STUDENTSPEAK
To be or not to be an entrepreneur
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How equipped are final-year MBA students to become entrepreneurs? While most of them have the zeal and drive to take the plunge, the lack of a single-window clearance system and financial support limits their prospects. Is the Government ready to create a favourable business climate?
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JOB-SEEKERS OR JOB-PROVIDERS ?: Students of the Bharathidasan Institute of Management discussing the options before them. — Photos: M. Moorthy
STUDENTS OF Bharathidasan Institute of Management (BIM), a premier business school, are keen to take the plunge as entrepreneurs in the competitive world of small scale industries if the Government supports them with measures such as the single-window clearance system and financial help. Otherwise, their priority would be to secure jobs.
The students are of the view that the MBA curriculum could be improved by incorporating certain changes: a specialisation in entrepreneurial skills in the second year, exposure to the SSI sector and hands-on running of an industry/business.
Here's what some aspiring entrepreneurs said at a round table on future perspectives:
Deepak Kumar Bhatter.P
Deepak Kumar Bhatter. P: As a management student, I have the option of either settling for a secure job or becoming an entrepreneur. However, the most important question is whether I am free to make a choice. Is my decision independent of other factors?
Though I have the drive to become an entrepreneur, two factors are a deterrent. One is the high cost of education I have incurred for my management education which makes it only rational for me to earn what I have spent, at the earliest.
The second is the resources I need to be an entrepreneur. I need substantial investment which is not easy to obtain. Entrepreneurship is all about free spirit, but, sadly, choosing to be an entrepreneur is not a free decision.
Chandini. C
D. Shirley: My long-term wish is to become an entrepreneur. But I would definitely like to take up an employment in the short-term. It would help me build a foundation for future ventures since I could gain a lot of insights into the situational realities and the ways of handling them. Such experience can easily be gained under the structure of a well-established organisation.
As an entrepreneur, I would organise the unorganised segments of the SSI sector, such as jewellery, sculpture making, and silk industry. My vision is to standardise the small players and convert them into big organisations. After all, in the era of globalisation, size does matter.
D. Shirley
Santosh. R: Being an MBA student in one of the best B-Schools in the country, I can understand that the societal impact of starting my own business is higher than being employed for a monthly salary. I agree that getting a job would be a more favourable and convenient option. But what excites me more is that I can use my knowledge and understanding of how businesses function to improve the livelihood of people who really matter, by becoming an entrepreneur.
As a matter of fact, my priority would be to take up a job. But, sooner or later, I would become an entrepreneur.
R. Madhana Gopal
Chandini. C: Yes. Young entrepreneurs are what our country requires, and I know I have an immediate responsibility in this regard. However, having been wrapped in a conservative culture and brought up with a mindset to look more for security than take risks, I must admit that my immediate option would be to get employed in a successful firm.
Later, say, after a period of five to six years in a secure job, which would provide me enough confidence to tread my own path, I would definitely look forward to starting my own consultancy. I hope to get the backing of the Government, society and family by then.
Santosh. R
Sheela Baskaran: Today, the trend among management students is employment rather than entrepreneurship. As a budding manager, I would prefer employment with an MNC, wherein I can build on my knowledge and gain experience in the various facets of business.
Having gained sufficient experience and expertise in handling uncertainty and risks, in making wise decisions, and with the strong foundation in my area of interest, I would start my own consultancy some seven to eight years from now.
Sheela Baskaran
R. Madhana Gopal: To me, the real essence of management science is changing the lives of millions of people. I will derive enormous satisfaction from `more risk, more returns'.
As a student of a top B-school, I can prepare myself to becoming an entrepreneur from the experiences of entrepreneurs of the past.
But, I would look for a favourable business climate in the form of single window clearance, absence of labour-related problems, seed capital at low interest with moratorium, and a change in the society's outlook towards an entrepreneur.
R. Krishnamoorthy
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