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Every major decision, i pray…

Where Are The Best Business Opportunities In Zimbabwe?

So where and what are the best business opportunities for entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe? Usually i have three answers to that question…but today, just one really important one. But you might not like it…

Opportunities are everywhere in Zimbabwe. Opportunities to make money make a difference, make a living – make whatever. The problem is not the lack of local business opportunities; it’s your inability to see them. Fortunately, that’s not as hard as it seems, once you know how.

So, let me show you how…

No One Can Do This

“No one does it”

• No one wants to help
• No one wants to forgive
• No one can do it better
• no one is dependable
• No one cares
• No one

Why I Hate ‘Tawanda’ – And How To Be Rememebered

I hate “Tawanda”, and “Tendai” and “John Smith”. No, not Tawanda Nyambirai from TN Holdings or Tendai X from wherever – not the people, the names.

I’d bet there isn’t a more common name in Zimbabwe than Tawanda except maybe Tendai. They’re just too common, and common means average and average means boring and boring means easily forgotten. ‘Tawanda’ might be a great guy (all one million of them), but Tawanda is exactly the opposite of what you want for our business.

Boring is easily forgotten. It’s expensive to build a brand around boring…it’ll take a lot more time and money to be remembered, to stand out, to be remarkable.

Think about it

Too many Zimbabwean entrepreneurs right now starting Tawanda businesses, selling Tawanda products and creating Tawanda marketing. I hope you’re not one of them. I’m busy going through everything around me now getting rid of anything that’s ‘Tawandarish’. You should too.

Oh. and if you’re name is Tawanda, no offense! I mean it’s a lot better than being a Lucifer. 

Oh and could have chosen any common name for this purpose – for example “Max” is one of the all time most popular dog names in the world, not flattering! However – “Tawanda” for those who don’t speak Shona, actually means “there’s a heck of a lot of us”. When it comes to your business, you want to be able to say “There’s no one like us”.

Street Smarts VS Book Smarts in Business

Whenever i talk about Book smarts vs street smarts, someone accuses me of trashing educational institutions or hating business school. Those who are educated exclusively in this way get sensitive and think that I’m saying that they don’t know anything – so not true…

Well um…sort of!

School smarts (formal education) are great, got nothing against them at all. They award certificates that look great on a CV. They teach you concepts and principles that you might not find elsewhere as easily. They can even make your name look better on paper and help establish your credibility – after all, if your life depended on it, who’d you prefer to meet at the operating table in a hospital…

Dr Max Soutter or Mr Max Soutter?

If you’re a professional climbing the corporate ladder and that’s your goal, then you should know that there are many doors that a piece of paper can open for you – rightly so, for the most part.

BUT and it’s a big but…in business, for entrepreneurs, the world works differently.

In business more academic qualifications don’t equate to you being more intelligent, better equipped or more likely to succeed…sometimes it can even mean the opposite. The most important qualifications, knowledge or skills in business aren’t gained in any formal academic system.

For those my friend, you’ll have to go to the Street University!

The street university is where your theories, ideas and ‘the stuff you’re made of’ is tested. The street university isn’t looking to see how many books you’ve read or how many degrees you have. Rather it’s looking to see how determined, focused and courageous you are. The Street university is also where we find out if your idea, that looks amazing on paper is actually practical or if you are in fact the man to pull it off.

The difference between these two is why career professionals (or long time employees) often have a very hard time making the transition from employee to entrepreneur. The two world’s work very different

For example

• Employees are rewarded for following instructions, conforming to established systems and expectations (just like in school)
  
• Entrepreneurs are most rewarded for standing out, going against the grain and creating their own systems
• Employees are expected to perform to the degree that they’ve been equipped with support systems to perform (like school).
• An entrepreneur needs to perform no matter what.
• Most employees get paid even if they have a bad week – or month. Some get paid even to do close to nothing (in school, besides major exam years, you get to progress from one grade to another, even if you don’t ‘deserve’ to.)
  
