Opportunity seeking comes the rigorous process of

Opportunity Screening. Because of the many

opportunities possible for the entrepreneur, it is
important to come up with a short list of a few
very promising opportunities, which could be
scrutinized in detail.
 THE PERSONAL SCREEN
In screening opportunities, the entrepreneur first has to
consider his or her preferences and capabilities by asking
three basic questions:

1. Do I have the drive to pursue this business opportunity to the

end?
2. Will I spend all my time, effort, and money to make the
business opportunity work?
3. Will I sacrifice my existing lifestyle, endure emotional hardship,
and forego my usual comforts to succeed in this business
opportunity?
 If "YES" is your answer to all of the above, then you can begin your
earnest pursuit of that opportunity. At the simplest level, the entrepreneur
may want to make a risk-return grid (Table 2.2.) shown as follows:

Table 2.2 Risk- Return Grid for Screening Opportunities

Risk Low Risk Medium Risk High RIsk

Return
High Return Best Good Fair
Medium Return Good Fair Bad
Low Return Fair Bad Worst
A more complex screening grid uses twelve criteria for screening
opportunities.
 THE 12 Rs OF OPPORTUNITY SCREENING

1. RELEVANCE to vision, mission, and objective of the entrepreneur. The

opportunity must be aligned with what you have as your personal vision,
mission and objectives for the enterprise you want to set up.
2. RESONANCE to values. Other than vision, mission and objectives, the
opportunity must match the values and desired virtues that you have or wish
to impact.
3. REINFORCEMENT OF ENTREPRENEUR INTERESTS. How does the
opportunity resonate with the entrepreneur's personal interest, talents and
skills?
4. REVENUES. In any entrepreneurial endeavor, it is important to determined
the sales potential of the products or services you want to offer. Is there
a big enough market out there to grab and nature for growth?
5. RESPONSIVENESS to customer needs and wants. If the opportunity that
you want to pursue addresses the unfulfilled or underserved needs and
wants of customers, then you have a better chance of succeeding.
6. REACH. Opportunities that have good chances of expanding through
branches, distributorship, dealership or franchise outlets in order to attain
rapid growth are better opportunities.
7. RANGE. The opportunity can potentially lead to a wide range of possible
product or service offerings, thus, tappings many market segments of the
industry.
8. REVOLUTIONARY IMPACT. If you think that the opportunity will most likely
be the "nest big thing" or even a game-changer that will revolutionize the
industry, then there is a big potential for the chosen opportunity.
9. RETURN. It is a fact that products with low cost of production
and operations but are sold at higher prices will definitely yield the
highest returns on investments. returns can also be intangible:
meaning, they come in the form of high profile recognition or
image projection.
10. RELATIVE EASE OF IMPLEMENTATION. Will the opportunity be relatively
easy to implement for the entrepreneur or will there be a lot of
obstacles and competency gaps to overcome?
11. RESOURCES REQUIRED. Opportunities requiring fewer resources from
the entrepreneur may be more favored than those requiring more
resources.
12. RISKS. In an entrepreneurial endeavor, there will always be risks.
however , some opportunities carry more risks than others, such as
those with high technological, market, financial and people risks.
 These 12 criteria can be better managed if quantified and formed into a matrix
to help the entrepreneur concretize the evidence that the chosen opportunity (or
opportunities) is well worth pursuing.
Criteria Very High Average Low Very Low Sample Score
High Weight
Opportunity Screening Grid for each Opportunity
Rating 5 4 3 2 1 Weight Score
1.RELEVANCE 2 10
2.RESONANCE 1 5

3.REINFORCEMENT 1 5
OF
ENTREPRENEURIAL
INTEREST
4.REVENUES 2 10

5.RESPONSIVENESS 1 5
6.REACH 1 3
7.RANGE 1 5
8.REVOLUTIO 2 10
NARY
9.RETURNS 4 16
10.RELATIVES 1 5
EASE OF
IMPLEMENTAT
ION

RATING 1 2 3 4 5 74
11.RESOURCE 1 4
S REQUIRED
12. RISKS 3 15
TOTAL SCORE 19