Entrepreneurship
Many people today create their own employment, for a variety of reasons. You may have spotted an opportunity in the market, or are frustrated and feel unfulfilled in your current career and need a new challenge. You may want independence by not working for a boss, or wish to improve your financial position. You may want better working conditions. You may have been retrenched or cannot find a job in your geographical area or area of skill. Or you may be a young person with lots of energy, but you cannot find an entry position to the labour market.
Entrepreneurship is an exciting alternative to working for an employer. Starting your own business may not always be easy, but with hard work, determination and dedication and most important, good planning and knowledge of the product market, the rewards in terms of both income earned and job satisfaction, can be great.
Government in South Africa has realised the potential of entrepreneurship to create employment and additional revenue for the country and has put in place a number of strategies to stimulate the start-up of small businesses and co-operatives, which are two examples of entrepreneurship.
Small Business
A small business is often started up by one person and expanded to a family business, before other people are employed. It provides a product or service that is needed in the community and income is thus ensured for the owner.
Sometimes unemployed people start up what is called a “survivalist enterprise,” where they start off alone and for example sell fruit on the street corner or bake fat cakes. They make just enough money for their families to survive. There are many examples of what you can do to earn an income if you do not have one. Watch the Employment Services system of South Africa (ESSA) website for forthcoming survivalist business ideas.
When the business reaches the stage where about five people, usually family members, work together, it is called a “micro enterprise.” A “very small business” usually has less than 10 employees and a “small business” less than 100 employees
Do you have what it takes to start a small business?
The Checklist for Small Business Flair below indicates some qualities successful small business people have according to research. See how you match up against them.
Checklist for Small Business Flair
Make a tick (√) in the box next to the quality. Remember this checklist is not a scientific questionnaire that will ensure success for you, but only an indication as to what the qualities are that research indicates, are normally needed by successful business people.
Qualities of Successful Small Business Owners / √I have a strong sense of duty
I can solve problems
I can make plans and organise to get work done
I can take decisions
I start doing work by myself and do not need to be encouraged
I can persevere despite setbacks
I have lots of energy and enthusiasm
I am comfortable with taking risks if I know the chances for a positive outcome is good
I have good ideas
I can deal with stress
I can work long hours
I can network with other people and have a wide group of contacts
I can convince other people easily
I want to control the way how I work
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages:
The following can be advantages of starting a small business:
· It can be a source of income
· Small businesses give you some more flexibility with regard to working hours, although you must work very hard
· Giving people the feeling of satisfaction that they created something out of nothing
· Can be your own boss
· Ability to work from home
· Chances for building up something that you can sell later or give you wealth if it succeeds - all big businesses started small!
· The money needed for a small business is not too much
· Small firms often have exquisite products to offer.
Disadvantages:
Before you start a small business, consider the following possible disadvantages:
· Since a small business is started from the beginning, it needs a lot of marketing to become
Known to buyers.
· Most people prefer to do business with an established business - your service
and product thus has to be excellent and unique, to obtain a consistent client base.
· If start-up grants or loans cannot be paid back, it can have serious implications for the owner-
plan well and get financial advice.
· It is sometimes difficult to get start-up funds and the interest on it is high.
· Small businesses often deal only in a limited number of products and if the
demand for these products goes down, the business can go bankrupt.
· Starting a small business takes a lot of hard work, inspiration and perseverance. You need to
be prepared to go all the way and continue even more.
Your business idea
While not everyone can be entrepreneurial giants, you have skills, talents and services that you can offer and which other people need. It might be the best idea to start a “survivalist” business on a very small scale to make ends meet at first, or start a business as a part-time job and later expand your business, as your client base grows. There are many examples of learners at school who for example designed websites for looking up information on where wild animals are to be seen when on tour, when they were still at school, or a student who started to design buildings while he was still at University.
The first step in setting up your own business is to decide on what kind of business you would like to have. You need to think of any service or product that you could sell in your community. Ask yourself these questions:
· “What do people need and what do they find difficult to buy?”
· “What service do they require that are not being supplied by an existing
business in your area?”
· “What can I do better that existing businesses are doing?”
· “What raw materials do I have easy access to?”
You might find worthwhile ideas in newspapers and magazines or from franchisers (people who have bought a right to sell a specific company’s goods or services in a particular area), who have already tested viable ideas. Remember, you are your own biggest source of ideas. An idea may result from:
· Your career interests;
· Your hobbies;
· Your work experience;
· Exposure to other jobs and businesses;
· Your knowledge and skills;
· Available equipment;
· Available resources/raw material
You can use the Business Idea Planning Sheets below to help see if you can come up with a business idea.
Business Idea Planning Sheets
There are a number of Business Idea Planning Sheets on each area that provide you with inspiration on which Business Idea to choose.
Business Idea Planning Sheet on Career Interests
The following is a list of career fields in which you may have a career interest and wish to set up a small business. See what the career fields entail and write possible business ideas next to the career field that you find interesting or to your liking, or think that you can be passionate about. The career areas listed under each Career Field are not the only available, but can serve as an example of what you can do. You can also choose to do something that is a service to the field of your choice, for example provision of baking to the army.
Business Idea Planning Sheet on Career Interests
Career fields / Ideas for small business1. Agriculture and nature conservation
Small businesses that are in the following areas:
· Farming
· Gardening
· Forestry
· Caring for wild and tame animals
· Caring for parks / For example: Setting up a gardening service for home owners.
