COMMANDMENT # 1
THOU SHALL DEVELOP A WINNING
PRODUCT OR SERVICE.
“Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but
what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
– Acts 3:6 KJV
“Some people say give the customers what they want,
but that’s not my approach. Our job is to figure out
what they’re going to want before they do. I think
Henry Ford once said, ‘If I’d ask customers what they
wanted, they would’ve told me a faster horse.’ People
don’t know what they want until you show it to them.
That’s why I never rely on market research. Our task is
to read things that are not yet on the page.”
– Steve Jobs, Co-founder, Apple
Business is all about solving problems.
The essence of business is to solve problems for people. Uber is
solving transportation problems. Airbnb is solving
accommodation problems. Samsung is solving electronic and
technology problems. If you desire to succeed in business and
stay long in the game, you must develop the skill for identifying
and solving problems. Tencent Holdings, a-$650 billion
Taiwanese Semi-conductor Manufacturing Company, Alphabet,
Alibaba, Facebook, Amazon.com, Apple, etc. are all solving tech
problems for the world and they are getting huge returns for their
hard work. In fact, someone said that money is the reward for
solving problems, and that could not be further from the truth. It
does not matter what kind of business you may be involved in; if
you are not solving problems for the customer, it will just be a
matter of time for you to be thrown out of business.
Wealth is created by solving problems.
Often, people try to cheat and steal their way to wealth but there
is a simpler way. That way is to solve problems for people. Men
have many problems. Women have their own, and children are
not left out of their own problems too. Old people have needs and
young people also do. Both boys and girls do have problems as
well. If you focus on creating a need to help any of these groups
of people, you will never lack money. Most people are willing to 50
exchange their money with people who can help them solve their
problems. The secret of wealth is in solving problems.
Convert your problem-solving skills into a business.
In as much as solving problems is key to creating wealth, it does
not happen automatically. You may be talented, but you need to
learn how to convert your problem-solving ability into skills that
can earn you income. There are too many talented and gifted
people who have not yet mastered the act of converting their
problem-solving skills into business. There is a time to do things
for free, and there comes a time when you must learn to convert
all your ‘free craft’ into a business that people can pay for. As an
entrepreneur, your success depends on your ability to translate
your problem-solving abilities into an enterprise.
You can do this by either integrating it into an existing service or make it standout
as a separate product or service on its own.
GOD WANTS TO BLESS THE WORK OF YOUR HANDS.
“Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in
the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will
bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands,
so that you surely rejoice.” – Deuteronomy 16:15
Believers are expected to do more business because God has
promised to bless whatever we do. This is good news! We cannot 51
do less in business. We should establish more businesses. We can
create technology businesses. We must create businesses in real
estates, manufacturing, electronics and more! Why? Because,
God has promised to bless whatever we do! We have no option
than to do more!
WITTY INVENTIONS.
I wisdom dwell with prudence and find out knowledge of witty
inventions.” – Proverbs 8:12 KJV
Intricately connected to developing a winning product or service
comes the idea of witty inventions. We must appreciate the fact
that God can indeed give us an idea for a product or service which
could lead to our breakthrough in business. Can you imagine the
joy and influence of the creators of iPhone, Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Uber, etc.? How about products like the smartphone,
video games, electric cars and the likes? And other game-changing products and services that we have in the world today?
WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR HAND?
“Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not
believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has
not appeared to you.’ ” 2 So the Lord said to him, “What is that in
your hand?” He said, “A rod.” 3 And He said, “Cast it on the 52
ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and
Moses fled from it.”
– Exodus 4:2-3
Peter had in his hand the anointing to heal the sick. He had no
money to give to the crippled man as indicated in Acts 3:6. Steve
Jobs had Apple in his hand. Jeff Bezos had Amazon.com in his
hand. The problem is that, too many of us discount what we have
in our hand. You should invest your own resources into a
business before you invite others to do so. In business, it is
important to start with what you have before asking for more from
either God or man.
Everyone has something to offer the world. Business is all about
solving problems for the customer and so you should not discount
what you have once it can make life better for the customer. There
is something God has put inside you as a gift or talent that can be
translated into a product or service to bless the world.
Get this right about your products or services.
In developing products or services for your business, there are
two things you need to take notice of:
- The product or service must be something of value
that meets people’s needs.
If you have a product that can meet the needs of the customer, you
will be in business for good. Business thrives on meeting
customer needs. In fact, as an entrepreneur, you must be asking
questions on how best your products are helping customers.
Whatever you are offering customers must seek to meet a specific
need. Your product or service must address a specific need in the
market.
- Your products or services must improve human lives.
Sometimes, the quest for financial success makes some
entrepreneurs go to the extreme to develop products that do not
solve the problems they claim or end up destroying the lives of the
users. Human lives matter! Your products and services should
not destroy human lives. This is unfortunate! It is worth noting
that, in cases where products do not meet the communicated
needs of the consumer, some companies have taken bold steps to
withdraw such from the market.
COMMANDMENT # 2
THOU SHALL BUILD A KNOWLEDGE-DRIVEN BUSINESS
“Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still
wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in
learning.”
– Proverbs 9:9 NKJV
“You are your greatest investment. The more you store
in that mind of yours, the more you enrich your
experience, the more people you meet, the more books
you read, and the more places you visit, the greater is
that investment in all that you are. Everything that you
add to your peace of mind, and to your outlook upon
life, is added capital that no one but yourself can
dissipate.”
–George Matthew Adam
Knowledge makes a great difference in business.
The impact of knowledge on business cannot be overemphasized.
That is the reason why serious organizations invest a lot in
research and development. This principle applies to any kind of
business, be it trade and manufacturing, telecoms, education,
real estate and construction, etc. Lack of adequate knowledge
about certain details of your business can make you lose money
and opportunities. Ignorance is tantamount to darkness. The
most dangerous thing about darkness is that it prevents you from
seeing opportunities.
The most successful companies in the world are constantly
looking for ideas to develop new products and services. Indeed,
it is their research and intelligence that sets them apart from the
crowd.
Sony, for instance, invests a lot into research and development.
