Exploit opportunities, be creative

background of the person responding.
Our cultural, educational and family backgrounds tend to mould our perceptions about entrepreneurship and this has given rise to two concepts that are, however, debatable.
One of the schools of thought says some are born entrepreneurs while others believe that it can be learnt.
Interesting perspectives indeed and that is the reason why I pointed out that it all depends on one’s background.
There are indeed some natural entrepreneurs who are greatly influenced by their family backgrounds, which nurture them to become enterprising businesspeople.
Take, for example, a young man born in the Meikles family, which for generations has been involved in varied business ventures ranging from retail to hospitality undertakings.
Should he decide to enter into a business of his choice he is assured of his family’s support and will be encouraged to pursue his vision in the chosen field.
This family support will definitely be a boost for the young man and this could easily include a financial injection to ensure that there is a smooth take-off.
Others, however, get influenced by their career dispositions where they choose to leave formal employment to start their own businesses.
They will use the knowledge and experience they would have gained over they years to expand their horizons and then try it on their own.
What drives this group is the desire to achieve and they will be very hungry for success.
According to the Entrepreneurial Development Model developed by Nieman et al (2008) there are three key areas that are ideal for the entry of entrepreneurs and these are:
l Entrepreneurial orientation
l Supportive environment
l Co-operative environment.
Entrepreneurial orientation
The orientation involves inter alia the inherent culture prevailing including the general view towards entrepreneurs, their practices, the society’s need for achievement and the Government’s support for new ventures.
Under the cultural perspective it is also important to understand the community’s attitude towards risk taking, are they risk averse or they are risk takers?
As stated earlier the family influence and other role models, their educational background and work experience also contribute to entrepreneurial orientation.
Supportive environment
On a personal level, creativity and innovation, autonomy, risk taking, pro-activeness and competitive aggressiveness are some of the attributes critical for an entrepreneur’s success.
It’s not just a stroll in the park.
A supportive environment is also desirable for those starting out and this includes access to finance, training and development, the appropriate infrastructure, legal restrictions in the economic sphere and the entrepreneur’s family support.
Co-operative environment
Institutions actively involved in promoting entrepreneurs such as the Ministry of SMEs and Co-operative Development are contributing for an ideal environment.
In India, for instance, there is a ministry dedicated to entrepreneurial development.
Other institutions that are contributing to the development of entrepreneurship are universities, technical colleges and research agencies.
It has often been suggested that the thrust of school and educational curricula should shift to encourage and develop entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial orientation.
Upon leaving college many young people are faced with the dilemma of joining the unemployment ranks and this all comes from the orientation they get that they should be employees instead of employers.
Large firms and the Government also have an important role to play to enable these young people realise their potential.
The spin-offs from this are economic growth, increased incomes, better living standards and more investment opportunities.
The tax base will widen on the back of technological advances and the creation of jobs, which will result in a better community.
I received a very interesting contribution from one Inforpreneur regarding the subject of entrepreneurship based on last week’s column.
He wrote: “You are spot on when you say entrepreneurship is about taking opportunities, but I think it goes further to involve how creative you are in taking that opportunity and offering a service.”
Let’s look at this example; we have a well established coffee shop with a good location and a good customer base.
Then two competitors spring up, let’s call them X and Y. X has a good location as well and uses price penetration to attract customers.
Y also has a good location and then introduces a delivery service to customers at work on a daily basis with takeaway containers.
“Y also introduces discounts with the number of containers you buy and also creates partnerships with the local recycling authority which gets him reduced prices for his takeaway containers and free publicity for being a “green” outlet.
In the true sense of the word, who is an entrepreneur?
“My point here being starting a business does not make you a businessman or woman. Entrepreneurship is about creativity towards your approach to providing a service or product and making a profit.”
I found this a very interesting perspective to the definition of entrepreneurship and as I indicated from the onset let’s use this forum to share experiences and hopefully this will inspire successful Zimbabwean entrepreneurs.
As always let’s make money!
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