eBusiness Weekly
The grinding of a chainsaw woke me up from my peaceful reverie on the verandah where I was taking a nap.
A quick investigation revealed a “gang” of bored employees from the local council mutilating our jacaranda trees. Now dear reader, you will wonder why I am being emotional.
It was these trees, that reminded me that exam time was up. It was these trees, where I climbed up and down during playtime. And it is certainly these trees that make Carrington Road in Darlington, look so stunning when they are blooming. You can even tell the bees are happy.
To cut a long story short, I gave them a huge lecture on the importance of trees to the environment. Their intention was to use for cremation.
I hear from my sister that if they want to do their “shenanigans” again they check if I am around and go on to prune just a few branches. For now, the aptly named “Joseline trees” are still standing.
The saplings
These are trees that are just beginning to sprout. They are learning that the world has rabbits, zebras that can quickly graze on. Human beings can trample on you, or you might just get burnt during a veld fire.
In short, these are our startup businesses. Though some startups do fall by the way side, some will grow into giant businesses. So what is the verdict for our saplings?
According to Bobby Chernev, a startup tech guru, an estimated 90 percent of startups failed in 2020. In addition, 75 percent of venture backed startups failed. Only 40 percent of startups actually turn a profit and the highest failure rate occur in the technology industry. However, on the positive side 33 percent of startups do make it to the tenth year. There you have it, saplings out there, please keep the faith.
The Chinese bamboo shoots
The Chinese bamboo is a remarkable tree. It lies in the ground for four years and you do not see any visible evidence of its growth. Within those 4 dormant years the tree is developing a strong root system that will ensure it holds and it grows to a height of over 80 feet.
Unfortunately, in the SME sector there are a lot of businessman who think they can grow exponentially without putting in the requisite “sweat”. Yes I am talking about my brothers and sisters who are addicted to Ponzi and Pyramid schemes.
During the first year of your business you will need to “water” your investment. In the second and third year you continue doing so. Some might even start seeing some little profit here and there.
Come the fifth year you will begin to reap the fruits of your hard labour and your dedication.
The website eofire.com notes that, “If everyone took the time to realise and acknowledge just how much work goes into growing your business every single day, I know there will be a greater success in businesses today”.
According to Forbes, most small business takes 2 to 3 years to be profitable and to become truly successful they would have to hit the 7-10 years’ mark. It took another 7 years for another Walmart Shop to open after its initial launch.
The wisterias
According to Wikipedia, a wisteria is a genus of flowering plants, in the legume family and are native to China, Korea, Japan and the Eastern United States. Some species are very popular ornamental plants. However, this beautiful tree depicts what is truly stunning.
Unfortunately, some women businesses fall into this category as they are busy running “beautiful businesses” that are not making any profit. These women are your pampered lot, with enough start up cash and just plain looking for a “hobby.” They don’t necessarily need the money but “hubby dearest” provides for everything. Sadly, some of these women actually produce good products but are not really serious. Businesses that ruin nails and eyelashes are strictly out of bounds.
The mopane
Zimbabwe is a biodiversity rich country and is well endowed with a lot of different trees. We even have interesting catchy phrases to define their different names. The baobab is seen as “strong as the elephant,” the mopane, is the “buffalo of trees” while musasa is as “beautiful as a leopard”. The African blackwood is the bold and the beautiful.
These trees fall into the big 5 of trees in Zimbabwe. However, we will talk about the mopane tree which is one of the most recognisable tree in Zimbabwe and the purveyor of the delectable mopane worms.
Some businesses especially in the SME sector are everywhere. Every new fad they are “in it and running with it.” Bales, quail birds, Ponzi schemes and others, you name it, some people have done it all. Please get me right, there is absolutely nothing unbecoming with being a serial entrepreneur but there is everything wrong to never seeing a business to its fruition.
Unfortunately, Zimbabweans are very good at this. A deep dive survey by SODECO revealed some worrying trends. Out of the 30 SMEs interviews, 98 percent were handling more than 3 businesses. It is important to note that out of that 90 percent, 73 percent were thinking of dropping at least one business to try another new one.
Fruities
Fruit trees have the shortest lifespans among the tree family. For example, a peach tree can grow up to about 15 years while fig and apple trees can average about 30-40 years. Fruit trees are mainly found in the youth category where businesses do not last long. These young “guns” spend the money fast and are very eager to let all of us know that they do have the cash.
Remember my friend Hush Puppi who is languishing in a jail somewhere in the United States. Our artisanal miners, aka “makorokoza” fall into this category. You know they have hit gold by their spend at the local shops. The money changers as well fall into this one. A lot of financial literacy needed to keep this group afloat.
The mancheenels
The mancheenel tree is one of the most toxic trees found in the Americas. This characteristic has earned it the title of most toxic tree in the Guinness book of Records. Eating one of its apple like fruits is guaranteed to send you straight to intensive care unit or an early grave.
Manchneels are our “business slime” who make their money through exploiting other human beings, stealing, faking and other things. Pimps, child traffickers, drug dealers fall into this category.
The “biggies” are illegal drugs, stolen art and counterfeiting. Forbes estimates that trade in illegal drugs is estimated to be about US$300 billion. Trade in stolen art is about 6 billion and counterfeiting about 250 billion. According to the publication, there are 600 billion cigarettes smuggled each year costing US$30 billion.
The oOaks
Oaks are one of the most remarkable trees in the world. Just a few facts about the oak tree. These trees are very ruddy and are used to make many things including ships and furniture. They are solid and durable and thus guarantee longevity of an item they make.
Oak trees have not gone extinct during a long stretch of time mainly because their seeds are cased in hard shells.
The acorns and seeds are coated with tannic acid which prevents fungi and insects from harming them. The trees can reach the 1 000-year mark.
Oaks teach us a lot in business. The oldest operating business is Kongo Gumi in Japan which was founded in 578. It’s a construction company that specialises in shrines and temples. Most old companies are mainly found in Europe.
Africa’s oldest business is the Mauritius Post founded in 1772. In Zimbabwe, African Distillers, Colcom, Delta Corporation have stood the test of time.
These companies are still in operation today because they have exuded sound and solid business principles augmented by durable visions.
So which tree are you?
Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree long ago. —Warren Buffet.
Joseline Sithole is the founder of SODECO an SME consulting firm. For comments call 0773 634 062.
