Entrepreneurship Motivation and Self Assessment Checklist

Background

Whether to take up entrepreneurship as a career as against a finely paid job is always a debatable topic... The article tries to focus on few basic personality traits of an entrepreneur to help in the assessment to make a choice.

The quotable quotes by the successful entrepreneurs summarize the basics of what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.

"An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he'll quickly learn how to chew it.” - Roy Ash, co-founder of Litton Industries

"Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming." - Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Enterprises

"The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it."- Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies.

When I started PrincipalSoft, I had good ideas and a lot of enthusiasm. At the end of the first year, my father accepted me as an “entrepreneur” as I had no job and I was sailing in unknown waters.

Entrepreneurship is a rewarding journey that requires maintaining a positive attitude & absolute faith in once abilities under all circumstances. It’s about finding a right way and leading it successfully through the unknown conditions.

Following are few pointers to help an individual to transform himself to be a venture entrepreneur…

1. Make Meaning

Increase the quality of life. Make people more productive or their lives easier or more enjoyable.

Right a wrong. A variant on the above… be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.

Prevent the end of something good. Preserve something classic or historical. Save the whales.

2. Make Mantra

Come up with a simple mantra, preferably three words or less, that precisely describes your core values. Some examples from the famous enterprises:

Wendy's: "Healthy fast food"

FedEx: "Peace of mind"

Nike: "Authentic athletic performance"

Guy Kawasaki: "Empower entrepreneurs"

3. Jump to the next curve

Reboot your brain. You have to break old patterns of behavior in order to adopt new ones.

4. Get going: Don't get caught in "analysis paralysis". Some tips to keep you moving forward:

Don't type, prototype. - MS Office Users Vs AutoCAD users

Don't worry, be crappy. - Don't be perfectionist. Add Value then improve

5. Hire infected people.

Hire people who are as passionate about your product as you are (or at least close to it).

7. Don't let the bozos grind you down.

“FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS BECAUSE ONLY YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE”

Effectiveness of Education in Entrepreneurship Development

As an individual, how do I evaluate the effectiveness of education in entrepreneurship development?
First 21 years of life of an average Indian is spent in learning. Learning based on the curriculum that is designed to build a strong foundation for a successful individual. However, the effectiveness of education in relation to the real life is still debated. Leaving the initial years of , take a look at any graduation or post-graduation curriculum. Whether it is B.Sc, B.Com, B.A., B.E. or M.B.A., C.A., M.C.A. or any course... to what degree does these courses offer education to meet the industry's requirement?
I have been looking for an authentic curricumum that teaches a student how to start a thought process if one plans to take up entrepreneurship as a way of life. There are many white papers, Thesis and courses available that talks about the entrepreneurship but none that are helpful enough for a newcomer to TAKE A LEAP.
Along with the education, we need to develop a generation of mentors. Mentors with experience, exposure and expertize in the industry. There are many that qualify to be mentor but lack the motivation to contribute to building next generation of successful entrepreneurs.
Simple questions like the once below are good enough to demotivate anyone considering Entrepreneurship as a way of life...
How do I identify an idea for business?
Will my idea work?
When there is a constant flow of money coming through the job why should I take up something on my own?
Where do I get finance?
How will my parents, family react to my decision?
Where do I find the people to do the work?
What part of the work should I do and what should I delegate?
How do I deal with situation where I know I do not have the skills?
What is the risk in the venture that I plan to start?
When do I go to angel, VC, IPO?

A mentor is the only one who can show the path and answer above questions. This is the stage in the decision making process where one needs someone to hold hands. Someone to backup and say.... yes, it will work, you can do it and this is how you can do it.

A lot is to be done in entrepreneurship education. However more than adding more "topics" to the education, it is essnetial to focus on motivating the established entrepreneurs to take up mentoring as a career. It has to be rewarding enough to build the passion for mentoring.

However, I am not sure about the measurable steps that could be taken to encourage mentors to help in developing entrepreneurs...

Personal attributes of an Entrepreneur

Running your own business successfully requires a wide range of skills and personal attributes, before going into it alone you must be sure that you fit the bill" - Unanimous
The success of any venture, may it be business or personal, as I have seen it, depends on it's relevance to Personal Interest, Educational Background and experience.
However, there are common characteristics in all failures which need to be avoided. Success is no mystery but simply the result of consistently applying some basic principles. Basic characteristics of a human that contributes to success...
1. Attitude
2. Motivation
3. Self-Image
4. Self-Esteem
5. Inter-Personal Relations
6. Habits
7. Goals
8. Values & Vision
If you evaluate your business idea based on your abilities categorized into the above 8 factors, the end result will be obvious. If your answer comes out to be negative, you might be better advised to reconsider whether starting up a business is really for you. It really is a massive undertaking and not having the proper attributes and character traits may well spell the difference between the success and failure of your venture.