INTRODUCTION Do you know that there are millions of unemployed youth in the country and by the time you

graduate, this number would have increased substantially? Do you want to be part of that group which keeps knocking from pillar to post, checking with employment exchanges, relatives, friends, and neighbours and still not able to get a job to their liking and then settle for a second or third rate job? You can also choose to be like Mr. Patel of Nirma who was a chemist's assistance and has a Rs. 2500 crore company today. Did you know that the original Mr. Bata was a cobbler? And now has stores in more than 30 countries all over the world. Or you could be like Dhiru bhai Ambani who started life as a clerk in a French company in Aden. He was not born into a business family nor did he possess an MBA degree and yet, he is a household name in India and gures in the Forbes list of the richest Asians. Lakshmi Mittal, the steel giant, Satbir Bhatia of Hotmail fame and Narayan Murthy of lnfosys are some other names in the endless list you could choose from. If your answer is yes then you can definitely opt for a career in entrepreneurship. And let us remind you that this career opportunity is not only for boys but also for girls - all those girls who think smart, are ready to act and script the story of their own life - like Shehnaz Hussain or Ritu Kumar or Kiran Majumdar Shaw.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS CAREER OPTION The vast majority of human beings direct their activities towards earning a living, generating wealth and improving their standard of living. You can choose your career from two broad categories of options - Wage Employment or Entrepreneurship. The term career signies a continuous, ever evolving, ever expanding opportunity for personal as well as business growth and development. We may define entrepreneurship as a career in your own business [YOB] rather than wage employment [|OB] .lf you opt for a job then you ill work for others. In case you opt for entrepreneurship you will be your own boss. In case of wage employment one is engaged in routine work can'ied on for others for which he receives salary or wages. He has to follow instructions and execute plans laid down by his superior. One can choose to be employed in Government Service or the Public Sector or the Private sector. Some of the main differences between entrepreneurship and wage employment career options are as under: Wage Entrepreneurship Work for Others Follow Instructions Routine job Earning is fixed Never negative generally surplus Does not create wealth Employment Own Boss Make own plans Creative activity Can be negative sometimes, Creates Wealth, contributes to GDP

Can choose fromCan choose fromGovemment service Industry Public Sector Trade or Private Sector Enterprise In the context of employment generation the three termsIncome generation, Selfemployment and Entrepreneurship are often used interchangeably.

Income generation is the initial stage in the entrepreneurial process in which one tries to generate surplus or prot. They are often taken on part- time or casual basis to supplement income e.g. a man with some surplus money might put his money in a fixed deposit account in a bank or a chit -fund to eam some interst. Self-employment is die second stage in the entrepreneurial process and refers to an individual's fulltime involvement in his own occupation. e.g. a person who starts a tea shop and remains happy and satised and has no plans ho add on any other items lilee samosas, buns, soft drinks etc. or to grow in any other manner[e.g. supplying bealcoffeelsandwiches ho others in the vicinity]. Entrepreneurship is the terminal stage of the entrepreneurial process wherein after setting up a venture one looks for diversication and growth. An entrepreneur is always in search of new challenge. An entrepreneur is not a routine businessman he might not have resources but he will have ideas. He is innovative and creative. I-le can convert a threat into an opportunity. Small businessmen might shutdown or change his businss if he anticipates losses but an entrepreneur will try again after analyzing the situation. On the other hand an entrepreneur can leave a perfectly running business ho start another venture if he so desires. Functionally all entrepreneurs are self-employed and income generating persons but the reverse is not tnre- all selfemployed and income generating persons are not entrepreneurs. If seen on a continuum, income generation, self-employment and entrepreneurship can be considered as the initial, middle and nal stages of the entrepreneurial growth process. Income generating experience encourages self-employment, which in tum facilitates graduating into entrepreneurship. ENTREPRENEUR An entrepreneur is a person who starts an enterprise. He searchs for change and responds to it. A number of definitions have been given of an entrepreneurThe economists view him as a fourth factor of production along with land labour and capital. The sociologists feel that certain communities and culture promote entrepreneurship like for example in India we say that Gujaratis and Sindhis are very enterprising. Still others feel that entrepreneurs are innovabors who come up with new ideas for products, markets or techniques. To put it very simply an entrepreneur is someone who

perceives opportunity, organizes resource needed for exploiting that opportunity and exploits It Computers, mobile phones, washing machines, ATMs, Credit Cards, Courier Service, and Ready to eat Foods are all examples of entrepreneurial ideas that got converted Into products or services.

Some denitions of an entrepreneur are listed below: Stems: from the French word 'entrependre meaning one who undertakes or one who is a go-between Richard Cantlllon: An entrepreneur is a person who pays a certain price for a product to resell it at an uncertain price, thereby making decisions about obtaining and using the resources while consequently admitting the risk of enterprise. J. B. Say: An enl:repreneur is an economic agent who unites all means of productlon- land of one, the labour of another and the capital of yet another and thus produces a product. By selling the product in the market he pays rent of land, wages to labour, interest on capital and what remains is his prot. He shifts economic resource out of an area of lower and into an area of higher productivity and greater yield. Schumpotor: According to him entrepreneurs are Innovators who use a process of shattering the status quo of the existing products and services, to set up new products, new services. David McClelland: An entrepreneur is a person with a high need for achievement [N-Ach]. He Is energetic and a moderate risk taker. Peter Drucker: An entrepreneur searches for change, responds to it and exploits opportunltis. Innovation is a specic tool of an entrepreneur hence an effective entrepreneur converts a source into a resource. Klllby: Emphasizes the role of an imitator entrepreneur who dos not innovate but imitates technologies innovated by others. Are very Important in developing economies. Albert Shapero: Entrepreneurs take initiative, accept risk of failure and have an internal locus of control. G. Plnchot: lntrapreneur is an entrepreneur within an already established organization.