Just as startups are starting to pick up speed to become the next biggest industry segment, there are many individuals who are joining the pool of entrepreneurs. It is an exciting space to be in and there is a rise in entrepreneurship online certification courses as well to upskill oneself. In the middle of this new business revolution, let us get an idea of the myths that have arisen about entrepreneurship. Everyone who enters this area, does it with a sense of expectation and preconceived notions. Being aware of those notions and the extent to which they are true, is important.

1. You need to be a certain kind of person – This is one of the biggest myths. It is true that being an entrepreneur is not everyone’s cup of tea. But anyone can become an entrepreneur if they are ready to work hard. Some have the attributes while others have the commitment or ability to work hard at it. So there is no specific personality type that an entrepreneur has to have.
2. You need a unique idea – That is again a myth. Existing ideas can be revisited and repositioned to create a successful venture. Ideas that have been explored before can also make a business venture successful. So it need not be a unique idea.
3. You need a lot of money to start off – One needs some funds to start with not a whole lot of money, unless the business venture’s initial scale is expected to be huge. So typically, to be an entrepreneur, you do not need a whole lot of money to start off with. You might need it to sustain the venture.
4. There is no work-life balance – Entrepreneurs do have time for maintaining this balance. Yes, it is likely that in some phases this balance seems a bit off track because the individual is doing everything at the same time. But that is just a phase, just as it might be in a regular corporate role.
5. There is a lot of flexibility – You are your own master and can manage your time so flexibly! Yes, how many times has an entrepreneur heard this? Any business that needs to be run, needs some level of planning and organizing? It runs based on a routine or prioritization of tasks. Just like any other business. So the entrepreneur does not actually have a lot of flexibility to manage things the way they want.
6. Every entrepreneur is looking for VC funding – Not true. Some of them are, while others are not. VC funding is not just about getting the financing done. It is also about sharing a part of your organization with those who are funding it. This does not work for all entrepreneurs.
7. It means taking a lot of risks – Businesses are risky ventures as is. That has nothing to do with an entrepreneur taking risks or not. So entrepreneurship is as risky as any other business, which will apply to corporate organizations too.
8. You will not break even for the first few years – This could be true for some ventures. It is not true for all. There are some businesses, depending on scale of operations, that do break even fairly soon.

These are a few myths surrounding this area of work. We must realize that each of these are myths and do not apply as a blanket approach to entrepreneurship as a whole.