They do this to satisfy their teeming consumers worldwide. In
fact, there is a stipulated mandatory financial quota that goes into
research. Interestingly, this has kept them at the top of their game
as an electronics company. Arguably, Sony is one of the most
innovative companies in the world today. They are always
evolving!
Below is a statement on the R&D Center at Sony Corporation:
“The R&D Center is a research and development organisation at
Sony’s headquarters, which plays an innovative role to create
KANDO and social values through technology and expertise. It is
driving cutting-edge research and development in various
locations around the globe, including the laboratories in Japan,
the United States, Europe and Asia. We are striving to create new
technology, products, and services while at the same time,
sustaining Sony Group’s diverse businesses in electronics,
entertainment, and financial fields.”
LET THERE BE LIGHT!
“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was
upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the
face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there
was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God
divided the light from the darkness.”
– Genesis 1:2-4 KJV
Five areas of light every business needs.
- Product and Service Innovation.
Can you imagine how Alphabet, Facebook, Apple, Samsung,
Boeing, Japan Motors and other multinational firms can
successfully churn out new products if they were not constantly
researching? That’s the power of intelligence in business. Most 57
of these companies succeed because they have the light in the area
of product and service innovation.
- Leadership Excellence.
Entrepreneurs who desire to lead their organizations successfully
through any season must learn about the rudiments of
organizations. Leading an organisation is not the same as leading
a family or a church. The dynamics are different, and the
knowledge, skills and expertise are varied too. Every
entrepreneur needs light in the area of organizational leadership.
- Financial Management.
Lack of wisdom in proper financial management has been the
bane of several organisations. There are companies that make a
lot of money but lack the needed financial wisdom in managing
these financial resources. The case is even more serious for
startups who lack simple financial management skills.
Entrepreneurs must take financial management very seriously if
they intend to chalk continuous success with their organisations.
- Human Resource Management.
People matter in business, and how you treat them will go a long
way to determine the extent to which you will succeed. The
success of Amazon, CNN, Facebook, Twitter, Tesla and
Microsoft is based on the teams they work with. Honestly, as an 58
entrepreneur, you cannot treat your team anyhow and expect to
make strides in business.
- 5. Marketing and Sales
In business, it is never enough to have the best product; you must
tell everyone about it. Even if everyone knows you as the best, you
must still re-echo the message. The essence of marketing is to let
the world know of the existence of your product or service. The
better your appreciation of the concept of marketing, the better
your results. This is another area that entrepreneurs need to
master. Irrespective of the field of business you may be in, a
strong knowledge of sales and marketing can make a great
difference. Entrepreneurs are expected to teach a culture of
marketing within the rank and file of the organisation. Simply put,
from the CEO to the security man, everyone must appreciate
marketing.
“A wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases
strength.” – Proverbs 24:5 NJKV
COMMANDMENT # 3
THOU SHALL SEIZE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO MARKET AND SELL THY BUSINESS
“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned
from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God
was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the
devil.”
– I John 3:8 NKJV
“Doing business without advertising is like winking at
a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing but
nobody else does.”
– Steuart Henderson Brit
DON’T DO BUSINESS IN THE DARK!
You have heard it been said that: “Doing business without advertising is like winking to a girl in the dark; you are the only one who knows what you are doing”. You may be good at what you do, but if no one knows about it or
just few people do, you may soon be out of business. Though you
have some customers who will willingly go out of their own way to
promote what you do, that is not their work. You are expected as
the leader of the business to take personal responsibility when it
comes to marketing your business. This is the challenge with
some Christian entrepreneurs. They are in a congregation with
over 500 people but less than 10% of the congregants know what
they do.
“Good marketing makes the company look smart. Great
marketing makes the customer feel smart.”
– Joe Chernov
JESUS WAS KEEN ON MARKETING AND PROMOTIONS.
When you study the synoptic gospels carefully, you will
appreciate the fact that Jesus employed a lot of marketing, sales
and branding principles in His ministry. He was keen on what
people thought about Him. He made it distinctively clear that He
was different from the Scribes and Pharisees. He connected with
people who needed Him and solved their problems for them. He
was comfortable with the low-class folks as well as those in the
high ranks. Remember never to discriminate because you can 61
never tell who can buy what you have. Many times, outward
appearances become deceptive!
“Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but
that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the
works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming
when no one can work.”
– John 9:3-4 NKJV
DO NOT JUST MARKET, SELL!
There is a difference between sales and marketing. In marketing,
you focus on creating awareness of your existence and what you
have to offer. However, sales focuses on getting the product to
the customer and getting paid for it. Entrepreneurs who only
enjoy ‘making noise’ about their products without strategically
convincing people to buy may be doing their businesses a great
disservice.
“Our jobs as marketers are to understand how the
customer wants to buy and help them to do so.”
– Bryan Eisenberg
Seize opportunities to tell more people about what you offer.
Honestly, in business there is no level your company can ever get
to where marketing becomes irrelevant. This is the reason why
large multinational corporations like financial institutions still
market their products and services. In fact, for most companies,
there is a stipulated amount of financial resources that is
committed to marketing.
As an entrepreneur, you must focus on marketing wherever you
find yourself. You should never wait for perfect opportunities to
tell people about your products. In fact, you are even expected to
create your own marketing opportunities rather than waiting for
others to do it for you. The only way to keep your business afloat
is to have a strong marketing approach to the business. There
should never be a time when you think that marketing does not
matter. Competition should be enough to inspire you to
constantly promote what you do.
MORE OPTIONS FOR MARKETING TODAY.
“Social media allows big companies to act
small again.”
– Jay Baer
There are more opportunities for marketing today than ever. No
entrepreneur therefore has any excuse for not doing enough. The
advent of social media has made marketing extremely easy. All
you need is your smart phone, and you can reach the world with
your products and services.
To a large extent, there are marketing and communication
companies that specialise in providing related services to
companies to reach their target markets.
“Marketing is telling the world you are a rock star.
Content marketing is showing the world you are
one.”
– Robert Rose
Do not stay indoors! Go out there and show the world what
you have! Honestly, if your marketing skills are bad, it will be difficult to
build any great thing. The money is always out there and so you
will be doing yourself a great disservice by always staying indoors.
