Starting your own business in Zimbabwe

Are you looking to start your own business in Zimbabwe but very fearful? An average of 20 000 companies are registered every year, of those registered 70% fails, 20% don’t operate within the first year of registration and only 10% succeed to tell the story. The issue is not on registering a business but establishing a entity that can generate revenue and sustains itself. So what do you need now?

1. Have a business idea.

Every business is all about an idea, without an idea there is no business . Your idea should be a solution an existing currently being faced. A product would then come as a solution to the identified problem. Tonnes of problems are out there, streamline and pick one you are passionate with because its going to be a long journey.

2. Refine the idea & invest time.

Get down into specifics of your idea. Narrow its scope and try to specialize than becoming a jack of all trades. Take time to learn the industry you are about to venture into, analyse competition and see how they are doing it. Some industries like law and accounting require you to have a practicing license. Make sure you got that covered before going further.

3. Choose business & revenue model.

Every business exist to make a profit thats not a secreet. Figuring out how best to earn revenue out of an idea should be your major focus, remember at the end you need to pay expenses. You can choose models like Business to Customer (B2C), Business to Business(B2B) etc. Having done this, set how frequent the money will be flowing into your business e.g. monthly subscriptions or cash & carry for a retail business.

4. Register your business.

Now is the time to put your paperwork in order. You can do it yourself or consider engaging services of a Business Consultancy in registering your company. The main types of business incorporation in Zimbabwe will be registering as Private Business Corporation(PBC) or Private Limited Company(PLC) . The choice is yours so just do it your way.

5. Define your brand & position it.

Branding should start soon after business regitration is completed or even way back before. This is the image you want your market to perceive you, so consider both the physical and digital brand elements. For a start have a nice logo, branded stationery and a presentable workforce. This helps in creating a positive mind such that one would be willing to pay for your services.

6. Take the product to customers.

Whether its a product or service, fulfill the promise you made to your customers. Use the right marketing tools to reach your target audience, letting them know its you they have been waiting for. Offer what you can deliver and deliver beyond their mere expectations. Show the a reason why they should listen and buy from you. Avoid deceiving techniques and focus on creating a strong relationship with your customers.

7. Approach investors for funding.

Having done the above, reach anyone around to seek for financial assistance when neccessary. With a product at hand and a market crieing for your solution every investor become willing to help. This is what they want to here from you not presenting them a mere business idea on paper. Therefore, why not showing them you are ready and geared for success.

8. Minimize costs to maximize profits.

Finally, manage you wage bill properly. I didn’t say employees to be paid below the minimum wage set. Remember a happy-motivated employee is five(5) times productive. So invest in technology usage for communication and business processes. It speeds up everything that was manually handled before. With proper financial discipline you will witness your small startup growing and generate amazing profits.

To sum up everything in two parts you need a good idea, backed up by a sound business model and get the business paperwork in order. Define the brand you want to be, reach your customers and minimise costs in order to maximise profit. This works, I challenge to you to get out of your comfort zone and give it a try.

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