The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was a big surprise for corporations worldwide. The employers could not foresee how the work-from-home concept would pan out due to myriad factors. However, the companies soon realized that the emergence of a New Normal and remote work culture are staying for long. It even introduced the concept of a flexible work force & helped the corporations understand that work-life balance is the ultimate need of the hour.
Unprecedented changes in events made organizations implement flexible work policies allowing their workforce to manage work and family without hassle.
Considering that the threat of Covid-19 is still looming, this article discusses the top five benefits of a flexible work force & how companies benefit from it.
Shraddha aspires of becoming an entrepreneur and draws out millions of startup ideas every day. She desperately waits for her 2-year MBA course to finish so that she can start working on her dreams. Clearly, she ain’t alone; Entrepreneurship has emerged as a potential career option for almost everyone especially youth. Today youngsters need a strong strategy to recapture their ideas and convert them into a successful venture. They dream of unique ideas and hence require the right support and the highest funding.
Do you plan to start a business of your own? Have you thought over an innovative business idea which is worth nurturing? It’s time to woo your potential investors with a compelling business idea to convert it into a successful venture. The investors won’t just believe your words. The only way to engage them into your business idea is by showing them a demonstration. Show them how profitable your business idea is and how can they can achieve a good return on investment (ROI).
There was a time when entrepreneurship was not a viable career option for anyone. Almost every Indian family had ‘N’ number of engineers/doctors or someone from other elite professions, but they lacked the presence of an entrepreneur in their house. The primary factor responsible was just one:
Everyone looked out for Safer Career options – one which gave them Financial security
However, in a recent span of 2-3 years, I have seen a tremendous shift in how the youth of India perceive their career options. They are ready to experiment, take risks and have started thinking out-of-the-box. Entrepreneurship has come up as a good option for them and they are ready to shove in everything just to achieve something extraordinary.
You might ask – Why even do we need entrepreneurs? or What is the importance of entrepreneurship in our life? Take a look around you and you would realize the importance. I cannot cover all the benefits of becoming an entrepreneur or taking entrepreneurship as a career option, but you must check out these 4 major reasons why entrepreneurship is important not just for you and me, but for the entire world.
Entrepreneurship Basics
Understanding that you now know why having an entrepreneur around us is important, let me start with the basics. However, before I begin, do remember one thing, folks:
Once you Step on the Pedal, you might go through Endless Bumps and Speed-breakers, yet if you Continue, you are Sure to Reach your Destination
And, I believe you are smart enough to understand that sense of accomplishment one feels on reaching its destination. It’s admirable but remember one fact: Entrepreneurship is NOT about Over Thinking, but about Wise THINKING and then taking an ACTION. Even the literal definition of the word supports this ideology. The literal definition states:
A person who starts a Business and takes Financial risks in lieu of making Profits
It’s your thoughts that drive you on the pathway to success. So, the more Positive you Think, the more Positivity you radiate around yourself. Every individual is different and not everyone has the ability and the zeal to make a difference. As per my recent research, there are only 6 types of entrepreneurs that you would come across in your life. Follow the link to know more about them in detail.
You must realize that you don’t need to be a person of Type-A personality for becoming successful. If that would have been the case, Bill Gates would have never been able to achieve the status he’s at right now. So, the question is what makes a person successful? OR what are the characteristics a successful entrepreneur possess? Check out the below-given infographic to know about these characteristics in brief followed by detailed descriptions:
5-virtues-entrepreneur-characteristics
PASSION
One thing that keeps an entrepreneurial mindset folks ongoing is their zeal to achieve something i,e, their passion. While some are in there for money, some are there just to do what they love. Many of you would choose the former scenario if I ask you – who would be more successful – the one who is in for money or the one who is into entrepreneurship because they love it? No matter, what you choose, you must understand one fact – To be a good entrepreneur, you should and must try answering these direct questions:
Are you ready to sacrifice your sleep to finish an impending task?
Will you be able to iterate every task on a regular basis for a long duration (in years)
Can you design a product and improve it every now and then?
If the answer to all the above questions is a big YES then you definitely can be an entrepreneur. You must have that passion, that motivation and the zeal to do something good for society. One important characteristic of every entrepreneur is that they try and work on solutions, rather than cribbing out the problems. Building a prototype is one thing, pitching it is another. So, identify problems around you, figure out a solution and jump in the pool of entrepreneurship. If your approach and tactics are right, none can surpass you ever and you will surely attain success.
