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Welcome to Aboriginal Entrepreneurship and Business Development. As the title suggests, we are going to consider a particular process - entrepreneurship - in a specific context - Aboriginal.

Our purpose is to consider the context, purpose, process and outcomes of Aboriginal entrepreneurship. To accomplish this purpose we will address three key questions. They are

  1. What is entrepreneurship and how is it done?
  2. What do Aboriginal people expect to gain from entrepreneurship?

and

  1. How can the process of entrepreneurship be shaped and conducted to suit the characteristics, needs, objective and circumstances of Aboriginal people in Canada?

We will conduct our exploration of Aboriginal entrepreneurship is three parts. Within each part there are a number of units. In turn these units are divided into modules.

Part I deals with the context in which Aboriginal people practice entrepreneurship. There are two units in Part I. The first Unit is brief, consisting of only one module, an introduction. In the second unit, we will look at the broad issues of Aboriginal economic development. In particular, we will consider the current socioeconomic circumstances of Aboriginal people in Canada, the approach to economic development that has emerged among Aboriginal people, and the role played by treaties and land claims in the development process.

Parts II and III deal with the process of entrepreneurship and are based on its definition. That definition is

The process of entrepreneurship involves

bulletthe search for innovative opportunities, and
bulletthe application of the principles of management to convert such opportunities into a viable new ventures.

In Part II, we will discuss the first of the two aspects of entrepreneurship set out in this definition - opportunity identification. This discussion will span four units - numbers 3 to 6. In the third and final part (Part III), we will consider the second aspect of entrepreneurship - the management tools and techniques that are necessary to convert a viable opportunity into a successful business venture. Part III consists of 7 Units that address marketing, financial statements and financial management, operations and operating costs, human resources planning and management, financial planning, financing, and implementation.