Mind of an entrepreneur

Mr. Shiyuka is a creative and small entrepreneur in Namibia and owner of Mobi Pay a small company and the first mobile provider in Namibia. His company’s licence was approved in 2010. He also worked at MTC and started it in 1995. He had to move from Tsumeb to Windhoek in search for better education. he then completed his high school and continued studying at University of Namibia.

Stories have been told about entrepreneurs, what is an entrepreneur? Are they born or made? Well, coming to the NBIC and RLABS training workshop made me realise a lot about entrepreneurs...As part of the training, we attended a presentation based on entrepreneurs and and how to overcome their challenges.

So the question remains, who is an entrepreneur? An entrepreneur is someone who is committed, disciplined, and persistent and studies their environment. Nowadays, entrepreneurs are faced with many challenges, of which they cannot overcome. To be an entrepreneur, you need to be self-driven and innovative...but always remember that collateral is not the issue because if you have a good idea, that idea can service collateral.

I had a chance to meet one of and had this to say;

During the presentation, Mr. Amos Shiyuka stated the following attributes or factors as important in the life of an entrepreneur:

• Self-awareness- believing in yourself

• Positive self and group identity
• Situational awareness- know your surrounding
• Always have a plan B- you need to have an exit strategy and an education behind you and always remember not to put your eggs in one bucket.
• Future focus- have a short and long-term plan because not all plans work out 100%
• Discipline- be financial discipline...know when to spent and on what

• Social confidence- take risks Pro-social connections- know the right people in the right place and do not associate yourself with the wrong people.

In business, “an entrepreneur should build a foundation with the same bricks others are throwing at you...your failure is always the first step to success”.

You need to Identify key partner- network of suppliers and your customers and Key activities, Customer value prepositions and Key resources- equipment or resources you need or who to consult, Customer relationship and Customer segment-identify your customers, Channels- how to deliver your products and Cost structure- what to spend and Revenue streams.

“Every step make it count”