Do you have traits of an entrepreneur: Part 1

Guest post by Samuel G. Njenga

What makes an entrepreneur successful? Is it raw intelligence? Is it street smartness? Or is it all luck?

Entrepreneurs are a very particular people; they usually don't fit a common mold. When they look at the world around them, they do not dwell on how things are. They focus on how they can transform things into how they want them to be, and make a profit in the process.

Starting a business is usually risky. Entrepreneurs cannot stand the idea of living an uneventful life. They need to be challenged and succeed. They have a genuine appetite for success.

In my line of business, I normally enter into strategic partnerships. One of my partners is a former campus mate and a bosom buddy, Paul. He is a guy who has a very huge appetite for success. Wherever we go with him, he sees opportunities that a normal eye cannot. He approaches all problems with a creative solution. One day we were driving with him along Garissa Road past Makongeni and just before the Del Monte farms. Somewhere midway the very dry expansive land Paul excitedly asked me what I saw. “Very dry and rocky land which cannot grow any worthwhile crops” I answered. His eye saw something totally different; in fact the last thing he was thinking about was crops. He saw an expansive estate with wonderful amenities (Golf Park, shopping mall, a school etc.) of course in his dreams and to him transforming the idle dry land to that expansive estate is the key to unlocking some billions. Successful entrepreneurs can visualize how they want their future to unfold. Entrepreneurs hold a clear picture of what direction they want their business to take and possess a plan to guide it from conception to realization.

Paul is not your average bloke; one of his strongest qualities is being able to spot a talent. He easily identifies a diamond in the rough and transforms it into a very efficient and productive person. I usually rely on him to identify brokers who help us source for land. Paul is usually very unforgiving to anyone who wastes his time. In fact he’ll always use the word ‘fake’ and ‘useless’ in reference to anyone who wastes his time. But to gain his trust, just perform.

I am normally a very calm and composed guy, but Paul is the exact opposite of me. Of course we really complement. Whenever we get a potential deal, he takes the role of the tough negotiator. His negotiation skills are amazing; in fact he’ll leave the land owner smiling after really squeezing him/ her. Sometimes, we’ll find land whose owner is demanding as much as 5M but trust Paul to negotiate to 3M.

On a day to day basis, we deal with brokers, agents, lawyers, land surveyors and a few employees we have. One thing that we decided is to only deal with people who buy into our dream. I have no business using a surveyor who does not have a business mind; or worse still one who is not street smart enough establish proper networks in his area of jurisdiction. Just imagine having an employee who does not understand and /or buy your dream. Why would I trust someone who does not believe in what I do to take me to my dream?? It is of extreme importance to get your employees buy into your dream.

In Kenya and especially Nairobi and its outskirts, there is nothing as frustrating as dealing with land registry offices. Have you ever attempted to carry out an official search for a property in Thika Land Registry? When I was very green and wanted to purchase my first plot that side of Thika Road, I decided I wanted to carry out the official search for the property. I went to Thika and paid the official fee and was told to come back in the afternoon. When I came back, the officer told me that the papers were misplaced. What the hell? The guy was telling me to do another payment and collect the search tomorrow; only for the foolish me to do exactly so. You can imagine the answer the guy gave me on the morning of the day after? Not again but same old story that papers were misplaced. Sooner or later, I realized that there are brokers whose sole purpose is to assist anyone who wants a search. I also established that you either need an insider or someone who knows their way into that Office. In essence, you must be street smart and you must know that the world out there is the ultimate shark tank. In our capitalist society you are either the hunter or the prey. Thus, entrepreneurs like to compete with others. They relish the opportunity to measure wits with others and come out on top.

They say real entrepreneurs never give up. It would have been easy to give up on my first deal especially if I failed to muster enough strength to do the all-important due diligence. What I did at least was to find a way around the problem and get what I wanted. More often than not, we are faced with challenges which prima facie look like they are insurmountable, but dare you not gives up.

Entrepreneurs like challenges. They like to push themselves to the limits and test themselves against the world. The thrill of beating a challenge is just as rewarding as the profit that follows.

You must give a convincing reason to people to part with their money and give it to you. What you are offering to them must be rather convincing. After all, you must realize the value of a customer, as the saying goes ‘customer is king’.

Let us pick up from here in the next post...