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Rejoyce Sibanda, Chronicle Reporter
BUSINESS showers, a new trend for entrepreneurs nowadays, are gaining momentum as people are pursuing and expanding their businesses.
A business shower is an occasion where people come together to celebrate a new business or company, support, motivate and share business ideas.
Business showers enable the introduction of one’s business to other people who have great potential in becoming future clients or customers.
They create an easy way and allow for smooth networking between businesses.
Most of these business showers are conducted by start-up founders that want to get dominance and recognition.
Business showers vary. While some may include people coming together to congratulate and bring gifts for the one venturing and starting up their business, others involve people with their businesses coming together to showcase their products so that people buy.
Miss Makaita Tekere (28), an entrepreneur who recently held a business shower for Pusheka Girl Organisation, which she started with her sister Tatenda, said they have been hosting business showers since 2020.
She said they host business showers three times a year; in April, August and December.
“Normally, a business shower is conducted when a friend starts a business. This is where we all come together, congratulate them and bring resources for their business. For Pusheka Girl business showers, entrepreneurs come together with their businesses to network, grow, benefit and empower each other,” said Miss Tekere.
She said all those who will be showcasing their businesses pay for stalls at reasonable prices.
Miss Tekere added that business showers are all about collaboration and communication.
She said a lot of clients show support in such events and that support is shared among various business owners that will be present.
The events always come at a time when new entrepreneurs fear having their businesses collapse because of various factors.
According to research, business showers have tended to close this gap and it has had more and more entrepreneurs standing up for what they want and not giving up easily on their businesses.
Moreover, business showers have inspired, motivated and given support to those starting businesses.
New entrepreneurs have benefited a lot in getting to understand what experiences and challenges others went through before their businesses became big. When various people come together to discuss business ideas, there’s no room for any negative thoughts as to if one’s business is good enough or not, the possibilities of attracting clients and its capacity as a whole.
Business showers are not only for new companies but also for old companies that would have survived storms. In an old business, a business shower can be conducted to share future ideas and plans for the business.
One can also conduct it when they are launching a new product, or feature or when they are exclusively expanding the company and joining hands with other business partners.
Bulawayo Micro, Small to Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) programme coordinator, Mr Nketha Mangoye Dlamini said some people call business showers ‘business baby showers’.
He said this is because they directly borrow the term from the concept of a baby shower.
“When someone is launching an organisation or company, they celebrate it. Hence a business shower is a celebratory birthday of a new business, it’s a launch before the actual one. Various people with their businesses come together to share ideas. Some have either common goals or challenges and when they exchange information and ideas, it makes it easy for them to run their businesses,” said Mr Dlamini.
He said one is congratulated for starting a new business and given inspiration.
Mr Dlamini said business showers that involve more of networking boost the self-confidence of the new entrepreneur.
“Just like at a baby shower, people bring in presents to the new company which is the baby in this instance. One can create a pool of investors or resources as he or she starts or while they’re also sharing and expanding their vision,” said Mr Dlamini.
The MSMEs programme coordinator said one is given ideas on how to manage the business as well as how to solve certain challenges.
Mr Dlamini said in Bulawayo, the major goal of these business showers is learning how to get cheaper inputs for a business.
“In Zimbabwe, I’m not so sure about the number of people that have started doing these business showers but I’m aware that in India, business showers are becoming a popular celebration. Even Elon Musk encourages start-ups and entrepreneurs by saying that instead of having baby showers there should be business showers,” he said.
Mr Dlamini said if the concept of business showers is handled well, one could have some form of capital to inject into his or her business that will oil it, its inputs and the market.
He added that branches of a business are easily shared at a business shower occasion because experienced people share ideas on how to run a business and provide assistance for the market side.
Mr Dlamini said business showers enable one to have more clients and suppliers from various parts of the city who would have been sourced through such occasions for business-oriented people. – @ReeSibanda
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