Diaspora Matters

We are now polishing the ‘2018 Opportunities for South Africans Book’  which is going to be published by end of month. No doubt one of the best ever about small business opportunities for South Africans. The book features an analysis of the South African economies, key sectors for growth and opportunities for small businesses. How to start a business in South Africa and where to get help on registration, business plans and funding. How to invest through various mechanisms such as bank loans, available government grants, pooling of resources, franchises and partnerships.

The book in detail covers how to identify opportunities and the skills you need to be able to differentiate the forest from the trees. Opportunities covered include Agriculture, Retail, Education, Construction, Tourism, E-commerce, Women and Youths owned businesses and a bonus chapter on Digital Marketing.

There is a lot more information that has never been covered before and should be the best resource guide for entrepreneurs in South Africa. The book revolutionaries the way entrepreneurship is covered in Mzantsi.

Below we feature one of the areas in the book which is a checklist important before you start a business. Many start-ups simply prepare business plans for funding and after that no follow ups on issues covered in the plan. This checklist is an important step in getting the big idea of what you intend to do and ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks. Information comes courtesy of  www.bplans.com

Starting your own business may sound like an undertaking of epic proportions. The truth is, with our Business Startup Checklist, it doesn’t have to be.

Yes, you’re going to have to work hard, and commit to working on it at all hours of the day, but actually getting set up is simply down to making sure you’ve “checked all the boxes,” which is exactly what this business startup checklist aims to help you do.

We’ve broken the tasks down into manageable categories and included links that will help you complete each stage of getting started. If you’d like to put yourself through a fast-paced version of the Business Startup Checklist.

You can read the steps within the checklist below, and you can download it for free by submitting the form on the right side of this page.

Steps in the Business Startup Checklist:

Every one of the tasks in our business startup checklist belongs to one of the following overarching steps:

1. Find a good business idea
2. Test your business idea and do market research
3. Write a formal business plan (if you’re seeking funding)
4. Brand your business
5. Make it legal
6. Get funded (only if you need it)
7. Set up shop
8. Market and launch your business
9. Find a good business idea

A good business idea isn’t just one that turns a profit. It’s one that’s a good fit for you personally, for your target market, and for your location. You’re going to be in business for the long haul, so you really should pick something you can live and breathe.

• Identify your strengths and weaknesses
  • Conduct a SWOT analysison yourself
• Come up with a business idea that caters to your strengths
• How to start inventing things (or how to find something to invent)
• Define what success looks like for you
• Do your research: What are popular businesses today?

2. Test your business idea and do market research*

The adage goes, “ideas are a dime a dozen”—but what about good ideas? How do you really know you’ve hit upon something that’s going to work on all levels?

We use the lean planning methodology to figure this out. Of course, you may also want to start by getting out and talking to real people—do they reallywant a fancy Basque restaurant in their neighborhood or is another donut shop going to be more to their taste?

• Define the “problem” your business is solving
• Summarize the “solution” your business offers
  • How urgently do people need what you are selling?
  • Will your business continue to be relevant as time passes?How will you adapt?
• Define your target market
  • Define your ideal customer
  • What’s your market size?
  • How easy is it to acquire a customer, and how much will it cost?
  • Figure out the best place to set up shop
• What advantages does your solution have over your competitors?
  • How much money and effort will it cost to deliver value?
  • Do you know your industry?
• Outline the team that will help you execute your idea
  • What key responsibilities will each team member have?
  • Will team members share ownership of the business?
• Create a basic financial plan
  • What up-front investment will you need before you can begin?
  • Estimate your basic expensesand forecast sales to ensure that you can make a profit with your business
• Map out business milestones or goalsand when you plan to achieve them
  • How long will it take to get to market?
• Validate your idea
  • Interview potential customers to ensure that they have the problem you are trying to solve
  • Interview potential customers to validate that your solution is something your customers will pay for
  • Determine if your initial price pointswill work for your customers

* While we advise students and new entrepreneurs to do market research before they start, we’d like to clarify that you should not let “doing market research” hold you up if you already know your market. The reality is, the vast majority of real startups are driven by people who know their market from experience and who are ready to bet the farm on it! Market research does not have to be a part of the business planning process. According to Tim Berry, “If you know your market, move on!”

3. If you’re seeking funding, you may need a formal business plan

While you don’t need a 40-page business plan in order to get your business up and running, if you’re seeking funding, institutions like banks may ask for one.

In this case, you can ask if a “one-page pitch” (also known as a one-page business plan) will suffice, or if they’d like a traditional business plan with a detailed financial section (this is the part they pay most attention to).

Complete each of the plan’s sections, as listed below:

• Write your executive summary
• Write the company overview
• List your products and services and the problems they are solving or needs they are fulfilling
• Flesh out your target market details
• Create a marketing and sales plan
• Outline key milestones and metrics
• List your management team
• Create a financial plan
• Include an appendix
• Create an elevator pitch

If you need a jump start on your plan, you can download our free business plan template or check out our library of business plan examples.