To be able to sell and make money, you must go out! Go out there
and look for your potential customers. Go out there with your
product in hand. Let the world know what you have to offer. Go
to where they are and where they live! Never wait for them to
come looking for you.
“Clients don’t care about the labour pains; they
want to see the baby.”
– Tim Williams
COMMANDMENT # 4
THOU SHALL BE DILIGENT IN THY BUSINESS
“He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand
of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers
in summer is a wise son; He who sleeps in harvest is a
son who causes shame.”
– Proverbs 10:4-5 NKJV
“No matter how hard you work, someone else is
working harder.”
– Elon Musk, Founder, Tesla
GOD HATES LAZINESS!
Yes, He does! You can imagine how this planet would have
become if God had stopped working things out. This is a basic
principle that has been broken severally by some Christian
entrepreneurs. Many erroneously think that being a believer
implies that they do not have to put any effort into what they do.
Many think that being favoured is a replacement for effort, but
though you may be favoured, you still would have to put in the
work needed to succeed.
“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more
I have of it.”
– Thomas Jefferson, Former President of the United States
LAZINESS CAN COLLAPSE YOUR BUSINESS.
One of the reasons some Christians fail in business is because of
laziness. In fact, some are just too lazy to work on their
businesses. Somehow, some Christian entrepreneurs expect God
to work things out for their businesses to do well but
unfortunately, that is not how God works. Laziness will kill the
potential of your business. Laziness can make your lose
customers. Laziness can make your lose employees. Laziness can 67
make your lose business opportunities. If you want to be
successful as an entrepreneur, you must put in the work!
“A dream does not become reality through magic; it takes sweat,
determination, and hard work.”
– Colin Powell, Former US Defense Secretary
PRAYER AND FASTING CANNOT SAVE YOUR BUSINESS IF YOU REMAIN
LAZY.
Honestly, that is it! God cannot break His own laws. You must
put in effort to be rewarded. Though prayer and fasting have their
own way of ensuring that the business succeeds, they do not
replace the major role hard work or diligence plays in business
success. Anointing oil and special direction do not replace
diligence.
“Hard work beats talent if talent does not work hard.”
– Tim Notke, Basketball Coach
BE COMMITTED TO THE SUCCESS OF YOUR BUSINESS.
How big your business becomes depends on you. It depends
largely on the daily choices you make and how you utilise the 24
hours at your disposal. As an entrepreneur, you are responsible
for the success of your business. The extent to which you would 68
succeed in business depends on the effort you are putting in
today. Nothing can be further from the truth! There is nothing
wrong with prayer and fasting. In fact, as a Christian
entrepreneur, you should do it from time to time, but that is not
an excuse for not working hard enough.
COMMANDMENT # 5
THOU SHALL COMBINE PERSEVERANCE WITH INTENSITY OF WORK
“If you faint in the day of adversity, your
strength is small.”
– Proverbs 24:10 NKJV
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize
how close they were to success when they gave up.”
– Thomas Edison
LEARN FROM YOUR FAILURES; DON’T WASTE THEM!
Do not let failure stop you. Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Bill
Gates, Oprah Winfrey, etc. have all started businesses that failed.
Nelson has failed in several businesses before starting MBN
Publishing. Myself, I have started businesses that failed. That is
the reality of business. Many times, your business may not do well
in its early years. In fact, most of your earlier businesses may even
fail but you must be determined to keep knocking on the door of
business. It is never easy to see a business that you invested so
much into it fail but it happens all the time in the world of business
due to several factors.
“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance,
learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what
you are doing or learning to do.”
— Pele, Brazil
The challenge most times is not even about the failures in
business. The main issue is entrepreneurs failing to learn vital
lessons from those failures. In fact, as an entrepreneur, if you
keep failing severally in a business, or several businesses, it could
be a sign that you are not learning from your mistakes. This could
be very devastating, because failure is never a pleasant experience
in any case. Failure is a vital product of effort that should not be 71
wasted. Be wise! Do not waste your failures. Learn your lessons
quickly and move on!
EMPLOY FAITH AND PATIENCE.
Growing a successful business takes time. Irrespective of the field
of business you may be in, chances are that, your success may
come instantly.
“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit
be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the
fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the
fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will
rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet
like hinds’ feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine
high places. To the chief singer on my stringed
instruments.”
– Habakkuk 3:17-19 KJV
Impatience leads some entrepreneurs to employ all kinds of
unethical means in a bid to succeed in business. However, doing
business in God’s way means putting in the effort and leaving the
results for Him. It is always God who gives the increase. 72
As a believer, you need a strong faith to succeed in business.
Why? Business itself is a spiritual battlefield where strong faith is
needed. Why is patience an important virtue in business? It is
because building a successful business takes time. Getting loyal
customers also takes time. Building a globally successful business
takes time. Getting loyal employees takes time. Becoming an
industry leader takes time. Indeed, you cannot build a business in
haste. Business success takes time. Therefore, you need patience
in business.
COMBINE PERSISTENCE WITH INTENSITY OF WORK.
It is good to have the spirit of perseverance but that is never
enough. There are persistent people who are lazy and generally
and terribly slow in life. To make the best of your business, you
must take a step further by adding intensity to perseverance.
To be intense is to put in more hard work than you ordinarily
would do. I published my first book in 2013. In September 2017,
I and my wife [now] published another book. In the following
years, we published a book each year. In 2020, at the height of
the pandemic, we published six new books. That is six books in a
year. That is what we mean by intensity of work. If you want to
accomplish great things in life, you must not only be persistent
but you must also employ intensity in your work
COMMANDMENT # 6
THOU SHALL EMPLOY TECHNOLOGY IN THINE BUSINESS
“It’s not a faith in technology. It’s faith in people.”
– STEVE JOBS, CO-FOUNDER OF APPLE
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom:
and with all thy getting get understanding.”
– PROVERBS 4:7, 8 KJ
Technology has taken over the world of business much faster than
anticipated as we can see in the various sectors of the economy.
Not just that, it has also changed the way we used to do business.
Today, irrespective of whatever field of business you find
yourself, the impact of technology can be clearly seen and felt.
