Entrepreneurship as postulated in various forums is always a game of the brave, those who are able to take and reduce risk in order to sustain themselves for longevity (making higher profits).
Like a hunter, the entrepreneur knows no territory from one pole to another, the sky is the limit.
Yes, hunters are strategists as the same concept was born out of a war practice by the army.
An approach that has been modified to strengthen both offensive and defensive mechanisms of running a successful business.
Therefore, in this edition we go further into some most generalised practices of a hunter, which inspire successful entrepreneurial dominance across all sectors and types of ventures.
To start with, data management has proven to be the igniter behind any entrepreneurial and corporate business success.
It can be through data mining, engineering or any conversion but the bottom line is that it leads in the overall business strategy.
There is no one best specific data, but any type of it helps in informing the business’s current and future state (especially by flagging where adjustments are supposed to be done).
Mainly data is important because it helps quantifying both tangible and intangible variables of markets that are served by the business and its competitors.
It is more than business intelligence to search not only that which concerns you as an entrepreneur, but also from your competitors so as to strike a balance between the applied offensive and defensive strategies.
Yet most of our entrepreneurs are one-sided as they know themselves only and even go on to produce without knowing the population and demographics of their targeted markets.
Remember, we are in the business to make profits not to tie capital in stock.
The age, gender, social level and any other related to demographics is important and needs to be quantified as data that will be interpreted for sustainability.
Then we take a nosedive into market analysis that is led by data.
That is when the entrepreneur as a hunter makes use of the received data by converting it into information for real/specific decision making.
As prescribed in various academic/professional sources just raw data is the start towards building real marketing information otherwise it is meaningless in raw form.
That is the same reason why we have some entrepreneurs who have gathered good statistics and percentages that they have stored in their briefcases for record sake only, but without conversion into information.
They have not managed to win markets and fight competition.
Let’s go further in turning these into meaningful information so that we allocate the business scarce resources effectively and efficiently that is without producing more/less than what is needed by the targeted markets.
Like I said in other previous editions, the entrepreneurial business should always operate at a market equilibrium position (where demand is equal to supply).
It is even easier in this contemporary landscape where data mining, analysis and interpretation has been enhanced through marketing management information systems (MMIS) supported by artificial intelligence (AI).
So, let us ride on these technologies for our modernised entrepreneurial hunters.
This also means that innovation through the right tools and with specific targets should be an ongoing configuration by the entrepreneur.
Even in the past our village hunters would regularly improvise in various aspects for sustenance.
That is the same we can do in the current of course with assistance of modernised multi-methods.
Mostly integrative customer relationship management systems that are connected not only with customers but effective value chain systems.
Here a hunter should perfectly work together with suppliers of raw materials, regulating/professional bodies and investors for a superb unchallenged satisfaction of the customer.
Most of our promising entrepreneurs have focused only on technological innovation as absolute and nothing else, no there is more to innovate including policies, human alignment, capitalisation and other techno-human-paper matters.
Lastly, investigation and exploration then becomes key as we progress in our hunting.
This goes on to structured business re-engineering processes.
Where informed business development and decision making is from real searches rather than mere expansions and extensions which become imitations.
There are areas that a business should closely and continuously monitor through real investigations.
That is the perception of markets on the business and its brand; investor attractiveness; systems against structures; and compliance.
These are critical areas for both internal and external enhancement towards a strong competitor dominant model.
- Dr Farai Chigora is a businessman and academic. He is the head of business science at the Africa University’s College of Business, Peace, Leadership and Governance. His doctoral research focused on business administration (destination marketing and branding major, Ukzn, SA). He is into agribusiness and consults for many companies in Zimbabwe and Africa. He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted for feedback and business at fariechigora@gmail.com, www.fachip.co.zw, WhatsApp mobile: +263772886871.