What would you advise budding entrepreneurs or the students who want to become an entrepreneur?
Mr. Karma Bhutia: There are just so many variables at play that it is impossible to create a winning formula right out of the gate. There are definite things that you need to do: you need to know your product, how you want to sell your product, marketing ideas, etc. But it is really up to you on what you feel are the best ways to approach it, how you build, how you plan and how you execute to scale. You also need to listen to feedback and be open to changes – always.
What it takes to become an entrepreneur is having a solid idea, determination, and ability to solve problems. There are so many resources available online that what you lack intuitively you can make up for by researching. The right attitude to have is to keep a curious mind.
You will probably have a bad week, month, or even quarter when starting. If you are only focused on the negative things you are probably going to sabotage your own success. I think it helps to create some type of time line or plan to help your progress. You also need to have realistic goals and expectations.
Keeping all that in mind you should coach yourself to Never Give Up.
Mr. Karma Bhutia, CEO and Founder of iShippo.com
Ms. Emmanuel: firstly it’s important to find your passion because starting a business can be hard and it’s your inner drive and motivation that fuels the journey.
Second is step out of your nutshell get out and explore be the jack of all trades and master what you love most.
It is also important to find out everything from the horse’s mouth and obtain as much knowledge from those who are already running a similar business.
Now that you found your passion and collected adequate information about the business you want to start, the next step is to have clarity on the profitability of your business because at the end of the day a successful business has to show returns. My father always told me never to attempt a business which does not give you a 100% profit this guideline helps me set my financials in place.
Believe in yourself, evaluate your journey, and be open and flexible to new ideas!!
Ms. Ivy Emmanuel, CEO of clockwork
Dr. Iyengar: I think, it’s a brilliant thing. I took few years of my life to be an entrepreneur. I used to be a very studious person; I studied at a medical college. I think, entrepreneurship is one of the best things that can happen to anybody. It is fulfilling, at the same time, so demanding. It asks you to look at so much about yourself and learn so much about the world. If anybody has the smallest desire to become an entrepreneur, they should go ahead and nurture it. It is absolutely a mazzedar thing. It comes with its own ups and downs but the fulfillment that one gets from making a difference, creating something. You cannot get that kind of fulfillment from anything else in the world. It’s not about the money, if you are doing a good work, money comes. Money is a by-product. It might take a while to earn it but I really believe that money comes all by itself and it is a byproduct of good work. But the fun you get in doing good work, beating challenges, become a person who is not bowed down by challenges is absolutely different. Once you become an entrepreneur, even people who don’t know about you, start looking at you differently because of your attitude towards life.
Dr. Shweta Iyengar, Founder/Director of Skinsense
Dr. Arunaagiri: Entrepreneurship is a great journey. It gives you a tremendous amount of freedom, both financially and in terms of the time frame. As an entrepreneur, you are your own boss, so you can carry out tasks at your own pace. And at the same time you can create globalization, jobs for others, products which bring a difference in the society.
So, my advice to budding entrepreneurs would be that in such an era of rigorous competition and innovation, entrepreneurship is a very safe profession to take up. When you are working for someone else, although you might be self-employed but you have limitations in terms of income. But when you are your own master, as an entrepreneur, sky is the limit in terms of advancement, progress and the learning potential.
I would recommend youngsters, who are willing to go for entrepreneurship, go ahead and lead your life fully.
Dr. Arunaagiri, CEO of Empower, Enable, Educate India Pvt. Ltd.
Mr. Neeraj: It is important to be really passionate about things and find ways to monetize their ideas. In the earlier times, there was a very limited and restricted access to the Internet and the social media. But now, in this modern age, the Internet and social media has democratized the ability to reach people. So it is so much easier to follow a passion and monetize it. Be really good at it. One of the key things is that you are getting paidto serve others. The better you serve and the larger number you serve, you are proportionatelycompensated at a higher level. So if you are able to find ways to be able to achieve and deploy your passion and proficiency, into ways in which you can serve your target market better, then that really creates a solid business model. Then you will always be excited about doing that work and no one would have to force you to do anything. Even if you’ll have to stay up late at night and it’s fulfilling. It creates an enormous amount of energy, you’ll be willing to get up and give it all that it needs. And also if you are able to leverage technology to run your business, you’ll be able to provide value to your customers.
Mr. Neeraj Shah, Founder of Titan Masterminds