By Moses Chavi: FCCA, CIA, CFE, CRMA, CM
Why entrepreneurship is not merely an option
Many people believe that everyone is born a politician; and it is presumed this assertion emanates from the fact that most people would hardly miss a comment on political matters – even if they barely know anything. In comparison, rarely do you hear that everyone is born an entrepreneur, let alone finding random people talking about business ideas or entrepreneurial ventures. It just feels like a no-go-zone and many people start to shudder if asked whether they have ever considered becoming multi-millionaires through the entrepreneurial journey. The first thought is about the scarcity of capital, and then the dangers of living without a monthly paycheck. However, it is only when entrepreneurship is understood from the vantage point that its depth and ability to revolutionize our lives and the entire economy can be comprehended.
Why it matters
I would like to discuss a few points in support of entrepreneurship and why it has a pivotal role in the economic development of a country. Entrepreneurship is the act and art of being an entrepreneur or one who undertakes innovations or introducing new things, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods. It is simply the beginning of great dreams and the realization of the same. It is the nucleus of growth and the framework that supports personal and national development.
In support of their entrepreneurship program, the New York University President, John Sexton, said “the most complex problems will yield only to a combination of the deepest insights and the boldest willingness to act. So entrepreneurship occupies a special place at Universities; the span of higher education’s research enterprise and the interests of its scholars to advance human knowledge not only through enquiry into the fundamental nature of things, but also through a desire to apply knowledge to solve the problems of the societies in which we live”. And this is why it matters.
Everything in this world needs money, except for the free gifts from God such as the air we breathe and life itself. I nearly said water, but these days even water is being packaged in all forms and sizes to attract fat pockets. Utility water is even being rationed despite inviting mammoth monthly invoices. It is quite ironic for governments to be encouraging the citizenry to ‘go green’ whilst at the same time cautioning them to use water sparingly. You can only wonder when did water cease to be the main catalyst for green growth? I hope you captured my hidden lengthy oxymoron – read again!
That said, the money that develops families, institutions, religious establishments, and nations is not the monthly perks that employees eagerly get. That money can be called the pioneer fund or initial catalyst, since this is the money that brings ideas, demands savings, promises investments, and above all, inspires innovation through employer-employee frustrations. Entrepreneurship only comes into play after this “pioneer money” is transformed into seed money in order to bring forth more “monily colleagues” (more money). As Richard Branson puts it, there is no better way of making money than using money itself. However, with the passage of time, significant investment capital comes from external financiers such as angel investors and banks.
If someone doesn’t get rich through traditional business or advanced entrepreneurship, then they would have either won a rotary or they are performing some larceny from a hot pot. The only disadvantage of such wealth is that it rarely lasts, and it has a tendency of destroying the life of the owner. It is bad news.
The place of entrepreneurship in economic growth
In its simplest sense, the term entrepreneurship simply means money-making. All over the world, the big business brands such as Apple, Facebook, Walmart, McDonalds, are owned by people who are busy making money perpetually. Even when they choose to sleep, their brands are busy attracting more money for them. Ultimately the governments are quiet happy to be increasing their tax portions by the minute. Every cash-in by these businesses means a good “aha! Moment” for the government. This is what we are talking about!
Apart from taxation, governments that are able to attract good multi-nationals, apart from boosting local enterprises, get to enjoy ancillary investments by the business owners, including business infrastructure (modern buildings, etc), corporate social responsibility initiatives, and creation of touristic hubs. It is an issue of “attract them and be known”.
One thing I have discovered through the years is that expectation is always a perfect breeding ground of miracles, and I am mostly interested in the manner this principle works in the investment world. It is utterly true that some miracles happen on dry ground; and it is even truer that some would only happen where there is tangible faith (that’s the expectation). At a national level, this faith occurs by initiating local investments progress before you can attract the global giants like some of those mentioned above. You firstly have to prove to the world that businesses can blossom in your environment, and that move acts as a natural due diligence for the foreign investors. For example, in the simplest sense, let locals produce fresh fruit juice using local resources, package it and place it on the shelves of local super & hyper-markets, plus some regional superstores and hotel tables; promote the products and make organic money. On a higher level, grow the economy by covering our backs through owning local fertilizer companies, cement producers, steel plants, glass manufacturers, ceramic producers, cereal processors, adequate energy drivers and provision of consistent clean water across the country; then we can comfortably shout on TV that our country is a top 100 investments destination in the world….aha, that’s how it works.
