Entrepreneurs are an essential ingredient for sustainable development in any community since they can create unprecedented wealth for themselves and their communities.
The reason we have so much unemployment and poverty in Zimbabwe is because Zimbabwe is not developing enough high-impact entrepreneurs.
High-impact entrepreneurs in the mold Strive Masiyiwa (Econet Wireless), Divine Ndhlukula (Securio Security Services), Nigel Chanakira (Kingdom Bank), Vivita Chivunga (Vivi Fashions), and many other great Zimbabwean entrepreneurs who have created employment and wealth for thousands of Zimbabweans.
To remedy the situation we must create structures that enhance education, curiosity, innovation, and creativity which are essential to nurturing indigenous entrepreneurs.
It is also essential that Zimbabwe’s entrepreneurs are celebrated and their stories told to inspire the next generation of high-impact entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe.
The question is, is it possible to learn how to be an entrepreneur, and if so how, is it possible for the government to create policies that enhance entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe, and if so how.
The old-age myth of medieval management theory that entrepreneurship is an in-born trait that you either have or don’t have is at best just that a myth.
Since it is possible to learn and improve your ability to identify a business opportunity and develop it into a product or service that the market is prepared to pay for, one can only conclude that it is possible to learn how to be an entrepreneur.
For in its simplest form entrepreneurship is the ability to identify an opportunity, develop an appropriate product or service to satisfy the opportunity, and set up business systems to deliver the product or service to potential customers at a price that will make it sustainable for you to deliver it.
So to become an entrepreneur you need to know and improve your ability to identify business opportunities.
At first, you will come up with as many business ideas as possible and then after conducting preliminary market research, you will have a feasible business opportunity.
But of course that’s the easy part, you will now need to conduct complete market research to turn your identified business opportunity into a product or service that people are willing to pay for.
Market research is the basis of a business plan that will spell out the business systems that you will have to set up to deliver the product or service sustainably to your potential customers.
With a business plan in hand, you can start your journey to being a successful entrepreneur, as a business plan is both a marketing tool to potential sources of capital and a map for the entrepreneur showing you where you are going and how.
The main elements of being a high-impact entrepreneur are outlined below in point form
- Identify a feasible business opportunity or idea
- Develop a product or service that people are willing to pay for
- Develop business systems to deliver a product or service to potential customers
- Develop the entrepreneurship mindset
I will now provide a short synopsis of the main elements that you need to know and constantly improve in your journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur.
The first element in line is how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Although this is point 4, it is the first ingredient that you require.
How to develop the entrepreneurship mindset
Entrepreneurs are known for their ability to take calculated risks, networking, relentless work ethic, discipline, vision, passion for excellence, resilience, patience, and never-say-die mentality. These character traits are necessary for you to survive the ups and downs of starting and running a successful entrepreneur.
It is also necessary to read about the stories of successful entrepreneurs and general business books so that you can contextualize and internalize the entrepreneurship mindset.
You will also need to have basic knowledge about bookkeeping, marketing, sales, and administration, there are many short courses that you can take to acquire this knowledge.
How to identify a feasible business opportunity or idea
It is very easy to think of a business idea, the difficult thing is to find a feasible business idea that has market potential. The best way to do this is to look at the everyday problems you face in life and think of ways to solve them.
At this stage you will probably come up with 10-15 business opportunities, you will then need to conduct a feasibility market research on the business idea.
A feasibility market research study will help you look at the market potential of your business ideas. In the end, you will probably have 2-3 business ideas that are more likely to succeed.
How to develop a product or service that people are willing to pay for
The only way you can convert a feasible business idea into a viable product or service that people are willing to pay their hard-earned cash for is by knowing what the customer wants. So you will need to conduct extensive research in order to know as much as you can about your target market and your competitors.
Your business idea or opportunity should be spelled out in a unique selling proposition that differentiates your product or service from the rest and additionally makes your target market want to buy your product or service instead of your competitors.
From a process of iterative market research and product or service development, you will come up with a compelling product that people want to buy.
How to develop business systems to deliver a product or a service
When you have a product or service you feel people are willing to pay for, the next step is to develop business systems that will deliver the product or service to market.
The main components of your business system are
- A legal business entity that is compliant with all legislation (tax, labor & environmental laws)
- Product manufacturing system (office, office equipment, production equipment)
- Product marketing systems (branding & marketing)
- Product sales system (customer relations management, billing & financial management)
The first step in developing the business systems required to deliver your product or service to market is to develop a business plan. The business plan will outline the exact configuration of technology and infrastructure that is required for your product or service. It will outline the monetary outlay that is needed to make your business a reality.
You will then need to look for finance to start your operations guided by your business plan, which in itself is both a marketing tool for finance and a planning tool for you the entrepreneur.
You will notice that as you go through the motions of actually starting and running your business you will make a lot of mistakes. This is when the entrepreneurship mindset will help you persevere, innovate, and do whatever it takes to make your business succeed ethically.
So this is how you learn how to become an entrepreneur, BY DOING.
Be a Doer plus the other stuff & you are on your way to becoming a High Impact Entrepreneur
