This article is the second segment of Part 2 of the article titled:”The Desperate Youth of Africa” that appeared in the November 2021 issue of Africa Supreme magazine. The November 2021 article considered the causes and effects of youth unemployment.
Part 2 of the youth unemployment problem offers some solution options in two segments. The first segment of Part 2 appeared in the February 2022 edition of Africa Supreme magazine, providing solution options that could be considered by governments of the continent. The second segment of Part 2 is presented in this magazine edition. This article will focus on the responsibilities and expectations from the youth themselves in terms of job creation.
Individuals and Youth Group Business Initiatives
The youth, from ages 16-30, have energy and therefore constitute the population sector that should be able, with greater education and training, significantly increase production of high-value goods and services in order to increase the growth of the economies of their countries. The youth, as individuals, or in groups, should be able to create their own jobs, and increase their own revenue and profits, to be able to live more meaningful lives, provide jobs for other youth and also help in the development of their countries.
Businesses in Africa
Most large businesses in Africa are owned or headed by non-Africans. Consequently, the economies of most African countries are still dependent on foreign or overseas companies and investors. The reason for this situation is that African entrepreneurs have not trained themselves adequately in business management, financial principles and basic marketing practices. Capital is important, but the knowledge, the skill and the character of the entrepreneur are more important. Most businesses in Africa are still medium, small or micro enterprises. This indicates that African business people are either afraid of growing bigger into larger businesses or are not capable of creating larger limited liability companies. There is also the fear among African business persons that as their business grows larger, political problems and internal problems of management and embezzlement become larger.
However, the indication is that there is large space existing presently on the African continent for the creation and growth of large, indigenous, private African businesses. We should note that private sector business is the commonest and most important form of business in the world today. It is private sector business that moves the economies of most countries of the world in terms of revenue generation and private income; in the provision of job opportunities; and in terms of tax contribution to respective national economies.
Types of Businesses
The youth are in an age of rapid scientific and economic changes with a lot of information floating around almost every minute in these times. Young men and women naturally therefore develop wider span of interests. The first step in entering business is to select the type of business in which one is interested and in which one has some ability. Interest comes first; ability or some level of ability in the business comes second.
Types of businesses one could consider include the following:
Agriculture: Crop production, animal rearing, fish farming and sea fishing
Agro-processing
Meat and Fish cleaning, slicing and packaging for local and export markets
Waste plastics
ICT
Medical and Health businesses
Engineering businesses
Fashion: Dress making etc
Jewelry
Paper Craft
The Business Selection Group
There are indeed many types of businesses one could consider. For this reason, it will be important for a person to work in a group. One could choose their business with the help of family or close friend, and sometimes, by the person himself or herself acting alone. However, it is sometimes more helpful to choose a business area working together in a group.
Brain storming and mind linking
Every month and every year, new products and new manufacturing processes come out of Europe, America and China. All these products and processes come out of the minds of individuals and groups of individuals. The process of deep thinking to come out with a new product is something that is rare on this African continent; and this is precisely why we keep on importing deodorant, toilet brush and all sorts of items that could easily be manufactured in the countries of the continent. Youth Brain Storming - Photo by Monstera from PexelsThinking together in a group to come out with a new idea or new product is generally called “brain storming.” A brain storming session could generate a lot of new ideas. Taking one idea and developing it further is a process called Mind Linking process. Group work is useful because a group consists of people who have similar interests, but who also have:
Diverse skills and talents
Different levels of imagination and creative thinking
It is this similarity and diversity that helps a group to come out with more useful ideas and processes.
Let us suppose a group selected “agro-processing” as their area of business interest. The group should consider a crop in agro-processing that has multiple products and will therefore provide multiple sources of income. Agro-processing products come from agricultural crops. The group could consider cassava (manioc, as it is also called) for example, or any other crop of their interest. A crop that can provide multiple products has higher revenue generation capacity. After selecting the crop, the group can go ahead and list some of the end-products of cassava processing.
Business selection criteria
An individual or a group involved in selecting a business area and the product or services of that business, should be guided by the following selection criteria:
Whether the product has only one use or multiple uses
(i) Whether the product or service is provided by many businesses in the country, in the intended neighbourhood or community; (ii) Whether the product or service is provided by only a few businesses in the country or in the community. (iii) Whether the intended product is presently not provided by any business in the country or in the community.
Whether the intended price of the product or service will be affordable to a fairly large segment of the market.