Entrepreneurship creates learning and employment opportunities and promotes competition, which is a perfect catalyst for quality and branding. A nation is only as developed as the brains of its people. More businesses would entail a demand for unique skills and specializations such as accounting, marketing, economics, information systems and IT. The existing ‘mini-universities’ would be encouraged to rise above the waves and prove that they can train a brilliant local resource ‘recruitable’ by international solid brands. Such resources would nevertheless require initial local training through local enterprises because ultimately these are the people who will be business champions in the coming decades.
A nation’s progress is further notable through the ‘liquidity’ of its people and availability of basic necessities for life. There are some life essentials that are not debatable such health, food and education. These things need not fall within the category of luxuries, except in times when one needs to treat themselves to a higher standard of the same. But on the level plain, the consumption of proteins, rehabilitation equipment and learning materials should not only be provided to those with more per capita incomes (the elite few). If that happens then just know that the nation’s economic strata is questionable. So, of course we already have too many questions, but the climate appears to be alright. We are getting there limp by limp. An entrepreneurial culture changes all this as money gets trickled down to the average citizen, either through their own investment initiatives or through the help of some people who got tired at some point, and started working for themselves. I hope this sounds okay and resonates with ‘the tired-selected-few’
Encourage budding entrepreneurs
It is very crucial to encourage young and zealous entrepreneurs and give them a place of productivity in the economy. Nations are built on the foundation of small and medium enterprises; they are the vault of progress and the assurance of the better world to come.
Budding entrepreneurs can be promoted through many ways; just to mention a few:
- Provision of revolving business loans;
- Incentivizing their type of raw materials;
- Provision of pro-bono expert training;
- Allocation of business or industrial zones or specialized plots;
- Provision of tax incentives;
- Promotion of local businesses and access to angel investors (locally and internationally);
- Policy-based promotions of local products and services;
- Creation or promotion of well-funded idea & business incubation centres;
- Among many others.
If you desire entrepreneurship, you desire a noble calling
Most people would agree that it appears a waste of time to devote 8 to 9 hours of work every day, striving to make profits for others to get a pie of their surplus cash only after 30 days. However, work is a higher calling in all forms, whether working for someone or for yourself. At least, you should not be a busy-body. Be able to thank God for your current position or circumstances and do everything as a service unto your God and not only for your earthly masters.
That said, employment denies you the optimization of your free-will, no matter how innovative you are. Every organization will have its own policies and procedures within which everyone must ‘robotically’ operate. A daily routine will be work for 5-6 hours, go eat for an hour, come back and work another 4-5 hours, go home. Your innovation gets restricted within the routine and it is always hard to get brilliant ideas on behalf of someone. This is the reason most innovators today have a history of quitting campuses, employment, partnerships, or they were indeed fired because of ‘professional disobedience’. Take the examples of Mr. Zuckerberg, Mr. Gates, the late Mr. Jobs. I know it is better to provide local examples than these American multi-billionaires (who obviously possess some form of formal education and some deep practical experience – do not be deceived), but I am also of the view that dreaming big breaks all boundaries!
Imagine waking up in the morning and all you are thinking about is investing your 9 hours into a personal project that will bring you lots of money plus generous opportunities to serve your country, mankind, and your maker. It may not be as simple as I am trying to put it in this publication, but believe me, this is what is called life. Abundant life. You learn to allocate productive actions to your schedule and decide when to have your lunch and coffee. You start to hire people that do things for you, and at the same time make positive impact in their lives, and their extended families.
As I alluded somewhere in this article, ‘everything’ demands money. I am not sure if you’ve ever seen this ancient saying: “People enjoy eating, and wine makes life happier. But money solves a lot of problems.” (Ecclesiastes 10:19).
When you become an entrepreneur, apart from the dream of having a lot of money for yourself and your family, the noblest duty is the impact that you will have on the society and the country at large. Your social contributions will become remarkable, and earth-shaking through job creation, help offered to the underprivileged including widows and orphans.
About the Author: Moses is a Partner in Provalue Risk Advisory Firm, a Malawian Risk & Internal Audit Consulting Practice, and he is an Accounting Fellow, Internal Audit Thought-Leader, Author, and Corporate Cultural Change Advocate.