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.

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.