By Virginia Mburu
I was perusing the Standard on Sunday newspaper
and noted the obvious- politics, the worsening insecurity, gender issues
advocacy, commentaries, humour etc.
I made a special note that all these
happenings has not stopped the First Lady’s “Beyond Zero” train from
pressing on towards its target- fully fitted mobiles clinic trucks to
help boost maternal delivery services. Kudos to you First Lady Margaret
Kenyatta!
And then it hit me!
That headline- “Revealed: Secrets behind
thriving Indian immigrant entrepreneurs” by Winsely Masese.
You know me…. Mwakazi- the Passionate
Entrepreneur and owner of Makao Interior Designers, husband to one beautiful
Pendo and father to Jabali and Waridi.
That headline cannot escape my business eye. I
was captivated and hungrily dug into this well of knowledge. How I wanted to be
in the shoes of those entrepreneurs!
All is not lost- the other day I noted that one
of our very own entrepreneurs_ Keroche Industries CEO Tabitha Karanja won the
CBNC Africa business Woman of the year 2014 award. Now was my chance to learn a
few strategies that would catapult my enterprise to play in the BBL- “Big Boys
League”.
I was not disappointed. The article mentioned a
few of the mega enterprises - Bidco, Sameer Group, Comcraft Group,
Scangroup, Nakumatt and Athi River Mining. After reviewing the article, I
summarised the success secrets as under.
1. Strategic
Learning.
Yes strategic…and it starts early…..these
entrepreneurs do not just take their kids through school. They prepare them to
be future entrepreneurs / innovators and as such they emphasize on maths and
sciences.
They then encourage them to take up courses in
engineering and medicine which gives them an edge to start own businesses in
future.
I thought of my lovely kids Waridi and Jabali
who are still in primary school. How am I guiding them verbally or at times
through body language? Isn’t time I adopted a new approach?
By the way, Passionate Entrepreneur, do you understand what
courses your children are taking in college and what they are likely to be
when they graduate?
Did you see this research that indicates that
employers are dissatisfied with the work-readiness of graduates? The same
report indicates that it takes an average of five years for a graduate to get a
job. Scary, isn’t it?
And how many young people out there are looking
for white collar jobs (we used to call it “tarmacking”) and holding papers that
cannot assist them? What if they put the skills and/or experiences to assist
others and make a living or even build an enterprise in the process?
What about inside our businesses? Are we
strategically developing and equipping yourself and the employees with the
right skills to take our businesses to the next level? Or even training them to
be future entrepreneurs?
Scared they will compete with you? Competition
will always be there anyway –wouldn’t rather the devil you know? You have
better chances of collaborating which by the way is the new competition! Better still, they could form your community
of your suppliers, distributors or customers!
2. Strategic
Social Support
The immigrants do not just network so that they
get to meet the ‘who is who’ in the society. They have nurtured a culture
whereby these networking events form a strategic social support with the goal
of uplifting the community and fostering more entrepreneurship.
An example is given of the Silicon Valley
where the immigrants understood this clue and went on to set up an
organization (The Indus Entrepreneur) to mobilise information, know-how, skill,
rules of engagement and capital (angel funders) needed to start
technology businesses.
Couple this with a system where the experienced
entrepreneurs ‘talked and taught the walk’ and shared their experiences and
challenges with the newbies and you can rightly guess the outcome!
Now think of the networks we belong to. Hands up to those of who you get all the information, know-how, skill, and capital you need
for your business? But then just about how many networks offer this kind of support? And what about setting new goals for the support
group during the next meet up?
3. Strategic
Family Foundation
The entrepreneurs were brought up in families
who were not only running businesses but they live together, eat together, were
responsible and cared for one another.
They were educated to the highest level as well
as equipped with entrepreneurial skills early in life and as such starting a
business was a most natural goal for the children.
Drop into one of the businesses run by the
Asians especially when schools are in recess and you are sure to observe and
take home some remarkable lessons.
4. Strategic
Philanthropy
Wherever you were born, gratitude is an
important virtue that we all learn from a young age. After learning “baba” and
‘mama”, the most likely word/s to learn next is “thank you”.
When we help the needy or give back to the
society that has provided the opportunities we enjoy, we always get paid back
in one way or other.
In my college days, there was this gentleman who
used to distribute bread to the street families around Jevanjee gardens and he
owned- guess what-A bakery that is still going strong to this day!
As an entrepreneur, I cannot help mentioning the
Manu Chandaria Business Incubation Centers built in a number our universities
to support young entrepreneurs. Or The Equity "Wings to Fly Program"...Still guessing why they are succeeding? And what kind of legacy they are building? What about you and
me?
5. Strategic
Resource Management
Most of these entrepreneurs happen to be what we
call the ‘rags to riches’ stories- poor backgrounds that precipitate a
determination to overcome any obstacle and succeed to escape hunger and
poverty. Or they lost what they once owned and had to start from the
bottom of the ladder.
They then consolidate the meagre resources
at hand, watch every penny and spend within their means. In college, we used to
make fun of the “carried lunch” the Indians shared over lunch. How- we used to
wonder - when they could afford food from the best restaurant in town? Now you
know -financial prudence!
They will then patiently pursue a certain line
of business…… Yes- a “mothers” patience is key as you learn and nurture
the business. Now think about your average “business owner” who will be jumping
into what is making money now and thus losing time to grow a mega
enterprise.
They also leverage on power of strategic
partnerships that are developed within the strategic networks mentioned above.
The writer notes that they have grown in a culture of assisting one another.
Now you know why they flock and succeed together!
Over to you Passionate Entrepreneur;
- How can we “home grow” the above secrets from the immigrants to suit our situation?
- Which other success clues can we borrow?
Share your experiences, suggestions or questions
in the comments section below. Who knows- We might as well make it to that
Forbes list of Africa’s richest….
Whatever you do, make sure it results in
less work, more money and positive impact.
Update
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Well , meet Mr. Mwakazi as he shares more business tips here
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Well , meet Mr. Mwakazi as he shares more business tips here
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Virginia Mburu
The Work Less, Make more Money Passionate Entrepreneurs Coach
Virginia empowers and motivates Passionate
Entrepreneurs to realize their purpose and pursue it. She then assists the
entrepreneurs to clarify, prioritise and focus on management and marketing
strategies and action plans that will get them to work less, make more money
and positively impact within one year. Download some of her gifts- absolutely free lessons on www.biasharacoach.com
Contact Virginia and She will support you achieve business goals and move your business to the next level through the Biashara Coach programs under;
1.Improve your business performance through "My Productivity Optimization Formula"
2. Achieve your business and personal goals through "My Goal Setting and Achievement System"
3. Set up formidable business structures through "My Business Foundations Model
4. Keep a customer for life through my "My Customer Lifetime Value Optimizer"
5.Increase your customer numbers through "My Customer Multiplier Blueprint"
6. Set up a selling machine through "My World Class Sales System"
7.Design the lifestyle you always envied through "My Inside Out Lifestyle Design"
1.Improve your business performance through "My Productivity Optimization Formula"
2. Achieve your business and personal goals through "My Goal Setting and Achievement System"
3. Set up formidable business structures through "My Business Foundations Model
4. Keep a customer for life through my "My Customer Lifetime Value Optimizer"
5.Increase your customer numbers through "My Customer Multiplier Blueprint"
6. Set up a selling machine through "My World Class Sales System"
7.Design the lifestyle you always envied through "My Inside Out Lifestyle Design"
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