10 Steps to Become a Money Savvy Entrepreneur

Step 1: What Do I Need to Start a Business?

What do you think you need to start a business? Most people say things like “money”, “a business plan”, or “an idea”. While you do need an idea and a plan—and money is not always an absolute necessity to start—that is not the answer I am looking for.

What do you really need to start a business?

You need a customer. You need people who are willing to pay you the correct value for your products and services. If you cannot make a profit and are operating at a loss, then either the quality of your product or your target market is incorrect.

So, before you throw yourself headfirst into starting the business of your dreams, you need to test the market and ensure there is a demand. Testing the market is one thing, but how about testing yourself? If you have always been an employee and had support structures in an organisation, losing those safety nets—like free IT support, access to printers and equipment, free Wi-Fi, and a company laptop—can be a hard reality to digest.

Being an entrepreneur, as exciting as it is, requires skills like tenacity, open-mindedness, creativity, adaptability, and a strong work ethic. Ensuring you have enough money in the bank each month to cover your own salary and business costs is not a responsibility to be taken lightly. Most people are less than three months away from bankruptcy due to a low savings culture and a “buy now, pay later” mentality. This mindset causes huge financial distress when monthly expenses cannot be met.

So, before you dive into starting your business, ask yourself these questions:

• “Do I have an entrepreneurial mindset?”
• “Am I ready to take a risk on myself?”
• “Do I have the tenacity and grit to take up this challenge?”

Make no mistake, running your own business is not for sissies. You are going to make mistakes, you are going to lose money (maybe not always, but at least once), you will experience bad-paying customers, and you will go through ups and downs. Each day will present new challenges as you work on every area of your business.

Are you ready to become the salesperson, the customer support agent, the marketing expert, and the finance manager? These are all hats you will need to wear and roles you will need to play to make sure your business runs effectively.

I am not trying to scare you; I really want you to think about the kind of life and business you want.

If you believe you have the determination and grit required to take a risk on yourself, you need to test your idea, products, and services. Before you spend too much time, money, and effort on a business that might fail, you need to build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

What is an MVP, you ask? It is a low-risk way to test the market.

In 2014, when I started my Money Savvy business, I had this massive idea to build a scalable business model that I could grow into Africa. The business plan I wrote was far beyond my reach at that point, but I decided to begin with the end in mind and build the big dream. Eight years later, I have achieved that, but I needed a starting point. I needed an MVP to test the market. Did anyone actually want to buy this great product I wanted to develop?

So, I built one product: “Money Savvy Kids”. Not the entire suite, but one grade’s worth of content featuring 10 lessons. Once that product was developed, I could go out and show people what I wanted to do. I made a small investment and used some existing resources to help me build that first pilot product.

My first client was Mrs Mbeki, and she paid me R250,000 for a product like mine, but customised with her own branding. I had validated that this idea was going to work. Someone was willing to pay me for my services—and not just pay me, but pay me well! That R250,000 was what I used to build the Money Savvy brand.

So, how do you test the market with your own MVP?

We have an MVP template for you to use to validate whether your idea is going to work and make you money.