The road to financial freedom

You might have lost your job or you are just bored with what you are doing in your current job. It’s high time you consider going entrepreneurial – starting your own business.
But you might be asking, “What business can I go into?”
There are so many opportunities out there as long as you can identify a problem that needs to be solved. You don’t need to be a genius, a rocket scientist or an MBA graduate to spot these ideas and turn them into profits, either.

Identifying business opportunities is often as easy as identifying problems many people share and finding a way to solve them.
You can turn your hobby, interest or skill into a satisfying and often profitable business. You just need to see a need in the world around you and find a way to fill it. Some people rightly identify the need but then don’t have the guts to convert their idea into action.
One best way to enter into business is to do what you love to do.

You need to look at what you are passionate about and turn this into a business idea provided there are customers out there who like what you will provide. If you love what you do, your passion for the business will drive you to be knowledgeable, creative and persistent.
The late Steve Jobs, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Apple said, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

When going into business, you don’t necessarily need to start from scratch and come up with a completely novel, innovative product. You can take a current product that’s on the market and modify it a little bit and this might bring the change that the customer has been waiting for. You need to be listening to the needs of the customer to pick this.
You can also turn your skill or industry knowledge into marketable new products or services. You might be a mechanic – turn your skill of fixing cars by setting up a repair and tune-up service centre, or you could be an accountant – then provide bookkeeping services or a caterer – start providing a speciality dish to workers around you.
You have skills that are needed out there. Everyone is endowed with skills which are in demand. The skill you have might be needed by others who are learning the same trade. So you could teach your skills to those who need it. Set up a school or do it from home. There are a lot of people who want to acquire your skills and you can give them at a charge.
If you want to grow into a big business using your skills, you might need to look at solving big companies’ business problems by turning yourself into an industry consultant providing the rare skills that you possess.

Sometimes you just need to look for mundane, unexciting and boring tasks that are potential money spinners. Many business owners are making profit by selling routine and sometimes unglamorous services such as waste collecting, house cleaning and plumbing. Certain societies look at these jobs as demeaning but if not addressed they can be an eyesore.
That’s where the opportunity is. The key to making money with the boring, unexciting, unglamorous routine tasks is to sell something your customers can’t do, don’t want to do, don’t have the time to do, or can’t get done well elsewhere. So be on the lookout for such tasks.
Why not turn your hobby into cash by spinning it into a business. Are you a good photographer, then get busy capturing weddings, or are you into floral arrangements then use this on company functions. Try to turn that hobby into a cash generating business.

You can however avoid starting a business from scratch by just purchasing an existing one. An existing business has the advantage that it has trained employees who know the business, so there is no need to recruit and train new employees. You already have a customer base with a stream of orders flowing in so cash flow problems will be minimised.
An existing business has the necessary infrastructure in place. You should however do a due diligence exercise before you buy a business because you don’t know why the business is on sale. There could be serious problems which the seller has not revealed.

Another way of getting into business, if you don’t want to develop a product or develop processes or systems is to buy a franchise.
A franchise gives you a kit to build your own business by getting the rights to use the franchise name, distribute a branded product or service, and perhaps use the franchise’s methods of operations. The benefit of this approach is that it simplifies start-up and may also help reduce the chance of failure.
For your new venture to succeed, you need enthusiasm and hard work. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work,” said Thomas Edison, an inventor.

•  Stewart Jakarasi is a business and financial strategist and a lecturer in business strategy, advanced performance management and entrepreneurship.
  He is the Managing Consultant of Shekina Consulting (Pty) Ltd and provides advisory and guidance on leadership, strategy and execution, corporate governance, preparation of business plans, tender documents and on how to build and sustain high-performing organisations.
  For assistance in implementing some of the concepts discussed in these articles please contact him on the following contacts: sjakarasi@gmail.com, call on +266 58881062 or WhatsApp +266 62110062 .

Stewart Jakarasi