Working and thriving
A young entrepreneur shares with The Zone about her business journey and what it takes to make it in the industry as a start-up company.Ester Hamukoto is a strong willed and ambitious business lady. She has been making a name for herself in the business industry over the years through...
Shona Ngava
For Hamukoto it is simple, she is fervent about business and having a positive impact in her society through her business initiatives. “I am very passionate about business, as I grew up seeing my grandmother turn her day care business into a successful pre-primary which has been in existence for more than 18 years,” she says.
She holds an honours-degree in Business management from the University of Namibia (Unam) and she registered her consulting business in 2011 and they offer business consulting services to start-up entrepreneurs as well as secretariat services to established businesses,” she says. She says when she started her business she had to overcome challenges such as cash flow and competing against established business. “Getting clients to trust us as an SME was not easy at the beginning as we were competing with bigger firms and cash flow to meet monthly payment obligations and dealing with the unknown or overcoming unpredictability and uncertainty are some of the challenges we are overcoming at the moment.
She says she uses the education she had in university to run her business and says that sometimes it is not about being business savvy but using education as a means to excel ones business. “Education opens one mind to leadership skills and when you are educated your thinking capacity broadens and can help you gain knowledge in a certain area of your business,” she says. The entrepreneur is self-employed and says running her own business is no easy task because the success of the business depends on how hard she works. “Being self-employed comes with high risks but also with high returns. One can say being self-employed is not for the faint of heart. But with passion, drive and discipline you can reap some serious financial benefits that is why we are all in business,” says Hamukoto.
She cautions potential entrepreneurs who are trying to start their own business to ensure that they do proper research with regards to their area of focus and advices they just need an idea to start a business even if they do not have funding for one. “Entrepreneurs must research the market they want to operate in beforehand, this will help them to analyse if the industry is ready to accommodate them. Doing research allows you to determine whether your business will survive or not,” she shares. She says that the business world is very tough on women but women are capable of doing what her male colleagues in the industry can do. “It is not easy to work in this industry as a lady but you need to be tough and confident to make it because you do not want people to push you over. Women are more than capable of running successful businesses,” she shares.
She intends on growing her business and furthering her studies in the future and wants to be a key player in the business industry. “I am working on expanding my holdings company and I want to venture into other sectors of the business industry and just to expand my knowledge and to contribute towards the countries development,” she says.
For Hamukoto it is simple, she is fervent about business and having a positive impact in her society through her business initiatives. “I am very passionate about business, as I grew up seeing my grandmother turn her day care business into a successful pre-primary which has been in existence for more than 18 years,” she says.
She holds an honours-degree in Business management from the University of Namibia (Unam) and she registered her consulting business in 2011 and they offer business consulting services to start-up entrepreneurs as well as secretariat services to established businesses,” she says. She says when she started her business she had to overcome challenges such as cash flow and competing against established business. “Getting clients to trust us as an SME was not easy at the beginning as we were competing with bigger firms and cash flow to meet monthly payment obligations and dealing with the unknown or overcoming unpredictability and uncertainty are some of the challenges we are overcoming at the moment.
She says she uses the education she had in university to run her business and says that sometimes it is not about being business savvy but using education as a means to excel ones business. “Education opens one mind to leadership skills and when you are educated your thinking capacity broadens and can help you gain knowledge in a certain area of your business,” she says. The entrepreneur is self-employed and says running her own business is no easy task because the success of the business depends on how hard she works. “Being self-employed comes with high risks but also with high returns. One can say being self-employed is not for the faint of heart. But with passion, drive and discipline you can reap some serious financial benefits that is why we are all in business,” says Hamukoto.
She cautions potential entrepreneurs who are trying to start their own business to ensure that they do proper research with regards to their area of focus and advices they just need an idea to start a business even if they do not have funding for one. “Entrepreneurs must research the market they want to operate in beforehand, this will help them to analyse if the industry is ready to accommodate them. Doing research allows you to determine whether your business will survive or not,” she shares. She says that the business world is very tough on women but women are capable of doing what her male colleagues in the industry can do. “It is not easy to work in this industry as a lady but you need to be tough and confident to make it because you do not want people to push you over. Women are more than capable of running successful businesses,” she shares.
She intends on growing her business and furthering her studies in the future and wants to be a key player in the business industry. “I am working on expanding my holdings company and I want to venture into other sectors of the business industry and just to expand my knowledge and to contribute towards the countries development,” she says.
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