Fikeveni

One of the first things that people do when the gap between the rich and the poor widens and unemployment rises is to take to the streets to demand a change of regime. Politics is governance, so it does play a role in the economic disparity within the country, but the main reasons behind unemployment may not be remedied as simply as changing the leadership. The rules of engagement, i.e. the laws and regulations, are important, however the forces of economics can have a greater impact on improving the lives of a country’s citizens. The forces of supply and demand can be manipulated, but only ever so slightly. We need to strive for less government and non-governmental organization involvement in economic activity in order to increase our chances of upward mobility or advancement as a society. We need a well-regulated free market system that has very few barriers to entry and a rabid intolerance for monopolies and/or corruption. The main role for governments, non-governmental organization...

We are encouraged to dream big from an early age. Unfortunately, this leaves us unable to make the first step because we either don’t know what that step is, or it is not as glamorous as where we would like to end up. In some cases, the dream is so big it results in paralysis. Another challenge nowadays is that a lot of the world is obsessed with global matters, i.e. politics, the news, big corporations, non-governmental organizations, social media, etc. Although the state of the world and our participation in it is important, we seem to have forgotten that change starts in our  hearts, households, and that it starts small. We have dreams of being CEOs, board members, or wealthy, without the realization that everything worth doing starts small, starts close, and requires us to start at the bottom.  We have to start small because most of us do not have the capital, both human and monetary, to afford something big. We need to build the network and contacts that will eventually l...

The church has failed us when it comes to helping us understand what serving God looks like from a practical standpoint. We have been led to believe that when the Bible speaks of worship, it is speaking of ritual, but when we study the root words or original text of what worship, service, and work have in common, we find the same word. Work, ministry, employment, deputyship, service, worship can all mean the exact same thing. So why have we not been enlightened about the fact that we are supposed to work or serve for six days then rest on the seventh? Why have we been led to believe that the work that we do for the customer, either through an employer when employed or directly when an entrepreneur, is not ministry or service? Many of us are falsely under the impression that worship does not include work during the week and that worship is music, when clearly it is not limited to music. Worship can include music, but it is not limited to it. We are supposed to serve God everyday with si...

We all need to make a living, and after working for “the man,” many of us start to dream of owning our own business. Often people start doing business in the form of a “side hustle” with the hopes of leaving their 8 to 5 job. Although people may start out their entrepreneurship journey because of disillusionment, the most successful entrepreneurs are those who start a business to deliver a product or service that people desperately need. After all, a company is simply a gathering of people, in order to deliver a product or a service. The success of the business is then determined by how efficiently the operation is run, and the level at which the surrounding community benefits from the activities of the enterprise. The creators of the enterprise, through their legitimate ownership of the company, earn their wealth when their  business grows. We need to teach our children about the power of ideas and their execution. We need to solidify the connection between ideas, their execution,...

At the core of any life or enterprise is decision-making. We are our decisions. Anyone who finds themselves in the clutches of a disastrous life got there through bad decisions made by either themselves, their kin, or complete strangers. The “system,” as we know it, is a result of the many decisions made by those around us and those who have come before us. A piece of equipment is only as effective or as beneficial as the operator. Decisions are the difference! Life and business are driven by decisions. The monetary system is merely a framework to facilitate trade, but people are the ones who have to initiate the trade or program the algorithms that do. The secret to having a decent life is centered on knowing that decisions matter more than any system or framework. One should focus on making better decisions every day, and surrounding themselves with those who make good decisions, too. You should not let the need to belong and the culture around you determine your decisions; be the ca...

Many, especially in Africa, are under the impression that business values and good-person life values do not go together. We have been raised to believe that one cannot be a good Christian and be successful at anything business related. This could not be further from the truth! All the things that make a person a good Christian, also make one a good business person. To reach the upper echelons of any hierarchy, we have to contribute to the largest number of people. Having more friends is of more value than having more money. This is not to say that all rich people contribute to society in a positive way,  but it is to say that most of them have followed principles that are designed for having a better life. A better business is simply a pleasant byproduct.  Valuing other people’s time is critical to succeeding in life and in business. If you are on time, people feel respected, and you can start your meeting in light of that respect. When we are late for meetings, the people we...

Many of us are concerned about work life balance and the pursuit of happiness. What if there is no such thing as work life balance? What if life is a juggling act and not a balancing one? This could explain why we can never seem to find balance or have enough time for what really matters to us. The juggler just needs to make sure that he or she does not drop any of the items they are juggling. They do not need a perfect outcome, they just need to avoid disaster. If we are all jugglers, then we can stop trying to achieve the impossible (perfection), and just avoid the worst possible outcome instead (neglect). I know what some may be thinking: don’t you hit the object that you’re obsessively trying to avoid? That is the case when it comes to performing an action like skiing, driving, or any other activity that requires us to avoid hitting an object. When it comes to decision making on the other hand, you do not have that problem. Thought is a lot more complicated than action, it can be f...