Published on August 31, 2022

It’s never too early to be an entrepreneur. After all, it’s not like anybody made a rule that you couldn’t be successful before graduating from college.  Entrepreneurs relish a challenge, and few things are more challenging than juggling education and innovation.

Plenty of entrepreneurs start out at surprisingly young ages. Tech magnates such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates found success during their school years. Of course, unlike these two, there’s no guarantee of a rich family being your safety net. So you need to follow some core strategies to become a successful entrepreneur before finishing.

Why Should You Be a Student Entrepreneur?

Being a student is hard enough. Worrying about classes, paying off student loans, and juggling a social life means most students probably don’t even consider adding work on top of it. And yet, many students give it a try anyway. Why? Well, there are quite a few benefits to pursuing entrepreneurship during your early years.

Real World Experience

Entrepreneurship lets students have valuable experience that will help them later in the professional world. A lot of the stress of graduating comes from the culture shock of working. Starting early, in essence, dilutes the culture shock when you eventually graduate. That experience also looks great on your resume. After all, plenty of businesses value experience as much as they do degrees.

Head Start on Networking

Building connections with people now will help your ventures later. Once you’ve graduated, you now have the ability to give even more funding or focus on your projects in college. Not only that, you now have access to the relationships you’ve built over the years. It could even get you a job in a company with people you enjoy working with. Networking is essentially an investment in people, and starting early means you reap those investments once you graduate.

Extra Income

Paying off student loans is a pain, scholarship or not. A part-time project to earn money means you can pay off your debts much earlier than you would have otherwise. Simple as that. More money is also just a smart thing to do. It gets you ready for emergencies and of course, more funds to treat yourself with on special occasions. If you’re willing to put in the elbow grease, there’s really no downside to having more money.

Gives Purpose

Sometimes, it’s as simple as giving yourself a concrete goal.  Many students find themselves getting incredibly bored with their coursework. The lack of a goal past graduation affects their mentality. By venturing into entrepreneurship, students give themselves something productive to do besides the grind of student work. It may not be for everyone, but it’s certainly effective for those who do benefit from it.

Must-Have Tips for Entrepreneurship

These are the fundamentals of what you need to be a successful entrepreneur. You’re bound to learn more on your journey, but it’s important to prioritize these 5 tips to find stable success. 

Build a Safety Net

The absolute first thing you need to do is build yourself a safety net. It’s important to have an independent safety net in case of emergencies or sudden plan changes. Emergency funds, without most people’s knowledge, have saved millions of businesses throughout the years. It’s because people often underestimate how important safety nets are until the very moment they need them.

For example, you suddenly get into an accident that was completely unavoidable. With a safety net in place, your venture’s only loss will be however long it takes you to recover. You will not need to sell off any assets nor take away from the profit of your business. As a student, your safety net is simply a savings account and some small insurances. Ask your parents or a friendly adult to help you set these things up.

Network Whenever Appropriate

Opportunities may happen at any time. Still, a great way to raise your chances of finding one is through networking. Most people have a lot of anxiety about networking. Some think it unnecessarily makes every conversation “business”. That doesn’t have to be the case. Networking is simply building relationships with as many people as you choose.

This manifests itself differently for each entrepreneur. Some are comfortable with face-to-face meetings. Others do their networking through social media. Sometimes, it’s as simple as supporting a friend’s business by buying one of their products. The point to be remembered here is that you build good relationships with people. When the time comes that you need something, they’ll be much more open to accepting and giving favors.

Take Budgeting Seriously

It is essential to save money while in college. Whether it’s student loans or saving up capital, budgeting is the cornerstone of every aspect of your business. Money talks, and you can’t have money if you don’t budget properly. Some people assume that cutting out luxuries is all you need to budget properly. However, it’s a much more active aspect of the business than that. Pretty much everything you do affects the bottom line.

This doesn’t mean starving yourself, mind you. Staying happy is part of serious budgeting. What’s important is finding the balance between your own happiness and your venture’s success. It’s why luxuries are always the first to go.  These provide short-term happiness. Find hobbies that won’t break the bank. Cook your own food whenever you can. While you won’t be perfect all the time, what’s important is you stay on track.

