The entrepreneur of the 21st century [Article]

The sustainable business breakthroughs of the 21st century will occur not by chance or trial and error as it has been in the last decades, but through implementing well tested innovative business models. The real entrepreneurs who are the drivers of change in the economy plan strategically to stay above competition amidst turbulent changes in the business environment by seeking and applying the right mix of knowledge and skills.

Personal and professional knowledge have always been instrumental to preparing for unlimited success in every aspect of one’s life. Knowledge of your business, abilities, interests, strengths, weaknesses, and traits is essential to riding the front end of the wave of change into the new century. It gives you an extraordinary edge over the competition. However, most entrepreneurs are losing sight of the three most important elements that determine their success in the business world and these are the acquisition and use of the – right knowledge, skills and business tools.

People have taken almost all other risks that exist in the opportunity market, but it is no longer effective today to take uncalculated risks as the level of uncertainty is increasing in the competitive world. It is more effective and critical to understand the whole dynamics of entrepreneurship and success by investing time, energy and effort to learn and seek for empowering knowledge and skills, and to adopt the right business tools to increase certainty of business success.

This will help you take well informed risks and enable you live up to your true potential to be successful in any venture or project you set your eyes on.

The acquisition of knowledge and skills of entrepreneurship, which is the new global power, is a life-long experience, not a finite collection of facts or skills. Not long ago, what you learned in school was largely all you needed to learn to secure a career or build a business. With knowledge expanding exponentially, this is no longer the case.

Every thirty seconds, technology changes to invite more innovations and one’s formal educational knowledge has a short shelf-life to catch up with this. Life-long learning has become absolutely vital to continued success. You need to continue gaining knowledge and avoid thinking like you are already an expert.

The first and foremost step if you have or do not have experience in the business world and are looking for a way to get your business off the ground, is to come up with the most practical and innovative business plan. The clarity with which you operate your business is the key to your success. Therefore, the business plan serves as a model and framework to guide your clarity and success.

It is only with a good business plan that you can hope to attract the eyes of potential investors who are always extremely wary of what they invest their money in and why. The main thing that is going to attract an investor – and, in turn, cement the rationale for your business’s existence – is coming up with a compelling vision and purpose on which your business will be built on.

The role of strategy in growing your business will truly place you on the pedestal of greatness. However, it is not any other strategy or strategy by itself that works. Great commitment to implementing your strategy is key to your massive success. This calls for consistent business knowledge to adapt and choose the right mix of strategies. Never settle for an ordinary strategy.

Otherwise you will get ordinary results and achievements. If you do not know where you are going, any road could lead you there but you would not know when you have arrived. You will commit entrepreneurial suicide if you do not clarify where you want to go precisely and marshal all the resources needed to get you there.

Getting a good measure of your success and your potential for growth does not only require analyzing your own business – you must also analyze the competition. Conduct extensive research or seek professional assistance to examine all the factors that could be a threat to or opportunity for your business.

We need a real revolution in the way we conduct our businesses. Our customers and clients out there are asking for innovation and creativity. Let us don our armor to provide them with the best products and services by improving our knowledge and awareness of what it takes to be a great entrepreneur. We should move away from blindly copying what others are doing. Do not go into business because your colleague is prospering in that particular business, which is what is happening in most African countries, including Ghana.

This reminds me of the period that we set out to make business consulting accessible to small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Africa. Armed with clarity through careful business planning, coupled with consistent implementation of strategy, today, we are operating in two countries and we will be expanding to two different countries within the next two years.

It was as a result of a shared passion coupled with consistent learning through real life experiences and seeking of knowledge around business consulting to understand the needs of SMEs and young entrepreneurs. When you maximize your talents as an entrepreneur, you will be automatically committed to life-long learning, which will spur in you an unwavering commitment to succeed.

It will also increase your level of self-control and discipline. More so, you will have an extreme clarity and definiteness of purpose as well as plans and decisions with a keen sense of justice. Finally, you will have the spirit of willingness to assume full responsibility for your entrepreneurial development, and exude a more imaginative and innovative personality. Today take action to:

  • Increase your reading, while decreasing your television watching.
  • Attend business seminars and read a business development book at least once a month.
  • Share your ideas, plans, and goals with a trusted friend to gain more insight.
  • Reflect on what you are learning everyday about yourself and your business.

It is my hope that you will make a conscious effort to add value to your entrepreneurial potential. May this material bring new insight, produce an awakening and spark renewed desires and passions in you to commit to being the best entrepreneur in this 21st Century.

Taking action to add value to your knowledge as an entrepreneur is no longer a luxury but a necessity. You have the keys that will open the door to your desired future. Jumpstart your entrepreneurial engine now!

 

By: Jonas Nyabor