MONDAY MUSINGS By Wangechi Kuria IMAGINATION ECONOMY In our current world, ideas are the currencies of success .It is a world where innovations and inventions are key to success both in business and on a personal level. Almost every other thing you buy in a supermarket has the stamp “new and improved XXXXX” even when it is just the packaging that has changed. It is a world where to be outstanding and win your market space you have to walk twice as fast as your competitors. However, this is not easy to leave the shore of the home you know to anchor in unsafe harbors of the unknown. It requires an authentic definition of who you are or greater vision of what the business is all about . Human beings are generally afraid to leave their cocoon of comfort and come up with their own ideas. We are afraid to be unorthodox in a world where most of us are defined by the crowd. What we should bear in mind however, is that business as it now stands, does not need any more copy cats. We need to be dreamers in order to steer our economy up to the next level. The practicality of this thought can be illustrated using the Kenyan commodity market. Most, if not all of us if have now heard of, or even engaged in quail farming. This was an initiative by the Kenyan government to Kenyan farmers in a bid to diversify our farming practices. Immediately the project came to life, the business became the most profitable poultry project a farmer could engage in. The cost of an egg was as high as 100 shillings. In the space of three months, many farmers turned to quail farming. There were quail birds in every other homestead. Owing to the fact that it is a free liberal economy, the interplay of demand and supply forces brought the cost of quail egg from 100 shillings to 10shillings. People started to register losses. Some had even taken out loans to finance their quail projects. No one really posed for a while to think around the idea that sometimes you do not have to produce the product yourself, you can be a middle man, purchase from the farmers and distribute to major outlets instead of joining the production of an already crowded market. Alternatively, one can also invest in adding value to the product like packaging the product in a way that appeals to consumer tastes and preferences. Another quick scan is the BODABODA business. It is a business venture that was proposed to reduce youth unemployment .The business hit the ground running ,the profits were very high until everyone started buying a motorbike and putting it by the roadside. A business that earned thousands in a day now earns 300-500 shillings not forgetting the scorching sun, the rainy seasons and even legal requirements that greatly disrupts the business and east into the meager profits. These stories about our herd/follow the crowd mentality shows us that there is great need for us, as young people, to embrace inventions and innovations if we are to soar to greater heights. On a personal level, I would say, you must be willing to risk greatly to reach your personal mountain top and your authentic definition of success. Stop being ordinary. Leave your safe havens, brace the blizzards and the storm of rejection, for it will only be for a short while. Have a lovely week brimming with imagination - think like there are no limitations; think like there is no box at all. I wish you all a lovely week . From Wangechi Kuria
Posted on: Mon, 26 May 2014 09:30:00 +0000
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