Entrepreneurship courses have been gaining popularity over the last decade. Students are taking up entrepreneurship as a career course, learning from experts how to become entrepreneurs. I have always wondered whether entrepreneurship can be taught in the isolation of classrooms. Can the challenges that entrepreneurs face be woven into a classroom curriculum?

These courses, however, play an important role: changing a student’s mindset from that of a traditional job applicant to that of a job creator. The well-designed courses also expose the aspirant to the varied functional areas of businesses that a budding entrepreneur must be aware of. An entrepreneur also needs to be groomed in the softer aspects of running a business.

Entrepreneurs have no definite defined role, except for the drive toward business success. This translates into the fact that entrepreneurs have to deal with several self- and socially-induced psychological barriers, which makes it challenging for them to convert their entrepreneurial intentions into a reality. If an entrepreneur lacks the skills to deal with stress, she will avoid risky entrepreneurs, even those which can be managed.

Another aspect that we need to bear in mind is that the popularity of these courses has also increased owing to the fewer employment options available in recent times. This may hint at an organic lack of interest in entrepreneurship activities despite the popularity of such courses. They might be reluctant to dedicate their time and energy to the entrepreneurship programme. They could also lack the background and knowledge of entrepreneurship, which could slow the learning process even if they have high expectations from the course.

Lastly, and the most important part, is to set the expectations that these courses are expected to meet at the very start of the learning process for an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs could face new and unexpected hurdles every day, and they will have to cross these hurdles. The entrepreneur could have to make decisions in areas in which they have no prior knowledge. Any lack of motivation to acquire these new skills, potentially due to a low need for achievement, can be a major hindrance in the journey of an entrepreneur.

Grooming one's self is a lifelong exercise that any entrepreneur should be ready to commit to. However, we also need to bear in mind that not all learning is for execution in work life. Most entrepreneurs will have to elevate their level of awareness so that they can understand and appreciate those who execute and also make informed decisions when required.