Business

Challenges faced by start-ups

Published

6 years ago

November 10, 2017

Starting a business comes with a host of harsh challenges, albeit rewarding challenges. This can be very daunting for an inexperienced, new and young entrepreneur who is going into business for the first time. He hasn’t experienced such challenges before.
The co-founder of Y Combinator Paul Graham said: “The odds of getting from launch to liquidity without some kind of disaster happening are one in a thousand. So don’t get demoralised.”

Definitely there will be challenges. What you need is to persevere. I will be discussing some of the challenges commonly encountered by most start-ups. It’s better to be forewarned so that you know what you are getting into.
Getting into business entails moving out of your comfort zone. If you are employed you might have to leave your employment and see that your venture gets off the ground. You can’t manage your business and your career at the same time.

One will definitely suffer. And it’s likely to be your new venture that will suffer. So you will need to take sacrifices and leave your well-paying job and start from the bottom to run your business venture.
Leaving your job to do something very unpredictable, something risky is very scary, but you will have to do it if you want to design your future as an entrepreneur.

This is the first hurdle-walking into the unknown. So make sure you have made up your mind to take such a bold move.
You might have to burn the bridges so that there is no turning back to the proverbial “Egypt” when the wilderness gets tough.
Starting a business begins with a great idea to satisfy a need or fill a gap in the market. But to start the ball rolling needs finance. It can be a very big challenge to find the right investor to help you out.

Some investors demand very stiff conditions or they want a big stake in your venture before they part with their cash and invest in your business idea.
This could be a hindrance. You might have to do 101 investor pitches before you get the required funding. Or else if you do it might not cover everything that needs funding so this might require you to raise some of the cash yourself.

You need to think through all your funding options so that you get the right one which will not restrict your business growth.
You need the right team when starting a business. The challenge is you might not have run a business before so you don’t know what makes a good team.

Picking the right team for a start-up is stressful and difficult. It’s not just about picking skilled people, it’s about picking the right individuals with the right chemistry, who share your vision and are passionate about it and have the right culture so that when you work you work as a team.
Your team members should be able to carry the pain when the getting gets tough. You don’t need team members who will jump ship when things get awry because there is no cash or the business is taking inordinately long to make a dime.

Talking about finding the right team Marc Benioff, founder of Saleforce said: “The secret to successful hiring is this: look for the people who want to change the world.”
Being an entrepreneur you need to hit the ground running. There is no time to sit on your laurels even when things seem to be going well.
There is competition out there. Someone is not sleeping thinking how he can do better in what you are doing.

So, as the founder of your startup, you’ll be expected to come up with new ideas every time to be ahead of the competition. When a competitor comes knocking in your industry you have to come up with appropriate responses to avoid being swept off the market.
As an entrepreneur you need on-the-spot creative thinking. You need to think ahead. Being inexperienced can weigh down on you. It will be a challenge to be thinking on the spot and thinking ahead at the same time.

The other challenges will be the uncertainty surrounding your venture. Will the product adequately meet the need you have identified? How long will the business exist? Will the business be profitable? How will you fend for yourself and the team members? These are some of the unknowns which you will have to grapple with as an entrepreneur just venturing into business.
Going into business can be a lonely pursuit. You only notice this once you are into it. You tend to work lots of hours. You might end up neglecting your family and your social life might have to grind to a halt.

During such times you need to ensure that your family is with you to make the burden light.
You also will need a mentor to help you along the way when you need direction and when you need a helping hand when things get a bit tough.
As your business starts running and is growing you will need to move from being entrepreneurial and start putting rules to guide your business. You need to draw up policies and procedures that will guide your operations. This will enable delegation to be done.
With rules and guidelines you will be able to assign responsibilities to your team mates. Policies and procedures are very necessary for every business to ensure stability.

An entrepreneur needs to be making tough decisions for the business. This can be very challenging because some of these decisions might impact the lives of your team members.
Nevertheless you still have to make them. Decision making can be very stressful. Your decisions have to be timely and quite often are made with insufficient information. As a new and young entrepreneur you will be forced to make hundreds of decisions daily. You therefore need to be prepared for such levels of stress.

