‪Ye!‬ Community activity stream

Comments

1. 

   Abhishek Kothari

   Coach

   Citi Employee

   Thu 14 Dec 17:36

   Thank you Claire. It was an immensely fruitful experience. My best wishes to all entrepreneurs. As the Whole Earth Catalog said and Steve Jobs repeated: "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish" and don't drown out your enthusiasm and zest for life against all odds. The people who change the world are the ones who think they can. Be unreasonable and persist.

Please register to comment on this post

Comments

1. 

   Abhishek Kothari

   Coach

   Citi Employee

   Thu 14 Dec 17:26

   Two great books i read on the topic are "The Cash Flow Quadrant" and Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki. Having said that, a number of templates are available online to help you start thinking about categorizing your revenue and expenses (e.g. https://templates.office.com/en-us/Budgets). The first tip is discipline. track your revenue and expenses almost everyday if you are a really small business. Second, use off the shelf and free accounting software so you dont have to reinvent the wheel (zip books, quick books are two i know). Third, think of business budget as your own personal budget. I would also recommend taking online classes from lets say Khan academy on accounting 101 if you have time.

Please register to comment on this post

Comments

1. 

   Abhishek Kothari

   Coach

   Citi Employee

   Thu 14 Dec 17:20

   Sometimes, you start a grassroots movement by working at the grass root. You need to test your product / service with friends and friends of friends who will spread your word around. Action speaks louder than words. Once you have demonstrated value with immediate friends and family, they will be your ambassadors and spread the word around. After that, listening to every single client and making sure you consistently exceed their expectations will build trust. Remember reputation takes years to build and one mistake to break.

Please register to comment on this post

Comments

1. 

   Abhishek Kothari

   Coach

   Citi Employee

   Thu 14 Dec 16:52

   Hi Claire, Thank you for your question. Almost every entrepreneur who started small had to raise funds from friends and family. That is the most oft cited source of funds. Second, co-operative banks, community credit unions, affinity groups and microfinance and non banking finance corporations typically serve clients not served by big banks. Thirdly, the entrepreneur can start generating revenue from a few clients and demonstrate "proof of concept" which can be a great way to crowdsource in case the location in Africa has crowd sourcing. Lastly, angel investors and wealthy individuals who identify with your mission are also another option.

Please register to comment on this post

Comments

Please register to comment on this post

Comments

Please register to comment on this post

Comments

Please register to comment on this post

Comments

Please register to comment on this post

Comments

Please register to comment on this post