Diaspora Matters

So we are always posting business advice, how to be successful in business, how to start a business, how to manage a business etc. Now one of our members said hey hold on-not everyone is born to be an entrepreneur, how about Politics as a Career?

Now we all know about this field, we are not going to give much advice except to analyse one area of interest to business and that is the COST of running for office. How much it will cost you to run and possibly win a parliamentary seat in Zimbabwe.

Most of the information we will use is publicly available. So just like any business, Politics is risky business and involves a lot of costs. We are not sure of the returns though, how politicians recoup most of the costs that they would have incurred.

The trend in Zimbabwe over the past elections has been that for one to win a seat, you must have worked extremely hard to attract potential voters. In the rural areas be prepared to repair roads, renovate schools, donate chickens, buy bicycles in order to stand a good  chance of winning a seat. Be prepared to ferry members of the public to your rallies, you also need to feed them. You have to come up with various ‘incentives’ for your election agents or election promoters. Expect to spend a considerable amount of money on promotional materials such as tshirts and posters, you may even need to hire popular musicians to prop you up.

Now dear reader, doing all of this does not guarantee you a win-you can still lose despite a heavy investment in running for office-we have seen cases of politicians who go back to the constituencies where they lost to demand various goods and properties they would have ‘donated’.

In urban areas in the past there was no need for heavy investment in running for office. You just needed a few posters and a couple of rallies and be guaranteed of a win depending on the political party you would have aligned with. The trend however now shows that one needs heavy investment, it is no longer business as usual-the recent Norton Bye Election is a good case in mind.

So by now you must still be wondering, what is the actual cost of running for office? What is the figure? Our answer is that one needs at least US$80,000 to win a seat depending on the strategic location of the seat and the level of competition involved. It’s a game for the big boys and sisters, you will definitely need a big purse!

Publicly available information provided by Hon Themba Mliswa on an interview with Fingaz shows that he did spend above $80,000 and this figure does not include the use of his vehicles during the recent election. A similar figure was spend for another election that took place in Mashonaland West a few years back.

So there you have it dear folks, this figure is just a guide and may increase or decrease depending on political events or macro-economic events prevailing in the country at the time.

So we wish you all the best if you decide to run for office in 2018. Just remember that money alone will not win you votes but will play a pivotal role in ensuring your victory because case studies abounds of folks who went bankrupt after running for office.

So its been a while  before we  gave  you free business innovation ha? The manufacturing plant where original business innovations cometh from had unexpectedly dried up. The last original and proudly Zimbabwean Innovation that we posted was possibly in December 2016 right? Anyway the good thing is we have one for our readers and we promise more in 2017, with some of them to be shared exclusively on our ZBIN Newsletter.

The Problem

So Harare has a lot of cars most of them being Ex Japs which need repairs and maintenance. They need insurance and various road permits. Some of the cars are being purchased by first time owners who maybe clueless on car servicing, how to solve mechanical and electrical problems-where to get help etc

Now how about one central website or app where all information is available…Dial a mechanic, source insurance products, dial a parts provider-compare car parts prices etc?

The Market is there with more than a million vehicles on our roads! Insurance companies would surely like to advertise on such a platform, car sellers both local and Japanese would love to advertise on such a platform. Car hire firms would surely gain by associating with Zimbabwe’s leading vehicle app?

Unlimited potential to youngsters with energy, vision and business skills.

ZBIN wishes you the best!

Good Morning Investors, at ZBIN we wish you a Blessed Sunday! So this morning we will tackle the issue of setting up a Business Consultancy. A field that does not require a lot of capital as you can actually start this business from home. You can also start as a part time and test the waters before fully launching your consultancy.

In this day and age, anyone can be a consultant. All you need to discover is what your particular gift is. Aare you able to take that knowledge you have gained and turn it into a resource that someone would be willing to pay money for? Then you would have no trouble working as a consultant.

Two Critical Factors to Consider Before You Become a Consultant

• What certifications and special licensing will I need? There are certain professions that require certifications such as Accounting, Auditing, Law and the Medical field. Some may not require certifications such as being a wedding planner, events management, music promotions and interior décor.
• Do I like to network? The biggest hurdle in Consultancy is Networking, most people fear networking. ZBIN will cover more posts about how to effectively network and build your profile.

