Small and youth-owned businesses in townships and predominately African areas fail because of owners’ negative habits and lack of entrepreneurial resilience.
This was said at an Entrepreneurs Seminar at SanKopano Community Centre convened by business organisations, Creative Minds and Elephantic.
The businesses were said to lack entrepreneurship character and their owners lacked the resilience to remain in business when faced with problems, opting to rather seek employment. This in spite of a good education and available support.
This mentality was partly attributed to apartheid which was said to have ingrained a sense of servitude, dependency and low self-esteem among black people which still inhibited them from realising their potential, including in business.
Precious Mvulane of Gad Consulting Services said this made potentially successful entrepreneurs fearful of exploring and taking business risks, opting to remain in a false sense of security. This fear, she said, diminished their aspiration for success and impacted their ability to adopt ethical business practices which could help them achieve unparalleled success.
“The fear also limits them from being creative and leaves a vacuum which migrant business owners exploited to massive success,” said Mvulane. “They should learn to analyse and understand business landscapes and seek help from those who have gone through the fears, set high moral standards as personal laws to abide by daily, feed themselves with positive thoughts and inspiring words and, to listen and act on positive advice.”
Financial expert and author Joshua Maluleke said the country’s high level of inequality, unemployment and poverty created a nation dependent on a disempowering sense of security from the welfare system. “Many who venture into business do so to evade unemployment but lack the requisite entrepreneurial spirit and capacity to withstand problems, resulting in them failing within the first year,” he said.
“Successful entrepreneurs should comprise 90 percent passion and 10 percent should be for financial gain.”
Mokopane Ledwaba of Elephantic said 64 percent of the businesses failed as they lacked vision, passion, discipline, business and work ethics. “They lack the initiative to engage mentors when struggling and don’t research to understand and adjust to customers’ and clients’ needs,” said Ledwaba.
“Successful entrepreneurs depend on information, networking and support which is abundantly available but not used in various government, private and public sector entities.”
Motivational speaker Mack Rabapane urged entrepreneurs to dream big, commit and make lasting impressions with their services to be able to survive and be sustainable. He urged them to learn from failure, to persevere and associate with positive individuals.
More seminars and training programmes are planned from this month.
Details: Sakhile Shabangu 071 972 9042.
