1. Entrepreneurship—My Experience 24th
October 2015-MBA
Class @ Makerere University Kampala
Start up and Managing Sustainably!
It’s not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that
matters .Paul Bryant.
Our task is to read things that are not on the page yet! Customers need to hear from you
on what is needed, not what they want because what they want may have shortcoming!
Steve Jobs
Start up:-
a) Seize the opportunity:- Bitatule with MTN, Bill Gates & the Silicon Valley Evolution.
b) Follow your Passion: - You are likely to succeed where your passion is.
c) Factors of Productions & Cash Capital: - Capital has moved beyond cash capital. Land
has moved from physical land to other forms like virtual land-aka Internet, (Shopping on
line is a good example. Labor has moved to Human Resources than the original physical
labor. One can outsource a call center from India to Attend to the Uganda Market. We
are now looking at brain power than the historical physical power. From experience, I
have come to believe thatis never the several form factors of production especially
Cash Capital but good idea conceived. New factors of production are at play than
the traditional forms. Let us not be discouraged.
d) 10,000 Hours of trial: - Several authors have come up with traits of good entrepreneurs
(High risk appetite being core), others dispute this theory! From experience, I tend to
believe in the 10,000 hours of trial before succeeding in any field. Bill Gates is regarded
as school dropout, but he had put in a lot of time around the Silicon Valley and he had
a lot of experience to tap from. The knowledge he had accumulated over the years
surpassed that of a university graduate in the field he had interest in. The successful
entrepreneurs that we see are a final product of several years of trials. You better start
now! When do you start?
e) Do the usual things but try and do them differently! Innovate within the known
parameters! Avoid high end since you still need a certification from abroad! Yoursuccess
will be based on someone’s thinking about your innovation.
f) Stand Out: Using basic things like better writes up, colored paper and dress code.
Composition of your team when you go for a sales pitch matters.
g) Get out of the comfort zone. Stop aiming low (You can do more and you can be better!
It gives birth to a new you/ a better you. Focus on the outcome please. It can gives you
that extra push you need. Why do you wake up in the morning? Big Question! Life is a
fight for territory. If you do what is easy, your life will be hard. If you do what is hard,
your life will be easy.
h) Sturdy how high achievers have done it. (Bill gates, Obama himself, Virgin Islands
chap). Do a book at least every month. I chose not to listen to radio, I prefer an audio
book instead.

2. i) Come up with a Product for the People: KFC, Plastic shoes, toilet paper, water and
more! Aristoc is another example! You will never have anyone to bribe for a job!
j) Focus Company! Very crucial. We started off wanting to be Balton Uganda because it
offers a wide portfolio of products!
Available Opportunities at the moment:-
a) The Leisure Industry (Conference centers, swimming pools, football pitches and any
other thing that touches the body needs of a person and lifestyle)
b) Schools especially the tender aged category when you are starting is a good idea.
Toddlers will never strike and break property, they can only cry!
c) Value addition in the animal sector (Cow fattening)
d) Public speaking and couching for those that have the talent.
e) Warehousing in Uganda at the moment.
Managing:-
a) Financing (Common mistakes):- Picking up short term facilities to do long term projects
is a wrong thing! A bank loan for business should never be diverted to build structures.
The assumption is it is a short term loan and thus, the money cycle should be very fast
to be able to pay up. There financing opportunities available like invoice financing and
more. The bankers can take you through some of these products but be on the lookout.
b) Government & Business: - Appreciated that Government is a secret share holder. In
most companies it is actually the biggest shareholding entity! Cop Tax standing at 30%
of your annual profits at the moment. Sign up and pay up!
c) Outsource & Internship: - Outsource as much as you can all aspects that are not core
to the business (Accounting, HR,). A team is also as good as its weakest member! Look
out for the best in society. Internship is a good recruiting exercise.
d) Manage the company image (change your behaviors). Silence is golden. Going through
your thing unnoticed is golden. The richer tend to be calmer and more behaved than
the rest of us, especially if they have worked for it.
e) Have a distinguished culture and lead by example. We do Jeans on a daily-and that
defines us to a great extent! We are Technical Company and we try to reflect just that.
f) Deliver at all costs: - At Teltec we chose to stop adverting but try and deliver a quality
product. Any added cost is treated as a marketing aspect. We rather not make a profit
but leave the customer satisfied. At times we fail, because we deliver using human
beings and not programmable robots.
g) Chose a market Segment to satisfy (Low end, mind or High end)! Apple in the US chose
high end and they succeed! We chose the high end part of the market and we tailor our
marketing, writing and stocking to satisfy only that market! We burnt our figures in
trying to work for everyone!
h) FDI & Local Market—never look elsewhere until you have satisfied the local market.
We were Southern Sudan and burnt our figures! Aim at satisfying the local market first.
i) Stock and Supervision: - What you can’t supervise, never attempt to do.

3. j) Wages and Nature of payment! I guess performance driven than the traditional method
works better! Members must have a feel that they benefit directly from every
achievement. Government should adapt the same I guess!
k) Market and Technology Trends! You must zoom out all the time & zoom in thereafter!
We started during the Telecom boom, but right now we are making strides in the solar
sector and beyond. We have sold paper and timber in the past!
l) Key Aspects about a Good Business Model: Can you have all your inputs on credit? Is it
a people’s product? Is it a product with almost no substitutes? Is it a cash based purchase
business model? The examples here are many:-
 Cash based: - Super Markets, Schools and Restaurants
 People’s products: - Book Stores, Schools and more
 Inputs on credit: - Super Markets fall in this category!
 High Switching Costs by your customers: - telephone lines are in this category!
Luck and Return on luck (ROL)
Luck has been defined by a couple of authors. Roman philosopher Seneca defines luck as
preparation to meet an opportunity. Survival of most business thrives on this. After setting up,
work towards increasing your Return on Luck (ROL):-
a) It becomes easier to process facilities
b) It becomes easier to get goods on credit.
c) It becomes easier to get vehicles on credit
Yes, cash in on any luck that comes your way at this stage!

4. The Cash Flow Quadrants-Emphasis:-
Aim at being the best you can in each quadrant. Remember that we all can’t be self-
employed, but if you can, give you better start early enough. It is also good to be employed
since you learn how systems work.
Kindly remember, materialthings often clutter life! Simplicity is so GOLDEN! Keep it simple
in life…
Regards,
Uncle JJ