dont miss businesslink magazine august 2014 issue, read sample here
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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.TRANSCRIPT
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"I was relentless, even in the face of total lack of encouragement, because much more often than you'd think, sheer persistence is the difference between success and failure." Donald Trump
]
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.
B U S I N E S S L I N K M A G A Z I N E A U G U S T 2 0 1 4 Page 3
BusinessLink Magazine is published by
Admiral Business Systems (Pvt) Ltd
Suite 308, 3rd
Floor Merchant House,
43 Robson Manyika / 2nd
Street, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Phone 0772 854 301
http://smebusinesslink.com
© Admiral Business Systems 2014. All rights reserved
Publisher: Phillip Chichoni, email [email protected]
Marketing : Christine Mangwanya, email [email protected]
Design and graphics: Nzwisisai Gonese, email [email protected]
Distribution: PCL Marketing and Distribution
Get BusinessLink magazine delivered to your
email inbox every month. Subscribe for only
$10 for a year.
Please visit http://smebusinesslink.com/magazine
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Table of Contents
Publisher’s note: How to build the perfect startup ........................................................ 7
The Essentials of Strategy! ................................................................................................. 9
10 Greatest Enemies To your Greatness .......................................................................... 11
From a cottage startup to conquering the male dominated security industry ........... Error!
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Advice to Women Entrepreneurs from Divine Ndhlukula .... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Young Zimbabwean Shines at U.S.-Africa Summit, Talks Business With Obama ........ Error!
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Don’t Miss the Networking Breakfast Meeting on 28 August 2014 .....Error! Bookmark not
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Should You Incorporate Your Business? ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
The Most Important Investment a Startup Can Make .......... Error! Bookmark not defined.
The 15 Startup Misconceptions ........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
12 Smart Low Cost Business Ideas ....................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
How to Register as a Taxpayer ............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
PayPal Now in Zimbabwe. What has changed for local online merchants? ............ Error!
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4 Social Media Secrets Worth Stealing from Zim’s leading Comedian .Error! Bookmark not
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3 Things Every Entrepreneur Needs To Know About Social Media Marketing ............ Error!
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Think Like a Designer: 3 Tips to Help You Build a Better Website .......Error! Bookmark not
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Become a Sales Star in One Week .................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Pumping Marketing Iron ...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Understanding an Agreement of Sale .................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Subscribe now and win! ................................................................................................... 12
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Manufacturers of: Office Safes, Strongroom Doors, Filing Cabinets & a wide range of Industrial Catering Equipment. You will find us at No.10, Isafil Industrial Complex, 667 Seke Road, Hatfield, Harare Phone: Tel 04-2933391/ 2 Cell: 0772 403 827, 0712 400 534, 0733 377 915 Email: [email protected]
Thinking of starting a Thinking of starting a Thinking of starting a Thinking of starting a business? Or do you business? Or do you business? Or do you business? Or do you wanwanwanwantttt to write a professional business plan to write a professional business plan to write a professional business plan to write a professional business plan acceptable to investors and financiers?acceptable to investors and financiers?acceptable to investors and financiers?acceptable to investors and financiers?
Get all the insights you need from the Business Planning Simplified eBook, available
on CD or via email, for $7.00, or $12 for the printed edition.
Also available: Business Starter Pack eBooks, @ $2.99, or $6 for the printed edition.
Visit http://smebusinesslink.com/businesslink-resources or come to 3rd Floor
Merchant House, Robson Manyika/ 2nd
Street, Harare, or call/ Whatsapp Christine on
0772 854 301.
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Publisher’s note:
How to build the
perfect startup
"I always tell people: 'If you've got a
product or a service that is required by
the market, you can sell it'. It's not
about the sciences. It's about the
passion for the idea".
This is what Divine Ndhlukula said
when asked about what made her
want to start a security company when
she had no training or experience in
that particular industry.
Building a perfect business requires
a set of skills that no single person
possesses.
The perfect start-up has all three
founders:
• Someone who understands how to
build technologies and systems to
solve problems.
• Someone who understands the
human factors behind those
problems, why they exist, what it
takes to fix them and how to shape
the experience.
• Someone who understands how to
reach, talk to and sell to the people
whose problems are being solved--
and to keep finding more of them.
Fail fast: Start with a working set of
assumptions and test them out in the
market very fast. If your assumptions
are wrong then pivot, adjust, and make
a decisive decision. Remember,
entrepreneurs love the process, the
idea is one of many you'll try on the
way to achieving greatness, and
commercial success.
Know your weaknesses: Knowing
your weaknesses is as important as
knowing what your strengths are, and
even more important as your company
grows; hire or have co-founders who
are great in areas where you are weak.
In our BusinessLink Magazine
feature article this month, we share
with you the story of one of the
country’s most successful business
builders, how she started from a
cottage with only three employees and
went on to build one of the top
security firms around, now employing
almost 3,500 people.
That is the story of Divine Ndhlukula,
which we hope will inspire you,
especially if you are a women
entrepreneur, in working hard in
building a successful business.
