The Sunday Mail
Entrepreneurship Matters
Dr Kudzanai Vere
BUSINESS success is substantially determined by your level of education, experience, expertise and exposure.
People may argue left, right and centre, but this truth will remain.
You might think of other factors, but somehow, they fall within one of these four broader facts.
Success at personal and business levels is intentional. It does not just happen. Know what you want to do and become just that.
Educate yourself on things that pay you back at the end of the day.
Education
Education enlightens you about the things you did not know.
There has been talk in some circles that education is no that critical to success. This is misleading.
When we talk of education, we are referring to learning new skills.
Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Professor Murwira came up with Education 5.0 largely in response to an outcry that educated people are not productive.
This was because of concentration on theory rather than the practical and problem-solving aspects.
We are past the stage where people get educated to fill a position, either in the private sector or the public sector.
Education must be transformative in nature; it should change the way people think, behave and execute things.
The type of education that is key for business growth and sustainability is one with production. You have to know the stuff, do the stuff and be the stuff. After having acquired the necessary education, you then have to work. What work does is to give you experience.
Experience
Experience means the fact or state of having gained knowledge through direct observation or participation.
It is what you gain through participating in something and it is built over time.
Footballers, for instance, become seasoned players by playing for top teams in the world. Experience will eventually lead to expertise.
Expertise
Expertise simply means a high level of skill or knowledge.
It is developed from experience. You cannot be an expert without the necessary experience.
Expertise is defined as elite, peak or exceptionally high levels of performance in a particular task or within a given domain. One who achieves this status is called an expert. This is a level that delivers quality products and services, and, as such, attracts customers and, ultimately, money, which is the lifeblood of any business.
When combined with other important aspects of business, expertise brings success and sustainability.
Exposure
The first three Es — education, experience and expertise — are useless if they are not exposed to the market.
Exposure comes in two ways. The first exposure is that which gives you the experience that will lead to expertise. The second one relates to exposing oneself and even the organisation to markets, which then stand to benefit from the offerings.
The quality of the product or service you are exposing to the market also matters. It determines how long you will last in the market.
If your product is substandard, you will quickly go under. It is important to make sure that whatever you expose to the market delights the customer. How you expose yourself and where you do so matter.
Overall, to succeed in business, you have to educate yourself about the line of business you have chosen, build the experience around it and become an expert.
Once you are content with the first three aspects, you need to inevitably expose yourself to connect with the target market.
Dr Kudzanai Vere is the CEO of Kudfort Zimbabwe, an accounting and business advisory firm. He can be contacted on +263719592232 or [email protected]
