BUSI 435 Week 1 Discussion Board Forum 1 Thread Example

Reviewed by Thomas Kerrigan, MBA, CPA · Liberty University · Updated

This BUSI 435 Week 1 sample thread rejects the myth that entrepreneurs are born, not made. Drawing on a classic argument that research should study what entrepreneurs do, chiefly creating new organizations, rather than who they are, and on newer work describing entrepreneurship as a series of experiments whose outcomes cannot be known in advance, the thread argues that the defining entrepreneurial skill is running small, cheap tests of an idea before betting everything on it. Two composite founders, one who leased a storefront before testing demand and one who sold out of a farmers market tent first, show the difference. The thread ties the argument to Scarborough's chapters on the entrepreneurial mind and on feasibility analysis. Liberty University BUSI 435 awards up to 50 points for the thread, the first written step in a BS in Business Administration course that ends with a full business plan.

CourseBUSI 435 Small Business Entrepreneurship (BUSI435)
Module/Week1
AssignmentDiscussion Board Forum 1 Thread
Paper typeDiscussion thread
Lengthabout 517 words (thread and replies). Course guide: a thread of 500 words on a chapter topic with outside research, aiming for substantial, thoughtful and critical discussion
FormatAPA 7 citations and reference list
Points50
SchoolLiberty University Online
ProgramBS in Business Administration
Where it sitsModule/Week 1 in Liberty's published BUSI 435 course guide; current sections can differ
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for BUSI 435 Week 1

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Discussion Board Forum 1 Thread: What Makes an Entrepreneur

BUSI 435 Small Business Entrepreneurship, Discussion Board Forum 1 Thread

Thread by [Student Name]

The forum prompt and the founders described are composites; the textbook and the research cited are real, and the structure follows Liberty's public course guide for BUSI 435.

Why this part earns its pointsThe thread opens with the image it will challenge, which gives classmates a clear claim to answer.
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Popular stories about entrepreneurs usually describe a personality: fearless, visionary, driven, comfortable with risk. Scarborough (2016) lists characteristics often found in entrepreneurs, such as a desire for responsibility, a preference for moderate risk and confidence in their ability to succeed. I want to argue that these traits are less important than a learnable behavior: testing an idea cheaply before committing to it.

Why this part earns its pointsTwo sources build the argument, one on behavior and one on experimentation.
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The research supports looking at behavior. Gartner (1988) reviewed the many attempts to identify an entrepreneurial personality and concluded that asking "who is an entrepreneur?" was the wrong question. Traits did not reliably separate entrepreneurs from managers or the general population. Gartner argued instead that entrepreneurship should be understood as a behavior, the creation of organizations, and studied through what founders actually do. If entrepreneurship is behavior, it can be practiced and improved.

More recent research describes that behavior as experimentation. Kerr et al. (2014) argue that entrepreneurs cannot know whether a new business will succeed until they try it, because the key facts about customers, costs and competitors only become visible once the business operates. Entrepreneurship, in their account, is a process of running experiments and deciding whether to continue, change or stop based on what is learned, and the cost of those experiments shapes who becomes an entrepreneur and which ideas get tested. The founder's real skill is not boldness but finding the cheapest test that will reveal whether customers want what the business offers.

Consider two composite founders who both want to sell homemade baked goods. The first signs a three-year lease on a storefront, buys equipment and opens, only to learn that foot traffic on that street is light and customers want different products than expected. The second rents a tent at the Saturday farmers market for $40 a week, tests twelve products over two months, keeps only the four that sell out, and builds a list of regular customers before looking for a storefront. Both are entrepreneurs, but the second learned the same lessons for a fraction of the cost.

Scarborough (2016), in the chapter on feasibility analysis, makes the same point in planning terms: before spending heavily, an entrepreneur should examine whether the industry, the market, the product and the finances support the idea. A farmers market test is simply a feasibility study conducted in the real world. One objection is that some businesses cannot be tested cheaply, such as a manufacturing plant. Even then, founders can test demand with prototypes, preorders or letters of intent before building. For those of us preparing a feasibility analysis in this course, the lesson is to look for the cheapest real evidence that customers will pay.

