i2I'08 winner Jaya Jha writes - Rambling of an Entrepreneur

Why do I write about entrepreneurship?
I am a first time entrepreneur. I have just started off. I am not a success story yet. Does it make sense for me to write about Entrepreneurship? Why do I even attempt to write? Who is going to benefit from my writings? Wouldn’t they be better off reading some successful entrepreneurs instead?

There is a reason I write. Success is not what drives people away from entrepreneurship, right? It is the fear of failure at the end. And this potential failure creates an uncertainty while you are an entrepreneur - not yet a success, not yet a failure. That uncertainty is the killing factor. So, my hope is that it would be relief for people to know that it is not too bad. The uncertainties, the fear of failure are all there. The fact is that you may fail with a high probability (give the statistics of start-up successes). Despite all of this, it is a fabulous experience to be an entrepreneur. If it came from a successful entrepreneur, after he/she has been a success, it may not sound that convincing. Past always looks sweet, especially if it has led to good things. But coming from a first time entrepreneur herself going through those uncertainties, I think it is a bit more convincing. That’s why I write.

Being an Entrepreneur - Leaving the luxuries
Here is what I had written in my blog after I had taken a trip to Delhi for my start-up work.
Gurgaon-Delhi metro is badly wanted. It is not funny that the only thing people rely on for the commute between Delhi and Gurgaon are Call Center Cabs. Uniform fare of Rs. 10, doesn’t matter where you are going - so long as it is on their route. Now, they aren’t supposed to be doing that. But there is a reason black-markets exist. It’s not always about lower prices. It’s about the availability itself - at any reasonable price.
Silly! It’s not the first time I have been to Delhi/Gurgaon and shuttled between them. But this time I was not on with corporate luxury. Travelling from Google meant this - get out of the airport, get into an air conditioned car. Get into an air conditioned, five-star hotel. If you have to go somewhere, there is the same air conditioned car at your disposal. Almost any places visited were air conditioned too. So, it was not unusual for me to not even realize what the weather was like in the city I travelled to. Now, obviously, many aspiring entrepreneurs would be curious to know as to how it felt to do without the luxuries. I won’t be a hypocrite and say it was all fun. No, it wasn’t all fun. Having a car at your disposal is certainly so much more convenient. But it isn’t too bad either. And that’s the point. It might have been a little more difficult in a place where I had language problems. But in Delhi/Gurgaon, with the good old principle of asking around, I managed fine with autos, buses and yeah - call centre cabs. Couple of things helped. One was that I hadn’t been in corporate world for so long that I had forgotten the old ways. And the second was the realization that I didn’t have to do it. I am not broke, not yet I can, personally, still afford to hire an air-conditioned car. It just didn’t make sense.
It isn’t that bad! And there are ways to survive and be happy.

Being an entrepreneur – Dealing with the system
Life changes as an entrepreneur. Getting a business card is no longer just a matter of writing an e-mail to an admin staff. Ensuring that everything is legally done is no longer just a call to the company lawyer. Suddenly all of these have prices attached to them and you are wondering if you are not overpaying the CA, the CS and the lawyers. And although things have certainly changed from pre-90s, they are still not easy for small guys. Payment Gateways may refuse to give you merchant accounts for all sorts of silly reasons.
And yet, there is a way to deal with it. Celebrate small successes (finding a lower price for printing business cards? First 100 visits to your site?), things which would have meant nothing in your corporate life and be happy!
When is the right time?
Right after the college? After a couple of years of industry experience? After a decade of industry experience?
The answer is a clichéd one. Whatever works for you! I can tell you what worked for me. I started off after couple of years of experience.
What I didn’t possess two years ago, fresh out of college were these
• Any savings to sustain myself for even few months. It is important to have some safety net that if revenues are delayed, if things just do not go as they should, or even just for that planned settling down period, you will have something to sustain yourself. VC money is not something one should rely upon to help business take off.
• The real experience of dealing with the professional world out there. Many people may be smarter than me, but I felt that those months in corporate life were important for me. I matured as a professional and it’s a big help as an entrepreneur
What could be the hindrances ten years down the line?
• The lifestyle will be substantially more expensive. It would not be possible to go back to living the way we used to do as a student. Going back to buses and autos would be much more difficult than it is today. That means even if there are lots of savings, they may not be enough to last for long.
• Uncertainty is my life won’t be just my own. There would be family and kids and their education and aspirations.
But there are people in both these categories, who have done well. So, ultimately it boils down to what works for you!

About the writer: Jaya Jha is the Co-Founder of Pothi.com, a company that provides tools and marketplace for self-published books. An IIT Kanpur and IIM Lucknow graduate, she was a Product Manager with Google India prior to starting Pothi.com. Her hobbies include reading, writing and traveling. She blogs at http://jayajha.wordpress.com/