FEARLESS and DEDICATION
Entrepreneurship is not for the fainted hearts. An entrepreneur has to ensure that determination never deters off. Even Winston Churchill rightly quoted:
“Success is the ability to go from one Failure to another with no loss of Enthusiasm”
Entrepreneurship and Failure go hand-in-hand, but you must ensure that you don’t give in to your fear. You must show dedication to overcome that fear and continue on the entrepreneurial journey. It’s easy to let go, but hard to continue. Entrepreneurs often dive into the world of uncertainty and put-in their time and money on unknowns, yet keep a backup strategy undercover in case something goes out-of-hand. So, whenever you fail, instead of letting everything go, figure out what went wrong. To make it easier, here are the questions you can answer:
What and where did you went wrong?
What did you learn from your mistake?
Do you have a better plan to succeed the next time you try?
Once you are able to figure out answers to these questions, you will have clarity like never before and you will be able to work out a better solution next time. Others might consider you as a stubborn, but remember your focus and the ability to work hard will only bring you closer to Success. In his book “The Four-Hour Workweek” entrepreneur and author Tim Ferriss writes:
What We Fear Doing Most is Usually What We Most Need to Do
So, keep working hard, take the leap and let go all the negativity around you.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Keeping a tab on the money isn’t easy. One needs to take into account every transaction to figure out the profit (or loss) margin. If you wish to be an entrepreneur, then it is important that you keep a check on the cash flow every instance of time. In the initial days of the business setup, not everyone can handle out the way money comes in and goes out. You need to have a strong hold on the inflow and the outflow of cash. Other than keeping a check on the cash-flow, a successful business owner is one who plans ahead in advance and keeps a certain amount of cash for emergency purposes.
So, if you plan to become a successful business owner, a proper understanding of how to invest the incoming cash is as important as understanding the outflow of cash. Understand the art of money management and pave the way for a successful career.
SELF ANALYSIS
One can move mountains with self-belief. To succeed, one needs to be self-confident and self-motivated at the same time. People are ready to demotivate you, tell you stories of failure’s, but if you are confident about your abilities, nothing can stop you. If you wish to be successful, you must have the audacity to convince others about your idea. You have to make people realize that your idea is good and it will work out irrespective of how many hurdles you encounter on the pathway.
You have to be optimistic and visionary at the same time. In his most popular essay ‘Thoughts on Various Subjects’, Jonathan Swift wrote:
Vision is the Art of seeing things Invisible
So, if you wish to be successful, you must share your vision with others. Don’t tell them ‘how you will do it’, but it is completely fine if you tell others ‘what you are doing?’. Your team must understand you to help you attain your goals. So, plan out your actions properly, act as per the plan, do self-analysis periodically and reap the benefits of your hard work.
Market Awareness
An important aspect for every business owner. No one understands your idea better than you. So, to reach heights and be successful, identify how can your idea bring a change in the existing society. Will the audience be willing to give it a try or will they discard it completely? If no one has ever worked on what your idea is OR if your idea brings a significant improvement in the existing market product, go for it.
However, be wary of how the market works. Your awareness can save you bucks and turn your business into a profitable one. Understand how the market rotates, how your competitor is operating and various other factors to save your product from failing. Be innovative, but ensure you understand what your audience needs.
Verdict
Becoming an entrepreneur is like learning something new every single moment. If you are not willing to learn, then you will never succeed. Just soak in everything you come across in your entrepreneurial journey because the more you learn, the better it gets for you. Entrepreneurship is not a typical 9-to-5 job, so if you have an idea, let the people know about it. Unless you try, you won’t be able to know how great it is. As the famous quote reads:
DREAM IT and BELIEVE IT to ACHIEVE IT
So, convert your dreams into reality with confidence.
Does this post remind you of your entrepreneurial journey? Do let us know what inspired you to embark on the journey of entrepreneurship? in the comments section below.
Online reputation really adds as an important quotient in today’s times, also known as “Online Footprint”. This service connects all the dots that is found on the web. Even companies or recruiters continuously check everyone’s reputation online for hunting for potential employees.
It will be interesting to know that 70% of the top management firm said they did not employee a person because of what they found from their online reputation. Alternatively, 27% of the employees wanted to discuss the content which is connected to them online. This shows that job seekers should be more careful about their online reputation and what content they share online.
