The Sunday Mail
Entrepreneurship Matters
Dr Kudzanai Vere
Almost everyone is thinking of starting their own business. That’s a very good idea. Wanting to be your own boss. Becoming a director of your own enterprise.
Ask those who are already in business, they started, progressed, sustained and succeeded differently. Not everyone who starts a business will be able to sustain it, some will fail and fall along the way but in your journey, you should be different.
Factors that drive people into entrepreneurship are different. Some are driven by the passion in that particular, others by the experience they would have gathered from employment while the majority is driven by economic environment.
Start it formally
Start it formally. It pays to operate a registered company. Have your Certificate of Incorporation, memorandum and articles of association, Cr5 and CR6 formally Cr14 and tax Clearance certificate ready. If you intend to deal with the government as your customer, have your Praz Certificate and vendor number registration sorted.
You wouldn’t want to miss business opportunities simply due to lack of company documents. There are those who choose to start and get the documents along the way. I personally suffered a very big blow on that.
Have a mental upgrade
Have a mental upgrade. Unlike employment where you look up to the employer for salary, stocks, strategic direction and advice, you are now all that is. Shift from a dependency to an independent mindset.
If your business is to succeed, it’s all upon your drive. Once you convince yourself that you can do it, waste no time. Get up and start your own enterprise. If you fail to upgrade self in business, you will eventually be left behind and become outdated.
Put your business on paper first (Plan)
Your business must see the beauty of ink and paper. Come up with a detailed business plan before putting any money in something that doesn’t have a shape or form. Have a clear picture of what you want to do and how you will do it.
Your plan spells out the anatomy of your business and major areas of focus. Planning is crucial in business for you can visualize certain shortfalls within your system before they manifest.
Go beyond planning to execution
Be careful not to take forever on the planning stage of it. Action out the plan. I haven’t seen anyone running a business on paper or living on a house plan. Convert the plan into a meaningful enterprise by execution. Don’t be too academic in business. Business is all about doing things obviously after having ascertained the amount of risk involved against your risk appetite.
Maximise on your endowments
Utilise your endowments. Everyone has their own unique competitive advantage. You’re an accountant, carpenter, lawyer, teacher, singer, footballer, speaker, writer, engineer, etc start from there. Start your business around your area of expertise and experience. Start from where you are with what you have.
There are those who have vast land, pools of water and other resources at their disposal and yet they cry about lack of capital. Isn’t all that capital enough to start a meaningful business venture? Let’s learn to see and make sense of what we have.
Research about your area
Amass a lot of information, or be schooled in the way of your business. Understand the processes, people, procedures, markets, suppliers, economic, social and legal environment around your area of business.
You can only grow and innovate in your business if you have a deeper understanding ho how things work. Have the details and put them to good use.
Never start on borrowed funds
Never start a business on borrowed funds. As explained in Advice 5, ‘use your endowments.’ You need to develop the skill of managing funds before you plunge yourself into debts. Sell that idle asset of yours to start that business of yours.
Most of the borrowed funds comes with some interest that you’re not prepared to pay especially in the initial stages of your business. Start small and grow the little that you have until you have development the muscle for debts.
Build a supportive network around you
Build a network of like-minded people to guide you through on your maiden business journey. Learn from others who have walked the journey before you. In addition, have the ability to convert your contacts into your customers.
You will also have something to learn from others. The types of your networks have a bearing on how far you will go in your business journey.
Employ people who add value to you company
Employ people who add value to your company. The quality of your employees determines the quality of your performance. So you need to get it right the first time.
Have an operating system in place
Have an operating system in place, manual or computerised. Without a system, it’s difficult to manage and control your business. This is where most small and medium enterprises get it all wrong. It’s one thing to have a system and it’s yet another thing to operationalise it. An unchecked system is as good as no system at all.
Have an appreciation of business finance
Have an understanding of basic business numbers. Know how to calculate your cost of sales, profit and expenses. Come up with a simple trading, profit and loss account.
Invest before you spend
Invest before you spend. Do not spend what you haven’t earned. Learn the art of ploughing back. Not every dollar that comes your way is profit and not all profit should be spend. Invest most of the profit back into the business for growth.
Conclusion
It’s always a good thing to be running your own business but it comes with its own challenges that you must be prepared to face.
You will find out that not everyone can successfully start, support, sustain and succeed in running their own business.
There are some who can do extremely well running other people’s business and that must be respected. Determined to engage, inspire and transform generations in the areas of entrepreneurship and personal development.
The writer, Dr Kudzanai Vere is an entrepreneur, author of four books, business and personal development, multiple award winning entrepreneurship and business coach. Dr Vere has coached more than 5000 entrepreneurs globally and continues to impact people in the areas of entrepreneurship, business and personal development. He is the CEO of Kudfort Group. Contact Dr Kudzanai Vere for transformational entrepreneurship and business coaching and training on [email protected] or +263 719 592232
