Small African Business Network

We’ve all been there. We wanted to start a and told our friends, families, mentors and acquaintances about it. We listened to tons of recommendations only for them to backfire at us. Here are some of the worst we’ve heard:
i. Do what you love. The truth: Just because you love doing something doesn’t mean that others will find it helpful or necessary. And if no one buys what you’re selling, then doing what you love won’t really get you anywhere.
ii. If you build it, they will come. Truth: Building an offering doesn’t mean that you’ll actually attract any customers. If you don’t do the research and find a market for your product or service, you very well could be in for a shock.
iii. The customer is always right. Truth: While the customer is right at times, they aren’t always right. For example, if you’re constantly giving discounts or changing your services/products every time a customer makes a demand, you could be hurting your and your bottom line.
iv. Never turn down a paying . Truth: Not everyone is your customer. Know this and know peace.
v. Quit your day job. Truth: If you’re just starting, it may very well be in your best interest to keep your while building a business.
vi. Stay away from saturated markets. Truth: While that is true to an extent; you can start a business in an established market as long as you have at least one unique thing that sets you apart from your
vii. You can do everything yourself. Truth: You don’t know it all. And while you might not have the money to hire at the beginning, you can outsource some tasks to
viii. Stick to your plan. Truth: While a is important; sometimes things change, and you should be able to adapt your plan to those changes.
We are sure we could fill up a dictionary about gone wrong, but we’d take a pause here today. Have you ever read or been given the wrong advice? What happened? What lessons did you learn? Talk to us in the comments section below.

TALK WITH SOMEONE WITH A SUCCESSFUL FINANCIAL HISTORY

To attain your desired , you need to identify someone who has done well with their and spend time asking questions, just like career .
You are probably wondering, “Why can’t I employ the services of a ”, right? The truth is that some financial planners will give you poor advice in an attempt to make money off of you.
Advantages of talking with a successful person in your network
i. They can help you break down what they did to get there.
ii. They can help you put strategies in place to achieve them
iii. They can help you identify attainable financial goals.
I’m positive you already have a successful person in your mind who you would like to talk with. HOLD ON, you can’t go for that meeting UNPREPARED. Do your homework and think through questions to ask to get the best out of the meeting.
Here are a few areas you need to cover.
1: How to develop strategies to achieve your financial goals.
2: and managing your money.
3: Identify long, medium and short-term goals.
4: Developing an
Tell them you admire them and would like to learn from them. You will be surprised at how much you’ll learn from them in an hour or less.
Follow this page for more tips on ways to grow financially.

The good news is that anyone can start a business. The bad news is that starting a business that grows and generates revenue isn’t easy. So, whether you intend to start a or you’re a who is thinking of an expansion, here are top resources that you need:
i. Get the necessary business knowledge: Business knowledge, before you start or while expanding your business, is very important. While you don’t have to school at Harvard (unless you can afford it), you can gain knowledge on sites such as Udemy, Masterclass, Skillshare, Alison and the likes.
ii. Analyse your strengths and weaknesses: When creating your business plan or tweaking it to suit your expansion model, one of the first steps we recommend is that you do a frank assessment of your skills. For example, if your business is internet-based and you have no idea about website development, the right thing to do is to hire a company to design and maintain your website.
iii. Find enough capital: Unless you have deep pockets or you’ve been saving up for a very long time, then you need finance to start or expand your business. To get started, you will need to use your personal savings or sell some of your assets or remortgage a property. Most times, investors want to see that you’ve invested your funds into your business before they do.
iv. Get business support: Since no one is an island, it would be wise to have a good support system. A good support system could be from your home, family, friends, business circle or mentors.
Before you start your business, ensure that all of these resources alongside your commitment and determination are in place, as they would be the foundation for a successful business.