Everyone wants to get an education and then take up a job. Are there enough jobs though, for everyone who is qualified? It is very difficult for each individual to find a job for herself/himself. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the unavailability of the job leaves all unemployed. So, what if you could create opportunities instead of looking for them? Such questions bring entrepreneurship to the mind.
An entrepreneur turns ideas into actions. It is an art and not a science. Entrepreneurs sell some innovative product or service from scratch. The very thought of owning one’s own business brings a rush of excitement and adrenaline but not as much as the idea of you becoming your own boss does.
Entrepreneurs possess several qualities and skills which are not only useful for establishing a successful start-up but also for doing well and emerging victorious in life. They are important because they empower you with confidence, prepare you for the real-life, provide you with practical skills that can actually bring a change through innovation and most importantly teach you how to grab and make the best of an opportunity. These skills will lead to the overall polishing of an individual’s personality since they include the development of personal characteristics, creative skills, practical skills, and interpersonal skills.
Given below are a few crucial skills, entrepreneurship demands:
- Personal Characteristics
The mindset of a typical entrepreneur is such that a person has a vision, has a desire to control and take charge and is always optimistic. To overcome fear of failure, possess decision making ability, have the drive and energy to realise one’s ideas and put them into action and achieve one’s goals are also other important characteristics of an entrepreneur.
- Creative Skills
These skills enable an individual to see a situation from different perspectives, possess the problem-solving ability, come up with original ideas, become innovative and create useful products and services or add value to the existing ones.
- Practical Skills
To be able to set goals, plan and organize effectively are practical skills that entrepreneurs possess. Along with this an individual should also be equipped with knowledge related to their venture, basic business knowledge in domains of operations, marketing, finance and sales and most importantly entrepreneurial knowledge like how to formulate workable business models, etc.
- Interpersonal skills
Negotiation skills, communication skills, personal relations guided by emotional intelligence and a knack for leading tasks, taking up challenging projects and motivating those who work with you make a person successful and a good leader.
Unfortunately, most of these entrepreneurship skills are not taught in schools. Everyone knows that they are crucial for a good life and are not just meant for the people looking to enter the sphere of entrepreneurship and yet they fail to make it to our academic syllabus. The need to expose teenagers and young adults to this set of must-have skills cannot be emphasized more.
Below are some effective ways in which one can develop these entrepreneurial skills and abilities.
- In this age of specialization, there are courses designed for learning these specific sets of skills. These courses can be taken both online and on campus.
- One must watch television shows like Shark Tank in which aspiring entrepreneurs present their ideas in front of a panel of investors to persuade them to invest in their idea.
- Young adults could also have exposure to this exciting world of entrepreneurship by attending short programs like TYE and Entrepreneurial Stimulation Summer Camp from EDI.
- Aspiring people could also visit Start-up Saturdays. They empower youth with leadership and entrepreneurial skills through discussions on new ideas and their execution by accomplished people who became successful in their ventures.
- Social engagement is probably one of the best ways in life for personality development. Talking to people from different walks of life, talking to them about their experiences, their plans and in general about their career and life will open you up to avant-garde ideas and objectives.
Development of entrepreneurship ability in oneself is like planting a seed that will bear fruit for the whole society and lead to economic development in the long run. The need for entrepreneurial development has accentuated in recent times especially in young adults as they are the ones who will be shaping and designing the world of tomorrow.
