It seems rather obvious to state that people are poor and desperate.
But they are, and in the short term, it is probably only going to get worse.
The economy is in bad shape and no amount of foreign aid or government lip service to the people is going to bail us out. We have sunk too far.
Yet, having said that, all is not lost because as the old saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going.
South Africans are inherently resourceful people and right now we need to dig deep and come up with a plan - by ourselves and for our families and communities.
I can hear many of you asking: well, how do you start a business when you have absolutely nothing to begin with?
If you have a business idea but no clue as to how it will be funded, start with asking family and friends to buy into the concept.
Before you get started, though, it’s important to establish if there is a current market for your idea or a reasonable hope of one in the not-too-distant future, before you get too far down the road.
If, like many, your family and friends don’t have two cents to rub together, then consider approaching the wider community and setting up a cooperation (co-op) agreement.
This could even be bartering skills for shares in the new business venture.
Going beyond your local community, also consider crowd-sourcing - using the internet to reach a much wider and more diverse audience for ideas and/or an exchange of goods and services - to kickstart a project that can generate income.
The point is that clubbing together to share in the ideas and the hard work means that everyone who contributed will benefit.
The shared or communal economy is actually all about making the most of things that are not being used to their full potential and deriving a benefit from them.
Crowd-funding is also gaining more popularity but could be trickier to attract based on a zero-track record and no experience.
Still, for those who are not risk averse, investing in unknown entities can pay big long-term dividends.
Whether pre or post-apartheid, we have all been accustomed to others setting the rules and making decisions for us.
We have, in essence, been disenfranchised from our own lives, despite the constant calls for more “entrepreneurs” to enter the workforce.
I’d like to emphasise that this state of self-disbelief is so not true.
We are all more capable than we have been told or think, even if our initial businesses ideas don’t work out at first.
If you speak to any successful business creator, they will often confirm it took several attempts to get it right.
It is therefore OK to be prepared to fail - if you are prepared to learn from your mistakes.
Great leaders tend to surround themselves with even better people, which then makes their businesses successful and sustainable.
Therefore, in your community and if you are collaborating on a project, be human, be compassionate and have the courage to be real. Build your business on strong relationships, with purpose and the right intent
To further assist in kickstarting South Africa’s economy, Sekunjalo will shortly be launching a dedicated channel aimed at providing as much detailed and practical knowledge and information as possible, that is relevant to the South African operating environment, in order to help entrepreneurs move forward with their businesses and ideas.
The channel will be free to subscribe to.