Mentorship is Not the Be All for Everything

Though access to capital remains a challenge, the new generation of entrepreneurs find solutions rather than be thwarted by the lack of capital. As a strategist and business advisor, I have been exposed to the challenges businesses face to appreciate that the success of some companies is more as a result of having large quantities of cash to burn rather than exemplary business practices and management. Cash cushions businesses so that when they are messing up, it does not lead to insolvency as quickly as it would a business that lacks cash even though it is managed better. Cash remains Queen!

Entrepreneurship is really not for the faint-hearted. It is tough as much as it is enjoyable when you are living your purpose and have a passion for what you do. What entrepreneurs need to survive are:

• Existing clients who are profitable
• A healthy pipeline
• Low overheads
• Clients that pay timeously
• A portfolio of clients that is diversified so that your revenue is not dependent on one or two clients making your business susceptible to their vulnerabilities
• Processes and systems that help you to deliver and service clients effectively.
• To continually ensure that you have a value proposition that clients are attracted to and are willing to pay for

The nub of what makes companies survive or not entails applying the appropriate business acumen and management skills for the type of organisation you run, the industry and environment in which you operate, more than access to capital. Capital can help, but is not the panacea for lack of business acumen, creativity and innovation. Where there is a lack, or there is a need for more brainpower, entrepreneurs need to get help in order to build and maintain profitable businesses.

In South Africa we are starting to exaggerate what Mentorship can accomplish in assisting individuals to achieve their goals. Mentors are not necessarily strategists and business advisors. Having respect for someone and wanting to learn from their wisdom of what and how they achieved their own success does not make them the Alpha and the Omega. Individuals also tend to abuse the concept of mentorship so as to get advice without having to pay for it. Besides being unethical, this attitude not only distorts the aim of mentorship, but also devalues the expertise of other professions. If you do not value other experts and their know-how, why should the market value your company and give you business?

In order to make money, entrepreneurs need to understand that they also need to spend money. It is mind-blogging how individuals would shell out money to buy expensive brands to wear and drive, attend concerts and events of international speakers, but want freebies to attend seminars with local experts. When you repeatedly drain free advice under the guise of a meeting over coffee, it is abuse and demonstrates lack of respect for other people’s expertise and skills. Our economy will grow when we value business and management skills to seek them out and to pay for them in order to continually develop and renew strategies that ensure the growth and profitability of our businesses – small and large. ‘Sharpening the saw’ – our thinking and corporate strategies should be an annual activity. A business plan that is developed at the inception of the company should not be the end of focusing on own business, not just on your clients. You need to care for the goose as much as for the golden eggs that it lays. As a business person, you need to work on your company’s strategy every day.

Most importantly, you need to set aside a day or two once a year to interrogate your thinking and to infuse fresh ideas that are objective through outside expertise to help remove your blind-spots that may be hindering your creativity and which can prevent you from looking at your business in new ways in order to unlock growth. As business people, when we hold on too tight to our own ideas and strategies, there is a risk of destroying the very enterprise that we love. Diversity of thought is useful to a one-person business as much as to a conglomerate. Love your business enough to get external input – before it is too late. And know that to make money, you must spend money!