Mind your 'own' business

The recession has significantly altered the dynamics of the job market. In such a scenario there is a rising interest in entrepreneurship, though most people still find it daunting.

However, John Mullins, chair of the David and Elaine Potter Term in Entrepreneurship, London Business School, and author of The New Business Road Test, feels that while there are risks associated with entrepreneurship it holds true for big companies as well. “In fact, the risks are not as much as perceived. When you start an entrepreneurship you may fail but you learn a lot,” he says.

Mullins was at the International Management Institute (IMI), Delhi, for the release of the book he has co-authored with Randy Komisar, Getting to Plan B. He feels that the world would not have had entrepreneurs like Richard Branson or Dhirubhai Ambani, if they had dwelt so much on the risk factor. Mullins adds that this is the time when the world is accepting entrepreneurship in its culture and there are opportunities.

“In hard times, people are reminded of the fact that life in big organisations is not always secure. They start thinking about pursuing a career that puts them more in control of their destiny,” says Mullins. In fact, he informs that several companies were started at the time of recession (HP started in the middle of the great depression and Oracle was started in the recession of 1991).

He feels that India has the potential to produce successful entrepreneurs. “India is an emerging market,” he says, adding that India not only can catch up in this field but it can lead as well. “Indian companies have given self-financing models to the Western world. Also, entrepreneurship has potential in every industry in India. For instance, there is potential in the retail sector,” he says.

Mullins concludes that most of the current entrepreneurial efforts in India are in the field of technology, more specifically IT. “In the coming years, there will be a focus on other industries. It doesn’t matter how you learn but ‘that’ you learn. Business school education can hasten that process,” he says.