Right from start-ups to multinationals, we can see technology
impacting greatly on the various aspects of business operations,
ranging from procurement, production, inventory, delivery,
marketing, sales, accounting, HR, etc. There is no fact denying
that we live in the age of rapid technological development.
Technology has changed the way we look at and do everything,
especially in business.
THE CONVENIENCE OF DOING BUSINESS.
Obviously, technology has had positive effects on business, and
one of such ways is the convenience and ease of doing business.
One of the greatest benefits of technology is convenience. With
mobile applications, it is now easier to shop while sitting at the
comfort of your home, office, church or wherever you may find
yourself. Information is just a click away. You can contact people
for information and get it within a second! You can request for
things and get them delivered without having to wait for a whole
month. People have instant access to everything they could
possibly want to know. It is now much easier for businesses to 75
reach potential customers around the globe, no matter how big or
small their operation is. That is technology for you!
TECHNOLOGY HELPS BUSINESSES TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE.
Another benefit of technology is that it provides a level playing
field for both small and big businesses. Business has become
more competitive today than the last decade. With technology, a
small business can compete with a multi-million-dollar
corporation without anyone realising just how small the company
- Everything is faster and easier to access because of technology.
They all have access to education, financial advice, e-commerce
tools and security softwares to help them flourish and keep their
customers engaged.
BUSINESS OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES.
Today, it is not uncommon to find most organisations holding
virtual meetings instead of the traditional staff meetings. In fact,
most companies are now even running shifts, thanks to Corona
Virus. Technology also helps a business to understand its cash
flow needs and preserve precious resources such as time and
physical space. Remember that these essential resources
determine the efficiency of the company. Warehouse inventory
technologies enable business owners to understand how best to 76
manage the storage costs of holding a product and how to plan
properly to maximise associated costs. More so, with proper
technology in place today, executives can save time and money by
holding meetings over the internet instead of holding them at the
corporate headquarters all the time.
Human resource, marketing and sales, finance and the likes have
all become easier with the advent of technology. You can imagine
how business operations used to be before the advent of
technology. Today, it is easy to see the significant effects
technology has brought on business operations. No matter the
size of your enterprise, technology has both tangible and
intangible benefits that will help you make money and produce
the results your customers demand. Technological infrastructure
affects the culture, efficiency and the relationship a business has
with its staff, customers and stakeholders. It also affects the
security of confidential information and trade advantages.
Also, in terms of HR, technology creates team dynamics within a
business because employees at different locations have better
interactions. For example, with technology, factory managers can
communicate with shipment coordinators at different locations.
With this, work relationship tensions and distrust are less likely
to evolve. Cliques and social tensions can become a nightmare for
a business but technology often helps workers put their different 77
backgrounds aside and work towards the greater good of the
company.
TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE COMMUNICATION WITH CUSTOMERS EASIER.
One can clearly see this with social media and AI. Unlike the past,
today, companies can easily reach out to customer requests and
attend to them within the shortest possible time. In effect,
technology affects a firm’s ability to communicate with customers
in no time. In today’s busy business environment, it is necessary
for employees to interact with clients quickly and clearly.
Websites and social media platforms allow customers to find
answers to their questions in a timely manner and also saves them
time and energy by not moving physically to the premises of the
business. Fast shipment options allow businesses to move
products over a large geographic area.
In the area of reputation management, it affords organisations to
quickly address all customer complains as and when they come in.
When customers use technology to interact with a business, the
business benefits because better communication creates a
stronger public image. This is good for business!
SECURITY AND DATA PROTECTION.
Technological developments come with side effects like cyber
fraud, network connectivity and stability issues, high data cost
and so on. Clearly, most businesses of the modern era are subject 78
to security threats and vandalism, and this makes issues of
security and data protection especially important. Technology
can be used to protect financial data, confidential executive
decisions and other proprietary information that lead to
competitive advantages. Simply put, technology helps businesses
keep their ideas away from their competition. By having
computers with passwords, a business can ensure none of its
forthcoming projects will be copied by the competition.
“Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.”
–Christian Lous Lange, Historian
TECHNOLOGY ENHANCES THE RESEARCH CAPACITY OF A
BUSINESS.
With technology, it is now easier for a business to carry out
research on anything of interest to its operations or to enhance its
competitiveness in the marketplace. A business that has the
technological capacity to research new opportunities will stay a
step ahead of its competition. For a business to survive, it must
grow and acquire new opportunities. The internet allows a
business to virtually travel into new markets without the cost of an
executive jet or the risks of creating a factory abroad. With the
internet, all these can be done easily.
“The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you
don’t really even notice it, so it’s part of everyday life.”
– Bill Gates, Co-founder of Microsoft
TECHNOLOGY HAS ITS SIDE EFFECTS.
As good as technology is, it is also important to state that, it has
own side effects. One of the biggest complaints about
technology’s impact on business is the lack of human interaction.
As you should know, it is more difficult to build a loyal and
trusting relationship with clients and business contacts when you
may never meet them physically. A company can have clients for
decades without ever actually interacting with them. The personal
touch is much harder when competing with millions of other
websites for a customer’s loyalty.
Many aspects of a business are made easier with every
technological advancement. This also means that there are
upgrades, software acquisition, training and other expenses
attached.
COMMANDMENT # 7
THOU SHALL ASSEMBLE A WINNING TEAM.
“A big mistake that entrepreneurs make is thinking they are all
alone, and they try to operate independently without
surrounding themselves with wise counsel. Do not try to run a
new business by yourself. Find and bring onboard trustworthy
seasoned advisors to discuss your business ideas, strategy,
challenges, and progress. Wisdom and power exist in the
multiplicity of counsel. Incentivise four to six people to join your
company as advisors to receive continuous feedback so that
fewer mistakes will occur.”
– James Zimbardi, Chief Executive Officer, Rent Items
“If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of
hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the
sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the
body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. If they
were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are
many parts, but one body.”
– I Corinthians 12:17-20
YOU CANNOT DO IT ALL ALONE!
No matter how gifted or talented you may be as an entrepreneur,
there is a limit to how far you can go without a strong team behind
you. Entrepreneurs who downplay teamwork do not go far in
business.
