sample businesslink magazine january 2015 issue

BUSINESSLINK MAGAZINE JANUARY 2015


ALWAYS DO CAREFUL RESEARCH

BusinessLink magazine is designed to

educate and provide general

information as well as to stimulate

readers’ thinking. While every care is

taken to ensure that information in this

magazine is correct, we advise readers

to consult their professional advisors

when making business decisions. The

magazine is distributed on the

understanding that the publisher is not

rendering legal or financial advice and

readers use the information herein at

their own risk.

BUSINESSLINK MAGAZINE

BusinessLink, the magazine for

growing companies, delivers real

solutions for today’s innovative

business builders. It gives advice,

tools and resources to CEOs and

owners of small-to-midsize

companies as well as new

entrepreneurs that help accelerate

their growth.


BusinessLink Magazine is published by

Admiral Business Systems (Pvt) Ltd

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© Admiral Business Systems 2015. All rights

reserved

Publisher: Phillip Chichoni, email [email protected]

Marketing : Christine Mangwanya, email [email protected]; Mercy Makura email [email protected].

Design and graphics: InfinIT Technology Solutions Email:[email protected] Tel:+263 773 248 583

Distribution: PCL Marketing and Distribution

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Contents Hit 2015 Running with a Mind Set for Success ............................................................... 7

ZIMBABWE BUSINESS BRIEFS ............................................................................................. 9

Zimbabwe ratifies US$3 million SME loan facility .................................................. 9

NSSA to Sets Up U.S$5 Million SME Fund ............................................................ 10

Take Action! Just Do It! .................................................................................................... 12

Why 2015 is the Best Year to Start Your Business ................................................. 13

35 New Business Ideas for 2015 .................................................................................. 16

Entrepreneur on Fire ....................................................................................................... 27

GTel Founder Chamunorwa Shumba is Connecting Everyone ...................................... 27

Starting up ....................................................................................................................... 29

Startups we wished for, but didn’t see in 2014 ....................................................... 30

A Reality Check on Your First 2 Years as an Entrepreneur ............................................ 34

GROWTH .......................................................................................................................... 37

Why A Lack Of Systems Is Impending Your Business Growth ....................................... 37

Learning from Strive Masiyiwa: How do you turn a small business into a big business?

......................................................................................................................................... 40

10 Essential Keys to a Successful (and Profitable) Collaboration .................................. 46

Leadership ....................................................................................................................... 49

8 Inspiring Habits of Truly Remarkable Bosses ............................................................. 49

Marketing & Selling.......................................................................................................... 52

13 Digital Marketing Trends and Predictions for 2015 ................................................. 52

Secrets to Promoting the Promotion ........................................................................... 55

Doing business in Zimbabwe ............................................................................................ 57

What if Your Idea is Stolen: VAS entrepreneur who accused Telecel of stealing his idea

loses case ......................................................................................................................... 57

How to Avoid the Punitive Zimra Presumptive Tax ...................................................... 59

Managing People ............................................................................................................. 60

Hiring the right people is critical for success ................................................................ 60

Money ............................................................................................................................. 63

Richest Footballers In Africa in 2014 ............................................................................ 63

What is the most effective yet efficient way to get rich? ............................................. 69


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PUBLISHER’S BRIEF

Hit 2015 Running with a Mind Set for

Success

By Phillip Chichoni Whoa! What a tough year 2014 was! You

could write a whole book on the things that went wrong and how they went wrong. But as an entrepreneur, I urge you not dwell on past failures but to start focusing on how you can win in 2015.

If you look at top performers, whether in sport or in business, you will find that they are focused on winning performance naturally, it seems to be part of their DNA. What can we

learn from observing a top performer in operation? The first critical point to learn is that their attention is always focused

specifically on what they want to achieve as opposed to what they don't want. They don’t dwell on the problems they faced last year.

In every moment and in every situation we each are aware of either what we want or what we don’t want and top performers are the same yet they consistently display the ability to convert what is not wanted into a clear vision of what is wanted each and every time.

