Entrepreneurship skills and the financial performance of small-scale businesses

Abstract

This research was on the effect of entrepreneurship skills and the financial performance of small scale businesses, Lugazi town. The research had three objectives to investigate the effect of competition on the financial performance of small scale businesses, to investigate the relationship between risk taking and the financial performance of small scale businesses and to find out the relationship between risk taking and the financial performance of the small scale businesses. The research design is survey, methods of data collection were used and in addition descriptive and analytical documents were sought in a bid to understand both the theoretical and numerical issues. This enabled the researcher to get a variety of information hence achieving a higher degree of validity. The researcher basically is to use quantitative techniques approach since the data was anticipated to be in numerical form and there after the data was condensed into figures, tables and other graphical techniques for easy interpretation. This research was based on the sample size of 45 out of the total population of 50. This was broken down into the small scale operators in Lugazi town and the other small scale operators around the town. The researcher used Solvins formula method for obtaining the sample size. The data collection tools used included observation method and questionnaire method which were both qualitative and quantitative respectively. The findings of this research showed possession of the entrepreneurship skills is an important quality and skill that ought to be possessed by an entrepreneur so as to be able to have things like profits, a big market share, and sales turnover for one’s small scale business. This made the small scale business operators able to perform better and thus financial performance was measured. The conclusions drawn from the study showed that entrepreneurship skills and financial performance of the small scale businesses work hand in hand and thus one can’t succeed in business with no such skills, level of competitiveness, being a risk taker, and above all good at interpretation of knowledge of level of innovation in the industry. I recommend the small scale business operators in Lugazi town to embrace the use of the entrepreneurship skills because it is a means through which financial performance is enhanced at the job. The researcher therefore suggested that further research be carried out on the location and financial performance of small scale businesses.