Types of business entities
There are essentially three types of business entities. These are
Proprietor business
Partnership business
Limited liability business
Proprietor business
The proprietor business is also referred to as “sole trader” business. As the name implies, this business type is formed by one person who then becomes the proprietor of the business. The advantage of this type of business is that the proprietor takes all the profits of the business if the business makes money. The disadvantages are that the proprietor has the problem of shouldering all the following responsibilities by themselves alone:
Planning the business set-up
Looking for start-up capital
Finding suitable place to rent for the business
Employing workers for the business
Personally purchasing all needed materials for the business
Supervising and managing the business
Taking personal responsibility for all relations with the banks
These are just a few of the responsibilities of the proprietor.
Partnership business
A partnership business can be formed by two or more persons. Each of the persons in the partnership is expected to contribute financially for their percentage share of the capital of the business; and to be paid the equivalent percentage of the profits of the partnership.
Sleeping partners: All partners are expected to give equal time and effort to the activities of the partnership. One or two partners could however, decide to become sleeping partners who in this case will not take part in the running of the business. Those who operate and manage the partnership are paid salaries or allowances. All partners are expected to attend the meetings of the partnership.
Limited Liability companies
There are two types of limited liability companies. One is the private limited liability company and the other is the public limited liability company. A private limited liability company, that is,
a private sector limited liability company can be formed with two up to fifty members. The public sector limited liability company consists of minimum seven members up to infinite number of members.
Limited liability companies are the only form of business that are permitted to use the terms “Company” and “Limited” or “Ltd” in the name of their business.
Members in both types of limited liability companies buy shares in the company to become shareholders and members of the company, and are entitled to be paid dividends according to the percentage of their shares when the company makes profits.
Limited liability companies are legal entities separate from their owners or shareholders. For example, Oak Leaf Company Ltd is a private company owned by Cynthia, Esther, Olembo, Macharia and four others. Oak Leaf can be sued in court when the company defaults in a transaction. The eight owners of the company are personally not liable for any defaults or misdemeanors of the company.
A shareholder, on the other hand, is required to pay the amount of money that is outstanding on the cost of their share when the company falls into debt. Let’s say, Hajia purchased 5% share in Oak Leaf Company Ltd for the equivalent of 300 US dollars. At the time of purchasing her shares, she paid the equivalent of 200 US dollars. In the fifth year of business, Oak Leaf made a loss of 500,000 US dollars and had to pay this amount to its bankers.
All shareholders in Oak Leaf Ltd are expected to contribute to the payment of this debt to the bank. Hajia paid 200 US dollars for her 5% share with 100 US dollars outstanding on her shares. In a limited liability company, Hajia’s obligation toward payment of the 500,000 dollars debt is limited only to the amount of money she has not paid for her 5% share. Hajia’s liability toward the payment of the 500,000 dollars debt is limited only to the extent of the amount she has still not paid for her 5% share in the company. Hajia will have to pay only 100 US dollars toward the settlement of the total debt. This means that only share holders who have not paid for their shares in full, will be required to pay the outstanding amount on their shares toward settlement of the company’s debt. This is the major benefit of buying shares in Ltd companies.
There are different types of shares in private and public limited liability companies. Interested persons in company formation are encouraged to read from relevant books and sources for information on the structure and types of company shares.
Limited liability companies are vital for the growth of economies. They have the capacity to raise large business loans from the banks for bigger business projects and are consequently more able to offer greater job opportunities for the youth. Public limited liability companies generally start as private limited liability companies before going public and becoming public limited liability companies. Unlike private limited liability companies, public limited liability companies are able to raise large amounts of capital directly from the public.
It is hoped that the youth who may go into business as proprietors will gradually come together with other youth firms to form larger limited liability companies; growing into public limited liability companies, raising more capital, increasing their annual revenue and net income, and providing more jobs for the coming youth of the continent.
Entrepreneurship
Every profession or career has its required knowledge, skills and behavior characteristics. An entrepreneur is in business to make profit. To be able to set up a business that will make profits, the entrepreneur is expected to have certain types of knowledge, skills and personality characteristics. The combination of expected knowledge, skills and personality characteristics of the entrepreneur has been called “Entrepreneurial Intelligence.” The components of this intelligence are discussed as follows:
The entrepreneur is considered a risk taker because he or she will invest their money to start a business not absolutely sure that they will make enough money to cover their investment and also make a profit. To avoid situations like this, many people rather prefer to seek government jobs and jobs in the informal sector where they will be sure of their salaries and allowances at the end of each month.
