The question I am most frequently asked by students of business institutions and engineering schools who are aspiring to be business owners is – When is it the right time for you to become a business owner? Should I do it straight after university or should I work for a few years first? The truth is that there are success stories of all sorts.
There are those people who have done it after doing work for a few years as managers in companies – the Infosys founders are an example. Then there are individuals who have done it directly out of university – my good friend Kunwar Sachdev of SuKam invertors is one particular. And there are those who have dropped out of college to become business owners – Bill Gates is the most famous name that involves mind.
- Say you just need money or have expenses to pay and that means you need work
- Put a glue dot on the backside and attach the blossom to a branch
- Extensive collection of UI elements and UX patterns
- Can I see the refrigerator
- Bachelor’s Degree in a related discipline preferred
There are people who do college and entrepreneurship hand and hand – Michael Dell’s tale of how he founded and ran Dell from his college room is famous. Finally there are those who became business owners without even going to university or completing their school education – the most widely known tale in India is of Dhirubhai Ambani. There is certainly no one right response to these questions however you can always find a good example to aid whatever viewpoint you support.
The one largest reason people give up on their entrepreneurial dreams and continue in a job is a delay in breaking out after university. The argument in favor of doing work for some years in employment before becoming a business owner is that you improve your fact check. It is well known that the Indian education system does not give a great fact check to students. It takes several years of working after university for graduating students to determine how the real life actually functions.
You learn to are a subordinate before you feel a boss which experience is important when your company scales up and you are owning a larger team. You acquire skills on the job that you would have not have otherwise. You meet customers, get an insight into their needs and a knowledge of the market. You can know about work at home opportunities.
You learn about procedures and good practices that are useful years later. You build your network and qualifications. In summary, working for a couple of years will increase your chances of success once you choose to do to become a business owner. The flip side is that if you get into a good job and work there for a couple of years you might never actually quit to get a business owner.