it was to have the right mindset; how
to make money without necessarily
having endless budget at your disposal to
engage with all the tools under the P of
promotion.
Having focused on the introductory stage
of brand building, it is always important
to keep talking to people to get advice.
Having a mentor or a coach can go a
long way in building value for a start-up
business and a great way to get feedback
and insights into brands.
Working with a coach can help an entrepre-
neur with identifying the challenges faced in
growing a business. Aside from the aspect of
work life balance, there could be concerns
around business development, identifying the
mission and vision of the business, setting a
strategic direction for success, and even man-
agement of people in the business.
Marketing school also teaches us about
different ways in which one can gain
market share. One method is to go for the in your personal life as well. Have a picture
market leader and steal their market share. of what you want to achieve.
This of course means that one must have
a strong enough differentiator and be able
to position their brand to take advantage
of any gaps being overlooked by the
market leader.
Caroline Muthoni shared that it is important
to have realistic goals.
Being patient and learning perseverance
helps dealing with the ups and downs
of entrepreneurship. The successes and
A few success tips stood out. What is disappointments need to be managed well.
interesting about these tips is that as much Njeri Kabiru’s tip was be ready to fail. In our
as the technical know-how in marketing is society, failure is looked at as a bad thing.
needed, there are several skills that can be
classified as ‘soft skills’. Each of these tips But the opportunity to learn from failure
can be learnt and practiced.
is much more useful for individuals and
businesses.
Build relationships with people: James
Ngomeli was quite emphatic when he An entrepreneur’s life is seen to be one
said people buy people. People want to full of freedom and fun. Nothing could be
work with people they know and trust. further from the truth.
Therefore being authentic and credible is
key.
The road of brand building for SMEs can be
long and lonely. Managing work life balance
Networking is most useful to get to know is so important to ensure that family and
people and to practice building strong friends are not ignored, in order to have a
relationships. As a marketer, the most fulfilling life.
powerful tool of promotion available is
word of mouth. A most cost effective way Working with a coach can help an
to increase brand awareness and trial.
entrepreneur with identifying the challenges
faced in growing a business.
Visualize your success: This is a trick that
is useful not just in start-up business but Aside from the aspect of work life balance,
there could be concerns around business
development, identifying the mission
and vision of the business, setting a
strategic direction for success, and even
management of people in the business.
These are all themes that can be discussed
with an executive coach, and finding the
answers that are business or individual
specific will make all the difference for
the entrepreneur.
Zach Ferres in his article Coaching:
The Best Kept Secret to Growing as an
Entrepreneur says “A good coach can
turn raw talent into refined expertise and
refined talent into renowned success.”
Reach out to a certified coach and see the
change in your personal and professional
life.
Thrity Engineer-Mbuthia is a Certified
Marketing and Leadership Coach. She
has a deep passion for both coaching
and marketing and is part of the adjunct
faculty at Strathmore University Business
School. She loves to help people transform
their lives by finding their passion and
purpose. You can reach her on: Info@
thrityengineer.org.