Nanjala works as a junior journalist in Daveyton, and recently had the following article published. Excellent work, Nanjala - we're very proud of you.
A remedy for the success of the youth
The unemployment rates in South
Africa have gone up drastically. Right now most of the youth are sitting at
home with no jobs or universities to go to. If you are one of these people,
don't worry. I've got a solution to your problems.
The world feeds the youth with
useless ideas. Ideas that state that the youth have to go to universities and
have to get fancy jobs in order to be successful. If you actually did this,
good for you. If you didn't, I'm happy to inform you that you don't need a
degree or a fancy job to be successful. All you need is a dream and we all know
that the best way to succeed is to be an
entrepreneur and start your own business.
Firstly, you have to know what you
want to do. If you love cooking you can't open a crèche. You have to choose one
of your talents or passions. It must be something you love because you might be
doing this for the rest of your life. You have to start a unique business, a
business that is not in your area or one that no one has ever thought of
before. If you want to start a business that is in your area you have to make
yours special or better to gain customers. Here are some ideas: catering,
opening a creche, sewing or making clothes, hair salon, opening a tuck shop,
opening a driving school, garden service, baking and selling and transportation
(eg hiring out a truck)
Secondly, well you have to start.
When you start you must remember to start small. You have to start cheap as
well. It's easy to start a business but it is difficult to sustain it. In order
to sustain it you must start in a small space which you can grow over time. You
can start in your living room or even in your kitchen until you get funds.
Don't wait for sponsors, they come later. What are they going to sponsor if the
business hasn't started yet and has no guarantee that it will succeed? Start
now, yes right now. Nothing can stop you if you start small. You should always
be patient, even if you market your business very well money will still come
very slowly.
Thirdly, you must know how to
manage your finances when the money starts rolling in. The money takes a long
to come in but when it starts coming in
it’s all worth the wait. Don't get carried away when you see the money. You
will need that money to pay for all the bills of the business eg
electricity and water. All you can keep is the profit that you will make. You
must know that your best interest is in your business.
Fourthly, don't lie to yourself,
you can't do it alone. As soon as you get a lot of customers the work will also
increase so as soon as you get some money you should hire people. The people
you hire should be trustworthy. You should be able to rely on them to work
consistently even if you are not there. They should have the same interest in
the business as you have. Don't let your employees take advantage of you. You
should be strict, but not too strict. You should be friendly but not too
friendly. You should create an atmosphere in which your employees are
comfortable to talk to you and respect you at the same time.
As you can see, everybody can be
successful no matter who they are. You don't need to wear a suit and tie to
work to be successful. All you need is a dream and that dream can take you very
far.