4. Brand your business

A strong brand is the key to customer loyalty and higher sales. If you think it’s just for big business, think again; a brand is critical for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

This is where all the hard work pays off. Now you know a bit more about your target audience, you’ve got the opportunity—through your brand—to grab their attention. And of course, to have fun doing it!

• Choose a name for your businessor choose a brand name you know you can trademark
• Decide on your “brand message,” also known as your unique selling proposition or value proposition
  • Develop a tagline
  • Identify your brand’s “tone of voice”—the heart and soul of all your written communication, your voice is what you say and how you say it
• Define what your brand looks like
  • Choose a color scheme
  • Choose your fonts
• Create a logo

5. Make it legal

Before you can open shop and comfortably start doing business, you’ve got to make sure you’ve checked all the necessary boxes. Have you registered your business name? Applied for local and state licenses? Obtained an Employer Identification Number? You are going to have to do some things “by the book.”

• Decide on a legal structure or business structure
• Register your business name
• Register for a domain name that matches your business name
• File for trademark protection if you will use your business name to identify a product or service
• Obtain any federal and state licenses or permits that you need
• Obtain your federal business tax ID number(also called your Employer Identification Number)
• Find an attorney if you think you may need help

6. Get financed (only if you need it)*

While not every startup needs outside funding, most businesses do require some help, at least at the beginning. If you’ve worked through your business plan and have a sound handle on your financials, pitching for funding should be a breeze, whether it’s to a banker, a VC, or your family.

• Estimate your startup costs
• Decide whether you will use personal finances, loans,investor money, money from friends and family, crowd-sourced finances, or perhaps something alternative…
• Prepare the relevant financial statements
  • Sales forecast
  • Profit and loss statement
  • Cash flow statement
  • Balance sheet
• Refine your elevator pitchfor investors
• Apply for financing
• Open a business bank account
• Set up an accounting system
• Know your exit strategy

* It’s worth noting at the point that not all startups need financing. The vast majority of service startups can use planning to stay on track, but don’t really need funding. If you’re a freelance writer, a designer, a management consultant, a business plan writer, or anyone else making use of a skill that doesn’t need a lot of money behind it, just get started.

7. Set up shop

You’re almost ready to go; just a few more details to work though. Once you’ve found your business location, or set up an office, and set the hiring motions in process, you’ll be ready to begin marketing.

• Find a business location
• Decide whether or not to extend credit to your customers
  • If you plan to do so, establish a credit policy
• Purchase insurance(the type of insurance you’ll need will vary depending on your business)
  • Workers’ compensation insurance
  • General liability insurance
  • Property or casualty coverage
  • Life insurance
  • Disability insurance
  • Healthcare insurance
• Define your staffing needs
  • Do you need full-time, part-time, or freelance employees?
  • Draft job descriptions
  • Post advertisements for the jobs
• Interview employees
• Hire employees
• Set up your technology
  • Point of sale (POS) systems
  • CRM
  • Billing and payment systems
  • Accounting
  • Email
  • Phone systems

8. Market and launch your business

It’s time to start getting people hyped up about your opening day. This is your opportunity to get things going with a bang! If you give yourself enough time, the press may ask to run a story on you, and of course, you’ll be able to spread the word yourself, as well as ask others to do their bit getting word out.

• Create a marketing plan
• Market your business
  • Network, network, network (talk to people!)
  • Create your marketing materials
    • Shop signs
    • Stationery, invoices, and PowerPoints
    • Brochures and flyers
    • Create a website
      • Register a domain name (if you didn’t do this when you first registered your business name)
      • Purchase hosting
      • Build your site
      • Get your site listed on key directories
    • Get set up on social media platforms
    • If necessary, create t-shirts or uniforms
  • Let the press know when you’re opening
  • Organize an opening day

A week ago the parallel market rates for the USD against the Bond Transfer rate was 1:43-45. The highest rate was 1:48 but a week later rates have taken the biggest downfall to date of 1:30 up to 1:35. Our forum has been trying to analyse the sudden drop and we got the following facts:

1.Easter Holiday and the returning Diaspora impact

2. Tobacco selling season means that more forex  coming into the country

3. Increased local production and exports

4. Government efforts on externalisation

We do not have scientific evidence to back up the sudden plunge in rates but we believe this is good for the economy and hoping that the downward trend continues.

Our organisation helps the Christian Community with entrepreneurship training once in a while. Our trainings or presentations are always well attended and yesterday we found ourselves in Chitungwiza, a dormitory town located 30 kilometres to the South East of Harare. Invited by a leading Pentecostal church called Miracles and Deliverance Ministries International (MDMI) we delivered our sixth business training having already done others for ZAOGA (thrice), Holiness Revival (Chitungwiza), United Methodist Church (Sunningdale) and Salvation Army (Budiriro).