In our book titled, The Top 21 Startup Mistakes Every
Entrepreneur Must Avoid in Business, we wrote:
“It is not a strange thing to see entrepreneurs trying to hustle all by
themselves, going through the emotions by themselves, thinking,
planning, executing all by themselves. Often, especially at the
start of most businesses, it is common to see the entrepreneur or
founders becoming everything from being the cleaner, the front
desk executive, the marketer, the operations executive, the
salesman and the managing director. In some cases, you will find
the entrepreneur even being their own legal representative,
downloading and customising legal documents to suit their
purposes. This is a norm for most startups and that cannot
necessarily be classified as a mistake. The mistake entrepreneurs
make, however, is not learning when and how to transition from
being the go-getter utility player to being the leader with adequate
team building and team management skills set.”
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
– Proverbs 27:17
GROOM YOUR TEAM
Building and growing a business requires the ability to lead
people towards a properly defined vision and SMART goals. It
also requires the potential to recognise when you need help and
the humility to ask for it. Successful entrepreneurs must be great
managers and outstanding leaders, consistently focusing on
identifying, grooming and challenging great talents through
constant capacity building, effective delegation and a well monitored feedback system. Businesses are built by people.
Often the successes of businesses are attributed to individuals
who tend to be the poster boys and girls of the companies. The
founders and CEOs are the people we hear about, see and listen
- They are the ones that receive the awards and recognition, the
ones who lead product launches and stand in the line of fire. They
are the ones we admire and aspire to be like.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return
for their labour: If either of them falls, one can help the
other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help
them up.”
– Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
DO NOT ABUSE YOUR TEAM.
The way some entrepreneurs treat the team members who crack
their brains to make things work leaves much to be desired.
Honestly speaking, some entrepreneurs must learn to treat team
members with respect and dignity. As entrepreneurs, we must
understand that when it comes to our businesses, our staff are
more important than the physical infrastructure, family members,
wives (unless they are part of the executive team), girlfriends,
boyfriends, friends and the like. Too many entrepreneurs rather
invest money in people outside the business than those who work
day and night to keep the business running! This is a grave
mistake that must be avoided!
“Teamwork is the ability to work together towards a
common vision; the ability to direct individual
accomplishments toward organisational objectives. It is
the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon
results.”
– Andrew Carnegie
YOUR TEAM IS YOUR GREATEST ASSET.
Finally, as an entrepreneur, your team is your greatest asset. The
day you discover this, your life and business will take on a new
dimension. Indeed, without your team, there is no business, so 84
please take time to know the people you are working with and
invest in them. Never take your staff for granted! Show interest in
their personal affairs. Support them in the best way you can.
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is
progress. Working together is success.”
– Henry Ford, Founder, Ford Motor Company.
COMMANDMENT # 8
THOU SHALL BE A MASTER EXECUTOR
“After [Judas had taken] the piece of bread, Satan
entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “WHAT YOU
ARE GOING TO DO, DO QUICKLY [WITHOUT
DELAY].”
– John 13:27 Amplified Bible
“It is much easier to propose than to execute.”
– David Noonan Aesop and the CE
MAKING DECLARATIONS ALONE CANNOT GROW YOUR BUSINESS.
As Christian ministers, we believe in prayer and in making
strategic declarations for your business. They have very vital roles
to play in business success. But truth be told, making those
positive confessions and declarations without putting in the
needed effort will yield no result. Anointing oil and prophetic
directions are not replacements for hard work and diligence. In
fact, even paying good tithes and offerings without diligence
cannot grow your business. Whoever told you otherwise may be
deceiving you.
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might;
for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in
the grave where you are going.”
– Ecclesiastes 9:10 NKJV
JESUS WAS AN ACTION MAN!
When you study the synoptic gospels very well, you will arrive at
this destination – Jesus was a man who was committed to action.
It was uncommon to find Jesus tell His disciples something and
not demonstrate it the next minute. He was driven more by His
actions than His words. He spoke extraordinarily little and did
more.
“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it
is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”
– John 9: 4 NKJV
As an entrepreneur, you can learn this from Jesus. Put your plans
on paper but never let those plans remain there. In fact, you
should be interested in implementation than just planning all the
time. Business success does not respond to only words and plans!
Business success does not respond to just words. Even plans and
strategies are never enough. Corporate strategy sessions do not
produce results without actions. Marketing and sales strategy
sessions do not bring customers automatically without actions.
Financial management strategies do not yield results without
commitment to practicing them. After all the strategy sessions,
you must inspire your team to ‘get their hands dirty.’ That is the
way to get results.
“You do not write your life with words… You write it with
actions. What you think is not important. It is only
important what you do.”
– Patrick Ness
BE FERVENT IN GROWING YOUR BUSINESS.
Too many believers are lackadaisical when it comes to business.
It seems some are just in a hurry to die and go to heaven. But God
created the earth for us. He wants us to dominate the affairs of this
life including business. We must understand that a lukewarm
attitude cannot grow a successful business. Many times, it is not
even about the kind of business you may be engaged in or even
the location per se, it is your attitude to work that makes the
difference. You can become a millionaire by selling water! You
can become a global entrepreneur by trading in clothing! You can
become a national hero by providing technology solutions to
hospitals and schools. You do not need to own a bank to succeed
as an entrepreneur. All you need is diligence. If you put in the
effort, you will succeed big time!
“Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”
– Romans 12:11 NKJV
COMMANDMENT # 9
THOU SHALL WIN THE TRUST OF THINE STAKEHOLDERS
“Integrity is better capital than money. You can
accumulate it just like money, and you can use it just
like money, but it goes further, and is enduring.”
– Strive Masiyiwa Founder & Executive Chairman,
Econet Wireless Group
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
loving favor rather than silver and gold.”
– Proverbs 22:1
INTEGRITY, INTELLIGENCE AND ENERGY.
Billionaire Investor Warren Buffet, Chairman and CEO of
Berkshire Hathaway said:
“In looking for people to hire, look for three qualities: integrity,
intelligence, and energy. And if they do not have the first one, the
other two will kill you.”
One of the keys to success in business is integrity. If you are
dishonest, you may not enjoy doing business for the long term.
