Name: PHIRI PROSPER

Reg number: R186098K

Programme: HBSCTC
Course: BS209
Subject: ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT
SKILLS ASSIGNMENT 1

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ASSIGNMENT 1
Identify an entrepreneur in your area and write on the following:
what type of business (5)

The entrepreneur who is situated in Kadoma’s Central Business District runs a

Merchandising Business called Harare Pfacha. This type of business buys products at
wholesale price and sells at low retail prices. They are known as "buying and
selling" businesses. They make profit by selling the products at prices that are a bit
higher than their purchase costs. In order to make more profit they have to sell
more quantities or to push more volumes in market place. A merchandising
business sells a product without changing its form. Examples are: grocery stores,
convenience stores, distributors, and other retailers.

b. What motivated the entrepreneur to start the business (20)

The founder of Harare Pfacha is an individual who created the new business,
bearing most of the risks and enjoying the rewards. He started the business venture
because of different motivational forces and amongst them, self-motivation ,
accomplishments ,the need for business ownership, the desire to have other income
flows and the need for self-employment.

i. Desire to become fully involved in a business operation

An entrepreneur is sometimes motivated to start a business because he has the
desire to become involved in all aspects of company's operation. The entrepreneur
wants to be part of the product design team, sales, marketing, engineering and
production. An entrepreneur has a very specific way that he feels a successful
business should be run, and this motivates the entrepreneur to start his own
business and get directly involved

ii. need to have a personal touch in the business operations

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Entrepreneur may also be motivated and driven by the need to have a personal
touch in the operation of a particular business unit. An entrepreneur might feel
that doing business with a large corporation, or working for a larger company, can
become very impersonal. The drive to start a business comes from the desire to
put a personal touch back into doing business.

iii. desire to become an owner of a business entity

Some entrepreneurs start their own business because they want to be their own
boss and in charge of all of the day-to-day operations of a company. The
entrepreneur wants to be the vision bearer , the one making the important
business decisions, making the call on product development and marketing and
being responsible for every aspect of the company's operation.

iii. need to establish several financial streams

Financial need can also play a role in motivating one to be an entrepreneur. Some
entrepreneurs are driven to start their own company out of lack or necessity. An
entrepreneur might start a side business to generate extra income to cover for the
short fall of the salary earned.

Iv. need for self fulfilling or achievement

Some entrepreneurs may start a business unit due to the need to fulfil their esteem
needs. According to Abraham Maslow, that is bringing about a sense of
achievement. To some entrepreneurs, having a successful business brings a feeling
of accomplishment. They feel that they are offering a valuable service to their
customers, and they pride themselves on doing the best job possible. Many
entrepreneurs give back to their communities through charitable donations and by
participating in charitable events. This feeling of accomplishment and pride is an
important factor in starting a business.

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In conclusion, entrepreneurs have different motivational forces that drive them
to start a business entity that may offer a lot of economic benefits for host
countries such as reduction of unemployment rates ,economic growth and
stability of supply of products.

c. what are opportunities for future expansion of the business, (25)

The opportunities for future expansion of Harare Pfacha includes all those
factors that affect the future growth prospects of any particular business unit.
These may include customer loyalty, smart adoption of technology , employee
training, social responsibility and good leadership among many.

i. customer loyalty
The future expansion opportunities of Harare Pfacha depends on customer loyalty.
When company leaders strategize about sales growth, the focus is often on how to
bring in new customers. While it is important to increase brand awareness and
expand your customer base. The organization must also work to increase sales
maximization with current customers and look for opportunities to grow profits with
the customers the organization already has through add-on sales, customer loyalty
programs, and referral business.

ii. smart adoption Of technology

The opportunities also may involve the smart adoption of technology. Technology
is like fertilizer for the growth of a business. It can help tackle tasks more efficiently,
save on labour costs, and streamline processes. The challenge comes with selecting
the right technology tools for specific business goals. Proper alignment with the
various facets of business strategy is key.

iii. employee training

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Commitment to employee training can also lead to growth prospects of the
business. Business growth does not occur in a vacuum. All employees must possess
knowledge on how they should carry the vision of the company forward. This may
require training be it through workshops and online training. As the team or
employees are equipped with the skills , significant growth may be noticed. By
training online, an organization’s management team can ensure consistent
knowledge transfer to everyone and can customize learning paths for each
employee.

iv. Part taking social responsibility

Social responsibility is also another factor that may power up the growth
opportunities of Harare Pfacha . Organizations may not see the direct line between
social responsibility and business growth, but it may be viewed in this way:
businesses get back what they put out. When a company adopts policies of social
responsibility, it impacts a community as a result it also influences the custom in a
positive way. For example, April is Alcohol Awareness Month. If a business that sells
alcohol, use this month to refresh training on responsible selling. If a business
outside of the industry, uses a cause like this as a springboard to give back to your
community in a meaningful way.

v. Good leadership skills

Good leadership may also mean a huge opportunity for the future growth of a
business unit. Just like what we see in nature during springtime, growth starts way
below the surface. How your employees perceive the leaders and your company
mission determines their motivation to help reach organizational goals. Leaders must
pave the way to success for everyone.

d. What are the challenges faced by the entrepreneur (25)

