admin
Entrepreneurship is not for everyone but for those that have the willingness and ability to organise, develop, manage a business venture properly , mind to take risks inorder to make profit, as well as a thick skin to withstand challenges.
As an entrepreneur you should be ready to work harder and smarter to attain their set goals within fixed duration . You should also be very observant, think ahead and figure out, hidden opportunities you can create wealth from.
To become a successful entrepreneur you have to be totally dedicated to whatever you are doing and you have to make great sacrifices. Don’t be afraid of failure as an entrepreneur, learn from any that occurs and channel that towards achieving your purpose.
Though we have said above can be applied as an African entrepreneur but to successful in the continent it takes some extra skill. We have put about ten (10) of the things you must do inorder to stand firm as an entrepreneur in Africa. They are:
• Cultivate the habit to live by risks: The first thing that should come to your mind as an entrepreneur is risk. Most people are afraid to take risk because they’re yet to cultivate the habit. To be a successful entrepreneur in Africa, you need to learn how to make profit by taking risk.
• Detect your strength quickly and work on it: As an entrepreneur, you can have passion for many businesses, but if you venture in all some might end up failing for different reasons. Therefore you should endeavor to do critical analysis of the one in which you’re really good at doing. Uti Nwachukwu who won 2010 big brother Africa, is presently a model and an actor, he said in his interview with us that he quickly discovered his strength after graduating from higher institution of learning where he had a good CGPA in computer science.
He said “When you discover that budding talent, don’t ever allow the thoughts of people not succeeding in that industry pull you back. If many have not succeeded in it then you should see it has an opportunity to become very successful in it and top your game. If you notice in some sectors some people are very successful and others are just making little impact, it is because some are not in the right place, God wants for them”. Coolfm’s DO2Dtun also confirm this in his interview with us.
• You must be ready to take important decisions: If you want to be a successful entrepreneur in Africa, you must be ready to make wise decisions, and you have to be fast with your decisions. Don’t let your ideas to die with you without executing it, because if you don’t do it other people will. Doctor Idia Aisien who was previously working with an investment bank in New York, whenshe got to Nigeria, she saw opportunities in the Nigerian Media industry and she made a timely decision of making her own wealth from these untapped areas. Though she isn’t an entrepreneur but this decision making skill is necessary for all entreprenuers.
• You must always seek to improve: Some people can’t move forward today because that are not willing to learn from their past mistakes. As an entrepreneur you can escape making mistakes, but what makes you a real entrepreneur is your ability to positively re-define your mistakes and make an improvement.
• Be prepared to challenge yourself: The biggest motivation you can have is to regularly challenge yourself. Seek to learn and improve on new ideas because there’s no end to learning.
• Learn to live by faith: Just like the farmer plant in preparation for harvest. They knew not the level of their harvest before they plant, but they live by faith that they are going to have bountiful harvest at the end of the year through their hard work. That is the spirit you should have as an entrepreneur i.e you should have belief in whatsoever you venture into.
• Make use of associative power: You need to know and learn from people that are successful in the areas which you’ve chosen, if possible get in contact with them, because a typical African man will perceive you based on the people you associate with. A wise entrepreneur will use this avenue to increase and improve its base.
• Keep proper records: Make sure you have the necessary records that shows that you are fit and you can actually make wealth from any opportunity that surfaces. If you have’ not been dong this, you should start doing it.
• Build a great team: You can’t succeed alone as an entrepreneur, so you need to work with other people to compliment your success, by this we mean key individuals that can add positive value to your business.
• Focus on professionalism: With professionalism comes efficiency and effectiveness, always make your business professional. As much as your products, services or contents matters, how you presented it to the world matters alot as well because people won’t buy into a shabby of business idea. You might not be successful as an entrepreneur if you’re not professional with any business you venture into.
Put all we have discussed above into practice and you will gradually grow into your success stage as an African entrepreneur.