Most of the challenges of the past year were a result of things beyond our control. You must realize the truth that there’s a lot that you cannot control. That’s why we entrepreneurs, as leaders, need to hold our people accountable and measured on what is in their control. Focusing on those areas will increase your probability of success.

So the main point here is that we need to control our mindset. Positive minded people bring in positive vibes into an organization. They make everyone believe they can win, resulting in people putting in the super effort that brings in wins.

If you were thinking of starting a new business, now is the time jump in. In this January issue of BusinessLink magazine, the ideas issue, we have a special article, 35 New Business Ideas for 2015.

To put you in the right mood, here are seven inspirational quotes that will help you develop a mind set for success that will push you to win in 2015:


“A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” --Colin Powell

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”--

Albert Einstein “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow

already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” --Steve Jobs

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than

anything else, will affect its successful outcome.”- ~ William James "Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what

you do. Attitude determines how well you do it."- ~ Lou Holtz "Positive thinking won't let you do anything but it will let you do

everything better than negative thinking will." ~ Zig Ziglar

"The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to

know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Feedback me on twitter :#chichonip


ZIMBABWE BUSINESS

BRIEFS

Zimbabwe ratifies US$3 million SME

loan facility From The Herald The National Assembly in December ratified a $3 million loan facility

to finance operations for micro, small and medium-scale enterprises that was obtained from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa. The loan facility was signed by Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa and the ABEDA on October 14, this year in Sudan. In his address before the ratification Minister Chinamasa said the facility had favourable terms that should be exploited by SMEs.

"The $3 million line of credit has concessionary interest of one percent and has tenure of 20 years and five-year grace period.

"It seeks to address challenges faced by SMEs that include re-tooling and working capitals. Currently they are facing high interest rates averaging 19 percent and stringent borrowing conditions and most of the time the loans are short-term," Minister Chinamasa said.

He said the money would be administered by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Corporation with $1,2 million going to small enterprises while medium and micro enterprises would receive US$900 000 each.

Minister Chinamasa also said the ABEDA had also expressed interest in funding development projects in the country depending on the performance of the $3 million facility.

"In my discussion with the bank they said they have given this small amount because they want to test our repaying record. If it is satisfactory they will avail more resources because they want to assist in the development of this economy," he said.

Legislators across the political divide welcomed the facility and called on Government to ensure that only intended beneficiaries access the funds.

"The fund is welcome and should benefit everyone, especially rural communities where most of the country's population is. It should not only benefit people in urban areas as happened with previous loan facilities," Mutasa South Representative Cde Irene Zindi said.


Kambuzuma legislator Mr. Willas Madzimure said the money should target those in productive sectors.

"We want small businesses that are into production that can substitute imports. Government should also set the criteria for those that should benefit so that we prevent abuse of the facility," Mr. Madzimure said.

Hurungwe West Representative Cde Temba Mliswa said the facility was welcome in light of the ongoing implementation of Government's economic blueprint Zim-Asset.

"We have Zim-Asset and this money should find space in one the four clusters that is Food Security and Nutrition, Social Services and Poverty Eradication, Infrastructure and Utilities, and Value Addition and Beneficiation.

"We should have a criteria that will make sure the money gets to everyone and guarantees that issues to do with corruption and nepotism are addressed in the disbursement," he said.

The National Assembly also ratified an agreement for the establishment of the Country Office for the African Development Bank.

The agreement was signed on December 22, 2010 but had not been ratified as required by law.

The AfDB has of late been playing a pivotal role in the country's economy, especially in the areas of infrastructure development, water and sanitation.

Last week it provided a $180 million grant that will go towards the rehabilitation of the Kariba Dam wall and Bulawayo water reticulation system, among others.

NSSA to Sets Up U.S$5 Million SME

Fund From The Herald The National Social Security Authority (NSSA) plans to setup a

$5million SME fund aimed at supporting projects by players in the sector that are keen on formalizing their operations. NSSA director of benefits, schemes, planning and research, Mr. Henry Chikova said other players are free to participate in the scheme that will be administered by the Small to Medium Enterprises Development Corporation (SMEDCO).


