Debra Nhokwara

Entrepreneurship is like any other building, it requires a strong foundation but if the foundation is weak all work invested in it will come to naught in no time.

Entrepreneurship is the key to unlocking Zimbabwe’s potential and to deal with the economic challenges the country is facing through innovative thinking and creative solutions using available resources. Brilliant ideas form every day in most of us as much as our own economic experts come up with the best blueprints to take Zimbabwe out of the quagmire, and this can be achieved through undergoing the entrepreneurship building blocks.

Execution is one of the building blocks of entrepreneurship. It is the discipline of getting things done, the missing link between aspirations and results. It involves a specific set of behaviours and techniques that a business leader needs to master to achieve competitive advantage and a systematic way of exposing reality and acting on it. Leadership without the discipline of execution is incomplete and ineffective. Without the ability to execute, all other attributes of leadership become hollow.  

In improving entrepreneurship a clear vision is the foundation to success. Have a real business plan and be prepared to work on implementing it to its letter and spirit, taking concrete steps toward the ultimate goal. Have a financial discipline, whereby you do not borrow money as it is a huge cost to the business in particular in our current economic environment where the interest rates are extortionist.

A business should grow organically, with very little borrowing whilst retaining all profits into the business. Working hard and putting in the extra hour always gets one ahead through planning your work and having the right attitude. The MAGIC formula in entrepreneurship includes right attitude plus hard work equals to success (right attitude + hard work = SUCCESS).

Self-confidence is very important and very useful, it influences one’s ability to succeed or not in business whereas low self-esteem results in entrepreneurs being less productive. Lack of confidence, especially in women, inhibits them from risk taking, accepting new challenges, leaving their comfort zone, thereby limiting their contribution to the economy.

Knowing and connecting with people in and out of the business boosts self-confidence, in other words networking is vital as it is the pipeline for the future of the business or career. Personal connections with employees, clients and everyone help to build intuitive feeling for the business as well as for everyone involved in it. 

Knowing and accepting failure is part of the game because failure teaches self-confidence and tenacity. Having something fail teaches you to question the decisions you are making, to be more open to alternative options and to be more aware of what consequences you might face.

Learning, unlearning and relearning is leading by reading because it helps you stay ahead of the curve through learning new ideas, unlearning bad habits and relearning existing concepts. Never stop adapting, they say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results and this hinders business success.

Another building block to successful entrepreneurship is having good work ethics both with employees and the public. Human nature is that people want to deal with people they trust hence a track record which is being reproached is not essential. Walking the straight and narrow path is important.

People should be entrepreneurs for the right reasons believing they can change the world, as they have something of value to give to the world and not because they think they can make a lot of money.