100 White Sheets

Learners will consider different categories of resources and build their understanding of how resources can be used in a creative way.

Idea of entrepreneurship to be introduced, informal in large groups. 

Depending on the age and profile of the group, it can be helpful to start the activity by introducing them to different categories of individual resources, thus building their understanding that their resources include much more than financial and material ones.

Resources can be material (e.g. computer, bicycle,  phone, money, etc.) or non-material (e.g. relationships, connections, talents, knowledge, experience, motivation, interest in something).

Make groups of three so that learners can get creative support and ideas from each other. 

Point out that usually entrepreneurs start with what they have. They look at who they are, what they know and who they know, instead of waiting for the time when all the resources to reach some goal will be obtained. 

Ask participants to write down in 10 minutes, 33 individual resources that they have (all three of them altogether). Preparing this list of resources can be quite a challenge, but participants shouldn’t be critical towards their ideas. The time pressure is there to help deal with participants’ inner critic. 

When 10 minutes have passed, regardless of the number of resources in the list, ask participants to think of a business idea that they could start using these resources.

 After, give the participants the following starter sentence: “One day a man came to me and gave me 100 white sheets and 1000 Euros, and it changed my life…”

The group makes up a story and puts it in a note form on a flipchart paper. 

How with help of these resources (100 white sheets, 1000 Euros PLUS the resources their trio have) they changed their lives.

Questions to ask for reflection:

• What are the most important resources you have? 
• Have your colleagues mentioned any resources that you have not thought of as resources?
• What could be possible creative uses of the listed resources?
• Which strategy do you think works best to gain success in a particular field?

An interesting read which inspired this exercise is the research of professor Saras D. Sarasvathy “What makes entrepreneurs entrepreneurial?”, available online at: www.effectuation.org