Business success and sustainability strives on the anvil of trust,
honesty and integrity. Dishonesty and character flaws cannot be
hidden forever. You may try to hide them, but they do always show
up later! A person’s dishonesty will eventually catch up with
them. It may not be today and it may not be for many years, but
you can be rest assured that at some point there will always be a
day of reckoning. It is always better to be honest with the
stakeholders you engage in business with.
“He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that
followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough. A faithful
man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be
rich shall not be innocent.”
– Proverbs 28:19-20 KJV
We have a word of advice for those who are striving for a
reputation of integrity: avoid those who are not trustworthy. Do
not do business with them. Do not associate with them. Do not
make excuses for them. Do not allow yourself to get enticed into
believing that “while they may be dishonest with others, they
would never be dishonest with me.”
If someone is dishonest in any aspect of his life, you can be
guaranteed that he will be dishonest in many aspects of his life.
You cannot dismiss even those little acts of dishonesty, such as
the person who takes two newspapers from the stand when they
paid for only one. After all, if a person cannot be trusted in the
simplest matters of honesty, then how can they possibly be
trusted to uphold lengthy and complex business contracts?
Stealing, cheating and lying are not sustainable in business.
There are entrepreneurs who have managed to convince
themselves that until they cheat, steal and lie their way through
business, they can never make it. But that is a big lie! In fact,
people who operate with that mindset never get far in business. It
is always better to do business genuinely than to focus on stealing.
There is nothing greater than a good name! A good name can
open bigger doors for you. A good name will make you wealthy in
the end, though it may not be easy initially. With a good name, it
may take long for the money to come, but when it starts coming
in, it never stops!
“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
loving favor rather than silver and gold.”
– Proverbs 22:1
Treat your customers well. Respect them. Give them the
necessary assistance. Never be rude towards them, not matter
how they try to provoke you. An entrepreneur with a strong
character will always triumph and go far in business. Always go for
a good name. It will open greater doors for you in the future.
The end does not justify the means!
In our book titled, The 15 Remarkable Attributes of
Successful Entrepreneurs, we wrote:
“It is unfortunate! Today, we live in a world where “the end
justifies the means” has become an acceptable school of thought
for far too many. Salespeople overpromise and under deliver, all
in the name of making their quota for the month. Applicants
exaggerate in job interviews because they desperately need a job.
If you have ever been involved in conducting interviews and
selecting candidates, you will agree on this. And of course, Chief
Executives overstate their projected earnings because they do not 93
want the board of directors to replace them. Entrepreneurs
overstate their pro forma invoices because they want the highest
valuation possible from an investor.
Investors understate a company’s value to negotiate a lower
valuation in a deal. Customer service representatives cover up a
mistake they made because they are afraid the client will leave
them. Employees call in “sick” because they do not have any more
paid time off when they just need to get their Christmas shopping
done. The list could go on and on, and in each case the person
committing the act of dishonesty told themselves they had a
perfectly valid reason why the result justified their lack of
integrity.”
MAKE HUMILITY AND HONESTY YOUR BEST POLICY
Successful entrepreneurs are very humble in their disposition. A
successful entrepreneur was recently asked, “What is the biggest
lesson you’ve learned in business?” His answer? “Always be
down to earth and approachable. The day your arrogance or ego
kicks in, it is all over. Always remember, no matter how big you
become you will still always be a drop in the ocean in the grand
scheme of things.” Of course, we have observed how several startups and even established organizations have lost life-changing
business opportunities because of arrogance.
Here is a story of how dishonest people lose out in life:
A woodman lost his axe into the river when it glanced off a tree he
was felling. Mercury (the God) appeared while the man was
lamenting his loss, and on hearing his tale dived into the river, and
recovered a golden axe. “That’s not mine,” said the woodman, so
Mercury returned it to the river, resurfacing this time with a silver
axe. “That’s not mine,” again said the woodman, and again
Mercury returned it to the river, resurfacing this time with the
woodman’s own axe. “That’s mine,” said the grateful woodman.
Mercury promptly rewarded the man for his honesty by giving him
the golden and silver axes as well. On hearing the woodman’s tale,
an envious friend set out to do as the woodman had done, visiting
the same spot and deliberately losing his axe in the river. Just as
before, Mercury appeared and dived in to recover the lost axe.
When Mercury produced a golden axe, the man greedily
stretched out for it claiming, “That’s mine.” Mercury, not best
pleased with the man’s dishonesty, held on to the golden axe, and
refused to recover the original. The man’s dishonesty made him lose his original axe. Can you
imagine that?
Ryan Freitas, About.me, Co-Founder, argues that, “Your
reputation is more important than your paycheck, and your
integrity is worth more than your career.” That could not be
further from the truth!
Young Ugandan entrepreneur Akish
Takkar reveals to Forbes Africa in a recent interview:
“Establishing a thriving business in Africa depends on your
honesty, integrity and truth – hence, getting off to the right start
you must HIT the ground running. Honesty, integrity and truth
must be the bedrock of your corporate values, work ethic and all
business operations. Africans are very keen on honest
businesspeople who operate with integrity and tell their clients
and employees the truth, even when it is difficult. Despite the
media’s overarching view that African leaders, businesses, and
citizenry are wrought with corruption, I believe that Africans
expect and deserve transparency and truth. I know that my
success as an entrepreneur is because of my core spiritual premise
of truth. Personally, I know for sure that honesty is indeed not
only the best policy; but it is the only way for long term customer
and business partnership loyalty, profitability, and success”.
INTEGRITY IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.
David K. Williams, Chairman and Founder of Restore
Cryotherapy Mountain West, in his book titled, “The Seven Non
-Negotiables of Winning,” says “If trust is lacking, take the
necessary steps to allow this vital unmeasurable to improve. The
foundation of trust will permeate every aspect of your company;
the people, the products they produce, and the corporate culture.
Therefore, we consider trust to be a non-negotiable trait.”
We cannot agree more! Integrity is simply one of the remarkable
attitudes you can find in enormously successful entrepreneurs.
An entrepreneur should have integrity as the basic principle in
running a business.
This integrity is reflected through honesty, persistence, tenacity
and the ability to compete fairly. Why is integrity crucial?
