Be an entrepreneur

By Taru Bahl

THE world’s greatest businessmen vouch by the maxim, "nothing ventured, nothing gained". This risk-taking ability differentiates a person who has entrepreneurial skills from the one who doesn’t. Only 10 per cent of the lot actually hit the jack-pot and continue raking in their millions. Taking the plunge in a novel venture is not enough to set the cash registers tinkling. Linking creativity and idea generation to functional business skills, technical planning, effective sales and marketing strategies and an able administration are the key. Which is why an effective entrepreneur is not one who is necessarily born into a business family or one who has a fancy degree in business management but one who cultivates, nurtures and develops his entrepreneurial skills throughout his business career.

Entrepreneurship then is the initiation and successful management of any economic activity. A prospective entrepreneur must have the requisite conceptual, behavioural and problem-solving skills. Also needed is a complete update on whatever he has embarked upon. Given the current state of the economy, where even big business houses are strapped for cash, the smaller entrepreneur has to be really market savvy to first launch a new range of services and products and then ensure that clients and customers pay up. A successful entrepreneur never lets go of a business opportunity. He ensures high- quality standards and believes in customer service. You need not have a factory or a manufacturing plant to be an entrepreneur. You can offer management services, hotel consultancy and have a capital firm. Even a franchised outlet is possible.

Before you try making your first million, do serious stock-taking to assess whether you are indeed entrepreneur material. Are you like that invincible spider who tirelessly weaves his web in so many different ways, irrespective of how many times he falls or how exhausted he is? Whether your entrepreneurial style falls under the category of "innovator" or "predator", you have to combine energy, drive and ambition with an element of realism. Before you jump into what appears to be a very lucrative winning proposition,do a feasibility study, recruit the services of a professional who can study the market and make a realistic projection of your business idea.

Gone are the days when you could afford to learn by trial and error. Professional mistakes, bad business decisions and mismanagement can set you back for life. According to Edward de Bono, management guru par excellence, "the one characteristic common to almost all successful people is single-minded determination which comes close to fanaticism and what might be called a little madness."

However attractive a venture may appear, see if you are indeed the right man for the right job. Can you do it? Is your background and field of operational expertise in line with the chosen business? Would you enjoy doing it? Just the way you visualise the future growth and expansion plans of your company, can you think of alternatives/ a salvage plan just in case the entire thing fails to take off?A good cook or a good tailor does not necessarily make a good restauranteur or designer. At the same time you don’t have to be a good tailor to run an efficient design studio or a good cook to run a successful food franchise.

A realistic self-assessment helps by bringing clarity into your vision. You know the things you can handle, leaving you to scout around for people who can take charge of other critical areas. Starting a business with a partner is therefore not a bad idea. Experts advise to keep relatives and close friends out, if you want professionalism and accountability. In case you are not in a position to hire a financial consultant or a marketing and public relations manager, do hire advisors who can devote a few hours every week to help you streamline your business. There are plenty of freelancers who work either on contract or on a part-time basis.

There are schools abroad which help entrepreneurs-in-the-making to gain practical first-hand experience on business operations. As a part of the academic curriculum, students form a company, produce and market a product or service and then liquidate their business at the end of the course. Tasks performed include establishing goals and objectives, incorporating and capitalising, organising a board of directors, electing officers, manufacturing and marketing producer service. Maintaining computerised financial record systems, paying wages, commissions and taxes, closing books, announcing dividends, liquidating assets, settling accounts and preparing the Annual Report for shareholders are also done. In India courses are still not very exhaustive, which is why even after completing one, you may find yourself woefully ill-equipped to handle entrepreneurship.

An MBA from a reputed institute prepares you with the rudiments of business. Aseed in New Delhi is one of the few institutes which offers a postgraduate diploma in entrepreneurship management. You can choose between a full-time course of six months, part-time course of nine months or a correspondence course which is for one year. You even have qualified MBAs, engineers and chartered accountants opting in for these programmes. A course in entrepreneurship doesn’t mean that you have to start a business venture of your own. You could seek employment in central and state industries, financial institutions, housing finance corporations, corporate houses and training institutes. Various polytechnics across the country offer diplomas in the subject.

An MBA programme is an excellent learning ground, more so if you have an entrepreneurial bent of mind. After the first two semesters where you are acquainted with the functional areas of business administration, you can specialise in project management or entrepreneurial development. Case studies in new enterprise management and small business management gives valuable insights. A well-defined programme helps you understand the mechanics of running a real business. Reading fictional success stories is one thing and creating one of your own quite another.

It is important to understand the processes involved in the organisation; operation and completion of a fiscal cycle; definition of risk capital, its sources and relevance in our economic system; role of goal setting, leadership, team-work, farsightedness, negotiation and communication; importance of research and planning in both product and service development.

Introduction of entrepreneurship in the engineering curriculum at the undergraduate level would make future entrepreneurs confident by strengthening their conceptual, behavioural and problem-solving skills in addition to giving them the technical and academic input.

Setting up a business in India is not a cakewalk. At the Global Entrepreneurs Conference from the Indian Diaspora held in the Capital recently, the Prime Minister promised that attracting investments from NRIs was high on the Government’s agenda. Most NRIs saw a lot of potential in food processing and IT sectors, but they felt there wasn’t enough transparency. Also that the Government needed to play a more pro-active role in attracting the domestic and overseas entrepreneur. They suggested that Indian entrepreneurs should regularly update their Web pages to acquire new business ideas and tie-ups.

There are organisations like the Federation of Indian Women Entrepreneurs which are working towards developing the spirit of enterprise in women. They interact with policy-makers to bring about a more favourable business atmosphere, vis-a-vis women. As a result of their negotiations, several departments including the Department of Industry, Directorate of Industry and some of the state financial corporations have formed separate cells for women entrepreneurs. They also provide training facilities in collaboration with the Institute of Foreign Trade. These are usually short-duration courses covering specific subjects like quality control, export marketing, laws and regulations, procedures and systems.

The BYST (Bhartiya Yuva Shakti Trust) helps young first-generation entrepreneurs to set up their own enterprises by providing seed capital and advice. Most banks and financial institutions offer loans under different categories and schemes.

A well-researched project /proposal will find financial backers. Banks too are offering ‘friendly’ loans to those who want to set up offices (even if these be from home) and for furnishing and doing it up, buying computers, faxes, air conditioners and furniture etc.