A determined and persistent person
Being determined and persistent are two different things. A person may be determined but not take continuous action to reach their goal. Persistent people never give up. They focus on the problem or objective every day and at every chance. It takes determination and persistence together to achieve success.
Operates under a sense of urgency
Besides the attributes of determination and persistence, a successful entrepreneur has the sense of urgency as part of their character. An entrepreneur will follow up a hot business tip within minutes or hours, while many other people would not even give the tip a thought.
Mr. Akorsah listened to Fred, his long-time friend who had returned after more than ten years work with a small internal airline company in one of the states in America. Fred said the large well known American airlines made a lot of money; but the smaller internal companies also did well financially.
A month later when Fred visited Akorsah again at the Akorsah Hotel, Akorsah told Fred that he had gone to the Civil Aviation Department to seek information on whether they had any knowledge of any new company that was interested in establishing an Inter-African airline. He was told that a new company was being established in Egypt for flights between North Africa, Western Africa and Eastern African countries. Akorsah obtained the telephone number of this new company, talked to one of the officials of the company and a week later was on his way to Egypt.
Akorsah’s discussion with the head of the new airline in Egypt was fruitful. He purchased a sizeable percentage share in the new company and was designated as the Board Chairman of of the airline’s branch company in Akorsah’s country, pending other formalities such as company registration, landing rights application and other related issues being handled by the Ministry of Transport. pexels-ketut-subiyanto-4559600.jpg184.78 KB
Akorsah further said that he intended to purchase a building fairly close to the airport area to serve as a guest house for travelers who would have to sleep one night in the airport area before continuing to their destinations. He had also contacted car sales companies to find out if he could get good saloon cars, at reasonable prices and purchasing conditions, for establishing a car hiring company that would provide transportation for airline passengers and other interested persons to their destinations.
Fred was shocked at the speed with which Akorsah had acted and achieved in just four weeks. He was shocked by the sense of urgency with which Akorsah had tackled and achieved four separate but related projects within a short period of time. Because of their sense of urgency in business matters, successful business people are referred to as “Go-Getters.” They do not wait for things to happen. They make things happen.
A continuous learner
Successful entrepreneurs are continuous learners. They periodically attend seminars or workshops organised by public and private institutions in the towns and cities where they work. Some entrepreneurs may occasionally travel overseas for a series of seminars on some important business topics. Many successful business persons are not necessarily university graduates. But that is not the issue. They have higher entrepreneurial intelligence and practical business experiences than most other people. The issue for them is to keep on acquiring more relevant knowledge on issues and topics concerning business management, marketing and other critical topics on business growth and development.
With the vast knowledge they acquire from attending seminars and workshops, they gradually develop business expertise far greater in depth and in practice than most university degree holders.
Has good business knowledge
To be successful in business, the entrepreneur should acquire good knowledge in the following learning areas:
Basic accounting (Book-Keeping, Banking and Understanding of Financial Reports)
Marketing
Basic knowledge of contract law
Computer usage and internet knowledge and applications
Very good to excellent knowledge of the product or service being offered by their firm
A successful entrepreneur should, as much as possible, have advisors from the following group:
A banker
A lawyer (especially a corporate lawyer)
A successful business person
Has wider reality
A successful entrepreneur has wider reality than most people especially most other business persons. A lot of the countries in Africa depend on a few export products. An efficient entrepreneur goes from one business venture into a second venture in the next four years; into a third venture, and into a fourth venture within a period of ten years. It is possible to do all of this by frequent re-training of managers of the sectors of each of their businesses, and by their own continuous learning and expansion in their vision and reality.
If we go back to Akorsah, we realise that if things go well, Akorsah’s reality, that is, his vision of business and life would have expanded from one hotel to two hotels, shareholder and board chairman of an airline, a car hiring company and a tour company in a matter of four years.
Successful business people always try to have two or more businesses going. This is important because when the market for one business begins to slow down, they can then fall on the other for their income and survival. They may set up two or three different businesses or alternatively, set up one, two or three branches of the same business in selected parts of a city or in different parts of the country.
Makes friends easily
Every business needs clients. It is clients, customers, or patrons who purchase the products and services of a business. Successful entrepreneurs meet a lot of people in the course of their work and consequently acquire many friends and acquaintances. Many of them tend to make friends easily and also appreciate friendship.
