The relationship between entrepreneurial skills and profitability in poorly resourced retail enterprises

Abstract

A survey of retail business enterprises operating in the footwear and textile sector of Braamfontein, a suburb of Johannesburg, was carried out toestimate the level of entrepreneurial skills of owners and operators of retail business enterprises. The suburb of Braamfontein is home to vibrant local and international footwear and textile business enterprises. The purpose of research was tomeasure the degree of competence in basic entrepreneurial skills among retail enterprises in the footwear and textile sectors of the Braamfontein suburb of Johannesburg. A composite index which is tailormade to the operational needs of emerging enterprises in Gauteng Province (Worku, 2021A, 2021B) was used for quantifying the levels of competence and skills in entrepreneurship. The survey found that the level of competence in the field of entrepreneurship varied depending on the ability of businesses to generate profit, skills in drawing up business plans, and the availability of fixed assets, savings and other forms of collateral for securing business loans.