Focus on a Niche

One of the failures of many businesses is being overambitious. They try to do too many things at once. Instead of giving their all towards one thing, they split their attention between several. This is why finding a niche is important. A niche significantly streamlines your plans and goals for the future. It’s also much easier to duel with other businesses when your attention is entirely on its success. It also allows you to build expertise that you wouldn’t get otherwise.

A primary focus is just a smart thing to do on all fronts. It’s more convenient, as it means you only have one thing to worry about. It’s more lucrative because you aren’t competing on several different fonts. People love going to a place where they know what they’ll get immediately. It also simplifies marketing’s messaging. A clear goal is best found when you focus on a niche, not when you throw darts at a wall until something sticks.

Never Stop Learning

No matter how successful (or not) you may get, it’s important to never stop learning. Always take note of how each transaction and venture goes. Learn from mistakes, and capitalize on successes. It doesn’t stop there. You should also try to set some time aside to learn outside of school. Simple things like reading books from successful entrepreneurs or attending workshops do wonders.

It might be cliche, but knowledge really is power. Knowledge is how you gain everything you need to be a successful entrepreneur. It gives your drive purpose. It gives you the information to spend profits wisely. When entrepreneurs stop learning, then they’ve already failed. Because learning never really stops, unless you choose to stop learning. 

Published on

First and foremost, I identify as a Virat Kohli fan.

What intrigued me the most about the Business of Sports 101 program, a BRE experience which promised to explore the intersections between sports and entrepreneurship, was the chance to learn what makes Virat Kohli’s brand so effective. Having been an avid fan of the Indian batsman since his pre-captaincy years, watching his brand arc from a mouthy, aggressive young cricketer to a fiery, disciplined captain has been nothing short of an odyssey. Hence, while sitting down for this program, I was extremely excited to understand what makes his brand work and resonate with fans in the world’s largest cricket-loving nation.

What is the Business of Sports 101 program?

The Business of Sports 101 program is a Big Red Education experience which brings together business and sport. Conducted by mentors from the team of Rajasthan Royals and Deakin University, the program throws light on the strings which keep the sports industry running smoothly; and over a period of two weeks, the course gives its participants the ins and outs of sports marketing, sports science, finance, management, and sports media while connecting them to the best athletes, managers, and administrators in the business.

Across the program, participants explored different fields of sport business from sport management, sport organization, marketing, broadcasting, sport development, sport science through sport coaching. Each day, industry experts from across the sport business spectrum led the discussions, lending their personal experiences and trade secrets to the young sport entrepreneurs. They explored these varied careers through academic discussions in which they taught the students the foundations of their field, and answered any questions they had. Bringing an international perspective to the table, these globally acclaimed mentors studied these fields through both an Indian and global perspective; making the discussions more accessible and useful for the students.

The mentors also did not shy away from rallying along with students’ choice of sports, players, and topics of interest and exploring their fields through those points of access — for instance, during the session on Sport Analytics and Athlete Performance, the mentor, Dr Dan Dwyer, explained the difficulties athletes face while training under high pressure situations like huge crowds by introducing the example of student performance in school events, and how stressful it almost always is to deliver your best when a huge group of people—in this case, your parents, teachers, and friends—are expecting so much from you. Similarly, Dr Dwyer emphasized, it can often be stressful for players too to train and perform under huge stressors like a tournament semi-final, a huge crowd of fans, etc. These kinds of relatable examples across the program significantly enhanced the sessions’ impact, and left positive, long lasting impressions.

The students were also given the opportunity across the sessions to spend time with each other in groups and work through adjacent problem questions. Across the program, students ideated about varied issues, and designed possible solutions. As a part of the session on Sport Organization, conducted by Dr Steve Swanson and Pamm Phillips, they pooled their ideas to build an optimal sport organizational model which could be implemented in India. Different groups chose different sports, and tried to unknot logistical issues like cities, players, stakeholders, etc. Similarly, as a part of the session on Sport Marketing, conducted by Zameer Kochar, the Chief Marketing Officer at Rajasthan Royals, students were encouraged to ideate about different social media campaigns the Rajasthan Royals team can possibly execute to improve its brand.

