Gone are the days when people were scared to experiment and stuck to their mundane jobs for the sake of a livelihood. Today, the world is filled with entrepreneurs who are not afraid to take risks; putting their careers and savings at stake to make a mark for themselves in this competitive era. India is home to a large number of entrepreneurs in the world; almost 50 million of them. That is more than twice the number of entrepreneurs compared to USA’s 23 million entrepreneurial geniuses.
While these numbers might herald great prospects for the country, there is more to entrepreneurship than just fulfilling individual aims and aspirations. An entrepreneur’s dream and vision gives birth to a million possibilities for his/her community; propelling them towards a better lifestyle. It is true that everything in this life is interconnected, no matter how thin this connection might be. Setting up a new enterprise opens new doors and avenues through which the nation can grow.
The recipe to create an entrepreneur
There are many things which go into making an entrepreneur; leadership abilities, vision, ideas, resourcefulness, composure, etc. But there is one key ingredient without which an idea, no matter how good, will fall flat on its face – money. Funding a dream is no easy task in this dog eat dog world, and there are chances for even the greatest idea to succumb to the pressure of finance. This is where banks and lending institutions come into the picture, becoming the ladders which entrepreneurs can use to reach the skies.
Not all entrepreneurs have the luxury of finding an angel investor who would incubate their idea until it reaches a stage of self-sufficiency. Millions of small time entrepreneurs still rely on loans and credit allowances to give shape to their ambitions; loans which were hard to get in the past.
Banks are now open to the idea of giving personal loans to entrepreneurs, ranging from as low as Rs 15,000 to Rs 50 lakh, depending on the borrower, of course. The interest rates charged on these loans might seem high, hovering in the range of 15%-25%, but great ideas backed by stellar planning could see the birth of an empire on the back of these loans.
Trickle-down effect
Entrepreneurs are harbingers of growth in India, helping to create an atmosphere where money and talent percolate down to the grassroots. There are many ways in which entrepreneurship can socially and economically impact one’s neighbourhood.
- Job creation – No idea can flourish on its own, and entrepreneurs are known to create new job opportunities for entire communities.
- Financial health – More jobs translate into more income, giving birth to an era of financial independence.
- Infrastructure development – No new business can work on obsolete infrastructure, and entrepreneurs provide an opportunity for a region to get access to better infrastructure.
- Unearthing talent – The most precious resource one can have in a business is talent, and there is no one better than an entrepreneur to discover hidden talent.
- Grassroots development – New business models enable people to learn new skills, pushing them to challenge themselves.
There are plenty of hurdles one faces on the path to entrepreneurship, an empty bank balance being one of them. While other hurdles might need ingenuity on your part, all you need to do to overcome the financial hurdle is take a personal loan and watch your dreams turn into reality.