We are sharing with you the business presentation so that you can compare and contrast with what you are doing at your own church and hopefully get inspired.

Imagine changing from 9-5 job to being an entrepreneur? What will be the changes? The first change is all of a sudden you wear many hats! If you were used to being in ICT or Marketing now here is the bad news…we are adding an additional 8 portfolios to your resume!

We are adding- Human resources, Finance, Operations, Sales, Marketing, Administration, IT; Systems, Personal Development and Strategic Planning in addition to family life.

Are you a Rabbit Farmer based in Zimbabwe? If your answer is Yes then we have excellent news for you. Our group of farmers have established a company that seeks to develop the rabbit meat market. The company Rabbits International already has 250 members which it helps with rabbit rearing and marketing. Farmers pool their rabbits and sell them in bulk to regular clients.

We are currently registering farmers who are already into rabbit rearing but facing marketing challenges. If interested then visit our offices at No 34 Quendon Road in Monavale, Harare. Our contact Phone is +2634339454 or +263774081808.

Thank You

Our forum is well known for writing about investment opportunities in Zimbabwe. We have covered over 500 free articles on investment in the country and we capped this with a book compilation of investment opportunities. We are also getting a high number of investors inquiring about investment opportunities in the country.

So do you have an opportunity you would like to be featured? Do you want to be visible? Then get in touch and we will freely capture your investment story and details.

In Malawi they have the tasty Kilombero which is in high demand but Malawians only taking advantage of less than 0.5 percent of the market. Wake up call to our cousins from the Warm Heart of Africa-do more to market your rice beyond the Malawian borders. Set up distribution centres across Southern Africa, deliver the rice in an efficient manner. Your potential is unlimited in Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho.

We focus on this article on Zimbabwe looking at top products where entrepreneurs are not doing enough in order to benefit.

The Mazoe Orange Drink: Unlimited demand for this natural flavoured drink. It is the best drink in Southern Afrsca and demand is high in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa. Demand is from Zimbabweans who have migrated to other countries across the region as well as foreign nationals. The history of the drink in Malawi is rather interesting as the first migrants who emigrated to Zimbabwe working in mines often took the drink back home as a sign of success. It is like Zimbabweans or Malawians working in South Africa-coming back home with a Gauteng Province (GP) Number plated vehicle is viewed as a great sign of someone doing well in Mzantsi. This is how the Mighty Mazoe gained influence in Malawi in the 1960s and beyond and up to now it still commands a lot of respect and demand.

Arts and Crafts: Zimbabweans are masters of arts and crafts in Southern Africa. In South Africa, women introduced hand knitted clothing in the early nineties known as Doilies or Madhoiri. This is how Zimbabweans entered South Africa with stone sculptures following suit in the late nineties. Our organisation last year introduced tapestry which was well received across the region. We were simply building on a reputation build over the past 30 years. We added entrepreneurship training and took advantage of Digital Marketing inorder to create a wave that took the region by storm.

Opportunities exist especially in the tourism sector with our crafts selling well in Durban, Cape Town, Walvis Bay and Maputo. We however need to learn from our tapestry programme on marketing and reach out to more clients from the region and beyond.

The next big thing from Zimbabwe is Maputi(Roasted corn)! Already a lot of maputi is being transported to neighboring countries such as South Africa. Initially targeting the Zim population, the maputi has also been accepted by other migrants in South Africa such as Mozambicans and Malawians. The competitive advantage of the maputi is its very low price. Other enterprising Zimbos have been buying maputi guns and making maputi for sale in South Africa, evidence shows instant success! Needed are Zimbabweans who can taior make the maputi for South African consumers and help market or promote this proudly Zimbo product.

In Zimbabwe these pre-cast walls are called ‘Dura Walls’ after the name of the company that introduced them in the  90s. They help beautify most homes that you find in Zimbabwe as fences. They are also used to build homes, churches and offices. The advantages of pre-cast walls are as follows:

1. Very cheap to make (You use cement, sand, corrugated steel and water)
2. You can create a long lasting structure within a few hours.
3. Easy to transport finished materials.

So dear reader, Zimbabwe has an instant solution to housing woes in Southern Africa through the ‘Durawall concept’. This is much better than container homes, much better than shacks. This concept can help a lot of entrepreneurs from Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa who are interested in the provision of innovative housing solutions. It is cheap and fast and produces beautiful homes. Interested in learning about this? Then whatsapp +263774081808 or contact us.

