By David Malherbe – Published in Drakenstein Gazette – Friday 25 April 2014
Many people enquire about what they should do to become wealthy. My question in return is whether you know where money comes from? This may sound like a stupid question, but I believe that only entrepreneurs really know where money comes from.
If you need to generate business for yourself to be able to earn a living, you know. When you work for a salary, usually you do not take the punch of generating the income. You may contribute to the company’s effort to generate income, but if the responsibility to sustain and grow the company is not yours, you do not really know where the money comes from.
Entrepreneurs who take the step to venture out on their own, will soon discover what hard work it is to persuade customers to support your business.
Now the end of the month becomes the time that you need money to pay salaries, not receive it. Public holidays become a problem because one such day means 5% less time in the month to earn income, yet you still need to pay the same salaries. Now you won’t even consider joining a strike for whatsoever reason, because if you do not work, you do not earn. Sick leave is something you really can’t afford to take.
Do you want to become wealthy? Wealthy people mostly live according to the maxim described above. Being wealthy comes with sacrifice. To be an entrepreneur is an adventurous journey, but a good business and wealth does not fall into your lap. You need to roll up your sleeves and work for it.
To grow the South African economy, the best thing for every one of us to do, is to think and work like entrepreneurs. It is a luxury to think that somebody else should take care of me. If every one of us would say “What can I contribute?” instead of “What can I receive?” we can all benefit from the growth that we will generate.
Are you willing to adopt the entrepreneurial mindset that knows where money comes from and help build the South African economy? I trust that you will.
David Malherbe and Dewald Scholtz will discuss this topic in more detail Monday evening from 19:00 till 20:00 on Radio KC 107.7FM in the program “You the Entrepreneur”
(David Malherbe is a business- and career consultant and lives in Wellington. He can be contacted via his web page www.jedidiah.org.za or T/F 021-873 0262 or on Facebook at “Jy die Entrepreneur.”)