Basically, businesses are quite rapidly growing, and many
business owners run a similar business or even the same business.
The continual business development will be well-handled and
effectively managed when the business owners are persons of
strong integrity in business.
HANDLE YOUR STAKEHOLDERS WITH WISDOM
In pursuing integrity in business, it is also important to be in the
good books of your stakeholders. Beyond customers, other vital
stakeholders include industry players, regulators, suppliers,
bankers, employees and the community where do your business.
Remember that when things become difficult for you, you may
need some of these people to stand in for you.
Amy Ress Anderson, Contributor for Forbes Magazine says that:
“Success will come and go, but integrity is forever. Integrity means
doing the right thing always and, in all circumstances, whether
anyone is watching. It takes courage to do the right thing, no
matter what the consequences will be. Building a reputation of
integrity takes years, but it takes only a second to lose, so never
allow yourself to ever do anything that will damage your
integrity.”
GO THE EXTRA MILE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS.
Most of us as entrepreneurs are guilty when it comes to
pampering customers. Probably, that is why we have not gotten to
where God wants us to be in business yet. In fact, some of us need
to go back to school and learn about customer service. Besides,
some of us need to revise the old notes we have accommodated
about customers.
It is sad but it looks like some entrepreneurs are not in business
to serve customers but just to make money. Importantly, that is
not a good way to do business. As an entrepreneur, your business
exists because of customers. You are there to serve them. When
you lose customers, your business ends. This is particularly
important, and every entrepreneur who desires to last in business
must embrace this philosophy.
“A satisfied customer is the best source of advertisement.”
– G. S. Alag
FIND CREATIVE WAYS TO GIVE BACK TO SOCIETY.
The essence of business is to have a positive influence on society.
You are in business as an entrepreneur to improve the wellbeing
of humanity. You are not just in business to make money, buy
houses and cars for your personal enjoyment. You have a
responsibility to make your society better, especially your
immediate environment.
How do you do this? You can make provision for a certain
percentage of your profit for what is normally called corporate
social responsibility. You can invest in a poor school in your
community. You can adopt some brilliant but needy students in
your area and support them. You can offer scholarship to pupils
and students either in your community or an adopted community.
You can also do something for the women entrepreneurs in your
community. In fact, you can also initiate a special
entrepreneurship programme for the young people in your
community.
We can all support our communities in creative ways. Let us not
leave everything to the government!
COMMANDMENT # 10
THOU SHALL STOP WASTING THINE MONEY!
“A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry;
but money answers everything.”
– Ecclesiastes 10:19 NKJV
“Too many people spend money they earned…to buy
things they don’t want…to impress people that they
don’t like.”
– Will Rogers
THE ESSENCE OF FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE
Every entrepreneur should have a basic knowledge of accounting.
This is especially important. Lack of financial knowledge among
several entrepreneurs is a big problem. There are entrepreneurs
who know next to nothing about what it takes to manage money.
Their prime interest seems to be on just looking for money. They
do everything to get the money only to sadly lose it in the end. But
if your vision is to build a globally successful business, you must
be concerned about your financials as businesspeople. You must
keep a keen eye on your expenditure as a business. Poor financial
management is the number one reason why several businesses
fail. Nothing could be further from the truth.
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
– Benjamin Franklin
Look for creative ways to reduce operations cost.
One way you can manage your finances properly as an
entrepreneur is to reduce operations cost. In fact, when it comes
to operations cost, you must constantly think through creative
ways of cutting it down. If you do this well, your business will
improve. The challenge with most businesspeople is that, they
lose sight of financial management when the money starts 101
flowing. Often, they forget that the money may not always be
there.
“Financial peace isn’t the acquisition of stuff. It’s learning to live
on less than you make, so you can give money back and have
money to invest. You can’t win until you do this.”
– Dave Ramsey
KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE CASH FLOW.
Every business has its streams of income and the best you can do
as an entrepreneur is to ensure that these income streams are
properly taken care of. Cash is the lifeblood of every business and
once the money stops flowing, your business dies. If you look at
cash this way, your major concern as entrepreneur will be on
ensuring there is constant cash flow for the business.
There is a strong relationship between cash flow, marketing and
sales. Entrepreneurs who understand this relationship do better
in business! If there is no money, you should ask yourself in you
are putting enough effort into promoting your products and
services.
KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PROFIT.
Most entrepreneurs seem to be happy with good revenue but that
is not the real deal. As an entrepreneur, you should always be
interested in the profit margins. That is what sustains the 102
business. The profitability of a business goes a long way to
determine how it is extremely easy to be lost in the moment when
you see the cash flow coming in. Often, entrepreneurs fail to note
that all the cash flow does not belong to the business. Suppliers
must be taken off. Taxes must be paid. Operations cost must also
be taken care of.
CONCLUSION
GOD CAN USE YOUR BUSINESS AS A TOOL TO CHANGE THE WORLD.
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be
not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in
the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
that they do good, that they be rich in good works,
ready to distribute, willing to communicate.”
— 1 Timothy 6: 17-18 KJV
“The best philanthropy is constantly in search of
finalities-a search for a cause, an attempt to cure evils
at their source.”
– John Davies Rockefeller
THE EXAMPLE OF A CHRISTIAN BILLIONAIRE!
Zimbabwean Christian billionaire, Strive Masiyiwa and his wife
Tsitsi Masiyiwa, recently launched a $100 million fund to invest
in rural entrepreneurs in his home country. This is among the
many philanthropic initiatives he has undertaken over the years as
a businessman.
“My wife and I have decided to set up a special fund of $100
million over 5 years for ReImagine Rural in Zimbabwe. We have
also challenged our friends in the philanthropy community to join
us to expand it across Africa,” he announced via a press
statement.
The $100 million ‘Masiyiwa Rural Challenge Fund’ will be
funded solely by the Zimbabwean billionaire. The funds will be
disbursed as loans to beneficiaries through Steward Bank, a
Zimbabwean-based commercial bank that is controlled by the
Masiyiwa Family. The minimum loan will be $1,000 while the
maximum amount will be $10,000.
