Entrepreneurship

Its my pleasure to welcome you to my blog.I would like to share some few thoughts and ideas on Business that I think you may find helpful.

I was in conversation with a colleague of mine who complained earnestly about the stress and anxiety that he feels everytime he has to wake up and go to work and that he felt the need to establish his own firm since this will give him more freedom.He did share a few ideas that I thought ,could make him earn about four times his salary if he were to implement them.There are so many young men and women out there with brilliant ideas but lack the real guts  to act  on them.So who is an entrepreneur?
"An entrepreneur is someone with a vision of a better aspect of the world,who decides to act on his ideas,incurring risks in the process with the hope of making profits"Entrepreneurs come in all ages,color and races.
So why dont people start up their own businesses?
It's due to FEAR.The fear of taking risks,fear of failure, and fear of leaving the comfort zone of being paid every month.Our country and continent is in dire need of brave young entrepreneurs who will step up and provide employment for the masses out there.I mean forget about Bill Gates and Co., right here on the continent,Young Africans like: Rapelang Rabana, Patrick Ngowi, Lorna Rutto and Justin Stanford,have all become millionaires in their 20's by acting on their ideas."In the book of Ecclestiastes,King Solomon writes"He who looks at wind will never sow",so if you're waiting for 5years,10years or 15years, someone else is gonna implement your idea before you know it.So start working on your ideas from this moment and dont procastinate.

THE RIGHT BUSINESS FOR YOU

Basic fact is, everyone can be an ENTREPRENEUR but not everybody can be or will be a SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR.Failing or succeeding in business depends on some basic factors.First of all you need

*Understanding

Proverbs 4:7 tells us "Get wisdom and in all thy getting,get understanding".
NEVER EVER GO INTO A BUSINESS U DONT UNDERSTAND EVEN IF IT LOOKS PROFITABLE.You'll be disappointed!!Before you embark on any business venture,make sure you understand your personality and make sure you understand the business.Your personality and your business should be mirror images of each other.Understanding is key when starting a business and understanding will help you run it in its first few years when things may get tough.

*Simplicity

Second factor is to look for simple business ideas that require less capital expenditures and less technical expertise.An intelligent man I admire in the person of Warren Buffet always states that he never "invests outside his circle of competence".Many of the youth today want to start an Oil and Gas business but dont realise the tremendous capital,expertise and risk involved.So go for simple ideas that you can easily implement and run.This is one secret to becoming wealthy:

-find a product that people need

-Will require less capital to make

-Can be sold at a price that majority of the population can afford and

-will not fade out for the next 20 years or more regardless of the competition that will arise.

*Expectations Management

When you start get an idea regarding a particular area of business you want to venture into,and it's such a great idea;you're bound to feel the adrenaline rush.You may get excited and end up building unrealistic expectations so that when things dont go they way you want it to,you become discouraged."Expect nothing and you're wont be disappointed"....of course you need to expect some growth but bottomline is dont be overly expectant or you'll end up in the mud.

The Bible tells us specifically that "be not slothful in Business" and so GOD is very much interested in  the success of our businesses.Below is a list of exciting business ideas :

-Solar Energy : that is very important looking at the energy situation in the country and on the African continent as a whole.

-Hospitality and Tourism: More and more foreigners are coming into the African continent everyday for vacations and business purposes and its a good area to make headway.

-Food Services:Food is essential to our everyday lives.There are lots of food joints and restaurants in Africa but few great brands and franchises.Africa needs its own versions of McDonalds,Burger King,Starbucks and KFC.

-Publishing and writing:
Well if you love writing like I do then this is a good area for you.TV and Movie production houses are in dire need of exceptionally talented writers who can produce great scripts.

-Mobile Money Services:The use of mobile payment systems are getting popular in most parts of Africa such as Kenya,Tanzania,Nigeria,Ghana etc.

-Health Services
With the continent facing serious infrastructural challenges,health services have become very important.These include ambulance services,supply of medical equipment and provision of medicinal supplies to hospitals and health institutions.

-Transport Services:Efficient,reliable and decent transportation facilities would easily woo customers into patronising your services.

-Private Security Services

-Banking and Financials:
Its amazing that with all the banks avaliable 60% of the population still dont have bank accounts.That presents a great opportunity.

These are just a few ideas and you can look out for more ideas on your own.Young Kings and Queens, its time for us to step up and create wealth for ourselves and for our generation.
When you've finally decided what business idea you want to pursue,lets look at some procedures to get you started on your road to wealth creation.

1.Business Form
Decide which form you want your business to take.Whether u want a Limited Liability Co.(LLC),a partnership or a sole proprietorship.Each one has advantages as well as disadvantages so just adopt the one that you think will suit you as well as your business.When you have decided,you then go ahead with the registration of your business.

2.Financing
Now this is the important as well challenging aspect.In other to harvest money you need to plant money.Capital is the fuel for your business,without it your car(business) cannot start.So as a virgin businessman your only source of finance are savings,angel investors,venture capital or loans from family and friends.The banks will not risk giving credit to you due to your inexperience but it shouldn't discourage you because when your business begins to grow,the banks will come looking for you.

3.Marketing
Ok...you are now ready to get started.Marketing ur business or products is important because customers need to know wht you're offering,they need to know why your products are unique from those on the market.

4.Human Capital
You are the commander of ur ship(business) and you cant steer it alone so you need hands.Hire two or more talented people to help you out but dont hire too many people than you need or else you will may have too much to deal with.

5.Patience
This is a very necessary virtue you need in order to succeed in business.Your business may not starting making profits immediately but you need to be patient and strategise a bit more.If you quit and move on to another business you may encounter even more difficult challenges.