Is a cautious person
While being a friendly person, the successful business person is also cautious about the type of people they meet. In one of his books, Brian Tracy, citing an advice from a past American billionaire, says that a business person “must keep their ears open and their mouth shut.” Brian Tracy continues that every new business idea you have should make you some profit. When you talk too much, the best business idea you have conceived could reach 15 people in less than two weeks by the grapevine. One of the 15 people could put your best idea into business production within the next six months. By the end of two years when you have been able to raise the capital to set up a business on your idea, you will become a second, third or forth competitor to the one who obtained your idea from the grapevine and acted quickly. The originator of the idea now becomes a competitor, fighting for attention and survival. Listen more but talk less. Be cautious.
Goal setting
After selecting the business area and the product or service to be provided, and after the individual has decided to operate as a proprietor, in partnership, or in a limited liability company, the individual or group should then write down the goals of the intended business.
Characteristics of goals
Goals must
Be specific
Be stated in the past tense, covering production targets and periods of production
Be set to include the expected number of clients at different points in time, especially in the case of services, and the expected revenue at different specified times’
Example
20 tons of corn powder produced every month at selling price of 100 US dollars per ton
Goals must be created for all important sectors of the business: Production volume per day, per month etc; Marketing, covering expected number of clients at specific points; Finance, revenue and net income at each financial period.
Marketing
It is marketing that brings business products or services to the attention of the public. Marketing must therefore be pursued rigorously by radio, newspaper adverts, by efficient customer service and by TV as finances will allow.
The Rainmaker
A rainmaker is generally a person who has wide social connections and sometimes also has political connections and is therefore in a position to introduce a firm to their friends, heads of organizations and institutions and hence help to bring more customers or clients to a firm. A rainmaker could be one of the employees of your firm, but could also be a person working in a different firm. If such a person works with your firm, management could develop a financial package for this person, possibly based on the number of new clients he/she brings to the firm; or more importantly, based on the level and volume of business he/she brings to the firm. The same principle applies if the identified rainmaker works in a different organization: the package should be tied to the volume of business he/she will bring to the firm. Apart from this condition, management can also think of other perks such as payment for a vacation trip once a year for the rainmaker and their family etc.
Start-up costs and profit calculations
Depending on how a person may wish to start in business, whether as a proprietor business, partnership, or limited liability company, that is after selecting the business area, the market niche, and after setting the goals of the business, the individual or group should then write the costs for starting the business. Business costs are classified into two categories: Development Costs and Operating Costs. Sometimes there are also Pre-Operating Costs depending on the nature of the business.
Development Cost
Development cost consists of the following:
Machinery, including computers and computer accessories (and fridges and cookers if it’s a cooking or restaurant business etc.)
Office or Workshop Equipment: Such as working tools, fans and other appliances
Shop or Office Furniture: Tables and chairs etc
Pre-Operating Cost
This involves costs of basic preparations and items that should be procured or obtained before start of the business. Some of these costs are:
Rent payment
Premises painting (as becomes necessary to suit the image of the business etc)
Cost for installation of lights and other electrical items as becomes necessary
Cost of sign boards
Operating Cost
This includes costs incurred on daily, monthly or on regular bases:
Monthly payment for utilities: water and electricity
Cost of consumables: fuel including gas, stationery etc
Cost of transportation per month and phone calls per month (Itemize these separately)
Marketing and Advertising costs
Staff payroll
Payment for annual research and evaluation of products’ market performance
Monthly depreciation costs for Development Cost items: machinery, equipment and furniture
Legal consultation fees
Summary of Business Investment Cost will look as follows: Summary of Business Investment CostFor calculating the total investment cost, the pre-operational cost is added to the operational cost to form one cost item and added to the developmental cost.
Note:
Salaries: Plan salary payments for at least one year
Add at least 6 months operating cost to the investment budget
Add 15% contingency to the yearly budget
Profit calculation
Keep record of each day’s sales and expenses. At the end of each week of the month, add together the sales amount for the week, then put together the sales amount for each week to obtain the month’s sales revenue.
Second, to obtain the month’s total operating cost, add together the following items: Staff payroll and allowances; shop or office administrative cost i.e., electricity, water, telephone costs; transportation expense; cost of adverts if any; depreciation charge for the machinery. From the total revenue for the month, deduct the month’s total operating expense.
Third, deduct any loan and interest for the month from the total revenue after deducting the month’s operating cost.
Fourth, deduct income tax payment from the remaining total revenue amount.
The remaining amount after the above deductions is the profit after tax of the business.
