One of our Young Entrepreneur forum members, usakos, asked what motivates entrepreneurs in a recent forum post. It is an interesting question to ask because being an entrepreneur is one of the most challenging and demanding careers out there.

Especially at the start of your business you never have enough resources, you have to face ongoing rejection from potential clients, investors, and partners, and you are constantly wondering if your idea will work out in the end or not.

If you ask a successful entrepreneur or read the stories of famous business owners, they will often say that they started their business because they were passionate about it, not because they were in it for the money. Do it for the right reasons and the money will follow, they say.

According to Rediff, the main motivations for Indian entrepreneurs are:

Rewards of entrepreneurship
Autonomy 57%
Making money/financial independence 43%
Saw business opportunity/impact on industry 27%
Recognition of self and/or organisation 23%
Desire to create something new/innovate 20%
Build something important/make a difference 17%
Grow a business from scratch 17%
Desire to be entrepreneur/excitement of entrepreneurship 3%

Personal qualities
Intellectual challenge/achieve potential 27%
Instinct 10%
Others 10%
Career
Career growth/diversification/satisfaction 13%
Others 3%
Experience
Utilise previous experience 6%
Had technology/industry vision 3%

Non-monetary factors
Help India in various ways 23%
Non-monetary success/personal satisfaction 7%
Create value/jobs/wealth in society 3%

If you are not motivated by something that you truly feel passionate about it will be hard to face the grueling days and work through the startup phase to build your company into a success.

What motivated you to start your business?

Evan Carmichael

Evan Carmichael
YoungEntrepreneur.com Blog Manager

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