msafiri 121 EUR

msafiri BUSINESS 122 dreams – but you don't need that. Just see yourself in your new role; the more detailed the better – and you will have started on your journey. I've seen an idea that works. Will it work for me too? Firstly, ask yourself if the business environment can support your business and enable you to live off the takings. There is no point opening an expensive dress shop in an area where people can hardly afford second- hand clothes, simply because the rent is cheap! You will be surprised how many people do just that and then blame bad luck for their failure. Avoid going into an area which is over-competitive. People are herd animals and tend to follow the leader. A successful venture attracts lots of businesses and often there is a great deal of imitation. Avoid joining the herd – you will only get bruised. Because the new pizza shop down the road is drawing big crowds, it does not mean that you will draw big crowds if you also open a pizza shop down the same road. But the crowds show you that people have developed a taste for pizza – so look at sites where there should be a pizza shop, but isn't. What business might be right for me? When searching for opportunities, look for something that should be there ( goods or a service) but isn't. This is often the clue. Listen to people – especially when they say, ' Why doesn't somebody do this or that?' As a businessperson, you are the one who should be doing whatever the people want. And if you can bring something new to the market – for example, cheaper mobile handsets backed up with a repairs and service section, you could be onto a winner. Some of the biggest concerns in Africa started with someone making something new available – a family that baked biscuits from home in Nairobi ended up as one of the biggest manufacturers in the continent; a Ugandan housewife boiling sweets from raw sugar because she could not afford to buy them for her children set into motion the growth of perhaps the largest single industrial complex – not only in Africa, but globally. When you have your idea, the next step is to decide what area of activity you will get involved in and what you can bring to that area. Will you go into distributing what other people have made ( wholesale, import, export and retail)? Will you make your products and either distribute them yourself or through outlets? You may alternatively decide to set yourself up as an agent, connecting buyers and sellers – goods, services, insurance, mortgages, finance. The list is endless. as a businessperson, you are the one who should be doing whatever the people want