Besides potential sports entrepreneurs, the mentors also interacted with the students like fans. They offered them both exciting sneak peeks into the behind-the-scenes of their favorite teams and players, and a better understanding of the role fans play in building and maintaining sports brands. Different mentors explored the fans’ positions from different perspectives like sport marketing, sport coaching, etc.; such that by the end of the program, students had a comprehensive idea of the importance of sport fans. By treating students as fans, the mentors were also able to more effectively build a bridge with them and bond over the primary reason why we were all present there – our passion for sports.

21st Century Skills: Colleges, Internships, & more!

By the end of the program, students felt capable of dipping their toes into the sport business industry through different avenues like university courses and internships. A Grade 9 student from Oberoi International School (OGC Campus), Daivik Mathur, said, “Big Red Education’s workshop provided me insight on the different requirements, skills, and strategies required to excel in the field of sport management.” 

Another young student, Diya Piramal, currently studying in Grade 11 at Dhirubhai Ambani International School attested, “The Business of Sports 101 course was extremely informative, enjoyable and interesting. The sessions were held by various field professionals who were able to guide us through their own experiences.” Students across the board found the Business of Sports 101 program to be an extremely exciting and useful stepping stone in their educational and professional journeys for the first-hand sports business experience they were offered and the exclusive networks to which they have now been granted access. 

At the end of these two fruitful weeks, the participants smoothly transitioned into working on their promised live projects with the Rajasthan Royals team. All the students were divided into three (3) groups; each group working on a different problem statement: 

1. How can Rajasthan Royals increase its merchandise revenue?
2. How can we increase Rajasthan Royals app usage during the off-season?
3. How can we create a new anthem for Rajasthan Royals which resonated with our players, Fan base and the state of Rajasthan?

It is an extremely exciting opportunity for anyone to work on live projects with the team of the IPL giant Rajasthan Royals; but especially for sports enthusiasts like these young students, it is truly one of the most exciting moments of their lives. Over the period of these projects, students have soaked up immeasurable knowledge and future-ready skills from industry experts. The sheer impact of this opportunity on their professional futures cannot be overstated. 

Big Red Education’s Business of Sports 101 program effectively introduced students to the range of careers they can choose to pursue in the sports industry, and also offered them tips on the different resources they can utilize to carve their paths. With sessions from varied mentors and frequent guest lectures from university students themselves, currently studying Sport Business at Deakin University, the BOS 101 program provided its participants with a gamut of knowledge about the sports industry.

Virat Kohli, and my love for Sports

As for me, I sat down into this program with one question: What makes Virat Kohli’s brand successful? After these two, too short weeks, I am pleased to write that I can now at least attempt to answer this question. What makes Kohli’s brand so successful is an unimaginably grand plethora of notions and intersections like his image of the aggressive boy from Delhi who wears his heart on his sleeve, to his emphasis on fitness and discipline, to his bonding and mutual respectful relationships with international giants like AB de Villiers, to his meteoric rise from a young Sachin Tendulkar fan to a peer of the Man himself, to — many, many more factors. But, beyond all the strings that need to be pulled to showcase Captain Kohli, the inaccessible celebrity as Virat, the accessible young cricketer who fans adore; what primarily and foundationally matters and counts is performance. 

Beyond everything that all the young sport entrepreneurs learned at this program, what they principally understood was that player performance is paramount — everything else is secondary. Besides a chest full of trade secrets and sport stories then, what these students took away is this: a better understanding of the importance of perseverance and hard work, and a rejuvenated love for sports.

Published on August 1, 2022

By: Ananya Manchanda
Lotus Valley International School, Noida

Three apples changed the world. One that Steve Jobs built, one that Adam ate, and finally, one that fell on Newton’s head. All created enormous and rather ‘revolutionary’ impacts.  