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Challenges faced by Harare Pfacha include poor cash flow management, lack of
capital for expansion purposes, securing a customer base , building successful
work teams ,marketing strategies , stiff competition from other existing firms in the
industry, low number of customer walk ins due to refraining Covid 19 measures

i. poor cash flow management

Many entrepreneurs face the challenge of proper cash flow management. Cash flow
is essential for business survival, yet many entrepreneurs struggle to pay the bills
(let alone themselves) while they’re waiting for checks to arrive. Part of the problem
stems from delayed invoicing, which is common in the entrepreneurial world. They
sale goods on credit and then get paid 30 days later or more in many cases.

ii. Poor marketing strategies

Entrepreneur also faces challenges regarding marketing strategy. Positioning an
organization’s product/service in such a away that will maximize on the returns is
proving to be a challenge to many entrepreneurs. This is because some
entrepreneurs are venturing into their projects completely ignorant of the Dos and
Don’ts. It is therefore recommended that entrepreneurs conduct a proper market
research and if possible have a hands-on case study and not just invest blindly.

iii. Lacking capital for quick expansion of business operations

More so, entrepreneurs also lack capital for expansion and for use to seize profitable
opportunities that arise in the marketplace. You want to start or grow your business,
but you have little capital to do it with. Here, patience and proper discipline is
required when it comes to cash management. It is always estimated that your
business won’t pick up in the first three to four months. Therefore, a little patience
is required. You can also get investors or apply for a quick loan to get you started.

iv. Acquisition of a bigger customer base

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Acquiring new Customers may also be a challenge to entrepreneurs. Even if a
business offers the best-quality product or service available in the market today,
chances of failure will be high if the business fails to secure loyal customers.
Failure to secure loyal customers will mean that the business will fail to secure
repeated purchases from customers leading to lower sales and hence lower profit
levels .

v. Lack of foreign currency for the importation of inputs

The other challenges faced by Hollys supply is the need for foreign currency to
import the groceries they sale . Due to the fluctuating exchange rates the firms
has not been able to make enough imports thus leading to shortages of the
goods .

vi. low number of customers due to covid 19 state measures

As a result of the Covid 19 state measures that have been recently restricting
people from moving around , Harare Pfacha has been experiencing a very low
number of customer as the business relies on customer walk ins only. The fall in the
number of purchases coupled with high tax rates has resulted in very unbearable
losses to the firm . However the challenge has motivated many firms in the
industry to start online sales and not rely on customer walk ins only which leaves
Harare Pfacha with no choice but to follow suit.

vii. Stiff competition from other firms within the industry

Harare Pfacha has also been facing a challenge of heavy competition from other in
the industry . Stiff competition has resulted in low profits due to the need for
product improvements and price reductions in order to secure sales .

In conclusion, success of any given business is something that is hard to predict,

even if the business itself seems to be a really solid idea where nothing can go
wrong. The entrepreneurial spirit may be a great thing, but it’s delusional to think

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that everything is going to run smoothly just because you are running the show
now. As such, one should keep in mind the above challenges and introspect on how
you can address them so that they do not adversely affect your venture.

e. How is the entrepreneur solving or going through the challenges.(25)

i. Preparing budgets and reduction of debt payment period to reduce cashflow

problems
Harare Pfacha has been able to hedge against the challenge of poor cash flow by
implementing budgets and reduction of debt collection period, the entity is able to
strategically plan for the business and have proper budgets in place so that set
targets are met. In addition to this the business unit can also request clients to clear
the invoice payments within an agreed timeframe.

ii. Selling the products in foreign currency in order to be able to make imports
of more product
Harare Pfacha has been trying to secure some loans for foreign currency from the
central thogh it was fruitless but however ever since the government allowed firms
to sell their produce in foreign currency ,the firm has been managing to import
more products for sale.

iii. Choosing the most appropriate marketing strategy

The other way to overcome entrepreneurial challenges stated above is choosing
an appropriate marketing strategy. If you want to maximize your return on
investment, then be sure to invest in target marketing as that will definitely lead the
business in the right direction. If the organisation does not have marketers then it’s

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best to outsource a team that can strategize a great marketing plan for the
business unit.

iv. Establishment of nitch markets in order to avoid stiff competition from other
firms
An organization may overcome challenges pertaining to customers by finding
niche markets. Some business units that deal in niche fields or areas where the
awareness levels are low needs to be very passionate and patient; to continuously
use innovative means and ways; to educate and convince the audience of the use
and purpose of the solutions they sell. Through finding niche markets a firm will be
able to avoid competition from very large firms within the industry.

v. Embracing the digital word to be able to secure sales online and not rely on
customer walk ins only
Speaking of innovation, Harare Pfacha needs to embrace the digital world we are
living in and take business to greater heights. There is room for growth by utilizing
online platforms for conducting business transactions with customers apart from
relying on walk in customers. This may result in greater profits to the firm as the
business would be able to secure more customers .

vi. Conducting customer satisfaction surveys in order to grab customers from

other firms in the industry
Continuously conducting a customer satisfaction survey will enable the business to
improve on weak areas and provide goods and services that speak to the customer’s
needs. As a provider of goods and services to customers, the theme or core value
employees should adopt is, “The Customer is king”, hence staff should be trained on
customer care.

In conclusion, all businesses are faced with many challenges which in turn need
entrepreneur who are willing and able to put extra effort in order to register

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success of the business because it is very uncommon to have a business in which
no challenges are faced ,Hence entrepreneur must be prepared to tackle the
challenges.

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