Franchising enabling entrepreneurship in a true sense

Youth, which forms a large part of the workforce today is no longer happy with a fixed pay structure and willing to take more risk. Today entrepreneurs have multiple options to raise capital i.e. Venture Capitalist, Private Equity players, SME’s Loans, Crowd funding etc as compared to five years ago. Further the youth is increasingly also opting to be a part of startup journeys, to gain from the experience such ventures have to offer. Entrepreneurship has become a reality today.  

We have gone 10 steps ahead of the West imagining startups that could have never been thought of.  As the ecosystem develops, more and more people are willing to take the route less ventured. 

Given the breakneck speed of this untreaded path that the next wave of entrepreneurs are heading for it must be emphasized that young leaders need to have a clear vision with the end in mind, the courage to make big decisions and take the leap, conviction to be successful and the ability learn from IT peers, counterparts and mentors and start afresh if required. 

Entrepreneurship in the IT & IMS Industry

Meraj Shaikh is a resident of Mumbai (Jetking Alumni) and owner of Adil System, a computer and repair shop with two branches in the city and vision to launch an IT Solutions company in the future. He is one of the many individuals who are creating a path for themselves in the challenging IT & IMS industry. Business opportunity today is not only for IITs but also the common man.

The IT & IMS industry which is currently witnessing the need of an inflow of nearly 3,00,000 lakh professionals every year, is seeing a huge interest amongst the youth to take up “Skill Development” as an exciting business opportunity.

 IT & IMS space will form a backbone of initiatives of such Digital India and Smart Cities launched by the Government in India will only increase the requirement of competent IT professionals who will not only address the challenges of today but also build India’s tomorrow. 

A CII report on the skill gap in India revealed that, when it comes to understanding technology, concepts states such as Rajasthan, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Harayana are further ahead as compared to other states. At a city level Pondicherry, Agra, New Delhi, Coimbatore, Madurai, Chennai, Salem, Bangalore, Ghaziabad etc. are seen as promising hubs as compared to other cities.

The above data clearly shows that beside the top Metros, even tier- II and III cities are emerging as potential business opportunity centres for young entrepreneurs to tap.  At Jetking, we already seeing students coming from the major metros such as Delhi, Bangalore and areas surrounding them. There is also a huge inflow in tier-II cities.

How to be a successful Entrepreneur

It is important to realise that entrepreneurship is a journey of ups and downs. While there is  97% failure ratio in startups, it is nearly 97% success in a franchise/distributor model in rush to keep up with times individuals tend not completely analyse the paramaters before starting up. 

For eg: At Jetking, more 50% entrepreneurs that we come across, have a strong technical background but lack business acumen. Hence, it is vital to first to inculcate an entrepreneurial attitude that is required and the openness which too is a fundamental trait and at the core of being an entrepreneur.