Who is your Target Market

Your idea may be the best one you have ever thought of, but there needs to be a market for your ideas. Someone must be willing and able to pay you for your expert advice

• In other words, who are your potential clients? Will you be marketing your consulting services to large corporations? Or will you offer a specialty that would only be of interest to smaller businesses? Perhaps your services will be sought after by nonprofit organizations. Whatever the case, before you go forward, make sure you spend time preparing both a business plan and a marketing plan. You won’t be disappointed with the results–especially when clients begin paying you

Why an Organization Wants to Hire You

1. A consultant may be hired because of his or her expertise. This is where it pays to not only be really good in the field you have chosen to consult in, but to have some type of track record that speaks for itself. For example, when I mentioned earlier that I had become an expert as a fund-raising consultant, I knew that every client who hired me was doing so partly on the basis of my track record alone. After all, if you are a non-profit organization that needs to raise $1 million, it makes sense to hire someone who has already raised millions for other organizations.

• A consultant may be hired to identify problems. Sometimes employees are too close to a problem inside an organization to identify it. That’s when a consultant rides in on his or her white horse to save the day.
• A consultant may be hired to supplement the staff. Sometimes a business discovers that it can save thousands of dollars a week by hiring consultants when they are needed, rather than hiring full-time employees. Businesses realize they save additional money by not having to pay benefits for consultants they hire. Even though a consultant’s fees are generally higher than an employee’s salary, over the long haul, it simply makes good economic sense to hire a consultant.
• A consultant may be hired to act as a catalyst. Let’s face it. No one likes change. But sometimes change is needed, and a consultant may be brought in to “get the ball rolling.” In other words, the consultant can do things without worrying about the corporate culture, employee morale or other issues that get in the way when an organization is trying to institute change.
• A consultant may be hired to provide much-needed objectivity. Who else is more qualified to identify a problem than a consultant? A good consultant provides an objective, fresh viewpoint–without worrying about what people in the organization might think about the results and how they were achieved.
• A consultant may be hired to teach. These days if you are a computer consultant who can show employees how to master a new program, then your telephone probably hasn’t stopped ringing for a while. A consultant may be asked to teach employees any number of different skills. However, a consultant must be willing to keep up with new discoveries in their field of expertise–and be ready to teach new clients what they need to stay competitive.
• A consultant may be hired to do the “dirty work.” Let’s face it: No one wants to be the person who has to make cuts in the staff or to eliminate an entire division.
• A consultant may be hired to bring new life to an organization. If you are good at coming up with new ideas that work, then you won’t have any trouble finding clients. At one time or another, most businesses need someone to administer “first aid” to get things rolling again.
• A consultant may be hired to create a new business. There are consultants who have become experts in this field. Not everyone, though, has the ability to conceive an idea and develop a game plan.
• A consultant may be hired to influence other people. Do you like to hang out with the rich and famous in your town? If so, you may be hired to do a consulting job simply based on who you know. Although most consultants in this field are working as lobbyists, there has been an increase in the number of people entering the entertainment consulting business.
• Credit -entrepreneur.com

Consider setting up a Facebook page that promotes your Consultancy Business. If you have no time to set up and manage one then join friendly Business Facebook Pages such as ZBIN where we like to promote Consultancies. You can also set up your own website which helps to promote your business. The costs of setting up websites are going down year and from $150 one can set up a basic website. Another option includes writing a column in local newspapers.

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This evening ZBIN flies you to the city of Manila, anyone remember Thriller in Manila? Anyway Manila is  where we find the popular boxer Manny Pacquiao. In Phillipines they speak a language called Togalog and yours truly does speak 30%  Togalog. So what do we have from Phillipines this evening? The answer is a simple one, we are looking at the top 8 Start Up companies in the beautiful city of Manila and we will try and find out whether they can work in Southern Africa.

1. Brainly Phillipines –A start up that helps students with homework assignments
2. My Property– a company that helps with all real estate issues
3. Manda Workshops– it helps entrepreneurs with capacity building and hosting workshops
4. Bookbit-helps SMEs with online Accounting and Bookkeeping
5. Bolooka– helps in selling local Filipino crafts
6. Serious MD- connects all medical field players. Doctors, Nurses, Hospitals, Clinics, Laboratory Science Labs
7. Robur-provides up to date company financials for stock brokers
8. The Spark Project –A crowdfunding site for Filipinos

So there you are dear reader most of the Start Ups covered above are not available in Southern Africa, you should research more about them and consider introducing some in Lilongwe, Kafue, Plumtree, Polokwane or Maun.