As you get into business be prepared for some of these challenges. They are not insurmountable. You can resolve these challenges. It just need dogged determination, focus, perseverance and dedication. Work through these obstacles and you are on your way to a successful entrepreneur.
Stewart Jakarasi is a business and financial strategist and a lecturer in business strategy and performance management.
He provides advisory and guidance on leadership, strategy and execution, preparation of business plans and on how to build and sustain high-performing organisations.

l For assistance in implementing some of the concepts discussed in these articles or in strategic planning facilitation please contact him on the following contacts: sjakarasi@gmail.com or +266 62110062 or on WhatsApp +266 58881062

Business

The road to recovery

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2024

The Post

THE Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Business Development, Thabo Moleko, says cohesion among key stakeholders is critical to the revival of the textile sector.
Moleko was speaking at two consultative meetings held this week as part of the Expanding Enterprises Participation in Textile and Clothing Global Value Chain project.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Trade Centre (ITC), the technical partners in the project, coordinated meetings.

The consultations are a critical step towards addressing the concerns and priorities of employers and workers in Lesotho’s textile industry.

Held on Tuesday, the first meeting brought together employers in the sector.

Trade unions met on Wednesday. A joint meeting of businesses and unions will be held today. The textile project is a subcomponent of the Competitiveness and Financial Inclusion (CAFI), a government and World Bank-funded project that seeks to build a vibrant and sustainable private sector that delivers shared economic growth.

Moleko told both meetings that the consultations are critical to the successful implementation of the Enterprises Participation in Textile and Clothing Global Value Chain project which seeks to revive the textile industry.

He said Lesotho’s textile sector is currently in the doldrums as it struggles to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, wars across the globe, supply chain problems, economic challenges, declining consumer confidence and rising inflation.

In addition, Lesotho faces stiff competition from countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Mauritius and Madagascar which have vibrant textile sectors.

Moleko said the growing power of global apparel-producing giants like China, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam has made the prospects of Lesotho’s textile industry bleaker.

He said the project is meant to reposition the sector so it can compete in the global market. The dialogue, he said, creates the platform for Lesotho to “take advantage of new opportunities emerging from the reorganization of GVCs (Global Value Chains).”

The ultimate goal, he noted, is to expand business opportunities to “reach out to new markets, improve enterprise-level productivity and employment conditions”.

His sentiments were echoed by the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Palesa Matobako, who spoke at the same meetings.

Matobako said the meetings were meant to ensure that the project achieves its objectives of enhancing productivity, improving employment conditions and enhancing the sector’s overall competitiveness.

“The ultimate goal of this initiative (the project) is to expand enterprise participation in the global textile and clothing value chains,” Matobako.

The project will focus on workplace collaboration, total quality management, resource efficiency and cleaner production, occupational safety and health and better workforce management.

Staff Reporter

Business

Jobs galore for Lesotho

Published

3 weeks ago

April 9, 2024

The Post

94 000 jobs.

That is what the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA-Lesotho) will create in the next 10 years, according to Prime Minister Sam Matekane.

The MCA-Lesotho was created by the Lesotho parliament last year after the United States’ Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) found Lesotho eligible to receive development funds.

The MCC gives development grants to poor countries that respects democratic principles and human rights.

The MCC has unlocked a staggering US$322 million (over M5 billion) to the government of Lesotho after the country enacted three laws the protect people’s basic rights this week.

Matekane advised youths to visit MCA-Lesotho offices to understand how best they can benefit from the fund and the projects that will be financed.

The MCC’s investments are aimed at increasing the availability of water for household and industrial use, enhance watershed management and conservation methods, rehabilitate health infrastructure and strengthen health systems, and remove barriers to private investment.

The MCA-Lesotho’s Health and Horticulture Compact seeks to assist the country in unlocking equitable and sustainable economic growth in partnership with the private sector by addressing key constraints to growth.

Matekane said the job creation potential of the horticulture project alone is estimated at 4 000 jobs.

This excludes indirect jobs that will be created through packaging supplies, logistics, cold chain activities as well as the processing of the output.

