Miguna Miguna's new book "Peeling Back The Mask" has
generated so much buzz in the media in the last few days. Hate him or love him,
we are all talking about this guy, he's got Kenyans talking, writers &
journalists have and will write and say more about this guy. We are tweeting
about him, his book and giving our side of the story/analysis. Thank God for
social media we can all use #ComeBabyCome to tell the world whatever we have to
say but as an entrepreneur and a blogger I chose to focus on a few lessons I
could pick up from this whole hullabaloo. Miguna was ‘spitting fire’ on the
bench last night; word after word, this guy knows what he’s doing. He’s got his
facts rights and he has more lined up; Daily Nation has also serialized his
book giving him more coverage (good pre launch) for his new book.
There a few lessons all entrepreneurs, start ups and Kenyans could
learn from Miguna, well this guy is smarter, intelligent and understands the
rules of the game. Miguna has strategy and he has so far executed his idea well
better still the guy is set for anything that may come out his expose’.
1 1.Grab
attention of the media/ Be newsworthy!
Let’s face it,
you always experience a little envy when you see or hear people on television
and radio. You wish it was you… in fact; you’ve been working so hard you
know that it should be you. But when will your time come? And the sad part
is, you know that when your clients see one of your competitors on television
and don’t see you they often wonder if they should go with him or her instead. You
need to establish yourself as an expert, and getting interviewed by radio,
podcast or TV hosts can help you do just that. Never underestimate the value of
networking with people in person,you could run into journalists even on Twitter
and all you need to have is a great product or a service that can generate
buzz, get journalist fighting to interview you first. Chief
Kariuki has done that and you too can do it!
2.Have your facts right/ understand what
you are doing.
Miguna Miguna
definitely has a story to tell. He has promised to expose more in his upcoming
books. He has enough information, know what he’s up to and understands what he
is doing. He has a strategy that will make him famous and bring in some cash
too. As an entrepreneur you’ve got to know the rules of your game. To be
competitive you’ve got to know exactly what you’re doing, your target market
and have a product that people can buy. You cannot get away for so long by
offering a shoddy product or service to your clients because your clients will
switch to your competitors sooner than you think. Before you venture out to
start a business, have a plan, do thorough research, understand what you’re up
to and then roll out what you want to do.
3.Launch at the right time.
Miguna Miguna has
‘peeled back the mask’ at the right time, it was an idea that was brought to
the market at the right time. Some people may argue he’s being funded by
enemies of RAO but when you look at all this as a business person/ entrepreneur
if you launch your product at the right time then attracting funding from
investors will not be a hard task. Instagram was acquired by Facebook at a
staggering price of 1Billion. Ridiculous?
Right?
As an
entrepreneur you’ve got to scan for gaps in the market that you can fill
profitably, once in a while we bring ideas whose time hasn’t come to the
market, in other times we copy and paste what others are doing and launch. I am
sure you know we operate in a world where people copy & duplicate ideas.
Evaluate your business idea, see the market and sales potential and tap into it
boldly. Miguna is definitely a bold guy, he isn’t afraid of the challenges he
may face in future so when you have that great idea, DO IT….. Start! There’s
nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come!
4.Keep people guessing!
When DN began serializing Miguna’s book before its launch we all
wanted to know what next will be on the paper the following day. Miguna also
promises us that he’s got more lined up for publishing in the reproduced
version of his book; he even has two more books lined up for publishing. In as
much as Kenyans may dismiss this guy what he’s doing is ensuring that Kenyans
keep waiting for more from him. Apple Inc does that with its launches, we all
wait with bated breath to see what new gadget Apple will be offering to the
world (good strategy). There’s nothing
as bad to an entrepreneur as sending you best soldiers first into a war,
because should you lose round one of the battle then your best men will be
gone. What this all means to a start up entrepreneur is keep doing the best to
your clients, you may not have the best resources, offices or machines but you
beat all the big dogs when it comes to customer service. Do the best, amaze
your first few clients, and show them the best you can do. Deliver excellently,
but just how do you keep your clients guessing? That comes as a result of
constant innovation; you got to read widely so that you remain competitive.
Secondly do not empty your strategy out there, have a solid game plan, you don’t
want to let your bigger competitors what you’re up to days before you launch a
new service or a product. ODM is definitely going to come up with a strategy to
counter what the book says about RAO, politicians allied to the G7 alliance
have something to talk about in political rallies. The headache RAO is facing
is what else Miguna might expose and how to counter that in good time. Miguna
may not have much left to expose but he has definitely intimidated a few men in
the country.
5.Know your
friends well!
Finally RAO definitely now knows he can be betrayed by anyone,
it’s a crazy world, in one moment someone could be praising you and the next
moment the same guy is spilling all the dirt he/she knows about you. In
business you’ll have employees who once they resign or they are fired work
tirelessly hard to bring you down. It’s a crazy world, you can’t trust anyone in business and in
life. Guys have ill motives, not everyone out there is genuine. Do not trust
everyone, what you see as someone trying to help could be what brings you down.
A partnership with a bigger brand maybe a plot to take over your business. Watch out for guys who want to offer you
help, could be financial or otherwise. Seek to know who these people are to
avoid headaches in future. My advice to
all entrepreneurs is “Hire character, you’ll train skill”. Watch out for people who might 'peel your mask' after you they leave!
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