Accra, Ghana, Two leading Ghanaian experts in business management have advised young entrepreneurs that the survival of their businesses is hinged on bookkeeping and record analysis.
According to them, bookkeeping which is keeping accurate financial records could be used to gauge the health of the businesses.
The two experts-Hajia Amina Sammo, and Dr Akorfa Ahiafor gave this advice during a day’s forum and exhibition organized by WISE Network Ghana in Accra.
The event was held at Tarragon Edge SMEs ecosystem (T-Edge Hub) which provides a growth-oriented platform for knowledge, capacity building and resource sharing exclusively for SMEs, consultants and investors.
The event dubbed ‘Women Entrepreneurs Forum and Exhibition’ was held under the auspices of Upshift Global; Club G100, Financial Inclusion Africa and Genevieve Pearl Consult to mark this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week.
Dr Ahiafor who is the MD/CEO of Jireh Microfinance Limited, described bookkeeping as the difference between success and failure of businesses.
She added that bookkeeping helps businesses to plan their budgets, explaining that budgets are vital for businesses as they are the financial guidelines to success.
“With bookkeeping, you can assess your financial resources and manage income and expenses”, Dr Ahiafor stated.
“So we entrepreneurs fail to keep records of businesses, we will fail. It is not enough to keep records but to analyse the records as well”.
Hajia Amina Sammo, a leading Financial Literacy Consultant, added that bookkeeping makes filing a tax return easier for businesses that practice bookkeeping.
With a proper organization of records on your earnings, expenditure and others you won’t have to worry about scrambling for receipts and invoices because all your records are properly documented, she explained.
“Organization of financial records is very important. You should be able to easily assess your financial information at anytime”.
This will help when it comes to applying for grants, loans, or even attracting investors”, Hajia Sammo said.
Looking at the importance role bookkeeping and record analysis plays in the survival of businesses, the two experts encouraged the young female entrepreneurs not to be ashamed of sending their business figures to individuals and institutions to analyse for them.
Advice
They used the occasion to advise the female entrepreneurs and their male counterparts on entrepreneurship.
Hajia Sammo advised the female entrepreneurs in the country to eschew the practice of relaxing immediately when their businesses begin to make money.
According to her, this practice has negatively affected the growth of many female owned businesses in Ghana and beyond.
While some even forget about their roots immediately the businesses start to expand. To this end, she advised: “Expansion does not mean you should forget about your root(s). During expansion, most business owners relax in doing what they were doing to retain their customers”.
“Even if the businesses become big, the owners must still be in the background helping to implement their dreams. Most people are not interested in the product(s) or service(s) per say but the human touch”, Hajia Sammo added.
Outlive your brand
She also urged business owners to develop their brands such that they outlive them, explaining that most businesses do not outlive their owners because they are not honest.
Hajia Sammo was quick to observe that most businesses don’t thrive because the owners find it difficult to sell their ideas to their employees.
Commitment
The seasoned financial literacy consultant noted that women are able to turn anything into a business. So they must put seriousness into the running of their businesses by showing greater commitment. “They should also be open to their employers”.
Touching on hiring and firing of workers, Hajia Sammo appealed to entrepreneurs not to hire anybody that they cannot fire without complications.
Investment
“If your heart’s not in where your money is going, don’t invest in it. Stop being so big, so soon. Let’s put extra efforts to sustain our customers for the survival of our businesses”, she advised her fellow entrepreneurs.
For Dr Dr Ahiafor, although access to credit is a major hindrance to most entrepreneurs, startups don’t need collateral to access finance for their businesses.
Other sources of finances
According to her, startups and other small businesses are advised to contact their relatives and friends for financial assistance to enable them to run their businesses.
Dr Ahiafor also asked entrepreneurs to choose their financial institutions appropriately, explaining: “Financial institutions have focus sectors so it’s important entrepreneurs spend some time to find out the institutions that are interested in their business”.
For businesses that are regulated, entrepreneurs will need to study the various regulations that govern the business before pushing in the funds, she further advised.
She also appealed to them to desist from taking wrong loan facilities. For instance, “You take a loan which generates 10% interest per month while your business generates 6% interest per month. This is a typical example of a wrong loan”.
Considerations
Passion is one of the key ingredients to consider when setting up a business. While experience, capacity and market evaluation must also be considered before setting a business, Dr Ahiafor told the young budding female entrepreneurs.
Besides these, people need to valid their business ideas before swinging into action. “You also need a medium to sell your ideas to someone for advice or assistance”.
Innovation
Additionally, innovation is one critical need for businesses because consumption of the various products changes with time and so the service provider/manufacturer will have to change by adding the relevant values to their products to maintain their market and per harps expand, Dr Ahiafor said.
Exhibitors’ appreciation
The exhibitors including Ms Afua Gyaamea Asante, kenkey puree entrepreneur expressed their appreciation to WISE Network Ghana and its sponsors for providing the platform for them to showcase their products.
By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, African Eye Report
