For a long time, I had been a proponent of textbook styled strategies, methodologies and principles on business administration and leadership. In big corporations, no initiative would be approved or considered unless it has supporting business case and matrices to prove the viability of the opportunity. Quite often, inordinate time passes before the opportunity could finally and favourably be considered. Many a small business entrepreneur may be unable to spare such investment in time.

Having little time to spare doesn’t mean SMME entrepreneurs choose to be flippant about conforming to business administration “basics” and ascertaining viability of prospects. Many entrepreneurs are not always driven by accounting and economic matrices alone in their decision making, but other considerations too such as having and relying on a hunch and a little faith among others. SMME entrepreneurs are more agile than their corporate counterparts owing to their low overheads, fewer “touch-points” and division of work.

Though many SMME entrepreneurs may find it onerous and eventually stop compiling important matrices, they should at least do some informed study on their customers to improve their understanding and offerings accordingly. Every product design embodies inherent assumptions after all, whether deliberate or implied, about the target market. Such assumptions have a direct and significant bearing on the uptake of the product. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 29 February 2020. Continue reading →