Employability Skills III: Entrepreneurship and society

Hello students, welcome to Kwickprep. A woman starts making pickles in her kitchen. Five years later, twenty women in her village work with her. Is she only earning money, or is she changing her society? Today we will learn what entrepreneurship is and how it helps society.

First, four terms. An entrepreneur is a person who starts a new business by spotting an opportunity and taking a risk. An enterprise is the business that the entrepreneur creates. Entrepreneurship is the whole process of starting and running that business. An opportunity is a need in the market that is not yet met.

Entrepreneurship follows a process. First, the entrepreneur spots a problem or a need. Next, they think of an idea to solve it. Then they gather money, people and materials, which are called resources. After that, they start the business and sell to customers. Finally, they learn from feedback and grow the business.

Why does society need entrepreneurs? Society means all the people living together in a community or a country. Entrepreneurs meet the needs of these people with products and services. They create jobs, so families earn an income. And their taxes help the government build roads, schools and hospitals.

Let us look at the benefits one by one. They create employment, like a small bakery hiring five local people. They start new products, like UPI apps for easy payments. They develop backward areas when they open units in villages and small towns. They increase exports, like a Tiruppur garment unit selling abroad. And they raise the standard of living, because people get better goods at fair prices.

Entrepreneurs also build the economy. The economy means how a country produces, sells and earns. When a new business starts, it buys raw materials from other businesses. It pays salaries, and workers spend that money in local shops. So one new enterprise helps many other businesses grow.

Some entrepreneurs start a business mainly to solve a social problem. They are called social entrepreneurs. Amul began as a milk cooperative that gave fair prices to dairy farmers in Gujarat. Lijjat Papad was started in 1959 by seven women in Mumbai, and it now gives work to thousands of women. Selco brings solar power to homes that have no reliable electricity.

Time to pause and predict. A student in a small town starts a tiffin service for office workers and hires three cooks. Name two ways her business helps society. First, it creates jobs for the three cooks. Second, it meets a real need, giving office workers fresh home-style food.

The relationship works both ways, because society also supports entrepreneurs. Society gives them customers who buy their products. It gives them workers and raw materials. The government gives schemes and loans, like Startup India and the Mudra loan scheme.

Because society helps them, entrepreneurs have duties towards it. They should sell safe, good quality products at fair prices. They should pay fair wages and treat workers well. They should protect the environment by reducing waste and pollution. They should pay taxes honestly.

Now let us return to our pickle maker. She spotted a need for homemade pickles and took a risk. Her enterprise gave jobs and income to twenty village women. So yes, one idea really can change a town.

Let us revise what we learned today. An entrepreneur spots a need, takes a risk and creates an enterprise. Entrepreneurs create jobs, new products and exports. They help villages and small towns grow. Society supports them with customers, workers and government schemes. In return, they must act responsibly towards people and the environment.