SMEs - survivalist start ups in South Africa present a unique problem
SMEs - survivalist start ups in South Africa present a unique problem
The problem is that many of these people have absolutely no previous experience or knowledge of the business in which they intend to invest the money loaned to them, nor do they often have any work experience, or any form of exposure to the intended business.
This is often reflected in their HR plans / org charts, which often indicate themselves as CEO, a manager or two and a host of employees. They all see themselves heading up a "small empire" of at least 4 or 5 people. The problem is that they want to manage what they do not understand, and often a business that could hardly sustain much more than 1 or 2 people. Sales are simply edited to ensure a profitable business.
The truth is that many of these people are survivalist entrepreneurs. They cannot get jobs, and this is their last option for survival. The situation is confused by the fact that they are literate and educated, often have management diplomas, or have attended one or other business course, so they talk as though they are experienced. They also have expectations of owning a big business. Often they want a business that will make them millionaires overnight.
These people present a different problem to that of the survivalist who is older, a family breadwinner, yet uneducated and often illiterate.
While the government sees entrepreneurship as a solution to this problem, the solution is better suited to the survivalist who is older and illiterate than to the younger educated survivalist. Simply because the older illiterate person has lower expectations, and therefore they are more likely to succeed.
These young people need to learn to lower their expectations and start at the bottom. Most of the entrepreneurs I know , including myself, started as one man operations doing everything. It was only once we became more experienced and had built up our capital, that our new ventures started with staff.
South Africa faces a tough problem resolving this problem!
Rob Smorfitt
SMEs survivalist start ups in South Africa present a unique problem - To learn more about this author, visit Dr. Rob Smorfitt's Website.
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Government efforts to stimulate entrepreneurship would appear to have made some impact, as the number of people seeking finance for their ventures has most definitely increased.
The problem is that many of these people have absolutely no previous experience or knowledge of the business in which they intend to invest the money loaned to them, nor do they often have any work experience, or any form of exposure to the intended business.
This is often reflected in their HR plans / org charts, which often indicate themselves as CEO, a manager or two and a host of employees. They all see themselves heading up a "small empire" of at least 4 or 5 people. The problem is that they want to manage what they do not understand, and often a business that could hardly sustain much more than 1 or 2 people. Sales are simply edited to ensure a profitable business.
The truth is that many of these people are survivalist entrepreneurs. They cannot get jobs, and this is their last option for survival. The situation is confused by the fact that they are literate and educated, often have management diplomas, or have attended one or other business course, so they talk as though they are experienced. They also have expectations of owning a big business. Often they want a business that will make them millionaires overnight.
These people present a different problem to that of the survivalist who is older, a family breadwinner, yet uneducated and often illiterate.
While the government sees entrepreneurship as a solution to this problem, the solution is better suited to the survivalist who is older and illiterate than to the younger educated survivalist. Simply because the older illiterate person has lower expectations, and therefore they are more likely to succeed.
These young people need to learn to lower their expectations and start at the bottom. Most of the entrepreneurs I know , including myself, started as one man operations doing everything. It was only once we became more experienced and had built up our capital, that our new ventures started with staff.
South Africa faces a tough problem resolving this problem!
Rob Smorfitt
SMEs survivalist start ups in South Africa present a unique problem - To learn more about this author, visit Dr. Rob Smorfitt's Website.
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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