Remember this name: Mulalo Netswinganani, known fondly as Peace. Peace was an ordinary assistant to merchandisers at Builders Warehouse Fourways more than eleven (11) years ago. His primary role was assisting customers find electricity related products and explaining their application or usage. Unlike other assistants in the store, Peace was not trying to run away from customers by hiding but was eager to assist and advise whenever approached. He was then, though still is, exceptional.

In about 2003, Peace decided to focus on his passion of becoming an electrician and risked all by resigning and opening his company, Mulnet Projects, an electricity, CCTV, security and other residential and small business property installations, maintenance and compliance certification. I am delighted to have shown faith and support in him in his early years by appointing him electrician in my then renovated house. Today, Peace is highly in demand, does exceptionally well and has expanded his business to include off-grid solar power installation.

He remains professional, takes pride in his work and is still customer-centric just as he was as the shop floor assistant many years ago. Stories of people like Peace and the excellence displayed by small companies such as his Mulnet Projects are inspirational and worth publishing so others too could learn from them. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 30 June 2021.

I was not paid to pen this article, nor am I expecting future favours for doing so. I felt it would be a travesty to not share good stories of some small businesses doing exceptionally well and having started from humble beginnings.

Though part of my aim is to promote and hopefully get other customers to try Mulnet, my aim is mainly to encourage others who may have lost their jobs owing to the current economic situation and are about to lose hope, to fight against their setbacks and consider pursuing their passion after all. I know that passion does not always pay bills, but when all is down, why not work on what you love doing best? That alone would motivate you to want to see it succeed.

I do not, for once, suggest that the road to entrepreneurship is or would be easy. But I wish to encourage those whose hope has been lost to fight against negative thoughts of giving up by fighting and pushing themselves to starting small to ensure small wins that can be extended into bigger wins.

Running own business is difficult, lonely, has many pitfalls and is often full of depressing setbacks and losses. On the one hand, you have people and critics watching you like a hawk as if wanting to see how far you will go before crashing. And on the other, you have social and perhaps familial pressures to reconsider and try something else. The pressure is compounded when you have additional responsibilities of looking after dependants.

We must not underestimate the importance of timing and situation, because you could either make it quickly or slowly burnout and fail. I cannot confidently say what the right timing is, but what I have lived by and believe is the right time for doing something is when you have nothing to lose. Sometimes we get caught up in emotional drivel, fear and despair, yet upon a simple observation, you may find that you really have nothing to lose in doing or pursuing something.

If you have nothing to lose, you have a 50% chance of gaining something from your efforts, provided those efforts are meant to secure something of value. Also consider the cost of not doing something as that could be heavier than those of doing something.

Of all the things, our biggest enemy and hindrance to success is pride and focus on others, but yourself and goals. Pride is the enemy of progress and a thief because it robs us of the opportunity to start small and work our way to the top. Though working from familiar location can help, sometimes one should not rule out the possibility of relocating to a different location if it means willingness to start small without the pressure of familiar and critical prying eyes.

But relocating to “nurse” one’s pride cannot be the solution or if it is, I believe it would be harder to make in roads in a different location. Life is already hard in a familiar location, what more where no one knows you?

With relocation, you should be willing to lose almost all comforts to make it in a new location. Many “foreigners” started that way and are now successfully enterprising in their new environments.

Though Peace, our subject of discussion, was not forced to resign as he had a steady and modest pay job, the “bug” of unfulfilled dreams of pursuing his passion plagued him and he could not ignore it anymore. He was decisive in his departure and start of a new career, something many still fearful of venturing out may need to learn.

If fear is your paralysis, perhaps it is a sign that you are not ready for the big challenge, because if you were, you would have done it ages ago. This means you are likely the candidate to be forced into a decision by future unfortunate events. If that is you, ensure that you manage your lifestyle and live modestly while saving enough for the rainy day, because that day is coming either way.

If, like Peace, you have decided to pursue your thing, be humble, talk less, start small, do more, have a vision and relentlessly pursue it. And once you get to be as busy as Peace’s Mulnet is, consider insitutionalising your business so its success is not dependent on your presence and direct involvement.

Wishing you success in your endeavours and fulfilment of your dreams.