Category: Entrepreneurship Education and Mentoring

How Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom Creates Wealth and Abundance

March 26th, 2023

The earth is filled with treasures and is a reservoir of wealth and abundance. The key purpose of entrepreneurship on earth is to harness, multiply and control earth resources for the benefit of the human race.

Through knowledge, understanding and wisdom entrepreneurs relate the biotic and abiotic components of earth’s treasures and continue the work of creation and transformation by forming products and services that enhance the lives of people. Many things we see come from ideas, unseen things that have been imagined by entrepreneurs, and through wisdom they use knowledge and understanding to form the foundation of creativity.

Knowledge is the foundation of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs need to have a deep understanding of their industry, their customers, and the challenges they are trying to solve. Without knowledge, entrepreneurs are likely to make costly mistakes, overlook critical opportunities, and struggle to build sustainable businesses.

Understanding is about applying knowledge to specific situations. Entrepreneurs need to understand how to take their knowledge and use it to create value for their customers. This involves understanding how to identify and solve problems, how to communicate effectively, and how to create products and services that meet the needs of their target market.

Wisdom is the ability to make sound judgments, and decisions based on experience and understanding. Entrepreneurs need the wisdom to navigate the challenges of building a business, including managing risk, making tough decisions, and adapting to changing market conditions. Wisdom comes from experience, and successful entrepreneurs are constantly learning from their mistakes and using that knowledge to make better decisions in the future.

Knowledge, understanding, and wisdom are all essential for entrepreneurs who are seeking to build successful businesses. The mind of the entrepreneur is the operating engine of wisdom. The earth is filled with treasures and reservoirs of wealth and abundance and it is the goal of the entrepreneur to search them out, through knowledge, and create values from these treasures through understanding. No one can see these treasures and apply the knowledge without wisdom. Entrepreneurs can only build sustainable businesses through wisdom. By having a deep understanding of their industry, customers, and challenges, and by applying that knowledge to create value and make sound decisions, entrepreneurs can build sustainable businesses that create value for their stakeholders.
How An Entrepreneur Should Build Leadership Skills

March 24th, 2023

Leadership is a skill that enables entrepreneurs to achieve their goals. It is necessary for every aspect of life and has its prime importance in business ventures. True leaders have integrity they are forthright with their business deals. They also communicate openly and often to ensure that they are properly understood. Entrepreneurs, who build leadership skills are essential to managing and growing their businesses. Here are some steps they take to develop your leadership skills in their companies:

Lead by example:

Entrepreneur, who intends to build leadership in their company should aim to be role model for their team. They demonstrate the values, ethics, and work ethic that they want their team to follow.

Learn from other leaders:

Attending seminars, reading books, listening to podcasts, and learning from the experiences of the leadership styles of successful entrepreneurs and business leaders breed good leaders in an organisation.

Communicate effectively:

Effective communication is crucial in leadership. Learning how to communicate ideas, goals, and expectations clearly to your team is a very critical skill for a leadership position in a company.

Empower the team:

It is crucial to encourage the team to take ownership of their work, give them autonomy, and trust their abilities. It is also important to make the team understand that it is critical to accept and learn from mistakes and failures while building leadership skills. This will not only boost the team’s confidence but also free up their time to focus on other aspects of the business venture.

Be open to feedback:

A leadership student asks for feedback from the team and other stakeholders and is open to criticism. This will help them identify their strengths and weaknesses and improve their leadership skills.

Set clear goals:

Defining the business goals and communicating them to the team by breaking them down into smaller, achievable milestones, and tracking progress regularly builds a smart business through leadership.

Lead through change:

Entrepreneurs must adapt to changing market conditions, technologies, and customer needs. Learning to lead the team through these changes by being agile, flexible, and innovative is the mark of good leadership.

Remember that leadership skills are not developed overnight. It takes time, effort, and a willingness to learn and improve. Entrepreneurs should be patient, persistent, and consistent in their efforts to build their leadership skills, to see the benefits in the growth and success of their business.
Why Financial Knowledge is Vital for Entrepreneurs

March 24th, 2023
Financial and accounting knowledge refers to the understanding and awareness of financial concepts, principles, tools, and strategies that help individuals and entrepreneurs make informed decisions about their financial affairs.