"SMEDCO sent a proposal for a $5 million unsecured facility funding to roll out the transition to formality. NSSA is, however, proposing creating an account/fund, which would pay project funds directly to suppliers.

"The buyers would also pay directly to the account/fund and profit would be paid to the small and medium enterprises (order-based financing). Other players can also participate in the fund," he said.

Mr. Chikova said currently, NSSA has given SMEDCO $900 000, which will mature on April 9 2016, based on security surrendered to NSSA.

He said NSSA is working on a second retrenchee's facility that is expected to formalize more players in the SME sector.

He, however, said the absence of a NSSA board could delay the implementation of the facility.

The first facility was launched in 2011 and was targeted at the thousands that had been laid off their jobs and threatening the social security safety nets.

SMEs, however, expressed concern over the stringent conditions for the loans which ranged between $500 and $5 000, repayable over 6-12 months at 10 percent per annum.

"With time, this facility is envisaged to slowly widen the contribution base to NSSA while at the same time formalizing most micro small and medium businesses," he said. - Wires.


Take Action! Just Do

It! By Milton Kamwendo

At a 1988 meeting of the advertising agency, Wieden+Kennedy, Nike's advertising account handlers were looking at coming up with a powerful campaign that would carry the Nike brand into the 1990s. As they banged around various thoughts, Dan Wieden, the Agency's founder had a flash of inspiration from a novel he had read.

He remembered Gary Gilmore's last murder me words, "Just Do It!" And that cut it. This campaign with this buy line from Nike went on to have

global recognition and captivated minds in the highly competitive sports category for more than a decade. Wherever it's recited, everyone knows you are talking about Nike.

Many people know what they should do, where they should do it, but they just do not Nike it - just do it. Some in an effort to embolden themselves a little more will take another course, attend a seminar and all the while they know what to do and how. They know they must just do it. After all has been said and done, you will always come back to this compelling and seminal idea: just do it if you want it to get done.

Life is not waiting and the time for hesitation is behind you. Just do it. Time is fleeing past and aging does not sound an alarm bell. You are not as young as you were last week. The message is: Just do it! Take massive action, refuse to vacillate, equivocate or quiver. Nothing will happen unless you just do it. Take action and you will be pleased with yourself. Just do it. Just do it. Just do it. You will never learn doing nothing.

Use this weekend to start taking action. Get moving what are you waiting for?


Why 2015 is the Best Year to Start Your

Business By the BusinessLink team

Most people now know that New Year resolutions are a waste of time. Within six to eight weeks, all those goals you had planned to achieve would have been pushed to the back burner. Many people think of starting a new business every New Year but then decide that the time is not yet right.

If you need any motivation in setting your goal, here are the 10 reasons why 2015 will be the perfect year to start a business.

The economy We all know the Zimbabwean economy has been taking a beating in

the past decade. Now it is at a level at which it cannot go down any further. The only way left is up. Foreign investors are already setting their marks. Soon recovery will start and where will you be with your idea if you haven’t already set it up?

Investor money In 2014, foreign investment in Africa was at an all time high. Because

of extremely low interest rates prevailing in Europe and the Americas, investors seeking better returns turned to Africa. And 2015 doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. So, if your big idea needs big money, now is the time to perfect your pitch and reach out to investors.


Technology Cloud-based technologies have continued to drive down the cost of

doing business. Companies like Adobe and Microsoft have made their previously expensive software available via a subscription service. So, if your new idea used to need expensive software to be successful, that probably isn’t the case anymore.

Networks It’s true that your net worth can often times be tied to the size of your

network: The more people you know usually provides you with more opportunities to do business. For someone just getting started, this used to be prohibitive. It’s tough to dedicate lunches and evenings to networking when you’ve got a new company to run. But with networking becoming a digital activity thanks to groups like LinkedIn, new entrepreneurs can now build up their network before they ever open their business doors.

