A step back

2022 was the year of recovery for many people; with covid taking an exit (not a complete one yet), many businesses started thriving on the hybrid patterns adopted by people in their daily lives and many trends were seen in the year. While all of this happened, there were still some struggles globally attributed to peace conflicts and sluggish inflation. Overall the year was a significant boost and saw ever-rising trends in entrepreneurship. While the crypto market plunged from its all-time high, tv shows like Shark Tank India publicized the entrepreneurial movement in the country, and start-ups have enhanced to be the marrow of the Indian economy. 

Not only in tier-1 cities but entrepreneurs are also seen rising from the smallest of cities, completely bootstrapping booking profits using domains like Data, AI, Mobility etc. Being your boss has been fanatic for a lot of these founders, and they have been thriving on innovation and technology. Data has been more important than ever and is used as an asset for businesses to understand consumer behavior and map geographies. And with the introduction of Metaverse and Web3, entrepreneurs have focused prominently on the growth and scalability of their business models. 

Considering the previous year’s development, entrepreneurs are preparing for 2023 and have made various resolutions to excel in the year. Here are a few key takeaways for success in any entrepreneurial venture for fledgling entrepreneurs to remember as they navigate the business world in 2023:

Inclusive Solutions

India is witnessing a changing landscape in various verticals, such as MSMEs, Finance, Pharmaceuticals and many more. Seeing the share of rural demographics vs. the urban population, the government and startups have prioritized measures to make goods and services accessible to as many people as possible, providing them with the infrastructure and making processes convenient and more accessible for them to understand. Pondering inclusivity, entrepreneurs this year shouldn’t miss the opportunity sown by the Indian government towards self-sufficiency and financial inclusion. This also calls for alternative data’s role in increasing inclusivity, which allows businesses to profile these untapped markets and better understand their customers. 

Social Responsibility

There is no point in making resolutions when the earth you are growing on ceases to exist. Environmental philanthropists and young activists have highlighted the impact of climate change multiple times, and even factors like ESG have incorporated social governance into modern-day businesses. Environmental, Social and Governance principles are not just fancy terms but key parameters in conscious investing circles. Environment concerns impacted the growth of Ethereum, as it was posing a risk with its environment-haphazard mining process, and newer ventures like Solana were witnessed that solved the problem with a more socially responsible solution. Since growth, flexibility and adaptability have been the fundamental role players, social entrepreneurs have grown their businesses in local and global communities through social responsibility. 

Financial Safety Net

Fear is a powerful force and a rational motivator. Pioneers in the industry, noting the sluggish inflation, have predicted a possible economic downturn in the upcoming year, yet the magnitude is still a hit or miss. All of this isn’t intuition driven; entrepreneurs need to be data-driven in understanding the impact and building the safety net. Someone’s business might or might not perform well, but an individual needs to count the chickens and know what to do with the eggs that don’t hatch. Taking the worst-case scenario of, let’s say, spending years without business, financial planning should be on every entrepreneur’s plate. Keeping out of debt, using data to predict trends and opportunities, and many more measures are sought to be taken. 

Digitization and Personal Branding

Being present in the market and people needing to know you concern many entrepreneurs nowadays. Today, one can’t think of Tesla and Twitter without Elon Musk’s face floating in their heads. His brand as a person influenced a lot of markets, from the crypto plunge to tackling social dilemmas with one of the world’s largest social media platforms. The third generation of the internet, i.e., Web3, is a community-based space where new people are getting famous and bringing change even being remotely connected. The success of a lot of startups has been attributed to their face of value, i.e., the founder who built a business out of their innovative idea. 

A step forward

2023 is expected to be a year keeping business owners and entrepreneurs on a fence, making them make some pivoting decisions amid all the challenges that are in store for them, such as sluggish inflation, bubble valuations, unrealistic expectations and fierce competition. 

Though there are a lot of mantras we come across every day, this entrepreneurial trend keeps rising with every new trend or disruption in the industries. But broader learning from all of this, for an entrepreneur, boils down to individual behavior, of how they interact, build and deploy their idea and how much they are growing each and every day. Becoming a better version of yourself every next day is crucial. Still, it is also essential to understand that taking a step back, reinventing yourself and growing faster after a period of time completes you as a leader leading innovation, change and mindset.