You could show your budget and profit calculations to an accountant to help you make any corrections. You can also ask a business consultant to prepare the investment budget and monthly profit and loss calculations for you. Consultancy costs are high and as a start-up you should keep your costs low. Whichever line you choose, you must spend some time to find out the market costs for all the items you need in order to be able to obtain an idea of your total investment cost, apart from the costs of supporting services such as advice from an accountant or a business consultant.
Where to obtain business capital
It is very difficult for the average person to acquire enough capital to start a business. Credit Unions exist in many organizations and in the churches and these sell shares to their members. Credit Unions are, therefore, a primary source for lending money to their members. Young men and women are therefore advised to purchase shares in some of the available Credit Unions in their communities. Besides, credit unions, Producer Cooperative Unions and
Marketing Cooperative Unions also sell shares to their members. Governments, in some cases, have avenues for lending money to medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs). Ghana for example has the publicly funded Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) and the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) for lending start-up money for small scale enterprises.
Besides MASLOC and NBSSI which provide start-up funds for medium and small scale businesses, there is the publicly funded Venture Capital that provides business start-up funds for medium and fairly large businesses.
It is most likely that many governments on the continent have similar financial institutions for lending start-up funds to medium and small scale enterprises. Banks lend money mainly to on-going businesses and generally do not lend to start-ups. Banks nonetheless, may periodically advertise start-up funds they have made available for small scale businesses. Aspiring youth entrepreneurs should therefore read the newspapers and also check with the banks periodically and with Venture Capital institutions, where these exist, for such start-up financial support programmes.
Besides the above sources, there are funding sources from some of the embassies in various countries, private funding agencies possibly in many African countries, and international funding sources which readers could investigate.
An African Project Development Facility for Small Scale Entrepreneurs was established by the World Bank sometime ago. It’s not clear whether the facility still exists. However, interested entrepreneurs could check with the World Bank office in their country to find out whether the facility still exists and ways for applying for the facility.
In many of such cases, the borrower will be expected to write a proposal and a repayment plan. Making start-up funds available for medium and small scale businesses however, remains as the most difficult and yet the vital spring board for the growth of businesses on this continent.
Business risks and failures
Business risks
Business risks include changes in weather conditions, taxes, unfavourable government policies, and internal problems such as embezzlement of funds by an employee or officer, wastage and pilfering of business resources, waste in fuel usage and a number of other risks that an entrepreneur may face at some points in their business career. A summary of business risks is as follows:
Weather changes
Government and municipal taxes
Currency depreciation
Changes in government policies affecting business
Embezzlement of funds by some employees
Pilfering of company’s resources by employees; stationery, pins, food etc
Wastage of company resources such as vehicles and fuel
Stealing of production materials by some staff: textiles, food items etc
On the issue of weather changes, we take an example from the fishing industry. The fishing industry has, for more than hundred years, suffered from periodic warm currents called El Nino that negatively affect fish catch. At times when el nino becomes severe, many fishing companies lay-off their boats and some even sell off their boats. Still, determined business persons make good profits from the fishing business.
Another example of weather changes is the global warming that began from the time of the first industrial revolution (1750-1850), reaching its severe stages from the 1990s. The effects of global warming throughout the last three decades include severe winter temperatures, wild fires, rising sea temperatures, floods, and loss of beaches in many coastal areas of the world, Weather changes mostly affect fishing and crop production directly. The remaining seven listed risks could affect any type of business.
Business failures
Success in business depends on a number of factors. These factors include knowledge, skill and the personal character of the entrepreneur. There are many books one can read to acquire knowledge and some skills in business. But the ultimate learning in business is acquired when you set up a business, run it and fail a couple of times. Some of the people who have become billionaires in business emphasize that to be successful in business one has to fail a couple of times. You learn something new each time your business fails. After two or three failures, you would have acquired the practical do’s and don’ts of business. You learn from the hard knocks of business failure. You would have lost money through fraud. You would have experienced high and crippling tax payments and many other challenges that put many entrepreneurs out of business.
Never give up when you fail the first or second time. Make sure to take each failure as a lesson and learn from it. There is no book on how to become successful in business. Learn from business failures to acquire business experience. Business failure comes mostly from the actions and inactions of people, and sometimes from the character of the entrepreneur. Be very cautious when dealing with people especially in matters involving money.
Dealing with risks and general business problems
The human mind works together with the brain. The mind itself has been classified into 3-7 levels of consciousness, and in some cases more than 7 levels of consciousness, depending on the religion, psychological and philosophical background of the practitioner. The seven states are: Subconsciousness; Preconsciousness; Consciousness; Super-consciousness; Cosmic consciousness; Unity consciousness; Divine consciousness.
