Entrepreneurship is fast becoming the first career choice for youngsters

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Rajiv Kumar | 21 Mar, 2016
Ringing bells and Mohit Goel created history of sorts with the announcement of Freedom 251 the cheapest smartphone priced at Rs.251/piece. The frenzy that followed for booking the most affordable mobile phone was unprecedented in Indian e-commerce ecosystem. The site crashed as it got 6 lakhs hits/second and Google reported getting 40,000 searches /second for the phone. The company has become one of the most trending topics on social networking platforms, media circles, WhatsApp groups and private social gatherings.

The whole nation has suddenly got a new food for thought and everyone has their own take on the turn of events and controversy associated with Freedom 251. While many are quick to debunk it as the biggest scam in recent years the company president Ashok Chadha has been reiterating that they are making profit due to economies of scale. We wait for another couple of months to see the results but one fact has been proved beyond doubt, India is witnessing the growth of entrepreneurship like never before!

The Entrepreneurship Fact-sheet
Have you ever noticed how very often we come to know about a new online store being launched by a group of youngsters? Beginning with a small home office, these self-motivated individuals write success stories which are changing the way business was perceived conventionally. Every entrepreneurial success story is providing a new business model and case study for the management students. Off late, entrepreneurship has become one of the most popular subjects being pursued by college students who plan to become their own boss in the future.

Entrepreneurship is becoming the most pursued career choice!
The term Entrepreneurship is defined by the willingness to take risks, plan, streamline, organize and manage a new business venture in ever evolving and competitive global marketplace. Entrepreneurs are the dreamers who are fueled by the desire to pioneer, lead, innovate and invent disruptive technologies and products.

Just a generation ago Indians only thought of following well defined career paths. The children usually followed the footsteps or the desire of their parents and opted for a career that was decided by their elders. However, the opening up of the world economy during the 1990’s and the great advances in IT field had a far reaching impact on the way business was done world over. These momentous changes opened up new horizons and unexplored territories for the young and ambitious who were not satisfied being put in a career bracket for their entire life.

Following thoughts further pushed the young generation towards entrepreneurship:

The desire to be their own boss and have better control
The motivation to take risks in the changed global environment where unexplored new opportunities were present
The ambition to develop and execute a plan right from the ground level
The aim to do well financially and take their growth trajectory to unprecedented level

Entrepreneurship is more about idea than just talent or desire to begin something new
With the entire buzz around startups and new business ventures, it is very natural for anyone to ponder on the question. We all have the latent talent and desire to begin something new. But successful entrepreneurship is not only about doing something new, it is about having an idea that helps solve some issues and that has a market, a potential to be sold for profit.

If you have any plans for joining the startup bandwagon, ask these questions first:

Do you have a novel idea/concept for starting a business?
Can you easily create a network of people and products that would further your business goals?
Do you have a clearly defined process for developing, promoting and delivering your product or service?
Do you have sufficient funds to take your idea forward and sustain the plan until the product/service offered starts paying off?

If you have answered more than one of the above in affirmative, you certainly have a right plan in place which should be executed to create a new history.

Plan and Prepare your Business Venture
Look before you leap, may sound cliched but this is the wisest thing to do when you are beginning your entrepreneurial journey. You should have an eye to find the gaps in the existing market and try to find out a workable and profitable solution for it. Even if you are planning to following an established business model try to add something innovative to it that will make you stand out from the others.

If you are unsure what would be the best business vertical for you, run a check on the following pointers:

What is your field of interest or passion?
Do you have experience or inherent knack of that field?
How would you arrange the funds to begin your business?
Is there a demand for the product/service you are going to offer?
Will you buy your product if you were a potential customer?
Have you done a thorough research to assess the growth potential of your venture?
Will it remain profitable 5-10 years from the starting date?

Answering these questions would help you arrive at the informed decision and once you are satisfied with the answers take your project forward. You would always come across naysayers and there would be many a pitfall in your path to success. But if you have the right plan and the determination, sky is the limit for you in the global entrepreneurial environment.

(The author of the article is Mr. Rajiv Kumar, Founder & CEO of StoreHippo.com. The views expressed by the author are personal.)