Guest Column
Start your own Enterprise, be an Entrepreneur! – PART I
There are several Indian immigrant entrepreneurs in this country who have made a successful debut by starting an IT business and thereby making a mark for themselves. You would be surprised to know that it is not your mark sheet or degree that matters to start a business and make it successful; what is necessary is a zeal to learn new things and steadfast determination to reach the heights you always sought after. In addition, experience from other entrepreneurs gives you immense support in the adoption of early success. I am an avid fan of mentorship programs by organizations such as The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE) and other professional associations, which fosters entrepreneurship. I was in India 12 years ago when I met someone from the United States who fostered an idea into my mind to open a chapter in India about TIE and the importance of mentoring in entrepreneurial journey of any business person.
It is not difficult to start your own business in the United States. But maintaining and achieving sustainable growth over time is difficult. Off course, the main ingredients of any successful business are good client service and passion to work hard. Other than that, there is a secret ingredient which only those people can share who have tested success in their business by using an innovative approach and mastered the processes by learning from mistakes. There are a few steps I would like to share with those who want to start an IT company.
I never created a business plan nor followed the rule book of business when I started my own business, but I did acquire a strong knowledge about the process, which could be converted into business ideas for almost six years before starting as a business. I might be lucky, but I would like to share one thing that you should do before trying your hands at business. Know the subject very well and achieve substantial success as an employee somewhere else. If you know clearly what you create can be of value for your customers then go for it. Otherwise, it can be a setback and you would end up losing your motivation to start a business permanently. Spend a good amount of time learning the process and making it valuable for customers. Find out the loose ends and what you can do to improvise. Then come up with a plan to add value and create guaranteed customer satisfaction. It’s all about their perception, not about you. If possible, do some free tests or run pilots of products or services before turning it into a business. Once you decide that your product or services complement with your goals in professional life and can guarantee customer satisfaction for your customers, go for it. Be fearless and take some chances. If you do not have an optimistic approach or a risk-bearing attitude, then starting a new business might not be the right decision. You need to determine how much money you can put on risk before business begins paying back. If necessary, find an investor who is equally enterprising and ready to invest some funds.
To be continued …
Kunal Jain is a partner and CEO of Practiceforces, a healthcare billing and IT consulting firm in the Tampa Bay area. He can be reached at [email protected]