Financial and accounting knowledge covers knowledge about personal finance, investment, budgeting, risk management, taxes, and other related areas.

Entrepreneurs need to have the financial knowledge to effectively manage their finances, achieve their financial goals, and make sound financial decisions. Financial and accounting knowledge can be gained through education, experience, and professional advice from financial experts.

Entrepreneurs need financial and accounting knowledge for several reasons:
- Financial management: Accounting and financial knowledge help entrepreneurs manage their finances effectively. They can keep track of their income, expenses, profits, and losses. This allows them to make informed decisions about their business, such as when to invest in new equipment, hire new employees, or expand their operations.
- Budgeting: Entrepreneurs need to create budgets to plan their spending and ensure that they are not overspending. Financial and accounting knowledge can help entrepreneurs to create accurate and realistic budgets based on their income and expenses.
- Tax compliance: Entrepreneurs must comply with tax regulations to avoid penalties and legal issues. Financial and accounting knowledge can help entrepreneurs to keep accurate financial records, calculate their taxes correctly, and file their tax returns on time.
- Access to funding: Entrepreneurs often need to raise funds to start or grow their businesses. Investors and lenders require financial information to assess the viability of the company. Financial and accounting knowledge can help entrepreneurs to prepare financial statements and reports that demonstrate the financial health of their business and its potential for growth.
- Business planning: Entrepreneurs need to plan for the future and set goals for their businesses. Accounting and financial knowledge can help entrepreneurs to create financial projections based on historical data and market trends. This allows entrepreneurs to make informed decisions about the future of their businesses.
In conclusion, financial and accounting skills are essential for entrepreneurs because they provide the information they need to manage their finances effectively and make informed decisions about their business ventures.
Why Every Businessman Should Know Basic Accounting

March 23rd, 2023

Accounting is the process of recording, summarizing, and analyzing the financial transactions of a business. It involves tracking the money that flows in and out of a business and creating reports that show the financial health of the business.

Businessmen need to know to account because it helps them to make informed decisions about their business. Accounting provides them with the information they need to manage their finances, create budgets, and plan for the future. It helps them to understand how much money is coming in and going out of the business, where the money is being spent, and how much profit the business is making.

Accounting also helps businessmen to comply with tax regulations and other legal requirements. By keeping accurate financial records, businessmen can ensure that they are paying the right amount of taxes and avoiding penalties and legal issues.

Overall, accounting is essential for businessmen because it provides them with the information they need to manage their finances effectively and make informed decisions about their businesses.
The importance of Trust in a business venture

March 20th, 2023
Building Trust among employees, shareholders and stakeholders is a critical factor in the success of any business venture. Trust is the building block of the foundation of business culture and operational efficiency. It refers to people’s confidence and reliance on the business venture to fulfil their promises and obligations. There are several reasons why trust is crucial in a business venture:
1. Building Relationships: Trust is the foundation of building long-term business relationships with customers, partners, and investors. When people trust a business, they are more likely to stay loyal and continue to do business with them.
2. Enhancing Collaboration: Trust is essential for effective collaboration between different parties in a business venture. When there is trust, people are more likely to share ideas and work together to achieve common goals. Trust is the basis of teamwork and innovation.
3. Managing Risks: Trust is the basis of managing strategic and commercial risks in a business venture. When clients trust a business, they also trust the solution the business venture offers.
4. Improving Reputation: Trust builds a business’s reputation. A business that is known for its trustworthiness and integrity offers better quality products and services and attract new customers and retains existing ones.
5. Increasing Efficiency: When there is trust in a business, it leads to greater efficiency and productivity. Employees learn to communicate openly and honestly, which helps to prevent misunderstandings and minimize delays.
Overall, building trust among employees is a vital component of any successful business venture. It takes time to build trust, but it is worth the effort as it can lead to increased profitability, growth, and success in the long run.
What To Inherit To Sustain Wealth From Generation To Generation

March 1st, 2023

Inheritance is commonly referred to as the process whereby an individual bequeaths to their loved ones after they pass away. However, my study on the relationship between entrepreneurship and wealth for over 37 years, has shown that the passing of assets is not all that there is, in the inheritance from parents.

