Sundaymail Editor
Entrepreneurship Matters
Dr Kudzanai Vere
Entrepreneurs are great risk takers. The beauty of them is that they take calculated risk. It is said high risk gives high returns but you need to have calculated the risk to see whether it will indeed be managed and mitigated otherwise you will lose your entire investment. In any entrepreneurship endeavour, at the end of it, you need to get value out of your enterprising and this can only be achieved through selling. Selling becomes key in the entrepreneurship matrix.
The art of selling converts services and products into money. You have heard that time is money, and indeed it is. If you fail to manage time, there is no way you can successfully manage a business.
This article will focus on the three, risk, selling and time.
Risk
In order to have a return on investment, one should have risked somehow. Anything that threatens a company’s ability to achieve its operational and financial goals is called risk.
Entrepreneurs invest your money into a business that they haven’t done before, even in circumstances where they have experience in such businesses, situations can change unexpectedly to their disadvantage and lose the whole investment or part of it, that is also called risk.
Business success, progress and entrepreneurship sustainability is hinged on embarking on that uncertain exploration in the form of that business. No ship reaches its destination if it remains docked at the harbour for fear of the oceanic waves and turbulence.
Every helmsman should acquire the skill to navigate through the turbulence as they steer the ship destination ward.
Remaining docked and waiting for good weather had not made any good sailor.
Likewise entrepreneurship entails starting and running a business venture regardless of the risks that are inherent in such a business in anticipation of a reward.
King David in Ecclesiastes 11 verses 2 to 6 (New English Translation) talks about investment, risk taking and risk management,
Risk management
Divide your merchandise among seven or even eight investments, for you do not know what calamity may happen on earth.
If the clouds are full of rain, they will empty themselves on the earth, and whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, the tree will lie wherever it falls. (Verses 2 & 3)
Risk taking
He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who observes the clouds will not reap. Just as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones form in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. Sow your seed in the morning, and do not stop working until the evening; for you do not know which activity will succeed — whether this one or that one, or whether both will prosper equally. (Verses 4,5 &6)
The verses speak about three things, embarking on a business venture, spreading business risk through investing in more than one business and getting a reward. It’s clear and factual that he who watches the clouds in fear of a drought will not sow.
They will think it’s a waste of resources but in business, at times you need to take risks in order for you to gain a reward.
Selling (Kutengesa chaiko)
You should be able to sell. Negotiating and selling are cut from the same branch. To sell is to dispose of that which is intended for the market. Selling can be done on a personal or business level. But either way, this process converts your merchandise into money.
Sustainable entrepreneurship has the ability and capacity to convert your business wares into money.
Money makes your business alive and it is the continuous flow of it in that business that guarantees it growth and sustainability just as is blood in human beings.
You need to understand that your stock holding is unfinished business and work in progress until you convert it into revenue through this fundamental skill of selling.
Boasting of loads of stocks in your warehouse is as good as bragging on potential which remains so even up to your death bed unless it’s used.
I like King Solomon’s level of wisdom in Proverbs 11 verse 26 (KJV), “He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.”
Entrepreneurs must be able to convert their Innovation into money, that’s where the business is.
I once wrote about the quality of products and services as key into attracting and appealing to your target customers.
It is the same quality in all that you do in your entrepreneurship endeavours that makes the sales process easy and enjoyable.
Have you ever seen that there are products and services that are easy to sell. There is much work that would have taken place beyond the scenes.
Time
Productivity, efficiency and business growth are some of the rewards of good time management. Opportunities do not have a braking system (foot brakes or hand brakes) for slowing down waiting for slow movers, you just have to keep up with time to tape into them as they arise otherwise you’ll miss them.
In entrepreneurship and business, time is of essence.
Talk of stocks for example, the time you spend holding stocks in your shop determines the level of business that you will ultimately have.
More stock days means less business and less stock days means you are able to convert your stocks into cash in the shortest possible time which is desirable. In business, time is managed the same way we manage money.
The aphorism, time is money originated from one of the founding fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin in his essay, “Advice to a young tradesman”.
The emphasis is really on value earned per hour and the minimisation of idleness for it is money forgone.
Entrepreneurs need to understand the time is money concept and make sure they maximise on their returns within the time they have.
It is apparent in the article that risk, selling and time are building blocks into the making of an effective entrepreneur.
My next article will look at the U, V and W of Entrepreneurship.
◆ The writer, Dr Kudzanai Vere is an entrepreneur, author and transformational speaker. He’s the author of Becoming a person of impact: The Six Pack Approach, Exceed beyond the ordinary: A step by step guide to becoming a high voltage entrepreneur and Soul Food Volume One & Two. Dr. Vere is the entrepreneurship coach of the year 2020, Transformational coach of the year 2020 and 1st Runner Up Overall Coach of the year 2020. He can be contacted for business and personal development coaching sessions on +263 719 592232 or [email protected]
Online Reporter