In Zimbabwe I would recommend Start Ups for students looking for career guidance, scholarships and university information. Real Estate is a big issue in Zimbabwe and so far the sector is scattered with no one solid start up with all information about Real Estate issues and business. So till next Friday, ZBIN flies back to back to Harare and we wish you a wonderful and blessed weekend

Maraming salamat

Our ZBIN Mining Group has a total membership of 256 active members and we are looking to expand the membership to 1,000 by end of year. No doubt our richest group as these are the folks with operating in a rich field of minerals.

So what is our vision for 2017?

Information Provision: On this website expect to see an improved site with a section for Small Scale Mining. On this section will be a lot of resources on mining such as The Mines and Minerals Act, Contact Persons from the Ministry and Mines, Mining Classifieds, Downloadable Application Forms and An Help Desk.

Networking Events: So far we have a great group and we are proud of our closely knit group. We hope to build on the strength already built by carrying out a number of networking events throughout the year. This will be a great platform for information and ideas exchange.

Registration: Our ZBIN Motto in 2017 is registration-formal registrations of members’ businesses and this applies to all ZBIN forums. We are therefore looking forward to helping members to register their businesses so that they can derive benefits associated with being a formal business.

Funding: There a lot of funding options available to Small Scale Miners, however few miners are accessing these loans. Reasons for failure to access these loans are plenty and range from lack of knowledge of the availability of these funds. Some do not have the requisite knowledge of how to apply for the loans or some do not know the advantages of accessing these loans. ZBIN will therefore ensure that we assist members with information as well as assistance in acquiring loans and other funding options available.

Diaspora Partnerships: In everything that ZBIN do, the Diaspora is covered as they are a key community. We are hoping to facilitate the partnerships of locals and the Diaspora in 2017. We will not have full scale partnerships but a few case studies that will be used to launch full scale partnerships in 2018 and beyond.

Mining Equipment Access: Mining equipment is expensive, one require a lot of resources in order to acquire mining equipment and resources are not easily available! We are therefore hoping to unlock opportunities for rental of equipment, rent to buy options or pooling of resources by members in the purchase of mining equipment in 2017.

Mining Tours: We hope to launch quarterly mining tours which should benefit members, investors and any key stakeholder interested in the mining sector. We had one tour of Mashonaland West in 2016, we are looking forward to improve and carry out more such tours in 2017.

Mining and the Environment: Mining causes irreparable damage to the environment. We hope to promote sustainable and environmental friendly practices by our members. We will share more information on this initiative and reward miners who are observing this.

Mining across the borders: We have members who are into mining in neighbouring countries. We hope to explore linkages with them as some are in Mozambique and  Tanzania.

Job Portal for the Mining Sector. Increased investment in the sector, increased partnerships, increased information exchange should result in the expansion of the sector and this should see the sector looking for more people to employ. We hope to become the only official portal for mining job and consultancy opportunities.

Linkages with established mining companies: We hope our members to benefit from good practices from well-established mining companies. Linkages established should result in better management, markets creation and investment improved.

So together we can and lets unlock investment opportunities in the mining sector through effective partnerships and information exchange.

If you would like to join our ZBIN Mining Group then send your number to Catherine Shava on 0776 196 313

A friend of mine based in Durban inboxed me asking for advice. She said her prices for her business are below those of her competitors and she was considering increasing them during the month of January 20017.

My response- good intentions but bad timing! Most people expect prices to fall during the first months of the year. The hastag is Pricesmustfall! The best thing she should be doing is to find innovative ways to maintain her loyal customers and attract new ones.

January period is characterised with cash flow challenges for most people-we would have spend most if not all of our monies during the festive season. The spending power is definitely low and will peak up around March or even April.

So below are a few tips to help your business to break through the dry 2 to 3 months.

Communication: By now you already know who your key customers are. We expect you to have given them a few gifts or discounts during the festive season period. Continue to network and communicate during this period. Phone them, send texts and advise them of new products or your plans for the year.

Discounts-Discounts-Discounts: Now is the time to lower your prices, even a slight discount can do the trick. If you are in Zimbabwe then you may have seen adverts of discounts by leading Hotels Groups.

Research time: There is no better time to research and improve your business than now. Business is very low and with a few customers coming your way what should you spend your time doing? Spend it wisely-research on what is trending, review past year operations, review your communication channels, review your competitors, What made them excel last year? What can you learn from them? This is the research and planning period. This is the time to create your website or improve it. It is also time to review your Facebook Pages, Twitter and other Social Media options.