Passing down stocks or bonds, and other assets such as jewellery, automobiles, art, antiques, real estate, cash, rights and property to children are not sustainable if they are not accompanied by other categories of inheritance. It is significant to mention that in the principles and precepts of entrepreneurship; it is not complete for the beneficiary to inherit non-enduring treasure without the enduring factors of wealth creation, maintenance and the ability to create services for humanity.

In another sense, inheritance is also understood as passing genetic information on from parents to children. So members of the same family have similar characteristics and traits. The inheritance of each trait is determined by factors (now known as genes) that are passed onto descendants. Individuals inherit one factor from each parent for each trait. A trait may not show up in an individual but can still be passed on to the next generation. These exchanged genes determine the capacities of the individual to develop and learn soft and hard skills needed to succeed in life and build sustainable business ventures that sustain wealth in a family.

The rules of inheritance differ among African communities, and societies and have changed. The Christian scriptures and the Quran transform the concept of inheritance to include the acquisition of spiritual blessings and promises from God. In the theological sense, to inherit means to “receive an irrevocable gift” with an emphasis on the special relationship between the benefactor and the recipients. African and Jewish inheritance customs were linked to family bloodlines, and Greek and Roman laws also provided for the disposition of family possessions through the adoption of an heir.

However, the bequeathing of final blessings, family network, rights and privileges associated with the family name and the family convictions to an heir is private and legal too. Unlike legal inheritance, the benefactor, God, does not die, yet He provides material and spiritual blessings as an inheritance for his people. Legal inheritance refers to actual property or goods received after a family member’s death. Officially bequeathing private property and/or debts can be performed by a testator via will, as attested by a notary or by other lawful means.

Therefore, to maintain a sustainable process of inheritance all the blessings of the parents before they pass away, their private convictions and beliefs, and the rights, titles, entitlements, and obligations related to the family name must be properly transferred. In addition, the heirs should take custody of the network and privileges of the family relationships with others, and the property, investments and assets upon the death of the parents or individual. These five categories of inheritance ensure that the heir is equipped to manage and sustain the wealth and treasures within their lifetime and also be able to transfer them to the next generation.

The anomaly is that most people cannot pass all these requirements of inheritance before they depart this earth. So parents must learn to put their house in order at all times by living one day at a time.
Soft and Hard Skills for Young Entrepreneurs

February 21st, 2023
Soft skills are personal attributes that support situational awareness and enhance a young person’s ability to get a business venture into reality. Soft skills are often synonyms for people skills or emotional intelligence. Unlike hard skills, which describe a person’s technical ability to perform a specific task, soft skills are broadly inherited or learned from home. Hard skills get the entrepreneur into the business, but soft skills help the entrepreneur build a sustainable business venture.

Top Soft Skills for Young Entrepreneurs
- Creativity,
- Trust,
- Persuasion,
- Collaboration,
- Adaptability,
- Resilience,
- Patience,
- kindness,
- Eloquence.
- Creative thinking
- Leadership
- Listening
- Time management
- Critical thinking
- Conflict resolution
- Negotiation
Today’sTop Hard Skills for Young Entrepreneurs
- Scientific Computing,
- Analytical reasoning,
- Data Analytics,
- Blockchain,
- Cloud Computing,
- Coding,
- Online Marketing,
- Artificial Intelligence,
- Video production,
- UX Designs,
- Business Analysis
All business ventures require a team, making employees’ abilities to interact positively with others a valuable asset required to accomplish any project. As a result, business leaders are seeking workers who possess teamwork, collaboration, communication, problem-solving skills, and other emotional and cognitive capabilities to work in multimember, multidisciplinary, geographically and/or culturally dispersed teams. Giving young people opportunities to practice and learn soft and hard skills gives them an advantage in their business ventures.
Africa Needs New Generations of Entrepreneurs

January 31st, 2023

The most enduring purpose of human existence is the sustainable domination of the factors of production to provide goods and services that are beneficial for society. Entrepreneurs harness these treasures to build industries and companies that produce goods and services for the benefit of humanity. What is good for society is also good for business. The spirit of entrepreneurship formed the foundations of the trade and politics of many African countries. Nigeria is a classic example of an African country founded in the spirit of trade and politics. It was formed from a slave and commodity territory owned by a British company and later sold to the British government and amalgamated into a political region that was granted independence in 1960.

