Tip of the Month

Entrepreneurship as a Career

Most of us have an entrepreneurial streak in us, and at some point think that the ideal job in the world would be to become our own boss instead of being answerable to one. Starting our own business or venture becomes a natural extension of this entrepreneurial urge.

Magazine articles, TV shows and movies have a way of glorifying entrepreneurs, especially those who gave up a steady, coveted career to be their own boss. Michael Dell, founder of Dell computer, has been eulogised in dozens of magazine articles for being a successful entreprenuer despite being a college dropout (actually he started Dell in his college dormitory by supplying cheap PCs to fellow students).

There are different reasons for people to start their own ventures. The basic human need to be materialistic is a strong factor. By working for a company or an organization, you can only draw a prescribed amount of salary with benefits, bonus and perks, etc. However, with your own venture, the sky is the limit - literally. The success of modern entreprenuers in the field of technology, including Bill Gates, Lary Ellison, Steve Jobs, Narayana Murthy and others has proven that with the right ideas, skills and drive, one can make it really big. The dream that one can make it really big pushes individuals to think outside the box.

In reality, entrepreneurship means working for a number of bosses. Every business venture has a number of bosses; clients, vendors and employees are all bosses to the business. Keeping them all happy, motivated and moving in a uniform direction remains the sole aim of an entrepreneur or business owner. Even in a smaller startup without any employees, you will still have to work with financiers, venture capitalists, governmental and local regularoty agencies and others stakeholders. Many first-time entrepreneurs get carried away by the glamour of starting a venture, and forget the need to cultivate strong people skills.

Entrepreneurship involves a willingness to take responsibility and ability to put mind to a task and see it through from inception to competition. Another ingredient of entrepreneurship is sensing opportunities, while other see chaos, contradiction, and confusion. Essence of Entrepreneurship is going against time with maturity and serving as a change agent. It is an outcome of the development process, which also encompasses the emergence of economic and social innovations.

Characteristics of Entrepreneurs

Five entrepreneurial characteristics have been identified which include;

* Personal characteristics such as intrinsic motivation, hard work and values

* Technical preparation, business and management skills

* The capacity to utilize available resources

* Information to take advantage of business opportunities and entrepreneurial vision

* Interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with others and to understand the social impact of business

development.

Need for Entrepreneurs

With ever increasing unemployment and lack of scope for expansion of the exile administration, it is simply impossible for any administration to provide a gainful employment to everyone. Such situations surely demand for a continious effort from the society, where the people are encouraged to come up with their entreprenwurial initiative.

The future belongs to entrepreneurs

The future will see entrepreneurship as the key driver of economic development. New businesses will be credited with providing variety of new jobs in the economy. Entrepreneurs and not managers will be in demand, as only they will be equipped to find order in chaos.

In today's economy, technical and business skills are not enough to operate a business. Entrepreneurial skills are also required to anticipate changes, identify opportunities, and create a high-performance working environment according to the realities demanded by global competition. The development of entrepreneurship amongst engineers and general graduates is going to be an effective mechanism for technology innovations, helpful in the removal of regional imbalances and sustainable growth of small industries. Entrepreneurship requires a strong determination to reach goals regardless of personal sacrifice.

Contribution of B-Schools

Originally, entrepreneurship courses were meant to literally 'produce entrepreneurs'. In 1947, Harvard Business School (HBS) developed an effective titled 'Management of Small Enterprises' for students eager to start their own businesses after World War II. The real thrust into teaching and research in the area came in the early 1980s when HBS graduate and pioneering venture capitalists Arthur Rock funded the first professorship in the field of entrepreneurship at HBS.

Today HBS requires its 900 first-year students to take a course called 'The Entrepreneurial Manager' and offers almost 20 elective courses in the area to its second-year students. American B-Schools, including the likes of Wharton, offer entrepreneurial management as a major, preparing students for careers as autonomous entrepreneurs, family-business entrepreneurs, or entrepreneurs in corporate setting.

Interest in entrepreneurship as a subject is growing steadily in Indian B-School campuses. They have entrepreneurship cells, business plan contests, elective courses and, in some cases, full-fledged entrepreneurship centers, some going so far as to provide 'incubation support'. Indian B-Schools have made a more modest foray into entrepreneurship education. Every self-respecting B-School offers at least once elective in the area as part of the second year of the post graudate programme (PGP). And interest from students is high. At IIM-Lucknow, the new "New Venture Planning' (NVP) course has seen an enrolment as high as 70 per cent in some years.

In sync with the global trends, Indian B-Schools are jumping onto the wealth creation bandwagon. Entrepreneurship centers offering research, training and incubation facilities are coming up all over the place. With more time, energy and resources being directed to develop entrepreneurship in India than ever before, a new trend of sorts is setting in. A handful of students are defying conventional wisdom and seeking to start out on to their own - right after campus.

Courses

Prospective entrepreneurs have a lot of courses to choose from today. Both the government and private institutes are offering a number of graduate and post-graduate degrees and diplomas in entrepreneurship. Degee/Diploma holders in any discipline or those having passed HSC are eligible to join the course. Some institutes also demand work experience.

Apart from full-time and part-time courses, even correspondence courses are now available for budding entrepreneurs. The pioneer in this field is Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI) based in Ahmedabad.

Various state level entrepreneurship development institutes, as well as EDI, have for decades, been conducting localized classroom Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPs) for would be entrepreneurs.

Institutes

* Entreprenership Development Institute of India (EDI), Ahmedabad (www.ediindia.org)

* Amity International Business School, Noida (www.amity.edu)

* Center for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), IIM-A (www.iimahd.ernet.in)

* Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, IIM-C (www.iimcal.ac.in)

* K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai (www.somaiya.edu)

* The ICFAI Center for Entrepreneurship Development, Hyderabad (www.icedindia.org)

* Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA) (www.mica-india.net)

* Wadhwani Center for Entrepreneurial Development, Hyderabad

(www.isb.edu.wced/IIM_A_Annual_B_Plan_Competition.html)

                                                                                                     ( indicative listing )