The loans will require no collateral and the maximum interest rate
for the loans will be 5%. Masiyiwa says the repayments will be
channeled into a revolving fund to absorb as many rural
entrepreneurs as possible. All entrepreneurs who apply for the
loan will be required to undergo training before accessing the
loans and there will be no political lobbying for support. The 105
programme is expected to launch fully by the second quarter of
the year.
A spokesperson for Masiyiwa did not respond to a
request for comment at the time of publishing this post.
Strive Masiyiwa and his wife Tsitsi are among Africa’s most
recognisable philanthropists. They are the founders of
the Higherlife Foundation, a non-profit organisation that is
empowering vulnerable children through education and creating
opportunities for incredibly talented young people. Through one of
the largest scholarship programmes in Africa, the Foundation
pays the school fees for 30,000 students annually in Zimbabwe,
Lesotho and Burundi who they call their ‘history makers.’
Masiyiwa, who is worth $2.5 billion according to FORBES, is the
founder of Econet, one of the leading mobile telecoms companies
in Africa. He is globally recognised as the founder of Africa’s
telecoms giant Econet Wireless Group with presence in almost
over 5 continents.
This is what a born-again Christian can do for the kingdom and
the world if they are able to create massive wealth through
business and entrepreneurship. We need more Christian
billionaires!
YOUR BUSINESS CAN TRANSFORM YOUR COMMUNITY.
How do we take care of the poor if we are not wealthy? How do
you build more businesses, schools, hospitals, clinics, etc. if we 106
do not have the needed financial resources? How do we build
community empowerment centers? How do we construct more
churches and finance missionary works if we are not wealthy?
These and many more are the reasons we must take the subject of
business and wealth creation more seriously.
“It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy
to love those close to us…. This is where our love for each
other must start.”
– Mother Teresa
Lev Leviev, Israeli business magnate, billionaire and
philanthropist, has made a name for his flamboyant and
aggressive charitable giving to communities.
He has donated more money to charity, both in sum, total and in
percentage amount, than most of the other wealthiest people in
the world. His business, according to him, is to make money but
he does so to serve GOD better. But God does not ask that more
than a 10 or 20 percent commission be paid to charity. Now, that
is the kind of person we call a Financial Evangelist.
None other could suffice. Lev has however done this exemplary
gesture for years. The net effect is that he has been blessed with
riches because he is a responsible steward of that blessing. The
interesting thing about Lev is that unlike most successful 107
entrepreneurs, he started giving back to God and country at an
early stage. He began to give away his fortune. His goals were to
tithe 10 percent of his income every year, but he soon found
himself giving far more than that. Some years, it was 20 percent.
Other years it was 30%. He founded Jewish Day Schools in the
former Soviet States.
“Life’s persistent and most urgent question is “What are
you doing for others?”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
His latest goal according to sources is to provide a free Jewish
education for any American Jewish child who wants one. Nathan
Sharansky made a startling remark about him, “I know a lot of rich
people who give money. But Leviev is on a completely different
level. He’s building entire communities.”
Come to think of it, as a teenager, he arrived in Israel with literally
the rags on his back. He and his family escaped the Soviet Region
of Bukahara and reached Israel in 13th May, 1971. He had
ventured into the diamond trading business after an attempt at
rabbinical studies. The rest they say is history!”
“A certain amount of corporate philanthropy is simply
good business and works for the long-term benefit of the
investors.”
– John Mackey
YOUR BUSINESS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.
Business Leader Phil Libin, Evernote CEO, could not have put it
better: “There’s lots of bad reasons to start a company. But
there’s only one good, legitimate reason, and I think you know
what it is: it’s to change the world.”
Ashish J. Thakkar is a less than 40 years, but in a little over two decades, the Ugandan-born maverick entrepreneur has accomplished what only few attain in their
lifetime. Thakkar began his entrepreneurial journey over 15
years ago as a high school student in Uganda where he sold
computers to his schoolmates and friends. That small trading
operation snowballed into the Mara Group, a diversified
conglomerate with approximately $100 million in revenues,
according to Thakkar. Mara has tentacles in everything from real
estate and tourism to financial services, information and
communications technology, renewable energy and
manufacturing. The group’s operations span 16 countries in four
continents, including Asia. And lest you forget, he didn’t inherit
anything; he built it all from scratch.
When he was recently interviewed by Forbes Africa Magazine, his
response was inspiring:
“My biggest driver is to see Africa
prosper and compete aggressively on a global scale. I am deeply
passionate about this and firmly believe that the Indian Tiger and
the Chinese Dragon have had their days and it is now time for the
African Lion! Mara Group proudly wears the logo of the African
Lion to symbolise Africa’s coming of age and we champion this
cause in any way we can.”
He continues by stating what the Mara Group does to uplift the
communities in which it does business. “I believe it is imperative
for businesses to give back to their communities. I have taken my
greatest lessons in business and created the Mara Foundation to
help early-stage entrepreneurs. We are immensely proud of the
work we do through the Foundation which is helping to tackle
problems in education and providing much needed support to
young entrepreneurs at the start of their journey.
Mara Foundation provides three different types of support. The
first is the Entrepreneur Launchpad, a business mentorship
programme which connects emerging entrepreneurs with top
business leaders who have volunteered to provide mentorship for
six months. This project has mentored around 120 small
businesses in East Africa so far. The second is Mara Launchpad,
the base for growing businesses, an innovation and enterprise
centre for young businesses, where entrepreneurs pay an 110
affordable fee to access a professional office space and a
community of like-minded individuals.
This provides visibility and credibility which enables them to grow. The third element is
the Mara Launch Uganda Fund, which offers venture capital to
startups and growth-stage companies in Uganda to start with.
Our vision is to copy and paste these initiatives in other African
countries too.”
“I was fortunate to get a scholarship when I went to
Lehigh University and Princeton…. Somebody was kind
enough to spend their money to educate people that they
would never get to know. That’s what I think
philanthropy is about.”
– Lee Iacocca
Dear Christian Entrepreneur, God wants you to succeed in
business so you can transform your society. He also wants you to
do well so you can become wealthy and finance His kingdom. He
is ready to partner you and ensure your business prospers, so
arise and put your hands to work!
Nelson Semanu Boandoh-Korkor
Lead Publishing Consultant, MBN Books Ltd
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