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Working
Abroad -
Entrepreneurship: Being one’s own boss
The success
rate of entrepreneurial ideas is very low. Only one out of a hundred new
ventures takes off, and out of that, an even smaller minority makes it really
big. However, says MOHAN BABU, the fear of failure does not deter those
with the drive or right idea
Like most people
who have free Internet accounts with Yahoo and Hotmail, I frequently get scores
of junk mail everyday. Sorting through such junk and deciding on the genuine
mails can be a Herculean task, especially if one has held the mail account for a
number of years and has got into some mailer’s seed list. Some of the mailers
try to be extremely creative, especially while coining e-mail titles that prompt
readers to at least open the mail. A recent mail I received was titled “Mohan:
Be your own boss.” I instinctively knew it was junk and clicked it to be moved
to the junk folder. However, I got thinking about the creative title. Being my
own boss intrigued me. Most of us have an entrepreneurial streak in us, and at
some point think that the ideal job in the world would be to become our own boss
instead of being answerable to one. Starting our own company or venture becomes
a natural extension of this entrepreneurial urge.
Magazine
articles, TV shows and movies have a way of glorifying entrepreneurs, especially
those who gave up a steady, coveted career to be their own boss. Michael Dell,
founder of Dell Computer, has been eulogised in dozens of magazine articles for
being a successful entrepreneur despite being a college dropout (actually he
started Dell in his college dormitory by supplying cheap PCs to fellow
students). In the US, the media is especially aggressive when seeking such
success stories since a key component of the “American Dream” comprises being a
self-made millionaire. A luxurious car, house in the suburbs, spouse and kids
automatically form a part of this dream. Given that the pillar of the American
capitalistic system is based on the success of the corporate world including
innovative entrepreneurs, the society encourages and nurtures such industrial
dreams. There is also tacit approval given to those who switch careers midstream
in order to pursue a dream.
To be your own
boss
People start
business ventures for various reasons, one of them being to become one’s own
boss. However, facts prove otherwise. In reality, entrepreneurship means working
for a number of bosses. Every business venture has a number of bosses: clients,
vendors and employees are all bosses to the business. Keeping them all happy,
motivated and moving in a uniform direction remains the sole aim of an
entrepreneur or business owner. If you think it is tough managing to work with
just your colleagues and boss at work, imagine trying to manage your own
employees, and other stakeholders. Even in a smaller startup without any
employees, you will still have to work with financiers, venture capitalists,
governmental and local regulatory agencies and others stakeholders. Many
first-time entrepreneurs get carried away by the glamour of starting a venture,
and forget the need to cultivate strong people skills. The bottomline: If your
main aim in starting a venture is to escape a tough boss, you may want to
rethink your priorities.
A journey, not
the end
There are
different reasons for people to start their own ventures. The basic human need
to be materialistic is a strong factor. By working for a company or an
organisation, you can only draw a prescribed amount of salary with benefits,
bonus and perks, etc. However, with your own venture, the sky is the
limit—literally. Some people with innovative ideas or solutions generated while
working for an employer decide to go it alone instead of trying to tout the idea
to their company where it may get stuck in the bureaucracy. The success of
modern entrepreneurs in the field of technology, including Bill Gates, Larry
Ellison, Steve Jobs, Narayana Murthy and others has proven that with the right
ideas, skills and drive, one can make it really big. The dream that one can make
it really big pushes individuals to think outside the box.
With all the
hype, it is easy to forget that the success rate of entrepreneurial ideas is
abysmally low. Only one out of a hundred new ventures takes off and out of that,
an even smaller minority makes it really big. For every successful Microsoft or
Infosys, you will find hundreds of thousands of start-ups that just didn’t cut
it. However, the fear of failure does not deter those with the drive or right
idea and desire to explore their passion.
Back to my junk
e-mail that prompted this line of thought—Do I still want to be my own boss? You
bet! Then again, I would love to continue to be my own boss at home, while
enjoying a steady paycheck that my real boss at work provides me with.
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