Phillip Chichonip- Publisher
Please email me your feedback, or
get on Twitter: #BizLinkMagazine.
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The Essentials of Strategy!
10 Greatest Enemies your Greatnesspage 11
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The Essentials of Strategy! with Milton Kamwendo, page
10 Greatest Enemies your Greatness with Rabison Shumba,
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ith Milton Kamwendo, page 9
10 Greatest Enemies to ith Rabison Shumba,
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The Essentials of
Strategy! “The essence of strategy is choosing
what not to do.” - Michael E. Porter
By Milton Kamwendo
Strategy in
its simplest
form is your
crystallised
thought
about your business and how you
intent to contend for space in the
market place. I am a student of
strategy and I spend many hours every
year working with clients from
different industries on their strategies
and reviewing the progress of their
plans. The essence of strategy is not
merely complex textbook analysis but
simplicity. You do not really
understand what you are doing until
you can simplify it in your mind.
What is your winning aspiration?
It is not enough to play, the
keystone of strategy is to win in the
market place. You have to be clear
about the meaning of winning to you.
What will winning look like? What are
your goals? Where do you want to cut
your opponent? Clear goals drive
resolute action.
In the Book of Five Rings, the great
warrior, Miyamoto Musashi says,
"The primary thing when you take a sword in your hands is your intention to cut the enemy, whatever the means. Whenever you parry, hit, spring, strike or touch the enemy's cutting sword, you must cut the enemy in the same movement. It is essential to attain this. If you think only of hitting, springing, striking or touching the enemy, you will not be able actually to cut him."
In strategy the key is not just to
tread along but to execute a winning
strategy. Your winning aspiration must
be clear. Your goals must be certain
and clear. Double talk is not for
strategists but idle babblers.
Where is the battle ground?
Not all territory is contested
territory. It is helpful to define the
battlefield. Fighting on all fronts is the
key to losing. Strategy is not only a
definition of what you will do. It is also
a clear definition of what you will not
do. Where you will pitch the battle
determines how you will fight.
In determining your battle ground
you need to define the market
segments you will play in. If you do not
decide you will be forced to play in an
arena where you are irrelevant. Define
the geographical spaces in which you
will play to win. Trying to be
everywhere if you do not have the
resources will see you coming home
with your tail between your legs. If you
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have little resources, focus your effort.
If you have abundant resources choose
where you will play wisely.
You may also need to look at your
industry space and consider some
vertical integration options. You may
decide to go up the chain or move
further down. It is all part of the
strategy game. Where you will play is
an important strategy consideration
worth your attention.
How you will you win?
Merely playing in the marketplace
with a gun loaded with hope and little
else is neither courage nor strategy. It
is important to define how you intend
to win. How will you play? You cannot
let fate answer that question unless
you are insane.
The great military strategist,
Sun Tzu said:
"If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected."
This my friend, is strategy in motion.
If you do not decide how you will
win, you will discover in due course
how it was decided that you should
lose. In crafting strategy you should
never forget that your competition is
not sitting idle waiting for you to act.
Your weaknesses are your
competition's greatest opportunity.
Whatever you do, do not stop moving
forward.
What capabilities must be in place?
Once you have decided where you
will play and how you will win you
need to be honest with yourself and
take an inventory of your abilities.
What abilities must be in place for you
to win? You need to decide how you
will get these capabilities. Knowing the
capabilities that you require is the first
and crucial step.
How Will You Manage It All?
Strategy and leadership are
inseparable Once you have articulated
your strategy, it is important to spare
time to ask a few management
questions. What management systems
and practices do you need to put in
place to ensure that your strategy
works? Great leaders think about
management; great managers think
about leadership all the time.
Is your strategy in place already?
Then get on with the relentless and
never-say-die execution. Is your
strategy now stale, refresh it, quickly.
Is your strategy non-existent, then go
ahead and put one in place. If you need
help a good facilitator can help you. By
all means act strategically if you want
to win.
Committed to your greatness.
Milton Kamwendo
Twitter # MiltonKamwendo
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10 Greatest Enemies To
your Greatness
By Rabison Shumba
Greatness remains a birthright for every living human being. Your greatness is guaranteed and without question or negotiation.
The capacity to dream is built in and grafted to everyone at the point of conception. This function is enabled more as you arrive on earth and become aware of what could be; possibilities and opportunities as well as
potential obstacles that you face in the process called growth and experience.
However, your ability to dream and guarantee of greatness has equally opposing forces which seek to either delay, derail, destroy and mutilate your progress towards destiny. To know the disease is half the cure just as identifying an enemy is half the victory in the battle front. In this article I explore common enemies or dream killers that I have face faced as I have dreamt and worked on my vision.
I have overcome some and yet still face more enemies. The goal is to empower you to identify your own enemies and have a strategy on how to bring them down so that your greatness can be well positioned to take place.
Common Dream Killers 1. Bad Personal Experiences and Testimonies that Others Tell You About Usually when you have had a bad experience with a dream
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Subscribe now and win!