How to Become a Entrepreneur in 2023? Complete Career Guide

Is being a Entrepreneur your dream career option? Check out the complete step by step process on how to become a Entrepreneur, Eligibility, Exams, Skills Required and Salary in 2023.

An entrepreneur begins a new business by identifying a need in the marketplace & offering the relevant product or service to address the need. The main objective of an entrepreneur is to generate profits through the business. Those who want to become an entrepreneur must have strong determination, the ability to take initiative, and a high level of confidence.

Aspirants willing to start their career as an entrepreneur must first research the market to find a need. Further, they should acquire all the necessary skills and obtain formal education if required to cater for the need with a feasible solution. The next steps include identifying the target audience, creating a marketing plan, validating the idea, developing a strong network and finally starting a new venture.

Table of Contents

Who is an Entrepreneur
How to Become an Entrepreneur in India
What is the Role of the Entrepreneur
Different Types of Entrepreneurs
What are the Characteristics of an Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur Salary in India
Pros and Cons of Being an Entrepreneur

How to Become an Entrepreneur in India

As such, aspiring candidates need not compulsorily undergo formal training to pursue a career as an entrepreneur. However, the following steps will help candidates start their career journey as an entrepreneur:

Step 1: Find a Need in the Market
Step 2: Gain Essential Skills
Step 3: Pursue Formal Education if Needed
Step 4: Identify the Best Solution to Meet the Need
Step 5: Determine a Target Group
Step 6: Devise a Marketing Strategy
Step 7: Validate the Idea
Step 8: Develop a Strong Network
Step 9: Secure Funding
Step 10: Start the New Firm

Step 1: Find a Need in the Market

The primary step to becoming an entrepreneur is to identify a need in society. Candidates who can look for a need and are passionate about solving it can get started with their entrepreneurial journey. Thorough research is required in this step so the individual discovers the right problem to solve.

Step 2: Gain Essential Skills

Those candidates who are questioning how to be an entrepreneur must know that they must possess or acquire a certain set of soft and hard skills.

Soft skills: Critical thinking, communication skills, ambitiousness, assertiveness, perseverance, and risk-taking ability
Hard skills: Marketing skills, brand awareness, financial knowledge, marketing skills, and domain-related knowledge

Step 3: Pursue Formal Education if Needed

Next, the candidates should question themselves whether they require formal training. Though formal education is not compulsory, a candidate must complete class 12th from any stream, followed by obtaining an undergraduate degree. It is optional to go for higher education to become an entrepreneur.

However, pursuing PG courses like MBA can give a competitive edge to students. For admission to MBA programs in top colleges, candidates need to appear for entrance exams like CAT, XAT, GMAT, CMAT, etc. Further, the selection process will include other rounds like group discussions and personal interviews.

Some of the entrepreneur qualifications and courses are given below.

Top bachelor’s degree programs: BBA in Entrepreneurship, BBA in Entrepreneurship and Family Business
Top master’s degree programs: MBA in MBA in Entrepreneurship Management, MBA in Finance, MBA in Marketing Management

Along with the above-mentioned qualifications, candidates can pursue certain certifications to begin their career as an entrepreneur. Here are a few of the top entrepreneurship certification courses.

Edx Entrepreneurship Certification Courses
Swayam Entrepreneurship Certification Courses
Coursera Entrepreneurship Certification Courses
Udemy Entrepreneurship Certification Courses
Futurelearn Entrepreneurship Certification Courses
Emeritus Entrepreneurship Certification Courses
GetSmarter Entrepreneurship Certification Courses
TCS iON Entrepreneurship Certification Courses

Step 4: Identify the Best Solution to Meet the Need

An entrepreneur needs to find an innovative solution to the need identified. Without coming up with a solution, there is no use in finding the problem in the first place. So in the form of a solution, candidates can introduce a product, service, or process to make the lives of the customer easier.

Step 5: Determine a Target Group

Entrepreneurs need to look out for a target audience for their service or product. At this stage, budding entrepreneurs must conduct market research, analyse industry trends, and do a competitive analysis. Moreover, it is necessary to know whether the target group is male/female, their age group, their means of livelihood, etc.

Step 6: Devise a Marketing Strategy

One of the most crucial phases in the entrepreneurial journey is formulating a marketing strategy. In order to survive, every business demands an effective marketing strategy. There are many ways to market the product or service offering, including advertising, digital marketing, and paid promotion.

Step 7: Validate the Idea

Once there is a proper marketing plan in place, it is time to validate the idea. At the initial level, entrepreneurs should validate their business idea with their family and friends. While discussing ideas and brainstorming, they might come up with several new ideas or solutions.

Step 8: Develop a Strong Network

Entrepreneurship requires candidates to build strong relationships and networks. Even if a candidate wishes to be the sole owner of a business, he/she might require people to handle the marketing domain or other areas. Moreover, valuable connections will also help entrepreneurs maintain the firm’s reputation, get potential investors, and expand their knowledge.