Insight I once heard a speaker say that anyone could be an expert in

something with the help of search engines, books and dedication. I can personally vouch for this. I taught myself how to be a business planning consultant and marketer by reading books, doing online searches and spending months learning the craft. So, if your business idea requires a level of expertise, then it’s never been easier to get your hands on the knowledge you need.

World markets If your new company needs a fancy website, online marketing, graphic

design or any number of other services, then you’re in luck. It used to require a huge capital investment to get this work done but now you can contract with groups overseas to get quality work done for much cheaper than you could using local vendors. Also, many of these necessities have out-of-the-box platforms (i.e. Shopify for ecommerce). So, it’s never been cheaper or easier to get your idea off the ground.

Access to experts If you’ve ever had a tough question that you needed answered

regarding business law, taxes or accounting, then you know how hard it is to get good advice that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. But with services like Quora, anyone can now get even the toughest questions answered. Plus, the answers are vetted by the user base through voting, so you know you’re getting a legit answer to your question. So, don’t let your lack of knowledge intimidate you anymore.

The speed of innovation The "Internet of Things" is a new idea that cropped up over the last

few years. It’s the idea that everything and anything can be connected to the Internet. This has ushered in some groundbreaking technologies


and some people peg the IoT industry to eventually be $14 trillionAnd the IoT industry isn’t unique. New industries are popping up all the time. So you have the chance to be truly innovative like never before in 2015. Get out there and snag a piece of the pie.

You’re one year wiserThis one is on you. This year you’re one year wis

were a year ago. You’ve learned from your mistakes and you’ve had time to perfect your idea. So, take advantage of your wisdom and use it to make 2015 the year you dominate the business world.

If not now, then when?I just spent the entire article telling you how 2015 will give you a

unique opportunity to start your business. But the truth is, every year gives advantages over the previous year. So, if you’re waiting for the perfect time, then you’ve already waited too long. The right tyour new business is NOW! Don’t wait for any arbitrary date like January 1st. Instead, commit to your plan and get started right now. Yes, today is a great time for starting a business.

JANUARY 2015

the IoT industry to eventually be $14 trillionT industry isn’t unique. New industries are popping up all the

you have the chance to be truly innovative like never before in 2015. Get out there and snag a piece of the pie.

You’re one year wiser This one is on you. This year you’re one year wiser and older than you

were a year ago. You’ve learned from your mistakes and you’ve had time to perfect your idea. So, take advantage of your wisdom and use it to make 2015 the year you dominate the business world.

If not now, then when? ntire article telling you how 2015 will give you a

unique opportunity to start your business. But the truth is, every year gives advantages over the previous year. So, if you’re waiting for the perfect time, then you’ve already waited too long. The right tyour new business is NOW! Don’t wait for any arbitrary date like January 1st. Instead, commit to your plan and get started right now. Yes,

a great time for starting a business.

the IoT industry to eventually be $14 trillion in size. T industry isn’t unique. New industries are popping up all the

you have the chance to be truly innovative like never before in

er and older than you were a year ago. You’ve learned from your mistakes and you’ve had time to perfect your idea. So, take advantage of your wisdom and use it to

ntire article telling you how 2015 will give you a unique opportunity to start your business. But the truth is, every year gives advantages over the previous year. So, if you’re waiting for the perfect time, then you’ve already waited too long. The right time to start your new business is NOW! Don’t wait for any arbitrary date like January 1st. Instead, commit to your plan and get started right now. Yes,


35 New Business Ideas for 2015

By Phillip Chichoni There’s never been a better time to be an entrepreneur. Technology is

more powerful and affordable than ever and social media has made it possible to promote your business in ways that are often more effective than expensive traditional advertising campaigns. And if you need startup funds to get going, crowd funding and alternative lending sites

Entrepreneurs need to be more innovative, not do me too businesses. Thousand of street

traders in Harare are all selling the same basic commodities. Certainly new ideas are needed


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