How to Become an Entrepreneur :Steps, Tips and Best Degree

It’s mostly a dream for everyone to become the master of his own business. And why not? The time for following the bosses’ orders has now shown a trend. Although the idea seems to be an awesome one, difficulties are still there. But, knowing the best ways to achieve dreams might help turn the dreams into dreamt entrepreneurship. The idea might be simple to a complex one, but what is important is the fact, how the dreamers follow it.

Before starting with the ways how to become a successful entrepreneur, it is important to actually know what entrepreneurship means and who is an entrepreneur is.

Starting the Journey as an Entrepreneur

With the passing years, the word that has been consistently in trend is “Entrepreneur”. An entrepreneur is any person that transforms his creative skills and ideas into an innovative business and this process of setting up is known as entrepreneurship. So, how to become a successful entrepreneur? A few steps for a successful entrepreneur are:

• An innovative product is supported by a great idea. Therefore, an idea unique to its product, method, etc. is needed before setting up any business.
• A few areas related to the concept of marketing ideas could be learned which might turn out to be beneficial in the future.
• One of the most important steps in the creation of a business is its planning. A business plan is required which will hold the information of the objectives, and the business strategies to achieve those goals. 
• Getting hold of the audience that the business is going to attract. One should have a clear picture of the market that the product will adhere to. Based on that other strategies could be built up to focus more attraction.
• In the digital era, networking has become an essential factor for the survival of any type of business. Therefore, it is always expected to build more networks that will help in identifying or connecting to potential investors.
• Being an entrepreneur requires the ability to sell their products into the market and convince the people that the product is the best.
• A business won’t be a successful one if marketing is not done properly. Efforts are always needed to market the products at different stages of the business with a focus on the target audience. 

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Role of a product manager in becoming an entrepreneur

It is a widely known fact that product managers make some good entrepreneurs with their inherent ability to set up a business on their own. A few reasons why a product manager delves toward becoming a successful entrepreneur are:

How to become a businessman?

• Entrepreneurs have the belief that their ideas are the most creative ones which could lead to great business. But, the skeptical nature of the product managers helps in dealing with customer research which is the utmost necessity for knowing how the product will fit into the market.
• It is believed that product managers very well play the role of an ethnographer collecting information about the society. For a business to turn into a successful one, understanding the target market is required.  Only then effective solutions embraced by the customers will be built up. Due to the unpredictable nature of human beings, it’s always helpful to collect reviews from varied angles. This seems to be a crucial task for all those entrepreneurs. As finding and retaining a single review of a customer might eventually lead the business into failure.
• Product managers are well equipped with failure from which they eventually learn leading to better ideas. No one knows much while developing an idea. Anyone who gets the idea that his knowledge is adequate for his business, then it’s a total myth. Therefore, it’s always better to fail in a controlled environment, rather than the failure after investing a huge amount. It’s only through failure, that the product managers understand the reason behind it and eventually turn it into something better. The process is an iterative one.
• Interdependence is the key to a successful business. The attitude of independence while being the owner of a business isn’t going to be of any help. Product managers know the worth of interdependence while working in a diverse organization. It is only through the collaborative efforts of top minds that results in a great product.

How to choose a business idea?

Before knowing how to become a successful entrepreneur, you must rely on your business model as a good business idea is one of the most important reasons behind a successful business. 

Steps to choose a business idea –

Identify what motivates you

Your motivation will lie in what makes you passionate. Any successful business has some element of passion in it. The best way to know your passion is to identify what makes you actually passionate rather than what you wish to be passionate about.

You may ask yourself some questions in order to know what your passion-

1. In which areas have you performed your best?
2. Which extracurricular activities/ hobbies excite you the most?
3. What makes you feel satisfied with your work?

Do extensive research about the market

Once you have narrowed down your business idea,  research comes as the next step in the process. Now is the time to dive into doing research about the business. Study the different businesses which have been there for a long time and learn about how they grew their business.

Once you have studied the business well, it becomes time for you to brainstorm about what is missing in their business that you can provide that help you stand better in the competition. It is better to shadow and visit their office and understand their business better while doing research.

Create a business plan

Having only the idea is not enough to build a successful business. On the journey to learn how to become a businessman, it is important to know and learn to build a successful business model. 

You can create a business plan based on the research which you have done. Moreover, you can even refer to the business plan of the businesses you have researched about.  In the planning phase, you must work on the following-

1. How the business would work
2. Who would be the target market
3. How to approach the investors

These are some of the major points you must consider while creating a business plan.

Look out for funding sources

Funding is very important while working out a business. It is important to have cash flow that helps you run your business smoothly. Some of the funding options are-

1. Angel investors
2. Crowdfunding
3. Venture capital
4. Small business lenders

Employees and Partners

Any business you start, you will find a need for partners or employees who help you to grow your business. It is important to know better that behind any successful business, there is a team who works passionately.

It is important for business owners to create a healthy and positive environment in their workplace. You need to think about the perks you will give your employees, competitive compensation, and how you can be a mentor or a coach to them.

Why an Entrepreneurial product manager?

Most people might believe that developing a product will often result in success. While from the perspective of a product manager the road towards the development of the product from its idea is filled with danger. Always aided with multiple risks, the new ideas are finding it quite difficult to turn themselves into great products. It is through the inborn ability of an entrepreneurial product manager to embrace such type of risk leading them towards creating a groundbreaking product. The product managers very well know how to utilize the resources efficiently. During conditions of scarcity, it is their responsibility to make good decisions and therefore has the skill of getting informed of each and every resource available. In cases of new products, there is lesser data or sometimes no data. In such scenarios, the product managers get deep inside the client conversation in order to gather metrics.

How to become an entrepreneur with higher skill sets

Some of the important skill sets which any entrepreneur must have are as follows –

1. Interpersonal skills
2. Attending various workshops and events
3. Networking
4. Finance management
5. Leadership skills
6. Branding
7. Customer acquisition
8. Design thinking 
9. Strategic thinking 
10. Time management
11. Sales
12. Pitching
13. Fundraising 

Training in Product Management: Getting the Certificate

Becoming a product manager is eventually an effective path leading toward a successful entrepreneur. The present era demands the continuous growth of all product managers in the evolving environment. For all the fine-tuning of the skills, essential training is required. Online resources provide a way to gain the knowledge necessary for product development. But, being a master of the discipline signifies being the epitome of essential training and knowledge. This could be achieved through the Product management certification program. 

Getting enrolled in a product management certification program offered by upGrad could help in leading your career toward becoming a successful product manager. It provides an opportunity to get certified by the global institute “Duke corporate education” and an opportunity to learn from some of the best faculty and industry mentors.

Summing up

The development of any new product often has a rough path along with the several challenges faced by the developer. Therefore, it is always in the mind how to become a successful entrepreneur or how to become a businessman. Well! It’s the effective guidance and training that helps the creator turn themselves into successful entrepreneurs. Being a master of the field is always helpful. So, if you are having a bachelor’s degree but are lost on how to start your entrepreneur journey, upGrad could be the solution you are looking for. Irrespective of age and gender, the Product Management Certification Program might be the right path toward your dream.

If you want to learn more about marketing and entrepreneurship, Liverpool Business School & upGrad offers Master of Business Administration (MBA) Liverpool Business School which helps you to transform your career. The program provides 1-on-1 mentorship from industry leaders, a 1-week immersion program at the University campus, dual credentials (MBA from LBS & PGPM from IMT), networking with peers at offline basecamps, and more.