Do you also dream of having your own business but always give up because the idea of starting your own business is too overwhelming? Well, becoming an entrepreneur is no piece of cake and requires tremendous hard work. However, it is a little-known fact that literally anyone can start a business if they are determined enough and have the right strategy and plan of action.
Where to Start?
Even though you don’t require any particular degree to become an entrepreneur, building on your skillset would help you start your entrepreneurship career. You may consider various short courses or camps that provide guidance on entrepreneurial skills. EDII- the Entrepreneurship Institute of India offers a 20-Hour Entrepreneurship Camp for students in 10th and above. Apart from short courses, it is also recommended that students attend global conferences or summits by eminent industry leaders. Ior Read more here!
Before turning your dream business idea into a reality, you must understand that this is a systematic process that requires one to follow a few steps:
Brainstorm: Ideate and Expand
Explore opportunities that have not been exploited. What value can it provide, or how can you repurpose what already exists? As a young entrepreneur, it is crucial to play around with numerous ideas to find your perfect fit. Write down your ideas, and try to expand the topics to figure out a plan. You never know when you have that eureka moment!
Read, Learn, Write, Repeat
Next, you must have deep and thorough knowledge about your market and your product domain. As a strategy for your future goals, take up subjects that add knowledge into the commercial/ business field. However, this is not a hard and fast rule. Anyone can become an entrepreneur with the correct mindset and plan. Spend an adequate amount of time trying to study your business domain and the demographics of your potential clientele. If required, you must also run surveys or research on the web and public data.
Map out a Systematic Business Plan
After you have completed the first two steps, now it is time to draw a detailed business plan. You have to explore all avenues that would generate revenue, and figure out ways your business will grow. If you are finding it difficult to draw a plan yourself, do not hesitate to reach out to an adult who has the relevant knowledge and skills. Planning is a great strategy that would help you focus on important aspects as well as identify your goals clearly. Another important factor to be kept in mind during planning your business is to determine its scalability. Scalability helps a business to determine its long-term goal and prospects; to explore the possibility of expanding in the future to national or global levels. As a school student, you would probably start with low capital, therefore a long-term goal would be highly beneficial to generate revenue from your business.
Define your Niche
You must know your niche market and how to position your product or service. This is because not everyone would want all kinds of products or services. For example, some groups of people prefer cheap and durable products while others prefer expensive and luxury products. So it is important to find which kind of customers your product or service is aligned with. You can even carry out small surveys in your school to determine the likes and dislikes of your schoolmates. Do not forget, everyone is a potential customer!
Reach out to Investors
In most cases, a school student would have low to no capital of their own, so it is important to find someone who is willing to invest in your business. Reach out to investors- this could be someone in the family or your parents’ network. Prepare a presentation and discuss your idea with the right people. If nothing, you will at least get some feedback and guidance and will be able to better structure your business model.
It is always good to start early and school is the perfect period where you can experiment and explore all options and find your niche. Take it as an opportunity to learn and rectify your mistakes. Of course, it is not easy to be a successful entrepreneur and that there would be a lot of challenges and setbacks.
Don’t be afraid of failure. Use it as a learning lesson and continue towards your mission!
Written by: Tanvee Khurana & Kasturi Gouri
