Chief Executive Officer of Origin8, William Ansah has advised young entrepreneurs to take calculated risks when starting businesses in order to ensure steady and consistent growth of the businesses.
Mr. Ansah explained that starting any business needs critical thought processing and planning as well as having the right people around to advice you on the right path to take.
He gave the advice during a meeting with three Rotaract Clubs; Accra Labone, Accra East and Osu-Re in Accra on the topic “Entrepreneurship and Business Development.”
Explaining who an entrepreneur is, Mr. Ansah described an entrepreneur as one who sees opportunities in problems and does the necessary hard work to satisfy people’s needs.
“Entrepreneurs do the necessary hard work at the right time and take calculated risks in running their businesses.
He further took the Rotaractors through the character and behaviour of an entrepreneur, describing an entrepreneur as one who “discovers and exploits opportunities, a creator who initiates and motivates the process of change.”
Touching on business development, Mr. Ansah stated that running a viable business requires careful planning and gradual acquisition of assets.
“You can’t start a business by rushing to rent office space, hire people to work when you are not guaranteed of consistent business and cash flow within the first three to six months,” the CEO or Origin8 counselled the Rotaractors.
According to him, to run a business and make profit, one needs to start small and as the profit margins grow, “you can then begin to employ more people and rent a space to run the business.”
He added that most businesses begin to fail after five to ten years of operating, hence entrepreneurs need to effectively plan and manage businesses that can stand the test of time after ten years.
Explaining further what it takes to succeed in business, Mr. Ansah said entrepreneurs must focus on their core businesses and allow other companies to handle the non-core part of the business operations.
“If you are in manufacturing of drinks, just focus on the production part and outsource the production of the raw material, but ensure that you monitor the process to meet your standards,” he added.