THE ENTREPRENEURIAL FRAME OF MIND

The world is abuzz with the word “Entrepreneurship” especially among the college graduates, who want to drop out of the monotonous, non-challenging academics and step out to face the real world. Workshops, motivational speeches, conferences to create awareness among the students about entrepreneurship is the order of the day. But, just like any good thing, the concept of entrepreneurship has lost its sheen because of commercialization. Entrepreneurship is never ‘one thing’. It is a congregation of a million things which unifies into one big thing.

#1 – NOT A STRUCTURED PATH, BUT A WAY OF LIFE: 

Will anybody be able to give a universal definition for success? It is not possible. If, success cannot be defined, how can a path be structured to become a successful entrepreneur? The essence of the entrepreneurship is innovativeness and the essence of innovativeness is chaos and hence a thumb rule cannot exist! I believe guidelines and lesson 101 in entrepreneurship makes no sense.

Entrepreneurship is no longer a business term; it is a way of life. One need not be in a startup to be entrepreneurial. Fixed statistical models, prediction methods, analytics and spreadsheet methods are yester year methods adopted by business schools. As much as these traditional methods are important, it needs to be complemented with creativity, innovation, determination, passion, the ability to take risk to survive the market place. These are the primary ingredients of entrepreneurial spirit, without which growth gets paralyzed. Hierarchy has lost its place in the companies, and individuals who live, breathe and exhale entrepreneurship climb the ladders.

#2 – THE SAVIOUR OF THE ECONOMIC WORLD: 

Stagnation is a killjoy for growth. Where creativity ceases to exist, downfall begins. Similar is the case in economy. Entrepreneurs innovate existing ideas and create profitable business ventures, which eventually accelerates the economic growth. By taking part in local business and participating in different networks in entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurs create robust environments, which in turn helps in community development.

 #3 – STOP REINVENTING THE WHEEL: 

The world is filled with problems. Why reinvent the wheel and claim innovation by merely glittering it? We certainly are facing a slew of socio-economic problems. The end to this recession does not lies within the government. The solution is more dependent on the individuals than the government. But, unless and until the individual isn’t ready to step up, nothing is going to change.

#4 – IDEAS ONLY MAKE YOU WANTREPRENEUR:

Wantrepreneur is someone who keeps talking about starting a business, but never gets there. Ideas suffice wantrepreneurs. However, to become an entrepreneur, it takes more than just an idea. It take energy, commitment, passion and proper funding. Ideas are cheap and everybody has it. Only those who take the extra little to convert those ideas and implement them start shining. Just like owning a DSLR does not turn you into a photographer, having ideas does not make you an entrepreneur.

#5 – HERE’S TO THE CRAZY ONES: 

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The rebels. The troublemakers. The ones who see things differently. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. “- STEVE JOBS

Some of the results which returns in the Google search for entrepreneurships shows numerous articles titled “10 Personality traits of Entrepreneurs” and so on. A close study of the successful founders and CEO’s of startups does indeed reveal a pattern in the personality traits. But, to adopt the ‘crazy’ traits just because you believe in entrepreneurship is not a wise decision to make. The success stories of the numerous college dropouts like Sachin Tendulkar, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerburg are inspiring enough to induce the spirit in us. But more than often, the weak minds fail to capture the big picture of these personalities and merely adopt ideologies like dropping out, rebellious attitude without really seeing the underlying message. It is not essential that we possess a garage to start a company. The success stories of the business giants are to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit in us and not just the traits!

#6 – ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS NOT A CHILD’S PLAY:

In fact, it only makes you more dependent. All those modern youth who boss around with the intention of dropping out of college just to make yourself independent, think twice. You’ll sink in the vicious circle called EGO. It is an irony that, once you become the CEO, you work under several more bosses.

Take the case of Mark Zuckerberg. When his friends presented an idea, he tweaked it and made it into a better idea. He wanted the take the entire social experience of college and put it online. The string technical skills possessed by Mark and his team enabled them to create ‘The Facebook!’ Had Mark been contented with his achievements, the Harvard phenomenon would never have become a global phenomenon. Probably without Sean Parker, Facebook would have got lost in the dark forest. Powerful contacts in the social world is an essential criteria to be successful in a startup. Proper fundings and initial seed investment plays a huge role in determing the scale of success of the business venture. Peter Thiel’s initial funding scaled up Facebook and brought it into the global arena! Despite setting a strong foot, Mark had to take some of the most difficult and crucial decisions like firing his mentor Sean Parker keeping the interests of the company in mind.

Just like the story of Facebook, every startup faces a torrent of problems before the company gets stabilized. To start a business is no child’s play as it demands technical skills, financial skills, the nerve to take risks, passion to succeed, the ability to lead upfront and it does not end here. Right from setting up an office to acquiring talented workers to funds and loans, every single step will be a problem. As a matter of fact, the number of failed startups are in plenty compared to those that have been successful. But, what would life be without challenges. These challenges define entrepreneurship and makes it different from a 9-5 job. The fruits of hardship experienced in the initial turmoil of setting up an organization is the sweetest taste of victory!

#CONCLUSION:

This article may not be enlightening enough to give you professional insights into the entrepreneurial world. I have merely attempted to remove the misconceptions. These misconceptions are ruining what could turn out to be the turning point in India’s vision 2020. One need not be a part of a startup to essentially become an entrepreneur. The nature of being an entrepreneur is to fully embrace ambiguity and comfortable facing challenges on a daily basis. Eradicate the ‘I also ran’ tendency and expand your skill set. Rewire your mind and unleash the entrepreneurial spirit in you! 

 

Srejith

Srejith is currently pursuing his Engineering degree in IT. His interests are multifaceted with special interest in writing and public speaking!

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