Just like them, Ever since 10th grade, I was firm that through my entrepreneurial skills, I wanted to make an impact. But How? First step: ideate. As straightforward as it seemed, it wouldn’t be all wrong to picture me as some struggling, starving artist lounging in their bedroom, desperate for solutions. I needed a start for the successful business journey that I’d ambitiously pictured in my head. It was then that I discovered the IVY Early Entrepreneur Program. 

7 days, 10 teams, and 1 final pitch! To define it in three simple words: It’s worth it! Usually, summer programs and workshops focus on presentations and theoretical learnings, but IVY EE mentors concentrate on practical application. These seven days were a trip to real-life markets. From generic market research to designing actual prototypes, this program acted as a great power booster. The most challenging part of entrepreneurship [Ideation] was covered through fun activities. Kriti ma’am and Rishi sir helped me understand the thinking process in less than two hours. Mentors’ stubborn persuasion and vision of life and society reassembled mine. This again helped me to gain confidence. Learning from their experiences and inspirational stories pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me how the real world works. Not every day does one get to speak to MIT board members, true scholars, qualified business coaches, or founders/CEOs of such vast and successful organizations worldwide. These mentors set great examples of how it takes resolution, responsibility, and desire to succeed. 

My team had to provide feasible solutions for budget-friendly travels. Humor me when I reveal this, but initially, we were worried about figuring out the fundamental problem when innumerable solutions pre-existed in the marketplace. However, through step-by-step training, we overcame one obstacle after another. From research about our field and services to brainstorming the funding for our startup to creating a whole new brand, it was delightful. I learned about finance and marketing and how to work in a team, respecting and following various theories and methods that each member had. Opposite to what I’d expected, we had dozens of fragmented ideas by day 4. Finally, during office hours, Kriti ma’am helped us incorporate our several incomplete ideas into one concluding solution for the final project day.

Ivy EE didn’t only tickle my imagination but also stimulated critical thinking and intellectual curiosity. One saying by Rishi sir that I’m always going to cherish is that “No idea is a vague idea.” This program taught me how one random thought could prove to be revolutionary. So, without further delay, this earlier struggling artist is now starting her journey with 10 new ideas, incredible experiences, great new motivation, and optimistic thinking. 

Published on July 28, 2022

Introduction

The notion of leadership has been extensively analyzed and examined, but a comprehensive way to define leadership skills has remained elusive. For me, leadership skills are oxymoronic as leaders have qualities while managers have the skills. Managers use their skills to direct the employees to a particular task, while leadership is a quality possessed by leaders for employees to get guidance for their work. There is no one leader in a firm, but obviously, there is a specific manager for a department in a firm. That’s where the distinct boundary line is penned. 

Everyone hunts for a leader over any other profession in today’s generation. This is because a leader is someone who attracts people to work, can complete a certain task without being bossy or overpowering the others, and have an approachable and inspiring personality, which people look upto. A leader is anyone who guides you to the right path and provides you with constant guidance to achieve what you aspire to. 

Fundamentals of Leadership!

What are the fundamentals of leadership? Well, it is exceptionally subjective to how one perceives leadership; however, by the thesaurus or something that I believe means leadership, it is communication, self-awareness, empowerment, adaptability and teamwork. To reiterate, a leader is someone who binds different people and groups to work collaboratively, for which one needs to understand the importance of working in a team and adapt to differences in culture etc.

1. Communication

To begin with, communication is essential as a leader is a person who guides everyone. If a message isn’t clear, the word that is spread across will lose meaning and impact the organization’s work culture. 

Moreover, being a leader means taking responsibility for not only yourself but the other team members in the organization. This is denotative of proper communication and information sharing between you and your employee so that customers are satisfied with the positive service. It is the most powerful suite of a leader, as good communication gains trust, aligns efforts in pursuing goals, and inspires positive change.

2. Self-awareness and empowerment

Secondly, self-awareness and empowerment are vital fundamentals of leadership. For being able to communicate effectively and the correct information, it is imperative to be aware of the information in depth so that it is easier to help the employee understand what you expect out of them.

Leadership requires people to bring incremental changes in the organization by motivating and empowering other employees to work towards a common goal, to achieve it faster and in quality. 

