my_anne-sophie_louvet


 * COCOON DESIGN**



This wikipage is about what is my vision of entrepreneurship and presents in more details my business proposal CocOOn DesiGn. You can discover its content by vizualizing a nice présentation.

More information are also available on my blog. To visit it, please click here.

**1. A TRUE ENTREPRENEUR**
= =
 * TEST RESULTS**

The Palgrave online test is supposed to give one’s entrepreneurship personality. I rather agree with the results of my self-test even if some scores surprised me a little.

My __need for achievement__ is 7/12. I agree with it because I considered myself as a determined person dedicated to completing a task, and I could explain the nuance in the results because I am not always forward looking and sometimes lack of self-confident. My classmates pretty agree with this.

My __need for autonomy__ is very low, not to say non-existent, 0/6. This is the point I disagree the most with. Even if I do not see myself as a real entrepreneur who builds her own business, I do not really agree and claim that I need to express what I think anyway…!

My __creative tendency__ gives a 6/12. I would have expected a higher score, thinking about my artistic side. O thers agree to say I have an imaginative part, but less about the innovative aspect. Thus the result is quite justified.

My __calculate risk taking__ is in the average with a 7/12. I would say I am good to assess my capacities. But, I will not take excessive risks, classmates agreed after saw me acting.

My __drive and determination__ is quite higher than the average, with a 10/12. I strongly believe that we are the masters of our destinies. But, I did not expect such a high score given that I do not always show considerable determination and can face doubts.


 * TALENT MANAGEMENT**

A talent that would help me to become a successful entrepreneur is to be excellent at decision making. I mean see when and where acting and implement the right actions according to the situation. It is also important to be good at maximizing the partners’ talent, recruiting and retaining those abilities because talented colleagues make a productive synergy possible. I associate the ability to dare with a good entrepreneur. Daring to bet on new ideas, to change the ways of doing business, to forsee the most amazing things.
 * WEBSITES**

Any upcoming entrepreneur needs professional advices and support such as laws articles that have to be taken into consideration. He needs as well to build a strong network. That is why I think the two following websites are of interest:



www.mynewcompany.com provides a good service to support entrepreneurs when starting a business, or even all along their activity is running, when managing a business. For instance, the website offers a well-summarized article to help deciding which legal structure the company should take. It is a fast, reliable and professional service.



www.linkedin.com allows any entrepreneur to strengthen and extend his network with trusted contacts. The website is a useful tool that optimizes the professional network. By creating his own profile, the entrepreneur introduces his business to every internet user. and thus reach a important audience.


 * PICTURES**

I have chosen this picture from Bing because it immediately appeared to match my own idea of the entrepreneur.

- Characters are shapes; the picture does not give a sharp vision or a clear portrait. To my opinion, the entrepreneur can take many forms and we do not really know how he looks like. Thus, the shapes express the idea of the heterogeneity of models of entrepreneurs.

- There are several characters on this picture. To me, the Entrepreneur does not think or work by his self. On the contrary, I think he needs to exchange a lot with others, willing to share ideas in order to fuel his own reflection.

- The ground as a puzzle represents for me the idea of walking on complementary fields. The entrepreneur has to keep his eyes opened. He knows some opportunities could match his business with consistency, and he must always think about how additional method or data could improve his activities.

- In the background, keyboards remind me that Information and Communication Technologies are in the middle of main businesses. This trend is predominant nowadays and the entrepreneur is a kind of expert in technologies. He knows how to use those new technologies to get the best out of them.

Here is the picture I shot to illlustrate my own perception of entrepreneur. The darkness and the fuzziness of the picture stand for the uncertainty in the business environment. Then, to my opinion the entrepreneur has an overactive need of achievement, he sets himself challenges. He achieves his goals through ingeniosity and pragmatic decisions. Each one is well considered to lead to the target. On the picture, I interpret each stone forming the pyramid as each decision constituting the project.

The entrepreneur' s actions have a part of risk, which is represented by the fact that the pile can fall down at any time. Moreover, like in every game of construction, strategy is essential. I tried to symbolize as well through this picture the entrepreneur's outstanding way of thinking.

**TREND**



I selected the trend URBANY. This word stands for the increasing global consumer area. This extreme and sustainable trend towards urbanization is really amazing nowadays because the urban way of life has become a culture and this one is strengthening. I

It is highly related with my business proposal Cocoon Design which mission is to offer an online service to fit-out interiors. My service targets city dwellers prone to adopt brand new goods and to experiment innovations. Cocoon Design really fits urban people's needs and material constraints given everything can be done from the website.

Moreover, as rural consumers are tempted to act and shop like the urbans, the business's concept is likely to reach rural consumers besides the increasing base of city dwellers. Consumers are more and more led (and used) to purchase online.