Raising a new generation of entrepreneurs in Africa is an essential step for the sustenance of future governments, industries and companies. Africa’s future is in the hands of young, energetic people, who are mobile, ready for change, adaptive and capable of playing an active role in business, the economy, and society. These groups of people are progressive, and innovative, and are eager to use the treasures in Africa to solve the significant trade and political issues facing the continent of Africa. The government aims to provide its citizenry with a joyful environment, and peace of mind on the foundation of great ideas, knowledge, vision, understanding, mission and wisdom. Therefore, understanding how to implement creative ideas through innovation, plays a significant role in the development of entrepreneurship in society.

Exposing African youths to entrepreneurship education through the learning of soft skills helps them develop the inherited traits that support the business economy. Entrepreneurship education orients theory and principles to practical applications of ideas. With this change of mindset, youths develop skills that prepare them for uncertainty when starting their business career path. Armed with skills like patience, endurance, diligence, resilience, goal-setting, adaptability, and creative thinking, the youths are no longer scared by the rapidly changing world system. Rather, it enables them also create jobs for other youths after starting their business ventures.

The educational process and system in most African countries need to be entirely revamped because it does not serve the purpose of good commerce. The current model of youth education does not encourage entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, instead, there is an overabundance of theory and a lack of practice coupled with the use of outdated teaching materials. Introducing youths to entrepreneurship gives them time to practice and apply skills from other subjects in real-life projects. Besides early exposure to entrepreneurship improve academic performance and school attendance. It also helps to develop leadership and interpersonal problem-solving skills and improves decision-making abilities. So, learning entrepreneurship early is an excellent way for youths in Africa to gain skill sets that prepare them for good leadership and entrepreneurship in the future. When youth entrepreneurship is boasted through education, there is also a positive impact on economic growth, market and competition. Many young Africans have turned their ideas into high-revenue businesses that pay taxes, create new jobs and thus contribute to society’s well-being.

As young creative minds develop innovative solutions and affordable products and services, they add value to the lives of the surrounding people. Many young entrepreneurs engage in socially responsible businesses based on ideas such as recycling, clean energy, or product optimisation. Another way the emerging young African entrepreneurs have made a positive difference is by donating money, goods, time, or services to charitable causes.

A well-established youth entrepreneurship system in Africa would minimise barriers to entry into the business and help more creative minds implement their innovative ideas for good governance. Entrepreneurs shall play a crucial role in the rapidly changing African market, so carefully educating and raising youths, will continually provide prosperity in the continent.
Gig Economy Is The New Paradigm For Young African Entrepreneurs

January 26th, 2023

Any successful modern business venture in Africa is significantly invested in digital technology because this is the new direction for entrepreneurship. Bolt taxi services, Whatassp communication media, and Jumia retailers have strong digital systems that drive them. These businesses generate significant revenues annually through their ability to leverage the growing digital technology in the African continent. It is difficult to understand how these changes in the business models will change the youth employment profile in Africa in the coming years. There is strong anticipation that there will be a disruption, in traditional business and employment models.

Globally the emerging Gig economy-based businesses have built the road to a new paradigm for businesses to operate by attracting freelance workers and entrepreneurs. The increased incorporation of digital business technologies into modern business ventures has changed the atmosphere of offices and the way business activities are conducted worldwide.

Entrepreneurial activities and personnel recruitment models in some African companies have transitioned from a static, long-term employment-focused strategy to a newer short-term, contract-based model. This economic model offers the entrepreneur an independent worker status that enables them to partake in contractual work instead of a traditional contract and work structure.

In the Gig economy, entrepreneurs and independent workers are hired through work-for-hire digital platforms, where they create profiles, to market their services for a rate-based contract, or a lump-sum fee. Apparently, as the world transitions to a Gig economy, these digital marketplaces grow, and more professionals and entrepreneurs are attracted to freelancing models.

