Starting Your Own Business
Joan Sanger, Presenter
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These are the traits of many people who are
successfully self-employed.
Assertive
Creative
Sociable
Motivated to Achieve
Logical in Problem Solving
Practical in Organizational Ability
Tolerant of Risk & Uncertainty
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These are the four typical
forms of self-employment
• Creating Your Own Business
• Consulting
• Established Businesses or Franchises
• Sales
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Trusted Advisor
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Ask a friend or family member who knows you well to be
your trusted advisor.
This person should be somebody you can trust, and who
is an innovator and a "do-er." It can be a friend or family
member.
Have them help you identify your strengths and
challenges and what work truly motivates you.
Tomorrow find this trusted advisor. Ask him or her to
help you identify your strengths and challenges and
write both strengths and challenges down.
Refer to this list as you work on your new venture.
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Personal Traits to consider with
your Trusted Advisor
Are you:
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open vs. closed
supportive vs. controlling
secure vs. risk averse
genuine vs. hypocritical
respectful vs.
disrespectful
negative vs. positive
egalitarian vs. superior
inclusive vs. autocratic
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warm and accepting vs.
cold and distant
dependable and fair vs.
whimsical and
inconsistent
cooperative and
collaborative vs.
competitive
knowledgeable and
skilled vs. inept
accountable vs. blaming
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Personal Ethics
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Can you take responsibility for your actions and
create a positive environment?
Do you understand your unique point-of-view,
and how others see it?
Can you bring yourself to see others’ points-ofview and the “big picture”?
Are you committed to personal integrity and
maintaining a strong character?
Do you translate principles into behavior?
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continued,
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Personal Ethics
Do you understand the areas you need to
change and set goals to make the changes?
Can you define goals and act or plan around
them?
Are you willing to let go of thinking or behaviour
paradigms that sabotage your goals?
Do you allow communication to flow positively
between yourself and others (listening before
you speak)?
Do you have a personal mission statement or
anything else that gives you direction?
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Personal Ethics
 Self-Awareness
 Self-Regulation
 Purity of Motivation
 Empathy
Using these Traits to Persuade, Negotiate,
Cooperate and Lead
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Ethics in the Workplace
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Day-to-day operations can become overly
complex when changes are superimposed
on changes, until the original task or
intention is lost. Often the incentives put
on employees for performance lead to
unethical behavior. Does the task rely on
certain questionable behavior? Is the task
performed as effectively and efficiently as
it can be?
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The Power of Example
Think about the type of example you set
every day personally and in your work
Think about the message you and your
organization sends to the business world
and society at large
Think about the power of change and the
direct and indirect rewards of being ethical
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Ethics Exercise
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Make a list of factors that cause people to act unethically.
Each person think of two situations where you or someone you know has
been tempted to act unethically or has actually acted unethically. This
does not mean committing a crime like walking out of an office with a
computer. It can be telling somebody information he or she should not be
hearing about a business colleague, taking supplies from the office, lying
to a supplier, paying less than you agreed for a service, or making a
unauthorized personal long distance call from an office, for example.
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From your list above, what caused the person to act in this way? Discuss
this.
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Now, think of some times where YOU have been tempted, but did not act
unethically. What was different?
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Planning--First Steps
Business Start Up Analysis
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Determine the feasibility of your ideas
Assess your financial and time start-up requirements
Assess your financial and personal risks associated with this start up
Determine your financial break-even point in venture
Stages of Planning and to be Summarized in your Business Plan
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The Vision – identify the opportunity and research its viability
The Concept – explain how the product/service will work; identify
competition
The Details – develop a detailed description of the venture; prepare complete plans:
financial, accounting, legal, management, operational
The Strategy – provide vision and the key strategic elements of plan;
keep strategy focused; be able to sell others (for financing) on it
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Basics for Beginning to Plan
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Decide if you will operate out of your home--this can cause issues with others in the home.
Think of a market stall or an office.
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Plan your timelines to actually start the business.
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Rwandan Tax Basics
Basically
up to 30% minus the allowed business expenses,
unless you pay dividends between companies and they are
exempt, so merging two companies or taking over 50% of
the shares of a company allows major tax breaks
You
have investment allowances of 40% in new or used
assets of at least 30 Million RWF and 50% in rural areas
and for certain special projects
You
have a VAT on sales at 18%, with some exemptions
Social
Security contribution for employee salaries is at
8%, and 5% of that comes from you
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Choose a Partner and help each
other with your Business Ideas
Ask each other about all aspects in the two slides before.
Ask each other about permits and licenses you may need.
Will you need insurance or do you know if you have to pay
certain taxes?
Will you need a business name or a limited liability type of
company?
Describe how you will operate each day—the hours, what
you need to do, who you need to help you.
List the supplies and products you need and how much
they will cost.
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A Business Plan
What is the main point of a Business Plan?
To Outline a Successful Course of Action and Estimate
Costs and Income to show when you will have a Profit,
how much that will be, and how you will sustain it.
You need:
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An Executive Summary--highlights of your plan and
sells it in two pages or less.
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A Company Summary--a factual description of your
company, ownership, and any history.
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Products (or Services or both)--describes your
products and/or services and how they are different
from or will compete with other products and services.
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Continued,
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Business Plan
Market Analysis-provides a summary of your typical or
future customers, the competition, the current market
size, and the expected market growth.
Strategy and Implementation-describes how you will
market and sell your product, how you will put your plan
into action, and establishes milestones that you will
reach.
Management Summary-provides background on any
management team and their experience and key
accomplishments.
A Financial Plan-contains key financial elements
including sales, cash flow, and profits.
