Fortune is one of those things in life that we will never be able to fully understand. Fortune comes in so many ways and often is disguised in forms that we are only able to realize after the fact.

Fortune comes to entrepreneurs in many ways. Fortune can be defined by closing a deal, launching a new service that increases revenue, meeting the right person just at the perfect moment to help your business, or making the right decision that catapults your business to new heights of success and notoriety.

The road to fortune is not always an easy one, especially for young, enterprising entrepreneurs in the developing world. In my entrepreneurial journey as an African, I have had to deal with a variety of typical operational issues that can affect us all in business as severs can go down, clients can drop your service, fraudulent activity can occur on your bank account and financing can seem impossible to find.

It is my contention however that young entrepreneurs in the developing world face a unique obstacle in their road to fortune; the lack of support, recognition and respect from both the public and private sectors in their own countries. Those with the capability to help local entrepreneurs establish themselves have largely chosen to partner with international entrepreneurs and multi-national corporations and been very successful in doing so. The young entrepreneurs, who are the creative engine of economies across the world, often find themselves sidelined in Africa as a result.

According to the ILO (International Labor Organization), 700 million young people aged 15-25, will enter the workforce in developing nations. The ILO states 1 billion jobs must be created in order to reduce unemployment. In this challenging environment, entrepreneurship is vital to sustain these economies, and it falls on young entrepreneurs to adopt a new framework in which to operate.

Starting a business requires discipline and discipline requires rules. I encourage the use of the “Rules of the Road” below to best adjust to the current environment for young businessmen in developing nations.

RULES OF THE ROAD
1. Identify your market and learn all about it.
You have to know as much as possible about your business at
the start.
2. Prepare a business plan.
No one will take you seriously without a plan for profits. Look
for financing in both local and international circles.
3. Keep your overhead low and your standards high.
Work from home or at a low cost, convenient location.
4. Establish a clear distribution network.
How will you present and sell your product or service?
5. Be creative—think outside the box.
Rely on marketing strategies rather than costly advertising to
grow.
6. Hire/work with the most qualified people.
From your partner to your first employee, look for someone
who knows more than you.
7. Know your competition and work to win.
Be persistent, focused and flexible…anything can happen.
8. Learn from the success and failure of others.
Read, watch trends, and observe what is “hot” in your industry.
9. Use technology as much as possible to build your business.
From telecoms to the internet. Stay up to date as much as you
can.
10. Don’t be sensitive and don’t take things personally.
Be prepared for rejection, but never give up your dream.
11. Be very passionate about your business.
You will need to take risks and believe when no one else does.

Always remember that as an entrepreneur, you can never be beyond learning new things. You must ALWAYS stay hungry and listen to what people say. Be open to new ideas and concepts because when you cease to do that, you cease to be a visionary and thus, an entrepreneur.

By Ngoni Takawira (Medellin Group.)

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