Shared By: Ryan Noo, Singapore Management University, Year 3
Two years ago when I first entered university, I was eager to do well in school to secure a good job. I found out about various job functions/career paths and like most others I was hoping to join a prestigious multinational company and climb up the corporate ladder. I spent a lot of effort and time thinking about what kind of job function I really want to do. Is it going to be marketing? Finance? Accounting? Operations? HR? Each time I decide on a certain function, another would seem more attractive. It was an endless cycle of switching around the functions and I could never settle on one.
Last summer holiday, I interned for an F&B start-up company. I figured a start-up company would be a great place as interns do real work and I could expose myself to different job functions. True enough, I got to experience different job functions through little tasks and projects for the start-up company. More importantly, I was exposed to the concept of entrepreneurship which was never really covered in my business school. Entrepreneurship struck me like none of the other job functions. I fell in love with it. I began to read up about entrepreneurship, talk to people, attend events and actively look for like-minded people to start something of our own. I like entrepreneurship for it means working and building something that I truly believe in. I know I would enjoy the challenge of building something from scratch, the excitement from endless possibility and boundless potential, the novelty of doing something new, the satisfaction of calling something your own and of course the tangible and intangible rewards that follow a successful start-up. I do not know if it is the challenging nature of the work or the freedom of working for myself that truly attracts me. But nonetheless, I know I have found what I really want to do and am excited about my future. Have you found yours?
Like most people, I initially believe that we should all work for a few years, accumulate that experience and capital before setting up a business. But I think that is just a common misconception. There is no better way to gain useful experience about setting up a business than to actually give a go at it. Yes, capital may be a problem for most of us but there are many different ways of financing a business without needing a substantial fund. In fact, the most important resources you need are probably time and commitment. So then what better time to do it than now while we still have freedom from financial and family responsibilities.
As I actively seek to build a business of my own, I would be documenting my journey on a blog and sharing my experience with everyone. It could be related to business, a specific industry, or just any basic life lesson that I learn from my journey. I welcome everyone and anyone to be part of this journey with me.
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