Imbibe Entrepreneurship

By Kingsley Chinedu Nnanweuba

"Others have searched, it is your job to 'research', that is why you are a 'Researcher' . . ." These are the words of my Business Ethics and Law MBA Lecturer. He will further say "Research is like building a brick wall but you cannot build it all alone. Your job as a researcher is to put a piece of brick (your work) on the wall (knowledge), while others will continue to place theirs. With this in perspective, I cannot cover everything in this book, though I wish I could.

I will not claim that the content of this book is totally something new. However, I will call it an 'innovation' from my several years of studying already existing literatures, lessons from the lives of successful entrepreneurs, lectures during bachelors of business classes, MBA classes, personal studies, interactions with entrepreneurs and my personal experience. Entrepreneurship is the solution to the economic and political instability in Africa. I have not seen a successful nation where the government succeeded in providing everything for its people. But great economies of the world ride on the back of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs control the world and its government. Their ways are always adhered to because they are job creators; but it is very important to mention that above job creation, they are problem solvers as well as solution providers.

Some successful entrepreneurs were mentioned or quoted in this book - men and women who made things happen in spite of difficult situations. And if they can do it out of worst case scenarios, what is your excuse?

What I planned to achieve with this book is not to make it an authority or personification of knowledge in entrepreneurship. Rather this book was written with the understanding that reading it is not equivalent to offering professional services to you. With the knowledge got from the book you might as well seek professional services in the areas of your concern.

Success is impacting your world with the investment of your personality. That is what I hope to achieve by writing this book, to impact my world with what I believe and have invested myself in, on and with for years.

Note: Although there are many mentions of Africa and Nigeria in this book, the knowledge can be applied in any part of the world and it will yield the same result.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Feb 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493120857

Kingsley Chinedu Nnanweuba

Kingsley Chinedu Nnanweuba had his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and afterwards enrolled for Masters of Business Administration at INTI University Malaysia but he left the program in his final semester to focus on building his businesses and publishing his books as he believed that the school’s business system is not doing enough to promote entrepreneurship but instead has been designed for working class managers. Kingsley is a proponent of Entrepreneurship as he believes it is the way out of poverty in Africa and developing countries. He is a serial Entrepreneur sitting on 2 tech start-ups one of which is mynebor.com.

Book preview

Contents

Dedication

Preface

Foreword

Acknowledgement

Opening Quotations

Personal Note from the Author

1.  What is Entrepreneurship

2.  Who is an Entrepreneur?

3.  5 Cardinal Qualities of an Entrepreneur

4.  How To Be A Successful Entrepreneur

5.  Factors That Have the Least Impact On Entrepreneurs

6.  Different Routes to Owning Your Own Business

7.  Buisness Plan

8.  How Entrepreneurship Can Be Promoted in Nigeria And Africa

9.  Study the Biographies of Successful Entrepreneurs

10.  Transformational Power of Entrepreneurship

11.  Resting My Case

12.  Notes

13.  Lessons

14.  Entrepreneurship Test

About The Author

ENDORSEMENT Of IMBIBE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

By Kingsley Chinedu NNANWEUBA

I am pleased to have come in contact with Kingsley the young author of IMBIBE ENTREPRENEURSHIP. He introduced his book to me knowing that I am equally committed to the principle of ENTREPRENEURIALISM through my own EXCECUTIVE and ENTREPRENEUR development book, WHY MANAGERS CANT LEAD AND LEADERS CANT MANAGE.

I have had a chance to read through the book and I am highly delighted and impressed with the contents, which covers the theoretical and practical elements that any one in or planning to be in business would find very useful and readable.

I happily recommend this well-crafted book to all who are or might be engaged in Micro, Small or Medium Enterprises. The book is very much directed at the young people of the world’s developing economies, such as Nigeria, in particular, and Africa, in general, which is applicable to all other countries and continents. It is a global call for the spirit of Entrepreneurialism to be spread around to help ENRICH individuals and their communities.

To any Entrepreneur seeking to update their knowledge and inspirations to reach higher levels of Success, let IMBIBE ENTREPRENEURSHIP be your handbook.

Dr BISIKAY, Director, BCK International, London Bestselling Author of The 12 Ways To Human Excellence and Why Managers Can’t Lead And Leaders Can’t Manage

Congratulations to KINGSLEY CHINEDU NNANWEUBA for endeavoring to write this book: IMBIBE ENTREPRENEURSHIP. I have read all the 11 Chapters of the book carefully and I can boldly say it would be very motivational for Entrepreneurs. Start-Up Entrepreneurs would also benefit from this Book.

KINGSLEY CHINEDU NNANWEUBA was my student some years ago. He is very passionate and inquisitive to grab knowledge. He thinks like a Giant and a matured Entrepreneur. I must give tons of credit to him. I have observed that he has given much time on his writing. Finally, I WISH HIM SUCCESS ALL THE WAY IN HIS JOURNEY TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND EVERYONE THAT READS THIS BOOK.