2. NEXT PRACTICE NOT BEST PRACTICE
**BEST PRACTICE** Best practice is defined as "a way or method of accomplishing a business function or process that is considered to be superior to all other known methods". This term stands for a methodology that, through experience and research, has proven to reliably lead to a desired result.

My understanding of best practice is that it is a technique, which enables organizations to reach a radical improvement of performances thanks to an optimal solution. The stake for companies is to find out and then implement those best practices. It can have numerous repercussion on the way to approach issues and solve them. Companies can search through benchmarcking what are the best practices, those which have show efficiency within competitors. Indeed, they are often the methods of the recognised leader, and thus become a standard compared with other practices.

Dealing with my business proposal, 3 next practices stand out to me: "Apply current trends", "individualize" and "Be fun".

- "Apply current trends" matches with Cocoon Design's concept, with the use of web 2.0 given the business operates through the Internet. The core activity is to provide an online service, so the communication must be at its best. That is why I have created a page on Facebook, consumers can be fan of. I have created as well a Cocoon Design profile on Twitter so that updates and novelties can be followed by customers.

- "Individualize" is key to my business. The online service is highly customized; The visitors upload pictures of their homes and then work on this support. Besides, the second stage offers visitors to fit out the room as they want to. Finally, they can choose how to be delivered. In sum, my business strives to indidualize the service to the maximum to more fully satisfy customers' needs.

- "Be fun" is the last next practice I apply to my business proposal. The service is really relating to a game (visitors can think they are playing Sims!) when using it. Additional services such as the DIY coach have also be conceived in the prospect of "be fun".



I would see it more problematic to apply break pricing rules given the high technological softwares required.

Naked Pizza co-founders state "Rethinking the food supply - from plough to plate - is our generations civil rights movement".
 * NAKED PIZZA**

They have implemented new practices on the pizza market by introducing health at the heart of their activity. Ingredients are all natural, and they cook probiotics (health-giving bacteria), mutigrain dough, positionning as better tasted, with more proteins and fewer calories. This is totally new among pizza companies. In addition, they have adopted as well new way to strenghten the relationship with customers thanks to twitter and facebook pages...



3. BUILD THE DREAM TEAM
**THE CORE FIVE COMPETENCIES**

- Competencies in Information Systems; An IT ingineer is essential to manage the database and the huge softwares required. - A good knowledge of all marketing concepts including branding, positioning,segmenting and advertising to support the brand Cocoon Design. - Sales and negociation skills to get the better agreements. - Knowledge of Operational management and all part of supply chain management, from the supply to our warehouse to the customers' homes. - Accounting and finance abilities to establish the general accountability of my company.


 * THREE ADDITIONAL COMPETENCIES**

- Warehouse and Inventory management is an indispensable technical competency I have missed so far. Because the orders are passed online and deliveries delays must be checked, it is of high importance the inventories are well-managed. Moreover, we must know at any time the availability of the products. - I would add the customer orientation, i.e. the ability to integrate customers' perspective into one's thinking, decisions and actions in order to reinforce the customer-focus goal of my organization. My team must strive to assess customers' lifetime value for the organization. - Finally, people within the organization must show the ability to use good understanding of overall business environment and economic players’ strategies to formulate proactive strategies. Ability to understand both the business implications of decisions and the business environment evolution’s impact on the organization’s strategic direction, and to act upon such understanding.

4. THE BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY
This company has been the first to offer a service of private business jets rental. Their positionning is quite unique, and they claim to provide all the advantages of owning a private jet, without the drawbacks.
 * NETJETS**

Body Shop pioneered the idea that "businesses have the power to do good". The founder created for the first time ethical cosmetics company. The company became the first cosmetics company to introduce sustainably harvested ingredients into the beauty industry...A première in the 1970s.
 * BODY SHOP**

In 1971, Starbucks revolutionized the way of thinking the coffee time. From then on, it can be taken-away and drank on the road to the workplace.
 * STARBUCKS**


 * EBAY** [[image:ebay.jpg width="174" height="116" align="right"]]

Has been the first online marketplace and now gathers the bigger community of buyers and sellers all around the world.

This game is unique on the videogames market. It is the only one to display such a joystick tha allows players a great interactions. The device is one of a kind compared with other videogames.
 * NINTENDO WII**


 * IKEA** [[image:ikea.jpg width="250" height="170" align="right"]]

The famous swedish retailer created the kit and showrooms in order to reach a high number of people around the 1940s. The founder Ingvar Kamprad distinguished his company from competitors with those systems. For the first time, customers can see and touch the furniture before ordering. This strategy has been really successful. By displaying goods, IKEA could prove their quality and convenience.

We can say FeDex has though ahead the trend of "tracking". Indeed, a long time before others, the company allows customers to track their package.
 * FEDEX**


 * CNN[[image:usa-cnn-inter.jpg width="173" height="131" align="right"]]**

The News channel was the pionneer in providing 24hour a day news at television. The big change was the broadcast of news in real time, with almost no delays.