WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR?

The business world previously ruled by the business family is starting to turn its wheels as more and more non-business family people are creating their impacts and broadening the horizon of business field. These impacts have been motivated by many factors and by many people. These motivations are derived from movies or from observation of the lavishing lifestyle of rich and also been motivated by the stories of people like Dhirubhai Ambani, Ratan Tata, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc.

The motivations for entering into business field are numerous, but the rate of succeeding in business is limited. Often people have great ideas but due to some reasons they fail. As a famous statement goes by, “The richest and the most innovative ideas where one can find is in the graveyard”. Every day in this entrepreneurship world entrepreneurs gets disheartened by the failures and they again jump into the well of normal life which they had jumped out of after many struggles and attempts.

However, the question still stands, “What does it take to be an entrepreneur?”

There are no limited or universal answers to this question. However, there are some qualities that are needed in an entrepreneur for laying a strong foundation of business. These qualities are found in all people who have succeeded in business and have an everlasting impact on business sectors.

Ambition:

“Think big, think fast, think ahead. Ideas are no one’s monopoly”, a quote by Dhirubhai Ambani gives us the first quality needed for an entrepreneur. Ambition and ambitious people are rare in any society. The world of business is ruthless and full of struggles. In every other day, the aspiring entrepreneur is forced to find the reason he is there. The business is short term for those entrepreneurs who have a mere ambition or desire to do a business. Only those who has an ambition to succeed greatly develops the courage to move on forward and work hard no matter the failures and setbacks he sees in everyday life. Only then they can sustain the storms and reach to the beautiful spring they aspire for. So having a mere ambition is not good enough, but having a big ambition backed by the strong determination is what is needed for the entrepreneurs.

Patience and Perseverance:

The greatest test in life do not only need the courage to start but also the patience to continue and perseverance to keep moving forward in the period of difficulties. Every entrepreneur who have succeeded in business and in every person who stopped after starting a business, the only difference is the ability to wait and continue believing on his hard work and his dream. The dream takes time to take its form and show its results just like the Bamboo Tree in the Bamboo and Fern story. If we just get discouraged seeing the growth of ferns within some weeks of other entrepreneurs, we won’t be able to see the results that the bamboo shows in few months after growing its roots for five continuing years.

Creativity:

Business is a field where anyone can build anything and anyone can sell anything. The competition in business is very harsh and to continue gets difficult. But what differentiates between a successful business and other businesses is the innovation and creativity in either making products or in selling them. This quality can be understood by the story of 3 corn farmers.

“Once there lived three corn farmers in a village. One season, all three farmers had cultivated good amount of corns and they went to nearby market to sell them. Since the buyers were limited they started to have competition among them. The first farmer keeping the lowest margin sold his corns for 20 rupees per corn. The second farmer couldn’t afford the low margin so he thought and came up with the idea of selling the fried corn. He sold his corn for 50 rupees per corn. The third farmer thought even harder and came up with the idea to sell the corn in the form of popcorns. He gained 150 rupees per corn.”
Even the model and product of business was same the second and third farmer gained profit through their creativity on selling corns. So creativity is must needed quality in an entrepreneur.

Courage and Risk Taking:

Courage and ability to take risks on right time is what separates the entrepreneurs to the cultural businessmen. An entrepreneur always needs to search for problems and work to find its solutions. Once the solution is found he must have the courage to take risks as every next individual is ready to bring him down though their words or through their actions. The entrepreneur must have the courage and trust over his beliefs that they can do it and they must do it.

Hard work

This quality is a must in every entrepreneur. The sacrifice needed to bring an idea to its true form and enjoy the results is greater. The entrepreneurs have to work hard and cannot afford a leave or a holiday while developing their product and their business. They have no time for social life or for their families. This process seems scary but it is the cost of being an entrepreneur and being successful in ones dream of running a successful business empires and living the life one desires to live. And, this is also the quality that develops a normal person having a mere idea to a person able to create an impact on peoples lives.

Aakash Gupta, aakashgupta@suvodassociates.com.np

The views expressed in this piece are of the Author solely. This blog or any part contained should be taken as an advice or suggestion. UHY Suvod Associates does not guarantee the accuracy of the technical content or material provided on the information if any.