There will be a number of lessons that you will learn as you begin your journey as an entrepreneur and start your own business. Why not save time and money and learn those lessons now? Here are seven of the most important ones.

You don’t need an endless supply of capital

A certain amount of start-up capital is obviously a must, but that doesn’t mean that you should allow a lack of funds to become an excuse for giving up or neglecting to try in the first place. Rather, let it be an inspiration to continue the journey with even more determination.

It’s ok to have tunnel vision for a while

Don’t focus too much on the ‘big picture’ when you first start out. Instead, focus on striving to take one achievable step at a time.

Focus is everything

You cannot make a success of your business if it is not your top priority.

Don’t go it alone

It is always wise to build a team and to partner with other start-ups and organisations to create more opportunities for growth.

Entrepreneurial societies such as The SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation are the perfect platform to sound out your ideas through interactive workshops and seminars.

Just do it

Often, the most difficult part of starting a business is actually mustering up the courage and the resources to actually, well, start the business. Just do it and, of course, when you do, don’t give up!

Help where you can

Offer to assist other young South African entrepreneurs however and whenever you can – even if it is just to provide them with a helpful piece of advice. Karma is big in the business world, and you can be sure that anyone whom you help now will be happy to return the favour when it is needed in the future. It’s all part of ‘networking’.

Enjoy it

How can you possibly focus and ensure that your business continues to progress unless you absolutely love and believe in what you are doing? Enjoy every step of the journey.

Did you know that the Awaken the Giant in You Grand Finale SA Teen Entrepreneur event took place on October 19th 2019 and placed an emphasis on many of the aforementioned lessons? It was truly magical to see how much our incredible young entrepreneurs have grown since joining our programme!

Our congrats to winners Team Tech Car Wash from Langa and all the other young entrepreneurs who took part in this year’s finale. Here’s to continuous learning and progress going forward.