Entrepreneur Interview Project (EIP) - Interview Questions
To complete the EIP class project, students conduct an interview with the following eight (8) questions. The questions are non-proprietary and the interviewee (and company) will remain anonymous.
Thank you for agreeing to help me with this class project. These are the 8 questions that I will ask:
- What three things, in your opinion, must you do (and do well) in order to survive and thrive in your business? Please explain each in detail.
- What do you feel are the three most important sources of business information that you regularly use? Please give details for each (e.g., if a web page, please state the site; if a magazine, please state title, etc.).
- How did you decide to get into this type of business, and what was your initial goal?
- In hindsight, if you could go back in time and study any three topics just before you got into your business, what would they be? Please explain why each of these would be helpful to you.
- What new technologies can help you to become more competitive? Technologies can relate to machinery, equipment, software, processes, etc. Please give details.
- In today’s environment, what do you think are the best sources of financing/credit (banks, vendors, etc.) and what advice can you give to me on how to establish them?
- What do you consider to be the three biggest challenges facing your business right now (please give details)? Please explain your approach toward each.
- What advice can you offer to an aspiring entrepreneur? How can I prepare, and on what should I focus?
Please have a preliminary look at these questions prior to our interview. Thank you very much for your help - it is appreciated.