Networking & Strategic Alliances: Do not just enter 2017 without a Networking and Strategic Alliances Plan. You will achieve more in business if you work with others. Find out about business associations in your area, find out about national business associations and plan to join. Find out the advantages of joining them …is it information? Is it  going to be markets? Are you going to benefit in terms of funding? Look at strategic alliances as a better way to network and unlock business opportunities in 2017.

So wishing you the best of luck in 2017. We will tackle Pricing in detail next week.

Good Morning investors and followers of ZBIN. So last week I stumbled upon a Japanese Concept called the Mirasapo and decided to carry out more researches about it. Interesting stuff from the Japanese because this is what ZBIN has been doing for the past 3 years. We have been ‘Mirasapoing’ as a community.

The definition of a Mirasapo is as follows:

A comprehensive portal site where SMEs can obtain the latest information about support that meets their needs, seek advice readily from experts and more experienced managers, and exchange information with other companies, whenever and wherever it suits them  (Name derived from the Japanese for “site supporting the future of SMEs and  micro enterprises.” It began operating provisionally at the end of July 2013.)

Why Mirasapo?

The business challenges faced by SMEs and micro enterprises are becoming more complex, advanced, and specialized. → Need to build a support system that can provide a finely-tuned response to consultation needs.

Main Functions

The Mirasapo has 3 main functions namely:

• Support measures and provision of information

Providing easily comprehensible information about support measures by the government and  public institutions. Electronic application functions can be used for some subsidies.

• Formation of a community

Providing a forum (community) where users can exchange information with experts and more experienced managers about specific themes, e.g. starting a business or expanding overseas. Users can create new communities tailored to their own issues.

• Expert counselling

Developing a database of experts in each field, enabling users to choose an expert according to the particular issues they face and seek counselling online.

Are you are a young person who recently graduated? Congrats are in order we wish you well as a future leader in your respective fields. Now 99.9% of you should be looking forward to being employed and its not surprising because this is what the lecturers have been teaching you. You have been wired to look for a job and for some the dream to be employed started from primary school when teachers would ask you what your dream profession was. Popular answers included professions such as Medical doctors, Teachers, Drivers, Pilots etc

Now as a fresh graduate chances are high that a job might not come as soon as you need it. So what should you be doing whilst waiting for your dream job? ZBIN will try and assist you in terms of business idea options and we hope they will be beneficial.

Number 1: Become a Business Researcher– There a lot of unlimited opportunities in the SME sector, from Accountants, Marketers, Business Developers. Help this sector with your research skills by producing reports and surveys for sale. A lot of people and companies are willing to pay if you can provide them with latest and up to date research reports on their products or services.

Number 2: Website Development- There are a lot of bad websites out there- websites with no up to date material and what I would call dead websites. The good news about website development is that nowadays anyone can develop a website-a lot of material is available online on how to develop websites. Research and approach companies and organisations with your proposals to improve their websites by developing new and relevant websites or by managing their websites.

Number 3: Writing- Do you have a passion for writing? There are a lot of blogs that pay writers who write original articles. Research about them on the net and earn from as little as $50 per article.

Number 4: Online Forex Trading-Are you good in Mathematics? If the answer is Yes then consider investing your time learning about Online Forex Trading for the next 6 months. Do not pay anyone any money, simply join the ZBIN Online Forex Trading Group and get free materials. Online Forex Trading is not a get-rich-quick-scheme but with a lot of practice and patience one can actually earn a living from it.

Number 5: Start Ups – Start ups is the buzz word in town and research about start ups on the net. There is a lot of information from countries such as India, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and USA. Read a lot of start-up stories and get inspired to start your own. You may not need a lot of funds to start one for yourself.

So all the best in your job search but in the meantime you may try some of the options we have given you above. You may also join the ZBIN Whatspp Groups and participate in business discussions. Do send your number to Catherine Shava on +263776 196 313

1.    Japan has 4.2 million companies-Total number of SMES 4.19 million, total number of large corporations-12,000

2.    SMEs Account for 99.7% of all companies, 70% of all employees, and more than 50% of all added value (manufacturing industry) in Japan, SMEs form the very basis of the Japanese economy.

3.    Large corporations such as Toyota, Honda, and Sony started out as small backstreet factories

4.    The majority of the products of large corporations consist of components from SME subcontractors; thus, it is the hidden strength of SMEs that underpins trust in Japanese products.

5.    The economies of Japan’s provincial areas are supported by the activities of SMEs – mainly in the service industry, retail trade, and the construction industry – and SMEs play a part in revitalizing local economies and boosting employment opportunities.

