Entrepreneurship is like a game of chess. The goal of the game is to checkmate. Play or be Played! Calling upon a higher-order of thinking skills, analyse actions to foresee consequences and visualise future possibilities; this in a nutshell describes the journey of an entrepreneur.
You may discover that you are in fact temperamentally unsuited to self-employment, or that there is training you need to undertake before you begin the venture. It is essential to make a realistic assessment of your talents and work out whether you lack any of the skills essential to the success of your venture. How well organized are you? You have to be an excellent time manager. If you do not already possess this skill it can and must be learned. How else will you: Juggle tasks; meet multiple deadlines; prioritise conflicting demands; cope with basic administration such as sending out invoices.
If you were ever an employee you will be able to reflect on the hurdles your previous employer went through with you and others as well as the business. This should have prepared you for the steps you would need to take. Knowledge in this area will help you manage and plan being the best boss and entrepreneur.
To start first find out the areas you can become a supplier/freelance this allows you to gain insight into the administrative aspects of doing business if you didn't climb high enough on the corporate ladder as well as it will allow you to see loopholes to test your concept.
When you drive do you see beyond the car in front of you? Do you plan ahead? Seeing steps ahead allows you to prepare. The business needs this to minimize uncertainties.
Will you be able to network? Do you really like people? Well there are some businesses that doesn’t require physically meeting people but it is essential to market yourself and your business, often in social situations. Putting yourself in a position of contact is a prerequisite at different intervals.
Are you literate and numerate? What is your relationship with computers? If you are not totally familiar with any of the admin functions you need to or pay others. It may take time to learn but it can also save you some money you may not have at start.
How committed are you? Do you believe in yourself / business idea? Self-employment is not a comfortable option, half-hearted approach can be disastrous. Are you self-motivated? Running a business can be a lonely occupation, no one is going to motivate you other than yourself, strength is from within. Being your own boss seems like an idyllic life away from the drudgery of a 9 to 5 job, find out if you've got what it takes to be an entrepreneur. What does professionalism mean to you? Will you turn up to meetings on time; present a businesslike image; do the necessary homework?
Volunteering, supplying and freelance jobs help build your profile which is like a cv, it also gives you the opportunities to explore other business interest or add more skills. As a general rule, so long as you operate under your own name you do not need to register as a business. This makes it possible to start overnight without hassle. At start try to submit your address and a copy of your ID/Passport for security satisfaction.
The first thing to recognize when starting your own business is that your degree rarely has a bearing on your ability to succeed. Entrepreneurship is about will, creativity and skill. It is not unusual for newly self-employed people to have a second job to help provide a guaranteed source of income for day-to-day living costs. Understand the current employment Market; Africa is underdeveloped & therefore there is always a job to do. A business is like employment but with more responsibilities. It is a challenge for those who don't understand the concept of commitment. Dreams are built not gotten. If YOU ask any successful person how they got there they will say take the path and follow through, you will find out it was not as smooth as they look now.
Could you be a (calculated) risk taker? No business is risk free. What is your response to uncertainty? Do you find this exciting rather than worrying? Are you prepared for changing markets, competition, economic fluctuations? Are you opportunity aware? Given even half a chance do you take it? Better still, can you see it coming before anyone else does or are you too over-analytical? Sometimes gut is a better guide than facts.
How hard can you work? Being self-employed is not an easy option, especially if you are working on your own, results are produced by working long hours. Do you see change as a challenge? Can you minimize its downsides by careful thought and planning? Are you a realist? Can you judge in practical terms what can be achieved or produced within a certain period? In business terms this translates into….:
- Your Loves: What You Really Like Doing. If what you love is not what you r planning to convert into a business you may struggle in the motivation department.
- Your Skills & Capabilities: What You Do Well? Confidence has a lot to do with comfort in your will and in the knowledge that you are good at what you do. List your abilities, you can build on to attain that ideal life. Your skills need not be strictly from your professional life, list your life’s stories as well.
- Your Track Record: What You Have Experience Doing, List those accomplishments in your professional and personal life of which you're most proud of.
- Your Ideal Work Style- Whether full-time or part-time, at-home, on the road, working behind the scenes or interacting with lots of people - define the environment. Work Styles describe work patterns that we develop in our early life, that tend to stay with us throughout our lives.
Time management in business also involves pissing off your market. Get them thirsty for the solution.
Do you have commercial awareness? Do you know how to attract and retain customers; make a profit; corner a share of the market? Your business value is not just based on the market potential but to what level of potential you bring. The brain & entire nervous system is driven by electricity and so is the market. Can YOU feel and fill the market? How much energy you put in multiplies by thousands if not millions. You need to understand the driving forces of your market. Check out the hierarchy of needs and see where your business fits in with the various market levels. When a stimulus is applied in the form of a charge the potential swings over a period of time before settling back to normal so expect some reverse reactions. Too weak to cause an action? then your potential is passive, like a resistive cable. Your expectations on interest should be based on the level of awareness of the need and you as a solution. Being aware of limitations; striving for speed, efficiency and quality; pricing your output so that it appeals to clients and pays you a realistic wage. Can you see the consumer's point of view? Are you able to visualize the product or service you are offering through your customer's eyes? Business is busyness.
Starting entrepreneurs want promises; there are no subjective promises, only objective opportunities. Ideas need to become concepts "a brand of understanding in the markets mind". The market needs the promise in return they will give you the opportunity to deliver. Create a dream. A global dream. A dream that unites and builds, people always want to belong and follow the dream.
It doesn’t matter if it seems big hold it in your heart, its the picture that will keep you going in dark moments. Go as far as creating an anthem. You may need it as a jingle.
Entrepreneurship gives you a chance to excel, gain a form of recognition and take care of retirement. If mediocrity upsets you this is your ship. Sail in!!!
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