MD. ARIF KHAN,

—CEO-FILENCE TRADE INTERNATIONAL BANGLADESH.

—CHIEF CONSULTANT-SULLIVAN CONSULTING

& LEARNING SERVICES.

Dedication

To my Mum Josephine in whose convenience store I imbibed the spirit of entrepreneurship, to my Late Dad John who taught me the principles of business and to my Big Brother Victor who dedicated his wallet to see me through College. I hope I’ve made you guys as half proud as you have made me.

Preface

One Lawrence O. in responding to a post by Vanguard Newspaper on Facebook about Goodluck Jonathan’s (Nigerian President) performance wrote, Goodluck Jonathan has not performed, I have so many unemployed graduates around me from brothers, sisters, cousins and friends, all looking for work… When I read the post I wished I had finished writing this book to give him a copy to give to the siblings and relatives as the case maybe. From looking for work they would probably be creating the jobs and then employ those who were hitherto unemployed like them.

For some years precisely 6 years now I have noticed the trend of young people starting their own businesses in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. Many successful businesses we see today that affects the people at the grassroots level are being run by young people and many more are still springing up every day even amidst several odds.

The entrepreneurial spirit is on the increase especially in a country like Nigeria and several factors are responsible for this, such as high unemployment rate and lack of education (or lack of its access). When you visit the Ose main market in Onitsha, Ariria market in Aba, Alaba international market (Lagos), Ladipo market, computer village Lagos, trade fair complex Lagos and other places across the country you will appreciate the entrepreneurial strive amongst the youth. Howbeit they are mostly driven not by passion or knowledge but by poverty. It is a means to sustain themselves even though some turns out very wealthy. Nevertheless, we see a rise in businesses across the country. Mr. Tunde Salau the MD/CEO of Tafsan Beverages Ltd during an interview with Channels TV said that Nigeria has about 17 million micro, small and medium enterprises employing over 31 million people in the country. This shows that the prosperity of the people will come from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and not necessarily multinationals. Therefore I dare say that if Nigeria must attain vision 2020 small and medium enterprises should be encouraged.

The Nigerian government overtime since 1999 has taken entrepreneurship seriously, more so now under the democratic dispensation. This is because they have acknowledged that entrepreneurs are the major driving force behind invention and innovation in any economy. Economic change is brought by entrepreneurs; jobs are equally created by entrepreneurs. All the government should do is to provide the enabling environment. Simple!

For me entrepreneurship has always been in my spirit which I imbibed from childhood. My mum was a teacher and a very hard working entrepreneur - a small business owner. At a very young age I used to stay in her grocery shop, I was eleven and in primary six. Very early in the morning I will open the shop by 7am so I can sell some biscuits to school children while waiting for my siblings and my dad to take us to school, that continued till I finished high school. My Dad was equally a great influence running his small business.

My parents till today are the best examples of entrepreneurs that always come to my mind. They were not very wealthy but they were independent, which really made me happy, I hope they know how proud they made me. Growing up in this kind of environment exposed me to entrepreneurship enhanced further by obtaining a bachelor’s degree in business administration and masters of business administration and most importantly the hundreds of small business and entrepreneurship books, articles and journals I have read on this topic over the past five years. Sometimes I wonder the extent my parents would have gone if I had the opportunity to impact this knowledge in them.

This book is then my contribution to this growing trend. My hope is that it gets to the rural areas in Africa to impact knowledge (no matter how little) to people who may not have the privilege to be exposed to the kind of materials I have been exposed to.

This book is for those who desires to make a difference through entrepreneurship by seeing a need and meeting it, not only because of the monetary gratification but because they want to make their society and this world generally a better place than they met it.

If by chance at least one person—‘just one person’—gets inspired

by reading this book I would say that I have fulfilled my mission

of writing it.

Foreword

Imbibe Entrepreneurship could not have come at a better time. It has gone a long way to discuss the solution to the long, never-ending debate on unemployment. Indeed, the key to the mass majority of unemployed youths is entrepreneurship. I am personally an advocate of entrepreneurship, as I have been long involved in it with many youths benefitting from the series of training programs I organize through Gleehd Foundation and Amandla Consulting, with series of lectures and speeches I have given on the topic.

I have been to many countries and there is no developed economy where the government has succeeded in providing adequate employment to its people. The majority of employment is provided by entrepreneurs. A casual flip through the chapters of this book will reveal the message the author is passing to us, which is: Entrepreneurship is the way, the way to sustainable development, the way to wealth creation and the way to economic prosperity. Then an in-depth study of the book will give the reader the necessary knowledge, inspiration and motivation to embark on entrepreneurship.

One of the interesting things about this book is that the author is a young entrepreneur himself backed with a strong academic background in Business Administration. This book is written with simplicity both in words and structure therefore, it is easy to comprehend. It is thought-provoking; it is educational, practical and timely. Yes! Imbibe Entrepreneurship has come