Meaning of Online Reputation
The term simply indicates that whenever someone searches for your name on the web, he/she is presented with an entire list of content attached to your name. The content varies between articles/photos/social media profiles etc. If you feel there are things shared in your name but not done by you, differentiate yourself from others. Follow the tips below and see the difference:
Search various Search Engines
Search the results that come up in your name in the Google Search. The top trending items should be professional. If not, maybe it’s time to update your profile. LinkedIn is known to be the most professional profile. Hence, maintain and keep updating the LinkedIn profile.
Showcase your Strengths
Share freely about the accomplishments online so that when anyone stumbles upon your comment or profile they learn something new and positive about you. For this purpose, Quora is the best site to build up a good reputation, try to answer and solve others queries. This can show that you are a problem solver and know how to tackle any situation.
Don’t encourage Negative content
With the privacy policy changing every day of the social network websites, it’s time to take things into your own hands. To check your online reputation, you can make use of these 6 online monitoring tools that make the task easier. Check the privacy settings of friends as well who you think might affect the online image as well.
Differentiate Yourself from Others
There might be instances where your name is the same as another person. For example, there can be hundreds of John Doe and the people viewing your profile can mistake you with them. Hence differentiate yourself online like making it ‘John Doe CA’. This will give you an edge over others sharing a similar name.
Nothing ever Dies
It’s a jungle out there when it comes to data. Especially when it comes to social media. No data ever disappears. Once you tweet something or start a conversation it remains forever. Even if you might want to leave a topic behind you, it might come up again in some form or the other.
Unwanted Public Opinion
There will be times when the public will not agree with your opinion. They might leave comments that might leave you humiliated. This might be true for companies and the bad service they provide. A negative point can ruin the reputation big time.
Google Alerts
This fascinating Google option lets a person set an alert for your name. This allows Google to keep a track of your online reputation by sending you automatic emails if at all one tries searching for you online.
The majority of the crowd treats their social media networks like any other social outlet. Few people really understand the significance of it. The changing times will be harsh as we move more into the digital world. Hence, it has become really important to maintain a good online presence on all platforms.
A very simple question for all my readers – Who is an Entrepreneur? How many of you can list down the precise meaning of the term? I might be wrong in my assumptions, but I believe Very few. It’s because one cannot define and explain it in a particular manner. Every individual defines the word as per his/her understanding and nobody can judge them on the mere basis of it.
However, the word originates from a French word ‘enterprendre’ which means to undertake a task. You can also refer to the Oxford definition for a better understanding of the word.
The journey of becoming an entrepreneur isn’t easy as people believe. Other than hard work and a lot of patience, you require other virtues too. Having these virtues do not make you successful at one go, but does ensure you are on the right pathway. A quick overview of all major virtues:
Faith in Yourself
Care and Respect for Others
Balance in Work and Life
Not to Lose Hope
You might think its easy, but remember the saying Practice leads to Perfection. Keeping the same fact in mind, refer to this article by Inc.com highlighting 7 entrepreneurial virtues to live a successful life.
Every organization follows a different principle while embarking on the journey of entrepreneurship. Check out my other article on Every Startup Beholds an Interesting Tale. It helps you understand what inspired the founders to establish their respective startups and what made them successful despite the odds. If you plan to become an entrepreneur, it is important for you to understand what makes these firms tick.
Every human being comes with a different thought process and its evident from the humongous ideas flowing around. The overall thought process and the personality of the founder contributes a lot to determine the success or the downfall of any startup. The next segment highlights different types of Entrepreneurs we observe around us.
Types of Entrepreneurs
Various surveys help us understand that there are majorly six types of entrepreneurs which gives the word SUCCESS a different meaning. The below infographic gives a detailed description of all the six types and will also help you identify as to which category suits your personality the best:
entrepreneur-types-infographic
You must have heard the saying Success doesn’t Come Cheap. You got to work hard to achieve your goals. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea to keep the perseverance and strive on a consistent basis to gain perfection. At times you would lose your concentration, peace of mind while you are on the pathway to becoming an entrepreneur. However, the freedom one gets from Entrepreneurship makes the wait worthwhile. You just need to work on the following three important factors:
How You Define Your Goals
What You Seek from your Startup
Balancing both Your Business and Personal Lifestyle
CONCLUSION
Being self-employed requires guts and a lot of patience. You just exercise caution in your decision-making. Every decision taken by you impacts your organization and determines its growth or downfall in the coming future. Check out this article by Entrepreneur.com to understand 7 Aspects No One Tells You about Being an Entrepreneur.
If you have any queries or simply want to share your Entrepreneurship story with us feel free to comment below.
