VIEWPOINT
Desire to achieve can make you an entrepreneur
Sarath Babu, 29, is not your usual pressed suit and natty shoes kind of corporate entrepreneur. This IIMA alumnus turned down lucrative offers from multinationals to start FoodKing (A food chain and catering services company) with the lofty ideal of providing employment to uneducated and weaker sections of our society.
Sarath, whose mother sold idlis on the pavement to help feed and educate her family of five still remembers the days when he had to go to bed hungry. As he reiterated in a recent interview, “Luxuries like a car or a bungalow do not matter to me. Even money doesn’t matter to me. I want to employ as many people as I can, and improve their quality of life.”
In her book, Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish, Rashmi Bansal talks about other entrepreneurs who have stepped away from fat salaries and cushy jobs to the challenge of entrepreneurship. They come from different backgrounds; age groups and their reasons and motivation for choosing entrepreneurship also differ. For some like Sarath, the driving force was a desire to contribute something to the society.
For others like Narendra Murkumbi, the owner of Shree Renuka Sugars who has made it to the list of new billionaires in the country and Subramanian, who spearheads Subhiksha, one of India’s largest grocery chains, it was a strong desire to achieve something more in life. Still others are motivated by the money, power, the challenges and learning opportunities that entrepreneurship presents. While aspirations and motivating factors differ from person to person, a common thread, which is their ability to hold on to and realise their dreams binds them all.
Many dream of starting their own ventures, being their own boss and making wads of money in their own time. But is entrepreneurship that easy? Can everybody who takes a stab at entrepreneurship emerge unscathed? The answer is quite obviously, a big, resounding NO. The fact is that just 30 percent of business start-ups make it through the first five crucial years of their life and live to tell the tale.
So why do some people succeed while many fall by the wayside? What makes entrepreneurs like Sarath, Narendra and Subramanian different from others who aspire to start their own businesses? Read on.
Many people start something because they are merely interested in it, or because they think they have a great idea. You may have a great idea, but you will not be able to make a successful business out of it if you lack the ability to execute it in practical terms.
While passion provides the initial adrenaline boost, it may not be enough to hold the business together in the long run. One needs to have a good dose of world wisdom to run a business.Not only do you have to get a grip on things like cash management, economic viability, profitability and rules and regulations, more importantly, you also need to have high EQ to be able to get the right people on board to steer the business forward.
Entrepreneurs are agents of change and are seldom, if ever, satisfied with the status quo. They have a strong ability to self-motivate and persevere.
In the Chinese language, when you combine the character representing crisis with the character representing change, you get the character representing opportunity. In real terms too, an entrepreneur needs to be able to weather the adversities of crises, setbacks and change and turn them into new breakthroughs.
As an entrepreneur, you must possess the mindset to create and exploit your own opportunities. In pursuing opportunities too, entrepreneurs must be prepared to take and accept risks and the possibility of failure in their stride. An entrepreneur who risks nothing, gains nothing and learns nothing.
A taste for hard work
Many first time entrepreneurs think that they will be rolling in money once the business gets under way. But most businesses are cash strapped, especially in the initial stages. It may take several months or even years before you break even or start reporting a profit. And through all these ups and downs, you will have to persevere and work long hard hours for no pay, and in the hope that it will all pay off.
Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer was telling the truth when he said the secret to Microsoft’s success was “Hard, hard, hard, hard, hard, work.” Of course, this may sound like an obvious cliché, but that’s the only way to survive and stay competitive in this dog-eat-dog world. Do not give the critics, the naysayers, even your failures or your losses a tinker. They don’t matter as long as you still have belief in your ability to succeed.
Financial mismanagement is the number one reason why businesses flounder. As a person responsible for the success of your business, you need to be in the know about where your money is, and what it is doing for you. And if you don’t know, you at least need to have the sense to look for the right people who can help you give you the right picture and keep you informed.
The most successful entrepreneurs are those who go after their goals with enthusiasm, cheerfully tackling problems, showing courage and creativity under fire, who faithfully turn every failure into learning opportunities, and remain buoyant in mind and spirit even if things are falling apart all around them.
Entrepreneurship can be both challenging and rewarding, and is increasingly becoming a career with youngsters today. But the road there is uphill. Overnight successes seldom happen and young millionaires in the making often have to persevere through several failures and setbacks, and wait for years before they realise their dreams. Entrepreneurship has its share of both the perks and pitfalls, but one thing is for sure- only men of steel are cut out for this field!
