ENTREPRENEURSHIP: Turning livelihoods into business

Typically, business development programs aimed at farmers and micro-entrepreneurs focus on technical skills such as business plan development, marketing and sales, and accounting. There is no doubt that these skills are necessary. However, the key success factor is not managerial skills (which can be learned after start-up) or the business model (which often changes) but mindset––one that looks forward to a different future and causes the entrepreneur to look for opportunities to achieve it.

In other words, in order for a livelihood activity to not be just a way to get by, the entrepreneur first has to envision it as a way to get ahead. It is this entrepreneurial mindset that leads to the change in habits (continuous learning, seeking new business relationships) and actions (reinvesting profits, maintaining financial records) that contributed to business success.

The entrepreneurial mindset drives the search for innovations such as new business models, new products, and especially new markets beyond the social network from which it sprang.

Learn more about the key success factors behind women’s entrepreneurship.