By Merit Ibe, [email protected]
Temi Ajibewa, a business coach and managing Director ‘Win or Win Consults, in this interview with Daily Sun, spoke on some of the common challenges faced by young entrepreneurs and gave tips on how to overcome them.
The branding expert and Founder, Temi Ajibewa Foundation, a social enterprise initiative empowering women and young people through mentoring, training and coaching, has been coaching for over seven years and lends her expertise as a management consultant to organisations that want to increase their productivity and brand effectiveness, through self mastery and personal branding training to startups
She shares her thoughts on business with Daily Sun.
Excerpt:
Role of mentorship in business success
Mentorship plays a huge role because mentors give you the psychological permission to be more, to do more. They show you what is possible. Mentors are people who have done what you want to do. They are people who have lived in your future.
Mentorship is important because mentors will show you what is possible, how they did it and it will help you to avoid the mistakes that they have made, or seen other people make. They shorten the process for you.
There are several platforms now that pair young entrepreneurs to seasoned ones. You reach out to your mentor not on a parasite level, but as one who has value to offer them. You need to ask yourself what skills, value you have to offer to your mentor in exchange so he or she can pay attention to you. To get their attention, you have to bring value to the table.
Sectors
Our coaching practices cut across sectors. So far there is an area of your life that you know you need accountability, motivation and inspiration. For you to follow through on the task that you need to do, then you need coaching.
Elements for successful entrepreneurs
For success in business, an entrepreneur must possess the following:
*Positive belief in yourself is critical to the success of any entrepreneur. You need to believe in what you do, the solution you bring to the market place and believe in your capacity to solve tangible problems for people. Our belief shape our disposition about life. It shapes our habit and actions.
So, no matter the success you want to achieve, if your belief about yourself is not right, you will fail. Your beliefs are shaped by your environment, experiences , your wiring. Your beliefs must be positive and not contradictory with your goals, plans, vision and others.
•Build trust with people.Trust is a social currency that you trade with. As an entrepreneur, do not over promise, ensure you deliver as promised especially online deliveries. Let your case not be a case of “what I ordered versus what I got.” Try to be trust worthy and fulfil customers’ orders as truthfully as you can.
•Keep up-skilling your talents and passion. At this age, people say follow your passion and dreams, but sometimes your passion is raw. To help you succeed, you need to take your passion and talent to school. Add more to what you know. Invest on educating yourself.
Submit to a mentor that can train you to be a better person so you can deliver at your highest level.
•Branding deliberately. One may be so amazing but if no one perceives you to be amazing, no one will patronize you. Ensure you brand both your person and business together. Invest in shaping people’s perception about you, especially in this internet age where perception is equal, if not more important than reality. Show up how you want people to address or regard you.
Impediments inhibiting young entrepreneurs
What is stopping them primarily would be access to resources and not just money as capital but access to even ideas. Most young people are clueless. And why? Because they don’t study, they don’t read. They are not imaginative, they are lazy to read, study and attend seminars. So, they are not open to ideas. And then there is a lack of mentorship, nobody is really showing us.
Other challenges may include lack of ideas, lack of cash, capital, infrastructure, there is no power and no good internet. These challenges inhibit young people from exploring business opportunities.
How to surmount challenges
To surmount challenges, entrepreneurs need to invest in themselves. They need to educate themselves. Read a blog post everyday on your industry. Take a course on Google, LinkedIn and others.
Education helps you overcome fear, lack of confidence, ignorance.
Success starts first from the mind. So, protect your mind, your sanity. Stay away from drugs, negative people, alcohol and negative vices.
Artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurs should embrace artificial intelligence and see how they can use it. They should not be ignorant. Understand what it is. Do your research and see the current role that AI is taking and see how you can plug in to it.
Business growth
For business growth, entrepreneurs need to go digital with their processes as much as possible to reduce overhead, in their marketing, delivery and production. With it, your cost of running business is substantially lower than usual. Go universal with your solution. Upgrade your solution to where people across the world can consume it. Make yourself scaleable, that is when you live in a global economy not one limited to naira and Kobo.