How to begin your career in entrepreneurship

Starting a business of your own is an exciting prospect, however, it is equally challenging. Having a vision and the will to execute your ideas is only the first step towards starting a career in entrepreneurship. To transform your dream into reality, you need to factor in other parameters that are instrumental in becoming an entrepreneur.

This blog will help you understand the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and how you can start a career in it. Read on to find out more!

What is entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship can be defined as the process of designing, launching and setting up a business. Entrepreneurial endeavours usually start as small-scale businesses, with seed capital and basic business requirements. Then, with the right approach to marketing, strategic planning, finance and business planning, they have the potential to scale the ladder of success.

What are the entrepreneurship skills?

• Financial management: When you start a business, there is a strong emphasis on carefully managing the capital available. The first few years of business operations are critical, making the ability to manage money synonymous to the ability to manage a business.

• Persuasive skills: One of the key factors involved in launching a business is the ability to raise capital. In order to do this, you will need to find investors and have the persuasive skills to convince them to fund your endeavour.

• Networking skills: Irrespective of whether you are working for an organisation or starting your own business, networking skills are an important asset to have. Interacting and brainstorming with other professionals will not only prove to be beneficial for the business but also will help you gain a broader business perspective. 

• Identifying talent: One of the important skills to aid the success of the business is hiring the right people for specific roles. Employees can make or break an organisation and the hiring process, therefore, becomes essential. It is also important to ensure that the people you hire have the skills and expertise to carry out a given job role efficiently and productively.  

• Training skills: Whileyou should always aim to hire experienced employees, finding talent is not always guaranteed. Instead, you can always hire candidates with good potential and train them to fit into the role they have been hired for. This requires you, as the owner of the business, to have excellent training skills and the ability to mould fresh talent into productive employees.

• Management skills: As your core team expands and the number of employees under your supervision increases, the need for you to manage them effectively will become more prominent. Starting a business of your own requires you to assume other roles than just being the boss, including playing the role of a guide, mentor and motivator. You will need to develop essential skills that contribute to the effective management of employees.

• Perseverance: Starting a business can be daunting at first and perseverance is, therefore, a quality that is imperative for entrepreneurs. Before entering the field of entrepreneurship, you must be prepared to encounter failure. However, you should not let setbacks dampen your spirits. Use each hurdle as a learning experience and find new and effective ways to overcome them. 

How to start a career in entrepreneurship?

Step 1: Find the industry you want to start a business in. Identify the sector of products or services you have an expertise in and base your initial plan on that.

Step 2: Research about the market. Assess the market trends, stay up-to-date with what your competitors in the same industry are offering to their customers and think what better offer you can provide. 

Step 3: Identify the target audience. In order to establish a successful business, you must understand the audience you will be catering to. Conduct surveys to find out the consumer mindset and curate business strategies in accordance with that.

Step 4: Hire the right people. A business’ success or failure will depend on your employees. Ensure that the talent you hire is skilled, conduct learning and development sessions to bridge any skill gaps and ensure that there is a rewards and recognition process in place to motivate good performers. 

Is it mandatory to have a degree in entrepreneurship to become an entrepreneur?

While it is not mandatory, pursuing an entrepreneurship degree can help you understand the intricate details of how to run a business. It also equips you with skills, such as:

• Communication;

• Problem-solving approach;

• Critical thinking skills;

• Time management;

• Motivation skills;

• Business planning;

• Strategic planning;

• Organisational skills;

• Analytical thinking;

• Project management;

• Business administration;

• Accounting and finance skills.

If you are planning to enter the field of entrepreneurship, sign up for the Continued Professional Development (CPD) course on Entrepreneurship offered by the London School of Business and Finance (LSBF). The course structure helps you understand the key components required for setting up a business and trains you on techniques to identify target markets. You will also be equipped with the skills to assess and analyse competitors’ performance within the marketplace. Enrol for the course today and become your own boss!  

This article was written by Meghdeep Patnaik and edited by Amelia Hayward-Cole.