As far as I can remember, my mom always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Maybe it was because of how things were in Cote d’Ivoire or the fact that she was born in a family that did not have a lot of material resources.
She went through multiple business endeavors: a school bookstore, a pig farm, a grain-selling company, an actual school, and real estate. And these are the ones I know of.
Throughout the years, as I watched her hustle to create these companies, I learned a few things along the way.
1. To be a successful entrepreneur, you have to be bold
Before she started her pig farm business, my mother had no knowledge of anything related to pig farming. But that did not stop her. She dove right in and learned as she went.
What I learned from that is that you cannot let your own perceived or real limitations stop you or limit your dreams. Yes, you have to be realistic when starting your business but there’s a difference between being realistic and defeatist.
As for my mom’s pig farm business, she ended up losing it after a few years, due to a pig disease. But meanwhile, the profit she made out of it allowed her to pay the tuition for her girls’ private school.
2. A successful entrepreneur takes calculated business risks
To be a successful entrepreneur is to take risks in order to enjoy the rewards.
Some of the risks my mother took were related to how she pursued real estate opportunities. She acquired parcels of lands in areas that seemed random at the time but that she believed had opportunities for growth.
She ignored the naysayers – people in her own family- who warned her that she was being careless and impulsive in her search for lands to buy.
In Cote d’Ivoire – like in a lot of other African countries I imagine – a lot of lands are still lacking formal deeds. As a result, a lot of sales are still done by word of mouth, with a handwritten piece of paper signed by both parties. Not very reassuring.
Many lawsuits happen because people end up selling a piece of land twice, or the original seller dies and their children sue the buyer because they end up contesting the sale.
But buying land this way is a risk to take if you want to have access to some pieces of land.
As an entrepreneur, my mother took that risk several times. She got burned several times, losing land she thought she had bought fair and square or ending up having to pay for legal fees.
But she also enjoyed the rewards of taking these risks.
3. Keep family and business separate if you want your business to succeed
Don’t get me wrong! You can have great business relationships with family members. They can provide a great support system, especially when you start your entrepreneurial adventure.
But just because someone is part of your family doesn’t mean they should automatically earn a place in your business.
It’s a lesson I learned while watching my mother struggling to find a balance between wanting to support family members and keeping her business venues afloat and free of drama. Spoiler alert: she never found that perfect balance.
Being African, we are taught that family is everything, family comes first. Whether your family members have your back always or are a toxic bunch is irrelevant. You should take the abuse and keep reaching out. You should hire your family before hiring strangers. Blah. Blah. Blah.
After witnessing some of the challenges my mother went through as an entrepreneur trying to keep her family in her business, I’m here to tell you that yes you can love your family to death. But no, you don’t have to include them when starting your entrepreneurship journey.
Save yourself some stress, blood, and tears. Partner with people based on their professional skills, not their relationship with you!
4. Get everything done legally for your business
This one seems so obvious when living in the West. But in many African countries, a lot of laws are still yet to be implemented or enforced. Many lands, especially outside of big cities are still sold without deeds. Many people hire without a work contract.
This can create challenges and unnecessary headaches down the road when a disagreement emerges.
In my mother’s case, she did buy several pieces of land without deeds. But she then went on to make sure she obtained the paperwork by registering the lands and obtaining different documents that were required by the Ivorian government.
But this legalization process takes time. So, to be a successful entrepreneur, is it better to pay more upfront with all the legal paperwork already done and no risk of contention on the ownership of the land? Or is it worth buying traditional land without deeds at a cheaper price and doing the paperwork yourself?
I can’t tell you. But whatever you decide, make sure that at the end everything is done legally with a lawyer, registered in the government books, and notarized
5. Understand your market before starting your entrepreneurial journey
This one is a big one for us aspiring repats who want to start businesses back home. If we are lucky, we may have gone back to our home countries every 1 to 2 years for vacations, a few weeks to a couple of months at a time. We may have great ideas for business once we decide to return. But a great idea is not much if you don’t know how to implement it. And part of implementing is knowing your market; which is hard to do from afar.
My mother was always passionate about education, especially girls’ education. So naturally, she eventually opened a private school. She built it in a disadvantaged neighborhood. She knew her student’s parents were not the richest people and she anticipated that paying the school fees would often be a challenge for them. She knew that going into that business. So she was prepared to offer informal payment plans – as in you pay what you can until you finish paying the whole fee. She also made sure the school fees were in the range of what other similar schools charged and that her student families could afford it.
How to learn about your target market?
As aspiring repatriates, how can we start learning about potential target markets:
- Use your vacation to actually explore business and entrepreneurship opportunities.
- Talk to friends and family living back home, whether they are entrepreneurs or work for companies.
- Join repatriates/ aspiring repatriates groups (on Facebook or even just by Googling, you’ll find a few)
- Watch Youtube videos on repats sharing their entrepreneur experience – just word of caution, not everything you hear or see on the Internet is true. I usually stay away from the get-rich-quick type of videos.
My point is to be intentional about your approach when deciding on a business venture. Make sure you do your research thoroughly.
6. To be a successful entrepreneur doesn’t mean you have to do it all alone
I know I mentioned earlier that you have to separate family and business. That said, yes you can take a trusted family member on the ride with you. Or you can start your venture with a friend. Entrepreneurship can be a very lonely adventure. Especially at the beginning, when there is a lot of doubts, questions, when you may be the only person seeing the vision of what could be. So if you’re lucky to have that cheerleader in your life, that person who can be your sounding board. Or that also has the entrepreneur fiber and wants to jump in the ship with you, it can make things so much easier and less lonely.
For my mother, that person was her best friend, Tantie M. The partners in crime, the sisters from different mothers. They did not start a business without discussing and consulting with each other. They had each other back all the time even in the rare times that they did not agree with each other. They celebrated together, cried together, prayed together, carried each other in their highs and lows.
There you have it, friends, six tips I learned from my mama to be a successful entrepreneur in Africa!
If you moved back to Africa already and started your own business, what other piece of wisdom did you find helpful? If you’re like me and preparing to move, what business knowledge do you want to have before moving? Send me an email and tell me all about it!
