Lets get started.

Getting started again.

So since we said we are starting afresh, where do we start exactly? My number one problem and I believe it is for most people is money. We may have ideas on how to get started but the money we make in business can only cover certain things. What do we need then? More and more money? I don’t think so. We need to establish a relationship with money, we need to understand it and have discipline to keep it, because it is more about keeping it than making it.

But first we need to learn how to make it because we can’t keep what we don’t have. I have come across a social Media platform where one can connect with other entrepreneurs and market their business. The interesting thing about this platform particularly is that whenever you use it, you get credits points which can be redeemable for Cash.

This alone for me is worthy of all our attention. Basically we get paid to be on the platform. But now one can ask what this has to do with business?. This is a way to get funding. But how?

So let’s say depending on your points you are able to make R500 a month from the platform. This becomes the money you use to grow your business. With this money you can pay rent in advance, you can introduce another product, you can pay for other services (Insurance/Bookkeeping/consultation) that will assist your business and you can Invest in shares. This will expose your business to more people.

As an individual who has an idea and see potential of a profitable business. Say you make R500 from the platform, R200 you spend on personal expenses and the R300 you save for 6 months. You will be having R 1800. One may say it is not a lot but it is enough to start. You buy stock and starting selling. You continue saving the R300 for another 6 Months, then you buy stock again. Now you will be making money selling and from the Platform. In a year you would achieve a lot.

These examples however need discipline. You cannot want to wear a shoe costing R1500 while trying to start a business. And for ladies, you cannot want to do hair and nails costing R500 or more. We have to deprive ourselves of certain things until we are up and running

What is the cost of using this Platform? Well it is only data and this is an expense we already have.

Innovate and add value.

Comments

Supply

Supply- supply is the amount of a resource that firms, producers, labourers, providers of financial assets, or other economic agents are willing and able to provide to the marketplace or to an individual. Supply can be in produced goods, labour time, raw materials, or any other scarce or valuable object ( WikiPedia) I found this topic to be of great interest in a sense that one can be in and out of business because of a supplier. Demand and supply makes up the foundation of an economy. In business we can have an obstacle of a supplier. Recently I have halted selling a product due to a problem I had with a supplier. The supplier ran out of business and it was difficult to even find another supplier nearby. A supplier can increase prices meaning you also have to increase your prices. This seems simple but it tends to be difficult to maintain one’s clientele in such a situation. This problem of suppliers come with the risk of running a business, one must always be on the look...

Physical efforts

Taking care of your health. When you are in business you are taking care of alot of things and people. One must be both mentally and physically fit to exercise such responsibility. Reading is an exercise for the mind and working out or running is for the body. Business is about trust and how do you trust someone who looks like they are about to give birth? That is unhealthy. Heath concerns me alot and people need to educate themselves about the kind of food they need to eat. A healthy individual will run a healthy business. Physically appearance is everything especially in the service sector. Therefore, be neat, healthy and fit. Exercising for an hour a day will make a whole difference in your life and your business. Develop that mind

Competition

Why not compete? Competition is inevitable everywhere , people always want to be part of all the profitable markets , that's the business system. The issue is how do we deal with competition and how do we ensure that our services or products add more value than the others? I believe when one is faced with competition " Your Why" should direct you and help capture the market. But as you know how black people are, we want to eliminate the competition as soon as we see it, we tend to focus more on the outside factors instead of being strategic and aiming for innovation. Things in business almost always never go according to plan but one must find ways to stay relevant and to continue with the vision. Competition is our number one enemy and this then hinders our progress . We need to learn that it's an inside out factor not vice versa.

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