In India, you can find lot of promotional programmes like Entrepreneurial Development Programmes calling engineering students to become entrepreneurs. As an experienced engineer and an entrepreneur my own view on imparting entrepreneurship is different.
An ideal engineer-entrepreneur has to venture into entrepreneurship by the age 35 to 40 after gaining minimum 10 years of field experience depending upon his financial strength whether to start up a small, medium or large enterprise. This is to acquire some hold on the subject or field in which he wants to venture into individually or collectively. He can have godfathers for every aspect of business who will mentor his or his organization to bring assured success in the venture. Thanks to educated family partners, it can be a real strength, if one among the man or wife can venture into a business that the entrepreneur’s goal is not affected much due to strain or stress in the business. The person has to continuously get updated with all the techno-economics of his chosen business before actually venturing into that.
This advice is not intended to discourage young men into business. This is not only for new generation entrepreneurs but also for family enterprises. You can find that successful senior entrepreneurs used to send their own kith and kin to work elsewhere as an employee before bringing them into their own business houses. This is a pragmatic practice to get success in entrepreneurship.
No doubt that the trait of entrepreneurship is partly hereditary. But the self development gained through knowledge and experience makes them better entrepreneurs.
I wish to quote one of my mentors who used to tell that “most engineers fail in business due to the fact that they take things as straight-lines and actually business is not a straight line but a curve.”
Let engineer entrepreneurs move away from straight line paths to the practical curves in businesses to re-engineer themselves as successful entrepreneurs, and understand 4 + 3 is not always 7 in business!
Wishing the best future to successful engineer entrepreneurs!!
About the Author
Er Ramalingam K S is a DFM & Innovation Consultant. He could be reached at erramalingam.ks@gmail.com