3. Teamwork and adaptability

Similarly, adaptability and teamwork are important factors that act as the base for a good leader possessing leadership qualities. If you can’t adapt to the culture in your organization, you are unlikely to understand how people believe in something, which leads to a conflict of interest amongst people. To be able to listen and adapt is what aligns the thoughts between two individuals. 

Furthermore, lone work leads to decremental productivity and lacking new ideas affecting the quality of work. One has to work in a team to achieve the best of their potential. For a team to work together, it is necessary to bind the team to work together and hear each member to move forward. The need to respect every individual and keep everyone satisfied is the responsibility of a leader who needs to possess the skills to make the team collaborate and work together. 

These are the fundamentals of leadership which I believe lay the foundation of the organization as a whole. 

The RUDIMENTS of a Good Leader!

What constitutes a good leader? Well, I question that myself. Is it specific skill sets or criteria that make you a good leader? Some leaderships have been characterized as good and used as challenges for others to emulate. This description, however, raises an obvious question: upon what criteria were these leaders described as good? These are the possible questions one often encounters when reading about good leadership. But indeed, there are possible characteristics necessary to be a good leader. The abbreviated term ‘RUDIMENTS’ stands for a leader’s characteristics.

• Reliable; reachable: A person can only lead a team if their focus is relevant and seeks liable solutions. The individual soul should be reliable in assigning work, providing information and being punctual, without which decisions are affected and become inconsistent. Ask yourself if you want to reach out to those you help, to address any problems, solutions, etc.
• Unique: While reliable and reachable, it is necessary to be exceptional simultaneously. If you are another individual from the herd, what is unique about you that makes you a leader? You can’t be a leader if your skill sets match the other 20 people in your classroom. Unique styles, qualifications and ways of working call out for a leader. 
• Delve deeply into the problem: As a leader, it is of utmost importance to delve into the situation more profound for viable solutions. It’s essential to go well beyond the mere surface issues! Instead, a basic rule of leading should be to delve deeply consistently so you are prepared and able to make well-considered decisions!
• Imaginative ideas: Creativity is critical for a leader. Question yourself: How will you assure you possess the quality imagination to propel your organization forward? How will you consistently evaluate your ideas’ quality and implement them?
• Motivate: A leader motivates not just himself but his team, not through his motivational speeches or words but one’s actions. You must set an example if you want the others in your organization to work. 
• Empathize: Being a leader means being empathetic toward other fellow employees. To set an example, you must be a good listener who understands people’s values and beliefs. 
• Needs: True leadership must focus on and address the needs, concerns and priorities of those you serve and represent!
• Timely; trends: Understand, recognize and determine which trends might be relevant and enhance the sustainability and potential of your group! Never resort to procrastination; instead, constantly proceed forward, make well-considered, timely decisions, and take meaningful action.
• Strengthen; a sustainable system: One never becomes a natural leader if his efforts and attention do not consistently strengthen his organization! The goal must be to address current needs and challenges but focus on the best, the sustainable system you will perceive and conceive of, create, develop and implement!

Use RUDIMENTS to understand the rudiments of a leader to become one yourself. These basic principles are the foundation of possessing successful leadership skills

The ten golden rules for leadership!

While it is essential to set the foundation for a successful leader, it is also beneficial to understand the golden rules for leadership, which make it easier to succeed in life and achieve success. The ten golden rules of leadership include:

