By- Suhani Gupta
As the traditional, conventional job paths are becoming scarce, youth entrepreneurship is gaining importance. According to a NSSO report, jobs in the country have been growing at a languishing rate of 2.2% per year. Hence youth entrepreneurship is the need of the hour. These ventures are also important for the young generation to be economically independent in this age of cutthroat competition.
An entrepreneurial venture is initiated when an innovative idea strikes a young, creative mind, and the idea transforms into a full-fledged and well-designed plan. This is the first and obstacle- free stage of any project. However, complications start arising at a later stage when the idea, design and plan of the project need to be properly executed in real time. First and foremost, a person needs adequate finance to make initial capital investments for this project. This is one of the major stumbling blocks in the way. In the start up or operational phase, young people usually need to acquire loans from banks. However banks usually exclude young entrepreneurs from mainstream loans, either due to lack of assets or poorly designed business plan. Moreover, it is hard for first timers to find angel investors and sponsors to support them.
It is an idea that turns into a great business venture. But one major question that arises in an entrepreneur’s mind is whether his idea is feasible and practical and whether there is enough demand for his product in the market. To foresee the future of an idea, an entrepreneur must carry out research and surveys to understand the preferences of the consumers. Often we witness instances where entrepreneurs are keen to launch a product, which they want to sell, but which does not match the consumers’ need. Successful are the ones who possess the ability to think from the perspective of a consumer. Moreover, when there is a team of people working towards a project, the fate of the project lies in the strength of the team i.e. teamwork and complementary skill sets.
From the psychological point of view, the fear of failure in a young mind is sometimes what holds a person back. However, fear is a surefire form of motivation. It is important that entrepreneurs start treating fear as their best friend, be it fear of failure or fear of financial ruin. Actual failure and losses at the initial phase of a start up prevent entrepreneurs from scaling up their venture, but it is important for learners to spend some time to understand what went wrong to avoid a different pitfall during the next attempt. Yet the root of the problem often comes down to education. Starters need to understand at the very initial stage that one can’t launch a start up without acquiring enough capital for product development and marketing activities.
Also, young entrepreneurs are only partly aware of the ways of the functioning of the market and the ways to attract customers. For instance, one can possess skills for great targeting, execution, and tracking, however if the ad is not appealing enough, it won’t attract any customers. It is essential that starters understand the importance of the 4P’s of marketing: price, place, product and promotion. Usually we find that people strike out the decision of price as an afterthought. However, this should not be the case. Without being too eager to launch a venture, one should strategically plan and fix the price before entering the market. Before launching a business plan, an entrepreneur must gain the required entrepreneurial and management skills. Education and skills are of utmost importance to convert an ordinary idea into a reality. More importantly an entrepreneur ought to refrain from being too greedy and overambitious. One must chase his vision, and not money.
Lastly, belief in oneself is of utmost significance while climbing the ladder of success. As Napoleon Hill once said, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve”.