The normal individual goes through the first three levels of consciousness on daily basis. With the necessary training, a person could attain the super-conscious level where they would develop above normal abilities. This article deals with the subconscious mind, the conscious mind and the super-conscious mind. Readers who would wish to learn more about super-consciousness and the other higher levels are encouraged to seek advice from appropriate sources.
The Subconscious Mind
The subconscious mind is where we store all our thoughts: all the information we obtained ten years ago; the good or bad news we received last week and many other information and data. The subconscious mind is, in this case, like the Hard Drive of the computer on which we store all our files.
The Conscious Mind
The conscious mind is the active mind which picks information including working formulas, principles and data from the subconscious mind and processes such information to help us go through the activities of the day. Our daily lives depend on the processes of the conscious mind. The conscious mind, in this way, acts just as the RAM of the computer. At the end of the day when one closes the eyes to sleep, all the information from the day’s activities will go into the subconscious mind for storage.
The Super-conscious Mind
The super-conscious mind on the other hand, is the mind that provides answers to some of the difficult problems one may face at work and in the process of living. The super-conscious mind will provide an answer to a problem or challenge that you have been facing over the past month or two. It will retrieve information that has been kept in the depths of the subconscious mind for several years and has consequently been forgotten. It will retrieve this information at the time the information is most needed.
Depending on the level of super-consciousness a person possesses, the person may sometimes, in a dream, receive information on a matter or event the person has absolutely never known before, but that will occur in the person’s own life; in the life of a relative or in the life of a friend. The event in this information may take place tomorrow; in a month’s time, in five years, or in ten years from the date of the dream. No datelines are given in the dream; but the person will recognize the event when it occurs from the manifestations that the event brings with it.
The event and manifestations of the super-conscious mind generally take place at times when one least expects it; in a dream at night; in the early morning when one is half awake; just when one comes out of bed, or at daytime when one is alone in a quiet and relaxed environment. In a classic example, a renowned German chemist called Kekulé (1829-1896) was struggling to find the structure of the Benzene Ring in the years 1861-62 when, as he was dozing on one of those days, he dreamt of a snake biting its own tail. From that dream, Kekulé deduced that carbon can form long chains by linking with itself in rings. The interpretation of the dream in practical terms revealed the structure of the benzene ring.
Universal mind and soul travel
Some call the super-conscious mind “Universal Mind”; some refer to it as the “God part” in the human being, or as the “higher self”. The activities and solutions to problems of life that one may realize in dreams and in meditations have been referred to as “Astral Projection” by some sectors of thought. The Eckankar Religious Group particularly talk about astral projection and soul travel as similar experiences of the soul leaving the physical body for blissful “travel in other spiritual planes.” The Eckankar Group also defines soul travel as “tapping into your own divine intelligence.”
Astral projection beginning with prayers, meditation and spiritual recitations before the soul leaves the physical body for its spiritual travels is a deep and interesting subject of study. Our interest presently, is the Eckankar statement on “divine intelligence” which is similar, if not the same as the super-conscious mind, or possible reference to higher levels of consciousness.
Notable creative minds
The gifts of nature are not equally distributed among all people of the world. We can therefore deduce that the super-conscious mind will differ in magnitude from person to person in all cultures. For persons with high super-conscious mind, the solution to a problem that may come to mind in a dream or in some other medium would be the complete picture or the complete answer. In a lot of cases, the owner of the dream will have to develop the interpretation of the dream by himself or herself. At other times, a dream will have to be interpreted for the dreamer by an experienced and gifted person.
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)
Tesla, the Serbian-American Electrical Engineer, inventor and poet, was said to have had “remarkable imagination and creativity.” Tesla’s concept of Alternating Current (AC) in the mid 1880s was complete from beginning to the end. He never hesitated about anything nor doubted the correctness of any step in the manufacturing and implementation process of AC. His inventive mind saw every little aspect of the process in his mind’s eye. Was it super-consciousness at work, or that Tesla was a pure genius? Tesla had a number of inventions and was also one of the pioneers of Wi-Fi technology, the remote control technology and others.
Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
Thomas Edison was imaginative as a child but had a hearing problem and had to leave school early in life. At home, his mother took up the challenge of teaching her son. The child liked scientific books; and read a lot in science in his childhood days. Edison, the person who had very little formal education, is credited with 1093 inventions for scientific and industrial production. His work included inventions in electricity, the incandescent light bulb, the microphone, the phonogram, the audio system for the movie industry and many others. It is said that he usually took several naps during each working day.