Step 9: Secure Funding

The business will come into existence when there are sufficient funds. Candidates should consider the below-mentioned funding options for their new venture:

Availing of a business loan from public or private banks
Reaching out to NBFCs or MFIs to apply for small business loans
Self-Financing
Making use of government loan schemes
Peer-to-Peer Lending
Looking for an Angel investor
Arranging funds online through crowdfunding websites

Step 10: Start the New Firm

Candidates are now ready to start their new business. The next steps will involve hiring people if required, looking for a co-founder, etc. These requirements shall vary depending on the nature of the startup.

All the steps to becoming an entrepreneur are quite interconnected, and the candidate must take each step with utmost care. However, needless to say, an entrepreneur has to take calculated risks for the growth of the organisation.

Who is an Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur finds a need in the market and starts a business to fulfil the need & turn it into an economic opportunity. The functions of an entrepreneur range from looking after the company’s finances & preparing marketing strategies to managing employees & customers. Moreover, when it comes to the qualities of an entrepreneur, he/she must have strong business acumen, leadership skills, and analytical and risk-taking abilities.

What is the Role of the Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is responsible for handling multiple roles, including designing, marketing, managing finances, dealing with customers, etc. Let us look into the functions of the entrepreneur in detail:

Leader

An entrepreneur is the leader of the firm who needs to manage the complete functioning of the business effectively. As a leader, he/she must set a good example for their employees, boost their morale, resolve conflicts, etc.

Financial Analyst

The ultimate success of a company is defined by its financial health, and managing finances is one of the most important functions of an entrepreneur. The end goal of any business is to generate profits. Therefore, entrepreneurs need to manage or oversee the company’s financial records and take measures to prevent financial risks.

Marketer

It is very important for any firm to have a good brand image. An entrepreneur can hire individuals to look after the marketing tasks. However, the final decision to execute the marketing plan lies in the hands of the entrepreneur.

Client Manager

Next among the functions of an entrepreneur is managing the customers. Entrepreneurs have to ensure that their customers are happy with the product offerings or the services provided. Customer satisfaction is extremely important as it directly affects the reputation of the company.

Manage Employees

It is the duty of the entrepreneur to make sure that the employees in the firm are working effectively. Moreover, he/she has to take care of their needs, solve conflicts, and conduct team-building practices.

Different Types of Entrepreneurs

There are various types of entrepreneurs, and here we have given an overview of each of them. The entrepreneur's jobs or roles might vary depending on the type of entrepreneur as well.

Business Entrepreneur: Such entrepreneurs have an idea or product offering specifically for the business world. The idea generated by a business entrepreneur can be unique in nature or related to the betterment of an existing sector.
Serial Entrepreneur: Serial entrepreneurs have many creative ideas, and they repeatedly turn those ideas into successful business strategies. These entrepreneurs usually will have flourishing ventures through which they can start new ones.
Social Entrepreneur: These entrepreneurs come up with ideas to bring about social change or address social problems in society. Some of these issues can be poverty, inequality, corruption, etc.
Lifestyle Entrepreneur: Someone who starts a venture based on their passion is called a lifestyle entrepreneur. It can be a hobby, a sport, or any other activity. In general, these types of ventures require huge startup costs. Usually, individuals who have enough funding from their previous thriving businesses become lifestyle entrepreneurs.

What are the Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

A good entrepreneur possesses a multitude of skills and demonstrates various qualities. Candidates should note that the following are some qualities of a successful entrepreneur.

Leadership skills
Customer service skills
Business Acumen
Communication Skills
Creativity
Financial knowledge
Risk Taking
Creative and Passionate
Perseverance
Strategic thinking
Analytical Abilities
Flexible and Open-Minded
Willingness to learn

Entrepreneur Salary in India

The average entrepreneur salary in India is INR 3,37,432 per year. However, factors like the nature of the business, geographical location, gender of the entrepreneur, etc., influence the salary amount. Candidates can check out the company-wise and city-wise salary details below.

Company-Wise Entrepreneur Salary

Refer to the table below to know the company-wise entrepreneur salary for top companies.

Company-Wise Entrepreneur Salary
Company Name	Average Annual Salary (INR)
Pinnacle Solutions	INR 9,38,647
Snycon Software Solutions	INR 4,07,845
Forever Living Products	INR 3,71,923

City-Wise Entrepreneur Salary

The following table provides city-specific entrepreneur salary information for the reference of aspiring candidates.

City-Wise Entrepreneur Salary
Highest Paying Cities	Average Annual Salary (INR)
Bengaluru	INR 4,77,591
Gurgaon	INR 4,33,330
Kolkata	INR 4,29,300
Dehi	INR 4,25,306
Pune	INR 3,97,117
Hyderabad	INR 3,77,515

Pros and Cons of Being an Entrepreneur

Candidates have now gained a fair idea of how to become a successful entrepreneur. Though there are many advantages of being an entrepreneur, there will also be a fair amount of risk and stress involved. Therefore, before beginning with their entrepreneurial path, candidates should check out the following pros and cons:

Pros