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What makes a successful
business plan?
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A well thought out product or service
idea
Clear and concise writing
A logical business course to follow
Your ability or your team’s ability to
make the business a success
Shows an obvious path to
profitability
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Economic Ups and Downs
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In hard times when trying to build a business,
remember these words, "What's your best
price?”
You should remember these as well when times
get better!
Loyal customers got the best price, the best
product and the best service from YOU!
CONTINUE THAT whenever possible. Do not get
greedy!
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How to Start a Business without spending
too much
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Try to sell a product or service that you don’t have to finance yourself
AND get paid for quickly
AND people need in a bad economy.
People need things repaired, people want to upgrade or modify old
clothing, people need help selling unnecessary possessions, people need
help with their most basic needs like getting cheaper foods or cheaper
housing.
Think about these types of things before you start a business and how your
customers may want to use your services or similar services once the
economy gets better.
List your Ideas
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Financing a Business
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How can you find a grant, micro-financing or
government program to help you start?
Look for alternative financing on the Internet--peer-topeer lending, grants, government programs, venture
capital, or micro financing. These opportunities change
often so do not give up—keep looking.
Get someone to help you write a grant or proposal if you
are not experienced. Many organizations have business
incubators that do this very thing and may pair you with
a business person to mentor you.
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Practical Considerations
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Most of you need a place to work from, electricity and a
telephone, so place those vendors at the top of your
expenses. You can work out of your home or a free
place or make sure you pay your rent.
You need product to sell, or materials to make your
products, so staying on good terms with your suppliers is
essential. Some Internet businesses may not have much
of these expenses.
Employees must be paid for the work they've already
done.
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Your Personal Expenses
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Scrutinize your non-essential or
“convenient or frivolous” personal
expenses that can be dumped, or done in
a more cost effective way
Make a plan to organize your expenses,
and write down which ones you need to
eliminate or stop and how you will do this
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Customers
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A major business rule-of-thumb is that 80% of
your business is made up of 20% of your
customers. That means 80% of your effort and
resources need to be focused on the top 20% of
your customers BUT--Don't assume they will always be there. Identify
what these customers have in common with new
ones, so you know your core market.
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Marketing
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You can also find free advertising on the Internet, by looking for
free publicity at local functions or in local newspapers—see if you
can write an article, build a website—this can be done almost free
now.
Look for places that your customers will stop and notice an
advertisement that is clever and fun. Create one yourself with a
free computer design program—there are many of them. Even
Power Point works for this!
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Sales and marketing is essential to your survival, so, get creative
and find cheap or free marketing options.
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Keeping these tips in mind and re-visit them in both the good times
and bad to keep your business healthy.
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IF you are a Manager
There are elements that are more difficult for a manager to change.
Below are some factors that can lead employees to make unethical
choices. This is not an exhaustive list; brainstorm some other
factors that may cause employees to act unethically.
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Unpredictable leadership or irrational, inconsistent management
Constant restructuring
Outdated or illogical rules and procedures made that do not reflect the
challenges faced by employees
Monolithic or centralized bureaucracy (no continuity or accountability)
Reinforcing a “business-as-usual” approach rather than embracing
innovation of employees
Double standards for some employees
Bad communication
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Leadership Styles
There are many types of leaders, and
many fall between the two types listed
below:
Controlling managers or
Team facilitators
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Controlling Managers
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Make decisions and communicate
decisions to subordinates
Assign tasks
Carry messages down from upper
management
Direct others’ work and schedule
Delegate tasks to subordinates
Set goals for project and team
Use authority to complete the job
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Team Facilitators
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Listen to staff
Build a healthy and well-balanced team
Coach and facilitate decision-making
Facilitate group process
Teach and assist only if necessary
Build consensus
Set goals with team
Empower others to accomplish tasks
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We leave you with the following questions you can
return to periodically to ask yourself for a reality
check on a path you have chosen.
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Do I know much about the new business I
am considering?
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Do I have all of the skills needed to start
and run this business? What are they?
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Would I really enjoy the work day-to-day
and do I know what that is?
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How much money do I need to make each
month to keep the business going?
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How could this business make money each
month? How do I know this?
How long would it take to begin
generating that much money?
How much will it cost to start up and keep
this business going until it starts
producing a stable income stream?
How much can I afford to put into the
business or go into debt?
What money will I live on until I can pull
out some profit? Can I afford this?
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Are there really enough people who want
to buy this product or service? Who are
they?
Do I know how to find them? Can I sell to
them?
How many hours a week can I work on
this new business now?
How many hours a week will it take?
(Putting the communications and business
systems in place, making the proposals or
marketing materials, finding customers,
producing or getting the product or service to
them, billing them, doing the bookkeeping,
maintaining the equipment or placing orders for
raw materials, organizing the shop or files and
much more!!)
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How big could the business become?
How big do I want my business to
become?
How many hours do I want to work
ultimately?
Do I want to have employees and manage
them?
Ask yourself these questions and more - put
lots of thought into what you want and
realistically what it takes to get it.
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Look for VALUE ADDED
PRODUCTION
 Rwanda needs more specialization in the
economic output
 Greater participation in the global value
chain
To do this: you need continuous business
friendly policies, infrastructure, lower
transaction costs, a stable government to
continue with balance of power and rule of
law, skills and training
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LOVE WHAT YOU DO
OR
DO NOT DO IT!!
This is your life and
your full time work.
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Have Passion for Your Work
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Can this project potentially sustain me
financially and spiritually?
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Will I look back and know I did what I
could to provide something to the world
that was positive and useful?
IF SO, GO FOR IT! AND GOOD LUCK!!
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