Sundaymail Editor
Entrepreneurship Matters
Dr Kudzanai Vere
Most businesses fail because their owners are not willing to go to bed with the truth and reality obtaining on the ground. There is a destructive pride that haunts a number of business people in the market.
They don’t want others to know that there are certain important things within their business that they don’t know.
But even if you say it or not, the reality will always flash in your face. You will ultimately go down.
Businesses don’t succeed through juju or magic, if you think it does, it’s only for a season but with painful everlasting consequences.
Success only comes from determination, application of knowledge and hard work.
You know, but in part
Great entrepreneurs are great students of their trade. They are always learning. They know there are certain things that they don’t know and continue to search for new and relevant information to close the gap.
Once you think you know everything in business, that’s the beginning of your demise.
The best recipe for failure in business is disguising our ignorance.
There are a number of people who try to decorate their ignorance, wrapping it in pride.
Let me share with you this open secret today, that doesn’t work even a single day in your favour. It’s in fact damaging and destructive on your person and business.
At least we have to fear God as it is written in Psalms chapter 111:10 that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and all those who practice it have a good understanding.
How do we fear God? We fear God by just being true to ourselves that there are some things we don’t know and we need assistance on.
Once you do so, it’s said that’s the beginning of wisdom and if you continually practise such kind of behaviour and attitude, you will ultimately have a good understanding of how things work.
Learn new skills
I know a number of us have tested the cost of ignorance. Some have started businesses out of the availability of money and not the skills to run the business and yet they went on to run them by themselves until they were all run down by circumstances.
Knowing how to acquire capital to start a business doesn’t automatically mean you qualify to run the same business.
If you want to do so, you have to undergo some coaching and mentoring programmes pertaining how to effectively run a business and there are a lot such programmes.
We have the conventional Business Management programmes and some more specific and practical programmes that addresses your inadequacies such as the Certified Practical Business Manager programme.
Most of the skills that we had in 2000 are no longer effectively applicable now. Since business is all about solving socio economic challenges, people are facing for a fee.
We must understand that such challenges do change every now and then and thus the need for us to also change the solution provision strategies and formulas otherwise we might be left prescribing an old solution to a current problem.
We need to continually update and upgrade our skills base to remain current and relevant in the markets that we serve.
In my first book, “Becoming a person of impact: The six pack approach,” the issue of learning new skills is actually the fourth pack to becoming a person of impact. It talks about continuous improving.
You need to develop yourself as a person in order for you to effectively develop your business.
How can you effectively grow a business when you are not growing your business acumen? It’s either you are green and growing or ripe and rotting and nothing more.
Put your skill to use
Last week I was on YaFm radio talking about how to become a person of impact this 2022 and factors that affect goal achievement. There were many questions asked by listeners but we had this one who spoke about the economic situation playing down their efforts.
Admittedly, our economy is not where it is supposed to be but there are some people who have a whole dictionary of blame words while they are virtually doing nothing with the resources at their disposal.
Entrepreneurship entails the innovative and unique configuration of resources within your disposal in the form of a sustainable business venture bearing all the risks and rewards within such an initiative.
Most people complain about almost everything and yet they are seated on vast water bodies, land, skills and expertise which can be easily converted into business and money. We also had some students who used to demonstrate in the streets putting on their graduation gowns signalling “graduated but unemployed” as if they are excluded or banned from converting their taught skills into business.
It’s sad that the majority suffer from a dependency syndrome that almost taking forever to exterminate. I always tell people that you must learn ways of monetising your qualification, skill and abilities.
It is one thing to have a diploma, degree and even doctorate and it’s another totally different thing to get these work you.
The sad truth that is happening in institutions of higher learning is that students end up taking programmes that they are not passionate about, they just follow what their friends are doing.
There are programmes that seems to be paying in the market that you might not even be passionate about, do not do these for the sake of pleasing friends or parents for you will be stranded along the way.
Conclusion
In business you need to swallow your pride and learn those skills that you are deficient in. You are not expected to know everything that you can hide your ignorance. You are as good or as bad as your business.
If you fail to grow at personal level there is no growth magic that you should expect in your business, so continuously upgrade yourself. Great entrepreneurs are great readers and remain students for life.
Determined to engage, inspire and transform generations in the areas of entrepreneurship and personal development.
Dr Kudzanai Vere is an entrepreneur, author of four books, business and personal development, multiple award winning entrepreneurship and business coach. Dr Vere has coached more than 5 000 entrepreneurs globally and continues to impact people in the areas of entrepreneurship, business and personal development. He is the founder & CEO of Kudfort, Premium Business Network International, Transformational Mindset Institute, Tengesa Online and the Institute of Entrepreneurs Zimbabwe./Contact Dr Kudzanai Vere for transformational entrepreneurship and business coaching and training on [email protected] or +263 719 592232.
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