As a result, these non-traditional workforces must rely on ongoing digital transformations to determine how goods and services are delivered to customers in the future without depleting quality. This strategic model is trending upwards and is expected to move to an agile workforce, at the lower and management levels in the next decade.

At the leadership cadre, senior executives are expected to be hired into smaller businesses for short-time work to share their experience and help provide wisdom to entrepreneurs and founders seeking to grow their businesses. Increasingly these types of short-term business leaders have become attractive to experienced founders, entrepreneurs, and recruiters who market high-level talents to startups. The Gig economy encourages new technological innovations that help to connect businesses to key specialists that support them at key stages in their business development. With the help of new digital applications, buyers, sellers, and service providers are connected to online marketplaces.

At present in Africa, independent contractors and contingent workers dominate the Tech or creative businesses because of the need for high-level specialisations among their labour force. Independents comprise those who consider themselves to be their boss, while contingents are contractually obligated to work for a company, similar to regular full-time employees, but without the security and benefits that accompany full-time employment. Both types of the workforce are becoming common forms of employment in the emerging Gig economy of the African continent.

Today, Gig workers are mostly independent and an explanation is a trending global recession, resulting in the loss of jobs, therefore more people became motivated to seek the benefits of self-employment. This trend is currently growing and is common among youths in Africa. The rise of smartphones and more advanced mobile applications, is creating the climate for Gig economy-based businesses that are rapidly taking root in many countries in Africa.
Fostering Innovation, Creativity and Economic growth Through Entrepreneurship

January 24th, 2023
Fostering creativity and innovation entails coming up with unique ideas, that bring out all aspects of creative thinking, such as analysis, open-mindedness, problem-solving, organizing, and communication. These types of ideas or behaviours, also allow entrepreneurs to be daring and beyond traditional solutions. Also, through this opportunity new, interesting, potential yet versatile ideas come up. Creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship are important in the launch of each innovative product and service that come with advanced technology, just as they help develop new ways of improving an existing product or service to optimize the business. Entrepreneurship is considered a key factor in economic development and I intend to analyse and elaborate on the roles of creativity and innovation in entrepreneurship.

The value of entrepreneurship is being enhanced by creativity and innovation. Creativity helps us how to improve existing business practices. Creativity is typically centred around original thought and knowledge, which unleashes potential and is an integral part of idea generation. It is possible to turn creative ideas into viable solutions. Innovation is about making a process that can convert inventions or gain ideas to become more marketable products or services. Innovation enhances the nature, creativity, and design thinking process of a brand. A new business can attain the height of success by learning the steps of creativity, and by allowing innovation in entrepreneurship to open the doors to various opportunities by helping the business to keep up with the current trends.

Entrepreneurs are important to market economies because they can act as the wheels of the economic growth of the country. By creating new products and services, they stimulate alternative employment, which ultimately results in the acceleration of economic development. Creativity also encourages entrepreneurs to grow in divergent thinking or exploration of many unconventional potential solutions to a problem. Conversely, convergent thinkers are those who excel at analysis and reaching accurate solutions to problems. When divergent thinking with convergent thinking is combined, problem-solving becomes the ‘best of both worlds experiences. Convergent, conventional thought keeps the project focused and grounded, while divergent thought provides novel and unexpected solutions. These unexpected solutions directly translate into new and exciting products and services to become an organizational success. This happens through the process of innovation, which is a graduation point of the creative process to help keep the entrepreneur ahead of the competition to reach new markets. Finally, here are some things the entrepreneur does to encourage creativity and innovation:
- Regular brainstorming sessions with mentors.
- Encouraging ideas from associates and related sources.
- Adopting continual improvement processes in the business systems.
- Delegating personnel to research online.
- Encouraging fact-finding discussions with business associates.
- Encouraging the learning of new skills
- Mystery shopping of opposition for ideas or gaps.
- Thinking about joint ventures with other businesses.
- Working on new ways to improve the business systems.
- Exploring the use of digital platforms.
- Exploring new marketing promotion methods.
Fostering the creative and innovation culture in the entrepreneur makes the business more receptive to novel ideas and provides the right environment to unlock the full potential of entrepreneurship that changes the earth.