Dr. Larry Dossey (1940)
Dr. Larry Dossey, an American physician, for many years in his working life extensively studied the relationship between the body and mind in many sickness situations and came to the conclusion that the mind exerts great power in the healing process of patients suffering from many life-threatening sicknesses. In one of his books, he writes that patients who believed that their situation was hopeless and that they would die; would die. On the other hand, patients who believed that they would live; would live. It’s all a matter of negative mindset or positive mindset. From his conclusions, based on observations and research, he advocates that prayer should be part of the healing process. Books written by Dr. Dossey include the following: Space, Time and Medicine (1982); Beyond Illness (1984); Recovering the Soul (1989); Meaning and Medicine (1991); Prayer Is Good Medicine (1996).
Engaging the super-conscious mind
The super-conscious mind acts independently and at unpredictable times. This indicates that the relationship between the super-conscious mind and both the subconscious and the conscious minds, is not automatic.
To be useful to human life, the super-conscious mind has to be specifically called upon or engaged to provide an answer to difficulties and challenges. Because of its unpredictable nature, one has to set aside some time to specifically tap into one’s divine intelligence to solve a problem, provide some information or provide answers to some problem within the time such answers are needed. What the super conscious mind needs secondly, and as said already, is quietness and solitude. Kekulé for instance, was probably not aware that he was tapping into his super-conscious mind when he kept the problem of benzene rings constantly in his mind and when he unconsciously engaged in the second element of sleep and quietness at the time he was dozing.
The general atmosphere for the manifestations of the super-conscious mind is an atmosphere of calmness; an atmosphere of solitude; and an atmosphere in which speech and sight are not necessary.
To tap into this “divine intelligence” to respond to your request, first relax your body and mind; then quietly verbalize and visualize the problem; third, state the request or challenges you have. Talk about the problem and visualize it for some 5 minutes before you sleep at night. Repeat the same process in the morning when you get out of bed. For those who are prayerful, first say your prayers and then make your request in positive terms. Depending on the level of super-consciousness you possess and the complexity of the problem or request, the answer will come sometimes in just a day, a week, after some weeks or months in a dream or at a time when you are alone and in a relaxed environment.
Engaging the super-conscious mind is just like engaging the helping gear of a four-wheel vehicle. There is an English injunction which says “Go and sleep on it.” It is the same thing. Giving a problem a thought before you sleep triggers the action of the super-conscious mind, your mental helping gear.
The super-conscious mind is a much higher form of imagination which almost everybody possesses to some degree. In an interview for the “The Saturday Evening Post” of October 1929 in the USA, Albert Einstein (1879-1955), one of the greatest physicists and thinkers of his time said: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination enriches the world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”
In an internet article on “What is the Super-conscious Mind?” Gillian Dalgliesh writes as follows:
The super-conscious mind is where ideas for truly great works of art, music, prose, poetry, great scientific discoveries, and deep spiritual experiences are found. Profound healing of ailments can also take place in this state.
The action of the super-conscious mind is not magic, and it is not satanic. The super-conscious mind is never negative. It is a positive phenomenon and is available to people of all races. Unfortunately, not many people are aware of its existence. Many of those who know the power of the super-conscious mind hardly use it. It works only on positive requests. All you have to do for positive growth in your planning and in your business is to keep your super-conscious mind active and your dreams alive. Bear in mind, that the super-conscious mind is an important auxiliary gear, and is not a substitute for effective planning, action and determination in life and in business.
A summary of some of the characteristics of the super-conscious mind is as follows:
It provides new, valuable and unexpected information at unpredictable times in the life of a person, that is, where the person possesses some amount of super-consciousness.
It can be engaged specifically to provide an answer to a problem or some challenges.
For persons who possess greater levels of super-consciousness, their everyday life is carried out in a sphere of creativity: constant inventions, new tenets and new philosophies. These are the creative heroes and heroines of the past and the present whose ideas keep shaping and reshaping the world.
Evaluation, Refinement and Standards
Product Evaluation
Evaluation is the process of collecting feedback information from clients and other persons who use the products or services of a firm, and using this feedback information for assessing the performance of the firm’s products or services in the market in which the firm operates.
