Asking The Tough Questions Before Starting A Business As An Entrepreneur!

The thought of starting a business as an entrepreneur in a country where decent jobs are hard to find is increasing becoming a headache for most young people and can no longer be an option but a must if Ghana has plans of reducing the ever increasing rate of youth unemployment .The stories of some young successful entrepreneurs across various sectors of the economy should provide enough motivation and useful lessons for young people who want to start their own business to begin thinking entrepreneurship .

Some years back , it was difficult to cite examples of young Ghanaian entrepreneurs turning their creative ideas and passion into strong businesses that create jobs and stimulate the Ghanaian economy .The likes Anita Erskine , Ethel Cofie , Bola Ray, Sangu Delle, Roland Agambire, Patrick Awuah , Joyce Ababio, Kosi Yankey, Bright Simons among other continue to excel as shining examples for the youth to learn from and is proof of the fact that ,you can also start a business.

The decision to become an entrepreneur is usually not an easy one to make ,especially for young people coming from homes where the expectations from family members are usually high after tertiary education, but it’s even more complicated in our system where the constitution mandates the state to provide employment opportunities rather than an enabling environment for individuals to create their own business, remains an old traditional belief that poses as a huge disincentive for young people wanting to start a business.

This perhaps explains why we may not have celebrated so many entrepreneurs in Ghana as compared to other countries in the continent. This socio-economic arrangement of our system buttresses the idea, why starting a business in Ghana is usually not seen as something exciting and daring enough to even consider starting.

Whether it’s a seminar or a workshop that gathers the best entrepreneurs to speak to motivate a group of young or old people in the various universities, polytechnics, colleges or other institutions of higher learning, the concentration of these seminars or workshops usually tend to focus more on the success stories of these entrepreneurs .

The reason for this is simple , they want young people to find motivation in these stories so they can act and believe it`s possible , much as the intention in principle is good given the difficult terrain that comes with establishing a new business in Ghana , however the danger with this line of motivation is that , they only tell the beautiful stories without exposing young people to the realities of starting a business, so they can brace themselves up when the ugly side of starting a new business begin to set in.

Few young people are able to stay true to their ideas in the face of the daunting task .Being an entrepreneur is one decision that can affect your personal development and career, if it is made right. When a person decides to start a business, the need to do a self-assessment by asking some of the tough questions is key, as answers to these questions will determine how far that business will go when the storms begin to set in.

1. Ask yourself; is this really what I want to do? If the answer to this question is No or uncertainty, then starting a new business is not for you. Anyone who wants to become an entrepreneur must be sure and prepared to a give a definite yes to the question this is what I want to do .An affirmative answer will provide both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation needed in pursuit of starting that business. I believe that when a person resolves that this is what I was born to do and that am willing to pay the price to see it through , they are on their way to success with their entrepreneurial ideas .Some say the best way to succeed is to love and do what gives you satisfaction even in the midst of challenges .Many entrepreneurs who did not go far with their business ideas , failed largely because they really did not take time to ask themselves if this was what they really wanted in life and that they were willing to go through all the troubles to see their business ideas come into reality .

2. Am I prepared to make the sacrifices and stay true to my ideas in the face uncertainty and disappointments?

The journey towards becoming an entrepreneur is a developing nation like Ghana comes with its own peculiar challenges that surfaces from the start and continues throughout the life cycle of the business. This is usually the very difficult stage of the journey and the temptation for many who initially are enthusiastic about the whole idea of setting up a business, are quick to give up on the dream when the realities of starting a business begin to set in. An entrepreneur who wants to make an impact and see his dreams come through must be prepared to develop a thick skin against the unfavorable conditions that usually come up in the course of starting that business. You must be prepared to be rejected and disappointed a number of times before you eventually get it .

The uncommitted life is not worth living .The need to stay true and don’t give up mentality is the only mindset that can see you through when disappointments and other challenges set in .Challenges make life interesting and overcoming them make life meaningful .Every entrepreneur that wants to go far must be prepared to face the challenges and still move on in the midst of the storm .Your sense of purpose towards achieving your entrepreneurial dream should be the motivation for you to stay on when the disappointments come .It won’t be easy but if you try hard to endure the difficult moments , you can be sure of better days ahead in your entrepreneurial pursuit .Decide that, once others have succeeded in similar conditions is proof of the fact that you can also succeed .`It is difficult to stop the man with the right attitude and mindset from succeeding.`

3. Ask yourself if you are prepared to start your business with or without the support of others from the beginning.

Many a times , young people in the spell of the moment clouded by excitement and a sense of hope , usually failed to critically ask themselves certain pertinent questions that will determine to what extent they want to badly start that new business even in the absence of support from family or friends. Most people venturing into entrepreneurship usually assume everything is going to work well from start to finish and when things don’t go as expected they coil back into their shell .Entrepreneurs must understand that ,the world or nobody owes them anything .Nobody cares about what you going through .In any case people are not under any obligation to support you .

People wanting to start a business must mentally psyche themselves ,they must see disappointment, rejection and lack of support from close friend and associates as some of the processes that they must go through before realizing their business dream. As a young entrepreneur who wants to go far with your ideas, you must resolve that no matter what, whether the support comes or not you will still move on and nothing will stop you from seeing your business ideas come through .When people who want to start their own business begin thinking this way and finding self motivation in their own business ideas, they can be sure to move quickly to the top and achieve great success than they ever imagined.

4.Last but not least , ask yourself if your starting a new business was born out of a dream .Starting a business usually begins with a dream you may have envisioned years back .If you haven`t for once dreamt of starting a business then you must re-think the idea of starting one . Starting a business must be born out of a dream you want to see fulfilled .The saying if you don’t stand up for something , you will fall for anything is true .Most successful entrepreneurs are prepared and willing to stand up for a dream they believe no matter what. An individual who sees starting a business as a dream will do everything in the midst of the challenges, setbacks, and rejection to see it come through. Your dream of seeing that business come should be the motivation for you to go to bed and want to wake up quickly the next day to keep working on that dream.

The Chinese have a proverb that says the best time to start a business was twenty years ago , but the second best time to start a business is now .Young people who want to start a business , must understand there will be no perfect situation for them to start the only time they have is now .How far young people will go with their entrepreneurial pursuit will be determined by how disciplined , persistent , committed and patient they are with their ideas in the face of uncertainty .

There is one thing I have come to realize as an entrepreneur , that once you make up your mind and resolve to see your entrepreneurial dream come through no matter what comes your way , I can guarantee you success at every stage of the journey .Is it going be easy ? No, will it be tough? Yes, but is going to be a decision that will shoot you up to greatness. The greatest boxer of all time Muhammad Ali once said that ` It`s hard to beat a guy when he`s got his mind made up that he`s going to win`.

Van-Ess Alootey
Market specialist,Entrepreneur, and Motivational speaker.

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