Education and entrepreneurship

Do we really think that education has to do something with entrepreneurship? Entrepreneur is one among us  but with a slight difference of passion in heart, fire in belly and knowledge in mind. Knowledge does not mean the same as education. Former is a non formal whereas education is a formal way to attain knowledge. So it very well proves that knowledge is required not education. More than 100 people have created history in the business world without any prior business education. Robert Braith Waite the founder of boat builder “Sunseeken International” left studies at the age of 14. There is no need to tell about him as today he is worth an estimated £130 million. Another name is of Laurence Graff founder of Graff Diamonds International left school at the age of 13 and started a business which is now worth £2.5 million. These are few names in the list of those who proved themselves. They owe their success to patience, hard work, creativity, dedication and utmost passion. Entrepreneurship is about team work, implementing ideas successfully and fighting  problems with courage. Let me tell you a story, its about three people who were having a same idea to run a restaurant. Even though having a same idea just one got successful because he was working with an extra pinch of creativity i.e. to make the most of that idea. Creativity and innovation are regarded as the building blocks of any enterprise. These can be inculcated but can not be learned through education. In some cases the lucky ones these properties are inborn. Consider a mehandi-wala sitting on the road-side he develop his skills by practice, hard work and experimentation i.e. learning from his own defaults not by taking admission in any popular henna school. They design which is called as innovation. Salman khan is an actor as well as a painter who never learnt painting but even though his art is very popular. This very well proves that creativity is not due to education. Education refines it but do not define it. Education can be called as learning which starts from the age of 6 without any kind of application. This application of knowledge creates a difference between a successful entrepreneur and an entrepreneur. Recently I went through a workshop in which one of the speakers said that “Education never determines your success in whatever field you are whereas it depends upon you, you can stand either in the failure's line or the winner’s choice is always yours”. Why enterprises fail even having the MBA professionals working for their growth?. Because they lack enthusiastic vision, confidence, risk-taking capability, positive thinking, ideas and passion. Entrepreneur without these skills is like a snake without poison.  We develop these credentials ourselves and are not taught. Similarly like us a common man can also be efficient in these skills. No doubt education removes the thorns but not the stones. A common man without any education would have to cross the path of success with both stones and thorns. Failures will come to their door step but a bit of confidence and capability to squeeze knowledge from mistakes would open the next doors. Real entrepreneur is the one who turns his setbacks into opportunities. An owner of a Mohan brewery was once a junk-picker. What made him different from the other people of his own community or from all the other professionals? His hard work, management and the capability to withstand the failures made him a successful entrepreneur. According to me the enterprises like marriage planning, theme parties, floriculture, dairy industry, medicinal plants, vermi-composting, nursery, jewelry designing and latest concept of body art requires no formal education but a basic knowledge of the field.
This is not to discourage those people who have a business degree but to encourage those who can’t afford higher studies. Lack of education will never come in between your success but lack of entrepreneurship education will pull your legs. Entrepreneurship education means guidance and awareness about the schemes offered by the government. They should be guided about the ways to start a business and about the risks. It’s very important to convert every henna artist as Ash kumar and every florist as Rehan yar khan. Once this goal will be achieved India will be called as DEVELOPED country instead of developing.

SWATI RANA