Entrepreneurship has been an emerging profession for MBA students and college graduates. It allows you to not work independently and be your own boss. It also offers you a broad range of experiences; the opportunity to work in the field in which you want, and make relations with a diverse range of companies and industries. Entrepreneurs strategize on some of the most interesting issues faced by any industry/ organization and work to give a solution to solve the problem. It promises a structured career path for growth and development as you have the responsibility of running a company by yourself.
However, Entrepreneurship can also be a high-pressure job with constant funding or human resource issues. You might be working on a completely new idea to make a product or provide a service. You might also be working in an area where the competition is high and both breaking into and maintaining your position can be rigorous. So before entering the field it’s important to understand not only do you have the appropriate skill sets, but also how well it fits your personality.
What is Entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is the willingness to take risks and develop, organize and manage a business venture in a competitive global marketplace that is constantly evolving. Entrepreneurs are pioneers, innovators, leaders and inventors. They put their idea to work in a competitive economy. To become an entrepreneur, you need to be able to develop original, innovative products and ideas, and identify where business opportunities exist.
Typically an entrepreneur engages in all the activities related to his company. If you are an entrepreneur, you need to know what’s happening in the market and how your company is functioning at each and every moment.
- Pitching. Entrepreneurs looking for funding needs to pitch their product to the investors. You need to be a good speaker and be successful in pitching your thoughts.
- Research. You need to compile data and gather information on the current market trends. You need this to confirm that your startup is going in the right direction.
- Product Development. Entrepreneurs build their product from scratch. You need to be able to visualize the way in which you want your startup to work and then execute the plans to build it.
- Business Development. It includes sales, marketing, publicity, SEO, SMO, etc. You lead your team to create a successful product.
- Human Resource Management. This is very essential in order to build a team of people motivated to build a company from scratch.
Industries Where Entrepreneurs Are Found
Nowadays, entrepreneurship has touched almost every industry with its innovative ideas. Let’s look into some of the more popular options.
- E-commerce. E-commerce is one of the most exciting field for the entrepreneurs because of the belief that it earns quick and high revenues. It is the buying and selling of goods and services, or the transmitting of funds or data. E-Commerce has become an important tool for small and large businesses worldwide, not only to sell to customers, but also to engage them.
- Education. The education industry has been highly impacted by the entrepreneurs in this field. They work to provide education access to all and improve its quality. Many entrepreneurs have been successful in preparing a business model in digitizing the education sector.
- Healthcare. Healthcare is another important sector which has not got that much attention in the recent years but now its market is growing due to increasing reach of digitalization. Healthcare can contribute a major part in the economy and the goal of the entrepreneurs is to utilize this opportunity to create an impactful product.
- Internet and Data Services. These refer to online service providers in various industries. It can relate any small to large problem faced by the organizations and come up with an online solution or a platform where it can tackled.
- There are infinitely many fields in which entrepreneurs work. They can find the issue for absolutely any industry and figure out an innovative solution to tackle that out. The most popular of the remaining fields are Information Technology and Social Entrepreneurship.
Skills & Talents Required
As your startup grows and evolves, the challenges will also multiply. Your role as an entrepreneur is to provide the world with the best products and services. We are focusing on requirements and skills that entrepreneurs must have in order to succeed.
- Ability to Multi-Task.
- Team Player.
- Strong Communication Skills.
- Work Long Hours.
- Self- Confidence.
- Open To Change.
- Creativity.
A combination of both creative and management skills will provide the right balance to excel in entrepreneurship. You need to work very hard throughout your career. But the fruits are equally sweet.
Is It Right For Me?
Before you jump into entrepreneurship, take your time and consider these factors:
- Internal Evaluation. Take a step back and identify your strengths and weaknesses. Does your personal situation allow you to work independently on a new idea? Are you stuck with the desire to solve some problem or looking for innovative ways to make this a better place? Look at the expectations you have from yourself and truthfully answer if those are a match for you.
- Do Your Homework. Even though you believe you have the required skills, aptitude, attitude that entrepreneurship demands, dig deeper. Research the market area that you are targeting and be sure what exactly you want from your product.
- Speak to people engaged in entrepreneurship. If you have friends or family members who are entrepreneurs, talk to them about their experiences. Ask them about both the positive and negative elements they have faced. Understand what their career trajectory and if possible spend a few days shadowing them to get a complete understanding of the work.
- Summer Internship. If you are still in college or school, then spend a summer interning at a startup. This is an ideal way for you to understand the true dynamics of entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship as a career provides you broad based exposure; it hones in on both your analytical and communication skills, provides a platform to work with a range of business issues, industries and companies, and the opportunity to explore what the world needs and how you can come up with the solution. However, due to the intensity of the role that entrepreneurship demands, it can also be a very challenging career. It’s important to thoroughly do your research and ideally an internship, before making your career choice.