In South Africa its called an ‘Ice Lolo’ but in Zimbabwe we call them Freezits after the name of the company that created these flavoured cool drinks. What makes them a hit is their prices, very low prices retailing at 10-20 cents and thus ideal for school kids. We have heard a lot of inquiries from across the region when we advertised ‘freezit making machines’. Demand unlimited in Mozambique due to high temperatures and also South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Malawi. Our market survey in Malawi showed that a lot of people are interested in the product especially in Blantyre.

So there you have it, there is a lot to learn from Zim and you too can implement some of the products we covered in your own country and make a difference.

If you have no access to opportunities in Zimbabwe then you are at a great disadvantage! If you do not know where opportunities are, how to access them and when-then you will forever be behind as those who have mastered the art of knowing opportunities rarely share information that gives them competitive advantage.

One of the disadvantaged communities is our friends in the diaspora. You are not likely to find opportunities information on the internet which is your only connection with Zimbabwe. Most of the opportunities information is found in hard copy and our forum has come in inorder to plug the gap of information asymmetry.  We would like to thank the Diaspora community for supporting our book. Thank you very much, the book has been placed on our forum shop o the link http://zbinworld.com/shop/. We are glad that a lot of you are interested in tapping into local opportunities that are emerging in the economy.

The first stage in benefiting is to register a company in a field of your interest. Register a company and start operations on a low basis and build it up over time. We covered this on our book on  the section of why you should register your business. Only registered companies are going to win big in Zimbabwe! Get registered, sort out the paperwork and scout for opportunities.

As a thank you to those who supported our book, we have captured an advert in The Herald for your attention. What should be of interest to you is the construction or repair of roads is providing opportunities for many sectors of the economy. From engineering companies, security companies, Solar energy companies, printing companies, branding companies. Even hard ware shops are benefiting!

Now look at the bad shape of the state of most roads in Zimbabwe and ask yourself the opportunities that will come from the repair and construction process?  How many solar companies will benefit? How many printing companies will benefit? For engineers who had migrated to other countries-you can ignore local opportunities at your own peril.

The advert by Intertoll Zimbabwe (Pvt) Limited is a call for expressions of interest looking for suitable contractors and suppliers who wish to participate in provision of various goods and services for the maintenance of the R2 and R5 routes (Plumtree-Harare-Mutare). The EOI sought are relative to the categories listed below:

Provision of Road Maintenance Services

• Maintenance of Road Signs
• Permanent Road Marking
• Maintenance of Guard Rails
• Drainage Maintenance
• Vegetation Control
• Small Concrete Works
• Stabilisation of Slopes

Supply of Road Building Materials and Plant Hire Services

• Supply of Aggregate
• Supply of Bituminous
• Plant hire services
• Vehicle recovery services

Provision of Road Maintenance Consultancy Services

• Professional road engineers
• Surveying services
• Road construction testing

Supply of parts and/or services for vehicle maintenance

• Provision of spare parts
• Specialist vehicle repairs
• Supply and fitment of tyres
• Provision of staff transport

Toll Plaza Maintenance

• Solar sevices
• Generator repairs and services
• CCTV installations, repairs and services
• Electrical fence maintenance and repairs
• Plumbing, painting and general maintenance
• Steel structure maintenance and repairs
• Other Goods and Services
• Printing and Stationery
• Fire protection services
• General Hardware
• Branding

Requirements

• Company profile and 3 traceable references
• Proof of registration as a Zimbabwean company
• Proof of compliance with statutory requirements
• VAT certificate if any
• Letter from bank confirming banking details
• Available manpower (applicable to subcontractors)
• Available equipment (applicable to subcontractors)
• Proof of insurance (applicable to subcontractors)
• Capability and capacity (applicable to particular offering)

Geographical area of operation-applicants based in Plumtree, Bulawayo, Gweru, Kwekwe, Kadoma, Chegutu, Ruwa, Marondera, Rusape and Mutare encouraged to apply.

General Terms and Conditions

•  Intertoll Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd not bound to approve any company as a suitable contractor or supplier, and shall not be obliged to furnish reasons for rejecting any application/expression.
• Intertoll Zimbabwe shall not be liable for any costs incurred in the preparation of the application/expression
• Intertoll Zimbabwe reserves the right to amend, modify or cancel the requirements ad deliverables of the expression.

Applications/expressions shall be submitted by the 13th of April to the procurement committee, Intertoll Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd, 15 Fleetwoord, Alexandra Park, Harare.

The reason why this book is trending in Southern Africa is a simple one-it covers a lot of business opportunities in the region such as Angola, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, DRC, South Africa and Zimbabwe. It also captures researches and and business tours to Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland. The name of the book is Business Opportunities for Zimbabweans but opportunities and skills covered benefit every citizen of Southern Africa.

Buy the book here!

The revised version is coming and will be distributed for free to those who purchased the initial version. The second book we are compiling is titled Business Opportunities for South Africans and our sister organisation in South Africa will be handling the compilation of the book.

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