1. Know yourself: it is essential to understand yourself before understanding others. Learning your strengths and weaknesses can help you approach information gathering more tactfully. Self-awareness is a prerequisite for effective leadership.
2. The place you work at shows you as a person: Assuming power exposes the leader’s innermost thoughts and feelings. Can leaders effectively use their control if they have gone through a simple self-discovery process?
3. Nurture community in your space: Many virtues can be fostered through the right kind of support, guidance, and incentives from leaders.
4. Do not waste energy on things you cannot change: Be careful about wasting your time and resources attempting to change or influence things you can’t control.
5. Always embrace the truth: Effective leaders should always assume the truth, encourage candid criticism throughout the organization, be skeptical of positive appraisals, and never let authority place a wedge between them and the facts.
6. Let competition reveal talent: Nurture an environment that can use the forces of competition constructively, create a platform that releases the ingenuity and creativity of your employees in pursuing corporate goals and objectives, identify subordinates who use competition as a constructive force, steer away from subordinates who use competition as a destructive force.
7. Live life by a higher code: Dedicate yourself to a higher standard of personal conduct; don’t harbor ill-will toward those who offend; be ready to assist those who are in need without asking something in return; remain calm in the face of crisis; dedicate yourself to principle without compromise; earn the trust, respect, and admiration of your subordinates through your character, not the authority conferred upon you by the corporate chart; turn authority into power.
8. Constantly evaluate information with a critical eye: Don’t rely upon old premises, assertions, and theories. Develop a necessary mindset that accepts nothing at face value, certifies the credibility and usefulness of critical information, analyzes the context that produces vital information and the messengers who convey it, and never rushes to judgments.
9. Never underestimate the power of personal integrity: Personal integrity is a critical asset for authentic leadership. Always set an honorable agenda, adhere to a code of professional conduct, never try to justify dishonesty and deceit, rather “fail with honor than win by cheating.”
10. Character is destiny: True leadership is ultimately traceable to factors of character and personal integrity; much of what is called “destiny” lies in our hands, not in mysterious forces beyond our control.

These are the ten golden leadership rules that could help one become a successful leader if followed. These character-building tips are the most important thing as a leader. Leadership is a skill, an opportunity, that can be improvised upon by practice rather than theory. 

LEADERSHIP AS AN OPPORTUNITY

I believe that leadership is an opportunity. If one understands and unleashes the crux of it, they are meant to become successful leaders. However, if you cannot avail this opportunity, you are doomed. Some of the basic options that leaders get are:

1. The opportunity to help others 

Who all do you think a leader can help? Probably their team members, organization, and even customers. If you are a good leader, you can help your team members be more encouraged and work more effectively, which will help improve the organization’s workflow. 

You may have noticed that when a pebble is thrown in the pond, it creates concentric circles that keep expanding and enlarging as they ripple from their original point of contact. Similarly, a leader is like a pebble thrown in the pond, whose influence and impact keep enlarging as the organization grows.

2. The opportunity to expand their influence

It is a commonly said fact that good leaders often lead by example. The sentiment behind the sentence is correct, but it is incomplete. Every leader leads by example. A leader just needs to realize if they are setting the correct example that they want people to follow.

When you start to feel people are influenced by your behavior, body language, words etc., you feel satisfied as you set a positive influence in the work environment, which is necessary for a good workflow. 

3. The opportunity to bring changes to the world

Leaders set missions, visions and objectives to achieve their goals. If these outcomes are realistic and valuable, a leader has the opportunity to change the world for the better. No one can make a change without anyone initiating and leading from the front. 

You have the opportunity to be that person. Buckle up your shoes to start this journey. There is no age to become a leader. Get your hands on possessing leadership skills to become a leader! It is never too late to bring a change, be it in yourself or the world.

Conclusion

To conclude, leadership is a blend of art and science. Some leaders are born / pre-equipped better than others (nature), but intelligent training and development (nurture) can enhance virtually anyone’s leadership capability. Theories and models are used only to underpin “practice” in leadership and tangible world outcomes. 

Leadership has become essential in everything, be it college applications. Colleges look for students with excellent leadership skills in their schools. In college applications, you can demonstrate leadership in many ways other than just being a council member or becoming a founder of a newsletter, club, team etc. It can even be done through volunteering or community activism experiences. Doing this shows you as a leader and enhances your application, and makes it more holistic rather than confining it to academic achievements only. And these are the correct ways to improve your leadership skill. As mentioned above, leadership skills can only be developed by practicing them. If you take full advantage of the opportunities provided in school, you can excel quicker than your herd and gain a competitive edge over others. 

Lastly, it’s best to be you but also inherit these skills to reach greater heights. Every leader that exhibits leadership qualities is said to become much more successful than the rest! Look ahead and don’t be a part of the herd because you are born to stand out!