Entrepreneurship does not mean less work
Before you start
your dream business, ask yourself some tough questions and answer them
Starting a small business is on the minds of so many
people these days. These are people who want to be their own bosses; who are
tired of the office routine; who want to earn more and enjoy the process. So
what are the questions to think about, before you turn into an entrepreneur?
First, ask yourself why you want to start a business.
There are three primary motivations: One, you see yourself as very good at
something and want to do more of it. Two: You see a problem, and you believe
you can solve it ingeniously. Three: You see an opportunity to make money.
These are the broad motivations and how you will set up and work depends on
which drives you.
If you harbour romantic notions that setting up a
business means less work, more flexible timings, greater work-life balance,
freedom from a mean boss, and great joy in pursuing a dream, you have to meet a
few real entrepreneurs and talk to them. Typically, running a business means
work never really ends, and the boss is replaced by demanding colleagues,
associates, service providers and clients. Do not choose entrepreneurship to
escape from work travails.
Second, answer the critical financial question: Who
will buy what you intend to sell? Why, and what determines their ability to
pay? Do not assume that the market is visible and available. There would be so
many like you, eyeing the same market and opportunities. There are brave
entrepreneurs who will declare that they are not in it for money and would be
very happy to do their bit. When the crunch for working capital hits them and
when inefficiencies in the way the run their business becomes obvious, they would
be at a loss to figure what they want to trade off and why. The strategic
direction for a business has to pass the test for being financially viable.
Learn to create a business plan and work on it assiduously, pondering over each
number. If you don’t get the revenue you need, the game will soon be over.
Third, achieve some clarity about the structure of
your business. Take on a simple support structure at low cost, with fewer
resources and work within the creative limits of the core resources. Such
skilled entrepreneurs soon develop a network of many others who freelance like
them, and can create dynamic teams that come together for projects, while
remaining independent otherwise. Think of a wedding planner and the hundreds of
allies she works with, serving her clients out of a tightly knit office.
If your business needs varied skills, do not even
begin without being sure you have the core team in place. And work with the
understanding that the diversity of the team is the source of its productivity
as well as the conflicts. Ask yourself if you have the leadership capabilities
of holding such a team together and working with the differences and clash of
ideas and approaches. Do not assume that working with friends and relatives, or
erstwhile colleagues and neighbours would offer a better work environment.
Don’t burden yourself with dead weight when you are running a demanding
business.
Fourth, be prepared to work hard, work long, and work
with focus when things go wrong. A successful business can look back and
identify the steps it took to get where it stands today. That is the benefit of
hindsight. A business must find a way to persist, persevere and plod on. That
needs a tremendous amount of positive energy, willingness to learn new things,
heightened awareness about the micro and macro view of what is going on and
persistent ability to rework.
Fifth, make sure you have an enormous capacity for
feedback, conversations, ideation, and networking. Your ability to imagine how
your business will grow and flourish is limited, even if you began it all. It
is the dynamics of the environment filled with clients, colleagues, competitors
and unexpected crises that shape a business enterprise. There is no telling how
these dynamics will work, unless you are alert.
There are a million problems waiting to be solved by
smart entrepreneurs. Make sure you choose the one that you have the energy,
competence, resources, and strategy to solve. And double check that some one
will pay you consistently for doing so.
Uma Shashikant
The author is the Chairperson of
The Centre for Investment Education and Learning
TNN
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