2. Culture and Arts
Small businesses that are in the following areas:
· Pottery and beadwork
· Dancing
· Singing and music
· Making jewellery
· Designing fashionable clothes or décor
· Drawing cartoons
· Other art work, such as painting pictures
· Television or video work
· Watch repairs / For example: Making exquisite silver jewellery
3. Business, commerce and management
Small business that are in the following areas:
· Doing financial statements
· Managing other people
· Buying goods for a company
· Marketing products and services for a company
· Administration of an office
· Developing statistics
· Helping people to buy and sell houses
· Taking phone calls for an office
· Typing documents / For example: Offering to do capturing of registration of clients off-site to the company
4. Communication Studies and language
Small businesses that are in the following areas:
· Using language to help people obtain information by speaking and writing.
· Translation of languages.
· Language expert
· Being a journalist for a magazine or newspaper.
· Copy writer (writing articles or documents),
· Writing fiction or non-fiction
· Edit written material
· Publishing books. / For example: If you are a good writer, you can write documents at home for organisations on your laptop
5. Education, training and development
Small businesses that are in the following areas:
· Teaching/training people of all ages in all educational institutions. / For example: Giving extra Mathematics classes to learners who experience difficulty with the subject.
6. Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology
Small business that are in the following areas:
· Drawing machines, bridges, roads, aeroplanes,
· Repairing electrical and electronic household appliances, such as stoves and TVs
· Making and fitting together parts of machines, so that they can work smoothly
· Mining
· Building and repairing engines and airplanes
· Plumbing
· Operating forklifts
· Designing and making tools
· Flying aeroplanes. / For example: If you have skills in repairing TVs, then you can begin to do that in your free-time, until you have built up your own business.
7. Human and Social Studies
Small businesses in the area of:
· Improving people’s functioning (Psychology and life skills training)
· Religious studies (clergyman and priest)
· History
· The earth and why people are living in cities (Geography)
· Human relations (sociologist)
· Ancient people and animals (Archaeology) / For example: A small business in historical tours
8. Law, Military Science and Security
Small businesses in the area of:
· Looking after the safety and security of people
· Justice in the country.
· Police Force
· Law
· Correctional (prison) services
· Following a military career (army, navy, air force)
· Traffic cop, / For example: A small business in security services
9. Health Sciences and Social Services
Small businesses in the area of:
· Helping people by caring for their bodily and mental health and well-being.
· Preventing illnesses, promoting health, caring for ill people, nursing
· Medical careers
· Social work.
· Dental care
· Eye care
· Medical services such as paramedic, radiography, physiotherapy, dietician and sports trainer, etc / For example: Setting up a small business such as selling medicines or providing relaxation therapies.
10. Mathematical, Physical, Computer and Life Sciences
Small businesses in the areas of:
· Working with numbers
· Working with computers
· Installing computers
· Working with plants and animals / For example: Small business in installing computers or designing webpages.
11. Services
Small businesses in the areas of:
· Serving people in restaurants and hotels and other leisure facilities
· Catering
· Tour guide or travel agent
· Game ranging
· Transport
· Personal care such as hair-dresser
· Care for old people
· Domestic servant
· Sales
· Handyman / For example: Setting up a catering business.
12. Physical planning and construction
Small businesses in the area of:
· Planning and drawing buildings like in architecture, building houses
· Road-building or bridge-building
· Electrical wiring in buildings.
· Painting and plastering buildings
· Working out building costs. / For example: A small business in painting other people’s houses.
Business Idea Planning Sheet on Hobbies
See whether you can perhaps start a small business through the skills you developed in a hobby. On the left hand side, list all your hobbies such as soccer, swimming, playing games on your computer, TV-watching, reading. Then on the right hand side, write down possible ideas for small businesses coming from the hobbies, that could possibly work.
Business idea Planning Sheet on Hobbies
Hobby / Small Business IdeaFor example Soccer / For example: Selling soccer caps and flags at games.
Business Idea Planning Sheet on Work Experience
Perhaps a job you had previously could lead to a small business idea. In the Planning Sheet on Work Experience list all the jobs you have done on the left side, on the middle all the tasks you had to do there and on the right-hand side, brainstorm possible small business ideas you can think of that can come as a result of the work experience.
Business Idea Planning Sheet on Work Experience
Position held / Tasks for post / Possible small business ideaFor example: Secretary for Executive Manager / Type documents
File documents orderly
Make appointments
Ensure Manager has trip bookings, hotel accommodation
Brief Manager on daily meeting schedule
Brief Manager on priority dates
Receive and make tea for guests / 1: Start small business at home typing documents for people
I2: Off-site trip arrangements for organisations
Business idea Planning Sheet on other Job/Business Exposure
You might have had experience as a volunteer in a work situation or worked for a friend or might have seen other people doing something interesting as a small business. See if any business idea can come forth from this type of exposure. Complete the Planning Sheet on other Job/Business Exposure. List all your experiences below each other in the left hand column and on the right hand side,
Business Planning Sheet on other Job/Business Exposure
Other job exposure / Business ideaFor example: Work as volunteer in an animal shelter / Care for the pets of other people when on holiday
Business Idea Planning Sheet for Knowledge and Skills