VIWAWA NJIRO-ARUSHA TANZANIA: September 2011

Seminar on entrepreneurship

Who Are Entrepreneurs?

Independent individuals, intensely committed and determined to continue, who work very hard.

They are confident optimists who strive for integrity.

They born with the competitive desire to excel and use failure as a learning tool.

Entrepreneurship Traits

• Imagination- is powerfully than knowledge

• Always questioning. "The important thing is not to stop questioning." One of the most important questions an entrepreneur can ask is How can I make it better?

• Instinct- intuition

• Strong positive attitude. "Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.“

• empathy, as in understanding how other people think and feel about things.

• Willingness to work hard, shoulder to shoulder with other people. Cliche, but true: the harder I work, the luckier I get.

• Listening carefully. Shutting up.

• Vision for what they can build. Imagining a happy future. Dreaming. Making mistakes. You have to deal with failure.

• Environmental push

Choice of Entrepreneurship is related to external factors beyond the individual’s control, seen as a “cultural phenomenon”

Culture

n Some cultural groups see Entrepreneurship as a more desirable career opportunity. Eg Chaga

Family Background

Entrepreneurial traits are impacted by birth order, role models and experience of rejection in childhood

n First born: self confidence, independence and internal locus of control à correlation exists with reception of special attention & care

Marginal/Displacement Approach

Some studies show that marginal individuals are more likely to become Entrepreneurs

n “Misfits” that cannot fit into the ‘business mainstream’

n Dislike 9^am to 5^pm routine

n Problem with acceptance of authority

n Difficulty in coping with bureaucracy

“Ten mental locks” that can limit individual creativity. Give

• Searching for the one right answer

• Focusing on being logical

• Blindly following the rules

• Constantly being practical

• Becoming overly specialized

• Avoiding ambiguity

• Fearing looking foolish

• Fearing mistakes and failure

• Believing that “I’m not creative”

Entrepreneurship challenges in TZ

• Capital mobilization

• Lack of entrepreneurship training

• Lack of entrepreneurship skills

• Poor government policy, regulations and laws

• Average thinking ,not extreme thinking

• Culture and beliefs

• Corruption

How did I became an entrepreneur

• By necessity

• Talk about how money works

• Employment mind set , “A” for good jobs . What good job means to us all.

• Research your market, but don't take too long to act.

• Work for other people first and learn on their money.

• Start out slowly. Start your business when you have a customer. Maybe try your venture as a sideline first.

• Set specific objectives, but don't set your goals too high. Remember, there is no easy money.

• Plan your objectives within specific time frames.

• Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you - including an accountant and directors who are interested in your wellbeing and who will give you straight answers.

• Don't be afraid to fail. Former football coach Vince Lombardi summarized the entrepreneurial philosophy when he said, "We didn't lose any games this season, we just ran out of time twice". New entrepreneurs must be ready to run out of time a few times before they succeed.