• Entrepreneurs get paid accordingly to the value they create. Bad performance will almost always affect your pay-day.
• Employees will tend to focus on their job security.
• Entrepreneurs will tend to focus more on financial freedom…and the job security of others.
• Employees are often given a daily agenda and initiative often hindered (Just like teachers dictate the agenda of most students).
• When an entrepreneur wakes up, he has to design his own agenda and initiative is a must.

‘Street university’ or the school of the practical is a very different world to the world where you’re given all the rules, a pre-thought out syllabus, a teacher to guide you through it and a fairly predictable exam. BUT

Street University doesn’t have to be a School of Hard Knocks!

School of Hard Knocks implies that you’re only learning the hard way, but you can be smarter than that, right?

• Learn from people who have already made the mistakes you might have made and are already achieving the goals you’re setting for yourself.
• Learn by acting on your goals and ideas. Don’t let perfectionism keep you from acting.
• If you make a mistake, get back up fast, learn the lesson and move on.
• Increase your EQ (emotional quotient)
• Develop your leadership skills

If I could only have one, I’d choose street smarts over school smarts.  Fortunately it’s not either or. The street university is often turned in the school of hard knocks when you start out with stupid theories or just plain ignorance of basic concepts. Concepts that are taught in formal educational setups.

So Both is best as long as you know which is which I guess.

Stay smart.

Homosexuals In Heaven?

A struggling someone asked – “Will God allow Homosexuals in Heaven?” The answer is NO! Nor will he allow thieves, murderers, liars – or anyone who has ever committed even the smallest sin – especially not you.

Heaven is not for sinners of any kind – yet that is all any of us is without Jesus. God will not allow anyone who is of that first Adam…that natural man, into Heaven, but he will allow all of us, who are in Christ, the last Adam. You see the thing is to stop thinking of someone Else’s sin as greater or less than your own. Whatever are the ‘big sins’ in people’s eyes are all small in comparison to the blood of Jesus.

The issue first and foremost and by far is not which particular sin have you committed, how many times and is it better or worse than mine – no the issue is, if your faith in Jesus and his GIFT of righteousness or in yourself. If you are in Christ, you are free from judgement and free from the chains of sin and heaven bound…even if you fail in a certain area.

That’s why it’s called a gift of grace. You can’t earn it, or deserve to keep it. It’s by grace…so lets take our focus off of our own selves and back on to Jesus. Jesus is enough.

How Social Media Marketing Works

Everyday in Zimbabwe, and really, all across Africa, businesses are finally waking up to the opportunity of social media marketing. Facebook especially. Problem is, most people and companies just have no real clue about how it really works, so that even large brands with large followings on Facebook or Twitter for example, just don’t really see much in the way of bottom line results. So…what to do? How does it work? What’s the best strategy?

Who Wants To Be A Sheep?

Who wants to be a sheep of an entrepreneur? A white, fluffy, helpless sheep? Before you answer, consider the life of the sheep…

He has no sharp teeth, no long claws, no battle armour and no scary growl to scare off hungry wolves. He doesn’t run fast or jump high and he cannot camouflage his white wool against the green grass – He is an all together easy target for any predator.

Oh and if that wasn’t already bad enough…

The only thing a

How To Change An Impossible Situation

Business is a test. Few realms of endeavour will have you encountering as many challenges, and in Zimbabwe – much more so. 2012 for example was a heck of a hard year for many. However there is a difference between what is hard and what is impossible.

‘Hard’ is a measure of difficulty. A measure of the effort it’s going to take to get through to the other side. Hard is a test – hard times show you what stuff you’re made of, what makes you tick, how much you want it. However, let’s be clear, If something is

2012…Is it Really Over? Phew!

Not by might…

Just a little while longer and ‘The Year From Hell’ will be over! Well that’s at least how a couple of people I know would describe it. I was close to that too. I’ll admit, on ‘Wonderfulness-Of-Life-Ometer’, this has not been one of my best – not even close.

In 2012, I made more mistakes, failed in more ways than probably any year I’ve had since 1996 when I spent every waking moment playing video games and wondering why I didn’t make progress! Never was a year so full of heart breaks, secret tears, sleepless nights, unproductive days and reoccurring failures as was 2012 for me. A lot of really heart breaking experiences and all for one mega important lesson.

A lesson so important that it’s