6.    Japan has 2 Major SME Policies being the Support of SMEs  and Job  Creation

• Information valid as of 2013

Happy New Year to all the wonderful forum members. We hope that you had a wonderful time during the holidays and that you are ready for 2017.

The good news is that we will continue to share business ideas and network in 2017! We hope to build on the successes of 2016 and scale greater heights in 2017.

Kaizen Theory
The Japanese have a wonderful theory and its called the Kaizen Theory and in simple terms this theory is about continuous improvement. In business you need to continuously review operations and processes and find ways to improve. You cannot afford to rest on your laurels….you have to find ways to improve in terms of support services, ways to improve in terms of production-ways to improve in terms of thinking and approaches as well. So this is going to be our motto in 2017–Are we improving? Are you improving? Do not come up with excuses of ‘no funds’ because some of the improvement require nothing but imagination, creative thinking. So Kaizen its gonna be in 2017 and we hope to innovate together.

Forum Registration
Everything at an advanced stage, we have engaged lawyers who will be helping with the setting up of a trust for the forum. Our target date being first week of February 2017.

Member Registration
After the formal registration of the forum, the next big step is going to be the formal registration of all members on the forum. We would like you to freely register so that you can formally help in the strategic leadership of your favourite forum. No fees expected to be paid for this exercise-more details to come in February 2017.

Advantages of Registration
So why all the fuss about registration? Are there any advantages for doing this? Yebo Yes there are several advantages that will come from being formally registered. The biggest one is going to be access to credit for members. We are hoping to attract funding for member businesses, we do not believe in free grants but are hoping to attract funding that act as collateral for members with no collateral. Formal registration will also enable members to pool resources in any venture of their interest. Other advantages to include collective marketing and market linkages especially in the area of Poultry.

Diaspora Engagement
ZBIN continues to be the number 1 forum in Zimbabwe that actively promotes the engagement of the Diaspora in business.Wek believe that they are a key stakeholder in Zimbabwe where they remit close to a billion dollars on an annual basis. The Diaspora can actually remit more if a conducive environment is put in place for their investment. On ZBIN we already have a member based in Australia who is running a successful rabbit project in Chivhu. We also have Mai Shumba based in UK who has a successful poultry project in Greendale….she networks from UK to look for customers in Zimbabwe and is more knowledgeable about  poultry markets in Zimbabwe than some Harare residents-talk about the power of globalisation! We have more Diasporans on our forums looking for business partners, some like Mrs Shumba already directing business activities from foreign land. So we are hoping to promote and advocate for a ‘Diaspora Space’ in the local economy in 217.

Are you a Consultant?
ZBIN will be offering a number of professional services in 2017. The services will range from support services such as Accounting, Auditing, Marketing, Human Resources, Business Management and IT Management some of the services will be done at a fee. We are therefore hoping that business experts on the forum will benefit. If you are an Accountant then you can be hired for part of full time work on capacity building of SMEs, you can be paid for the development of accounting manuals or training of accounting staff. The same applies to Human Resources, Strategy Development, Marketing and IT. So get in touch if you would like to be added to our database of SME Consultants.

Improved Website & Newsletter
Our website www.zbinworld.com is under renovation, we are hoping to get a user friendly website that has various sections such as Agriculture, Online Forex Trading, Baking, Transport and Real Estate. We hope to have a resource centre where you can download up to date resources in Ms Word, Excel and Pdf format.
We are hoping to improve in terms of the quality of information shared. If we are talking about poultry then we must provide you with the cost of raising a bird, profit to be made and other resources. This should help you in terms of decision making.

Interns-Interns-Interns-Interns Wanted!
So we are creating ZBIN in a manner that allows sustainability of operations. Munemo’s absence should not stop operations. Who knows maybe I may join the great trek in the coming few months? So through the board, life should go on. The group should succeed in my absence should I decide to be a Diasporan like what millions of other Zimbos have done. The vision does not die though-we remain focused on unlocking business opportunities through networking and innovation. We do our work ethically and free of charge to Zimbabweans.

ZBIN is therefore inviting youngsters, recent college graduates with no experience to come and help manage the group and gain business experience in the process. Come and become experts on business writing, business researches, website development and a lot of other business activities.

Vote of Thanks
Lastly our vote of thanks go to the active forum participants. The people who keep the forum going-folks who freely give advice to others. May the Almighty bless you for the wonderful work that you do on the forum for the benefit of members and Zimbabwe as a whole.

Remember our key word: KAIZEN…KAIZEN…KAIZEN…Continuous Improvement…lets continue to improve in every area in 2017.