There is also a faith dimension to this argument. Scripture commends planning, as in the builder who counts the cost before starting a tower, but it also cautions against presuming on tomorrow, since plans can change in ways no one foresees. A small, honest test respects both teachings: it plans carefully while admitting how much the founder does not yet know, and it limits the harm to the founder's family and creditors if the idea fails.

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References

Gartner, W. B. (1988). "Who is an entrepreneur?" is the wrong question. American Journal of Small Business, 12(4), 11-32. https://doi.org/10.1177/104225878801200401

Kerr, W. R., Nanda, R., & Rhodes-Kropf, M. (2014). Entrepreneurship as experimentation. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 28(3), 25-48. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.28.3.25

Scarborough, N. M. (2016). Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management (8th ed.). Pearson.

What the BUSI 435 Week 1 instructions ask

Module/Week 1 of BUSI 435 is reading heavy: chapters 1 through 4 of Scarborough's Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, covering the foundations of entrepreneurship, ethics and social responsibility, the entrepreneurial mind and feasibility analysis with the business plan, along with a presentation, a personal introduction, the checklist and a business plan proposal. The forum thread, worth 50 points, must reach 500 words on a chapter topic and draw on outside research; the guide says the instructor wants substantial, thoughtful and critical discussion. Two replies of 250 words follow in Week 2. Because the course builds toward a feasibility analysis and a business plan, a thread about testing ideas sets up the later work.

How this BUSI 435 Week 1 example is built

The thread chooses a debatable claim from the reading and defends it with research. It opens with the popular image of the entrepreneur as a person with rare traits, then uses Gartner's argument that the field should study entrepreneurial behavior, the creation of organizations, rather than personality. Research describing entrepreneurship as experimentation extends the point: founders cannot know whether an idea works until they try it, so the skill lies in designing cheap tests. Two composite founders illustrate expensive and inexpensive ways of learning the same lesson. The closing paragraph links the argument to Scarborough's feasibility chapter, which the course's first major paper will apply.

BUSI 435 Week 1 grading rubric: where the points go

BUSI 435 forum points go to threads that clear 500 words, stay on a chapter topic, bring outside research and argue rather than summarize, which is what the guide means by substantial, thoughtful and critical. A thread that takes a position, supports it with sources and acknowledges a counterpoint meets that standard better than a summary of the reading. Accurate use of Scarborough's terms, such as entrepreneur, small business, feasibility analysis and the entrepreneurial profile, shows the chapters were read closely. Because replies of 250 words are required of classmates, a thread that raises a clear question for discussion also tends to attract stronger engagement in Week 2.

BUSI 435 Week 1 help: mistakes that cost points

Choose one claim from the first four chapters that you can argue rather than summarize, such as whether entrepreneurs are born or made, or whether a business plan is worth writing. Find outside research in entrepreneurship and economics journals, for example the Journal of Economic Perspectives, and explain each finding in a sentence. Give an example, from your own experience or a local business, that tests the claim. Acknowledge one objection. Reach 500 words. Get the post up early for Week 2's replies, and if possible link it to your business plan proposal, the idea the feasibility analysis will test. A thread built on one clear claim is also easier for classmates to answer in their 250-word replies.

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BUSI 435 Week 1 questions, answered

What is the BUSI 435 Forum 1 thread?

BUSI 435's opening discussion post: 50 points for 500 researched words on a topic from Scarborough's first four chapters, argued rather than summarized.

Where can I find a free BUSI 435 Week 1 sample paper?

This page contains a complete BUSI 435 Week 1 thread arguing that entrepreneurs are defined by what they do, especially testing ideas cheaply, with research on entrepreneurial behavior.

Are entrepreneurs born or made?

Research has found few personality traits that reliably separate entrepreneurs from others; many scholars instead study what entrepreneurs do, such as creating organizations and testing ideas, which can be learned.

What is a feasibility analysis?

A study of whether a business idea can work before major resources are committed, typically examining the industry and market, the product or service, the organization and the finances.

What else is due in BUSI 435 Module/Week 1?

The course requirements checklist, a personal introduction and a business plan proposal, after chapters 1 through 4 of Scarborough and one presentation.

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