Product evaluation is carried out by sending out a questionnaire to clients asking for responses on the strengths and weaknesses of the firm’s product(s) or services. Respondents are required to be frank in their responses. As part of the questionnaire, the firm should also require respondents to provide recommendations for improving the firm’s product or service. Evaluation may also be carried out through interviewing a sample of the firm’s clients for their views on the quality of the firm’s products or services. Product evaluation data is analysed to provide information for refining the firm’s products or services.
Product Refinement
Product refinement is the process of using the results obtained from the analysis of a firm’s evaluation data for improving the quality of the firm’s products or services. As the business goes through one year, two years and on, one should expect to see improvement in the quality of the firm’s products and services. Processes and products must all go through refinement at least once every year.
Maintaining Product/Service Standards
In the restaurant business for instance, the taste, the flavor and the amount of ingredients used in the preparation of the different dishes must be standardized. The amount of flour used, the amount of spices, the level of cooking heat etc must all be closely monitored, weighed, or calculated to maintain the standards of the firm. Each product must go through specified processes to achieve the firm’s product quality standards.
Quality Control
Generally, quality control comes at the end of product manufacturing or at the last point of service delivery. In a shirt manufacturing company for example, the quality control team will check each of the shirts produced in the day to identify shirts that are defective in one way or the other, and remove such shirts from the day’s production. Such defective shirts, or in the case of a shoe factory, defective shoes, are not allowed to enter the market since they will obviously damage the image of the firm. Defective items are generally sold at rock-bottom prices or given off freely to charities and orphanages.
Quality control in the restaurant business requires that an appointed person or persons who have good taste, will taste a sample of the food prepared for the day before being served to customers. In the hotel business, quality control is carried out by hiring a person who is not known to the hotel staff to stay in the hotel for possible five days, or some specified number of days, sleeping in the hotel, taking note of issues on cleanliness; service quality in the rooms, in the hotel restaurant, and in other aspects where the hotel management may require, and give a report to management for their attention and redress. Quality control is of vital necessity in almost every business. It ensures that the firm will maintain its product standards, and secondly, put its best foot forward in the market place.
Mentoring teams
It will be important for a youth entrepreneur or a group of youth entrepreneurs to have a mentor; an older business person who will provide the younger entrepreneurs with advice as and when needed. The mentor will share their experiences with the entrepreneurs and help them grow faster in experience and in quality standards.
Conclusion
Lastly, your business life has to come to an end of some point. In the early part of your business life you should therefore make a decision on what you wish to accomplish in your working lifetime, and make another decision by the age of 60 on when you wish to retire and hand over to the younger generation. You can’t do it all. You have to hand over at some point; get off the fast lane and get into something else that is more suitable for a person over 65 or 70. It all depends on the strength and ambition of a person nonetheless. A third decision concerns how you wish to distribute the money you have made in your working life. There are two models from which we could develop a third (Model C) for consideration. decision concerns how you wish to distribute the money you have made in your working lifeNotes:
Close family refers to nuclear family, including siblings in many cases
Educational Institutions include mainly secondary school attended, tertiary institutions other post-secondary training institutions
National Institutions include libraries, museums, churches,
Associations and Clubs: These consist of the associations and clubs which wholeheartedly support the causes and interests of the person handing over part of their wealth or assets.
Foundations or Trusts: These are mainly family trusts and foundations set up to offer scholarships, training programmes support, support for needy persons, and regions of the country etc.
Model B transfers a lot of wealth to close family because the model consists of cultures with largely business orientation and inherited wealth therefore mainly goes to accelerate the growth of family businesses. Model C spreads the entrepreneur’s wealth fairly evenly across all five sectors. The problem with Model C will arise where headship of the foundation or trust becomes corrupt. However, consider the chart above to help you make your decisions on distribution of wealth and inheritance. Live a good, active and fruitful life. Make sure you are well organised in your business and in your personal life as preparation for smooth take-over when the time comes.
Brian Tracy: Create Your Own Future, published by Evang. S. Ijeh, Oshodi, Lagos, Nigeria, 2002
Brian Tracy: No Excuses - The Power of Self-Discipline, Beulaland publications, Edo State, Nigeria, 2011
Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon Lechter: Cash Flow Quadrant; Warner Brothers in association with Cash Flow Technologies, New York, N.Y. 10020, 2000
Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon Lechter: Retire Young Retire Rich; Warner Brothers in association with Cash Flow Technologies, New York, N.Y. 10020, 2005
Shiv Khera: You Can Win, New Dawn Press Group; Berkshire, SLI-2TB, UK, 2004