“Let us all be ready and ensure we spend all the funding that is available,” Matekane said.

He said the money is going to be invested in agriculture, trade and industry, value chains, infrastructure development, tourism and creative sectors.

“The Compact has come at a critical time when the country is in dire need of financial injections to revive the economy,” he said.

“This second Compact forms the core of Lesotho’s private sector-led economic growth, recovery and job creation agenda.”

He said the MCA staff should work diligently, to implement this Compact.

“There are several Basotho businesses out there that are eager to seize the opportunities that the Compact brings,” Matekane said.

“Serve them with integrity, accountability and dedication.”

Matekane said the government has established the Cabinet Sub-Committee on the Compact which is under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Nthomeng Majara.

The sub-committee is mandated to ensure that the government provides overall oversight, strategic direction and support for successful implementation of the Compact.

He said he expects the MCA-Lesotho to ensure the full implementation of the project within the next five years.

“Our economy needs this capital injection to boost productivity and job creation,” Matekane said.

Matekane said the government had to enact three pieces of legislation which were necessary to support the investments that the MCC is making.

The enacted laws are the Labour Code Amendment Bill, the Administration of Estates and Inheritance Bill and the Occupational Safety and Health Bill.

Majara Molupe

Business

Bank spearheads career expo

Published

4 weeks ago

April 2, 2024

The Post

Standard Lesotho Bank will tomorrow host a career expo at the ’Manthabiseng Convention Centre for high school students who will sit for their final exams this year.
The 14th Annual Standard Lesotho Bank Career Expo was launched in Mokhotlong on Monday where the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) welcomed students in areas around the Polihali Dam construction site.

On Tuesday the expo was at the Butha-Buthe Community High School, yesterday it was at Assumption High School in Teya-Teyaneng while today it is in Quthing at Holy Trinity High School.

The five-day nationwide event is dedicated to connecting ambitious Basotho youths with exciting career opportunities.

Standard Lesotho Bank says it’s career expo “is a cornerstone of the bank’s commitment to empowering Basotho youth and shaping the future of Lesotho’s workforce”.

The 2024 edition of the event is the 14th where the bank is now the headline sponsor of this important expo that reaches about over 10 000 students countrywide.

The expo promises to be an even better offering where over 35 institutions of higher learning from Lesotho and South Africa as well as professional bodies will explain different career options to Basotho students.

Standard Lesotho Bank communications manager, Manyathela Kheleli, said students in Mokhotlong did not only learn about different engineering disciplines but got to appreciate engineering in action at Polihali.

He said it was a lifetime experience for students from Mokhotlong, “thanks to the collaboration with LHDA, who are fully responsible for the Polihali leg of the event”.

There were also motivational speakers from different professions in the bank and other selected institutions.

Key influencers in the football fraternity, former Likuena captain and now Corporate Responsibility Manager at Letšeng Diamonds, Tšepo Hlojeng, and former Orlando Pirates dribbling wizard, Steve Lekoelea, are among the influencers that have been invited to address the students.

The event is a sponsorship initiative under Personal and Private Banking that is open to all youths, communities, and individuals, where the bank intends to use this event to drive the new Youth or student Customer Value Proposition and attract high school students to open accounts ahead of their enrolment into tertiary institutions.

The objective of this sponsorship is to first create an environment where future leaders of Lesotho will be nurtured and informed of top career choices that demonstrate various skills requirements for the growth of Lesotho’s economy.

Secondly, the career expo is a clear demonstration of the bank’s intention to put youths at the centre of its initiatives.

This position is shown by the bank’s initiative to not only develop special products for youths, such as the Youth Account but also through several initiatives that promote youth empowerment. These include the bursary scheme and the Bacha Entrepreneurship Project.

“We are more than a bank for our youths, but a good corporate citizen and a partner for the education for Basotho,” Kheleli said.

“We believe that as we grow our youths, they will become assets to this country and by extension, develop into a feeder market for our banking products when they enter the job market,” he said.

The bank has invested M150 000 towards sponsorship of the annual Career Expo.

Staff Reporter