Sundaymail Editor
Entrepreneurship Matters
Dr Kudzanai Vere
The main aim of entrepreneurship is to solve-socio economic challenges through innovation and creativity. Such innovation can only find its roots in continuous learning while the sustainability of such entities is hinged on the ability to negotiate.
Effective management is the one that focuses on achieving the organisations’ objectives through upholding best practices in the market and at best challenging them as it seeks relevance in the marketplace.
Learning
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” — John F. Kennedy
In the modern-day world, you hear of learning organisations. These are organisations which have adopted continuous improvement through deliberate decisions to constantly improve the way in which they run their organisation.
In my previous article I highlighted on the importance of knowledge as a major input into successful entrepreneurship. Such knowledge comes from learning. Entrepreneurs are life long learners.
They are forever students in their areas of entrepreneurship endeavour. It is their avidity for new knowledge that keeps them learning.
Unlike those in academia, entrepreneurs learn through failing. They are so practical and experimental. Ask our own Strive Masiyiwa, and even if you look at the light bulb story of Thomas Alva Edison, it’s all a journey of learning as you execute.
Entrepreneurs are never in the spoon-fed category when we come to how they are schooled. E.M Foster in his wisdom says, “Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.”
All the innovation and creativity that entrepreneurs exhibit, it is testimony to the fact that they have never been and will never be of the spoon category. They are practical and always heightening their quest for new information that presents itself in the market.
Once you stop learning as an entrepreneur, that’s the day your name tag falls. Learning opens new frontiers and opportunities for your entrepreneurship endeavour. Learning and more precisely applying that which is learnt keeps you on top of the situation.
The more you learn and apply, the stronger and dominant you will become in the marketplace. Having learnt or the presence of knowledge in an organisation or within a person is not shown by the number of certificates on the walls, but by what they say and eventually do.
Management
As you know that entrepreneurship entails the controlling and deployment of resources to create an innovative economic organisation for the purpose of profit and growth under the conditions of risk and uncertainty, the created entity needs astute management to realise the intended profit and growth.
We have been schooled or taught of the Planning, Organising, Leading and Controlling (POLC) as the main management functions. Successful entrepreneurship has within it a strong management team that performs the POLC functions.
The ability to start a unique business doesn’t prevent an entrepreneur from being also able to manage such an entity. In fact, it is equally in the effective management of the enterprise that entrepreneurs are ultimately measured.
It is in their best interest to see the organisation being propelled forward in a professional and efficient manner for that is where results come from.
An entrepreneur lights the fire and the management makes sure that the fire keeps burning by exhibiting efficiency in planning, organising, leading or directing and controlling the business operations to uphold the entrepreneurship effort.
As an entrepreneur, you need to make sure that your light is well fanned and continues to light the world. There is need for an oversight role to safeguard your entrepreneurial effort.
In my Design, Launching, Running, Risk and Profit (DLRRP) of Entrepreneurship, I alluded to the issue of running a business as key to entrepreneurship.
Management entails the running of a business. As an entrepreneur, you should see to it that your business is managed in a successful and sustainable way.
In most cases people plan, design and launch their business colourfully but fail the running or management test. Managing a business is not in the name or title but in the actual execution of the function.
Successful entrepreneurs are good managers.
Negotiation
The term negotiate is derived from the Latin infinitive negotiaari meaning “to trade or do business”. So, this word has a business orientation, though it now has a cross cutting application.
In its simplest sense, negotiation is a discussion aimed at reaching a favourable outcome. It is a powerful technique most successful entrepreneurs possess.
Though it has its route in business, it’s use is now widespread.
Entrepreneurs are excellent negotiators.
They win tenders and gain market share. They are just good on the discussion table.
Negotiation is key in business and entrepreneurship in particular. Everything in life is negotiable, whether the process is going to be easy or not it’s another story.
Master the art of negotiating. Don’t always accept what is tabled. Ask for a discount. Let them knock some dollars off that property price. Fight for the scale to tilt in your favour.
Amidst the growing turbulence in the current business world, increasing premium is being placed on the ability of organisations to negotiate.
The entire business processes are hinged upon negotiations.
The essence of negotiation is to stimulate and influence a favourable decision from the other party.
“Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.” — John F. Kennedy
As entrepreneurs, you need to continuously learn through execution and know how to successfully negotiate your way as you seek to effectively manage and sustain your entrepreneurial endeavours.
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].
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