You need mental toughness to survive as an entrepreneur- CEO of Nasam Brand Enterprise
The CEO of Nasam Brand Enterprise, Mr Bismark Asante has cautioned persons who want to venture into entrepreneurship to possess mental toughness if they want to survive in the industry.
According to him, entrepreneurship is not an area that allows people to lazy about and go on to find quick success.
He revealed that the industry was rewarding to individuals who could withstand business and societal challenges by finding measures to resolve them.
Mr Asante made the declaration on the sidelines of an award ceremony held in Accra to reward deserving entrepreneurs in the Ghanaian Cookstove industry.
The ceremony was held under the auspices of the Ghana Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and Fuels (GHACCO), SNV Netherlands and the Ghana Energy Commission.
Nasam brand Enterprise, a parent company that birthed Obaa Hemaa Cookstove, a firm that manufactures and sells cookstoves in Ghana, was adjudged the overall best national woodstove company in a competition introduced by the organisers.
The company received a plaque and a certificate as recognition for its contribution towards the growth of the industry.
Competition
Dubbed the “Improved Woodstove Competition,” the award scheme sought to recognize indigenous woodstove manufacturers for their technical and marketable skills.
The competition was opened to manufacturers around the country, with participants submitting their products to the organisers to examine under specified techniques.
Some of the criteria which were used in verifying the products included; durability of the merchandises, ease at which they were manufactured, and aesthetics.
Others were ease of mobility and transportation, health implications on the public, and the cost of the products.
All the participants received certificates for their involvement.
Challenges
Speaking on challenges that affect entrepreneurs in the country, Mr Asante said funding was a major concern.
“As an entrepreneur, you need adequate funding to facilitate your operations. There have been so many times that I wanted to quit because money was a concern. So many times I can’t even count. But I had a support system.
“Some of my friends who had been in the industry for long, CEO of ZAACOAL Amin Sulley and a few others kept encouraging and pushing me to keep on. If you want to win in any specified venture, you need great people around you to give you encouragement whenever you feel weak.”
Advice
Mr Asante banished the idea that entrepreneurship was a safe haven for persons who are willing to jump ship from the toughness of the corporate world.
“A lot of times you hear people, especially the youth say that ‘I want to be my own boss’ and a bunch of other statements. They are encouraging words, but entrepreneurship goes beyond that. Entrepreneurship is a ‘dirty’ field. What you have to ask yourself is, “can I sustain the hardships when they come?”
Furthermore, he said some of the major setbacks in venturing into entrepreneurship are; lack of passion for the area one ventures into, and the lack of knowledge in a specific industry.
“Entrepreneurs must have a passion for the kind of area they choose to undertake. My advice to anyone is that do not go into a business you are not passionate about, or have little or no knowledge about.
“I have seen many people go into a business they deem lucrative but do not have a love for it. When those people go and meet challenges, dire ones, they give up because it is not what they had expected.”
Mr Asante said the time has come for the country’s leadership to give adequate financial and intellectual support to entrepreneurs who are blazing a trail, to expedite the growth and development of the country.
Commendation
Mr Asante expressed his gratitude to the organisers of the scheme for having believed in the operations of his company, and what it has been doing for the country.
He also lauded the unflinching support of his team members for standing by him and the company at all times.
