Student Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue: Bridging The Gap (Vol. 2, Issue 1), Marianna Richardson

Marriott Student Review

A bridge brings together two pieces, which normally would not connect. Without the connecting link, those two sections would be separate. For example, a bridge between two landmasses gives travelers access to new locations, new vistas, and possibly even new opportunities. Bridging the gap can also be perilous if the bridge is not safe and secure. The connection needs to be maintained and inspected regularly for cracks, fissures, or signs of wear that should be fixed immediately. In this issue of Marriott Student Review, the authors have explored the bridges built in business and the importance of maintaining those connections.

Sex May Sell But Gender Identity Predicts: An Investigation Of College Students’ Propensity To Join Entrepreneurship Clubs, Jerald Wallace

Doctor of Business Administration Dissertations

A rich and diverse stream of research has focused on assessing different outcomes between men and women entrepreneurs. Popular stereotypes maintain that women are neither as interested, or successful as entrepreneurs compared to men. However, most past research has used biological sex as a proxy to measure differences between women and men dichotomously. The problem with this approach is that it is an oversimplified approach to a complex issue. To address this problem, the more recent literature suggests the inclusion of more meaningful variables, such as gender identity, an individual’s concept of their traits both masculine and feminine, to assess …

Virtuous Discourse In The Specialty Coffee Sector: How Social Responsibility Practices Fragment Pursuits For A Supply Chain, Jane H. Motsinger

Geography ETDs

A diversity of public and private initiatives strive to address the human-environment challenges confronting the global coffee industry, including certifications like Fairtrade, direct trade sourcing models, and efforts led by NGOs. Research examines the outcomes of major certification programs and the private initiatives of corporations like Starbucks. Much less is known about the business practices of the small specialty coffee businesses that increasingly advertise sustainable business practices. Yet, their collective business practices likely influence the industry-wide efforts to achieve a sustainable supply chain. This research examines how small specialty coffee roasting and importing companies represent their socially responsible business practices …

Dental Practice Success Vol. 5 No. 1, American Dental Association, Publishing Division

Dental Practice Success

No abstract provided.

Ultraviolet Inkjet Ink: A Market And Audience Analysis For Kowa American, Haley Smith

Senior Honors Projects

My report was commissioned to examine the market strategies and audience approaches implemented in the ultraviolet inkjet ink industry. My research juxtaposes the initiatives of leading ink investors with those of the monomer-producing corporation, Kowa American. My findings emphasize the discrepancies in competitive development between Kowa and similar globally innovative agencies. My research indicates that Kowa must capitalize on industry gaps, conduct environmental research, and minimize financial setbacks to obtain a competitive advantage in the current ink market. Further, Kowa must personalize customers’ buying experiences in order to expand its budding product lines and maximize profits.

Glossary Of Business Evidence, Paul C. Boyd

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

No abstract provided.