21 Questions On Entrepreneurship, a book by the Executive Director, SME100Africa, Charles Odii is to be presented to the public on Wednesday.
This book, described as unique, provides real answers to questions posed by entrepreneurs that the author encountered through his SME100Africa journey.
Charles is the founder of SME100Africa – a social enterprise with the aim of ensuring African entrepreneurs succeed regardless of their socio-economic background.
The enterprise has grown to provide over 100,000 African Small and Medium Enterprises with access to finance, markets, capacity development, mentorship, networks, skills, resources and most importantly information.
Odii speaks on the new book: “This book is written from my extensive experience gained over a decade of starting and running a business in Africa, international travel and engagement with thousands of entrepreneurs (who have sat with me and sent me emails to ask critical questions from “how to structure businesses, to how to develop marketing strategies that support their products in niche markets and more”).
“The book also contains questions from my online series “Ask Charles”.
“The questions are extensive and aim to provide information on how to be a successful entrepreneur.”
The release of the book on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, coincides with the International Youth Day, and will be available nationwide for purchase.
It will also be available on Amazon, Flutterwave, Jumia, 100connect and more.
For enquiries, visit www.charlesodii.com
A few take away from the book:
A Positive Attitude: This book will surely change your mindset as an entrepreneur. It goes way beyond teaching you the practical steps but it makes you aware of the opportunity you can leverage on for your business to succeed even through some failures.
Ask Charles. Yes, Do it! He is the one who has the experience, the knowledge, the humility, the patience, and the passion to give you the needed advice. As he writes: “Business is a Dark Room”. Charles’s book is the light, the guidance for all willing to start a business and become an entrepreneur. With this book, he chooses to answer the basics of how to fight your business monsters. It is a practical, easy-to-understand, and use, way of learning.
When asking for advice, it is important to consider who you ask. Charles Odii is a role model. His own story gives him all the credibility needed to advise you on how to grow your potential, engage in a successful business, learn from your failures, and believe in success.
As early as possible it is crucial to get a mentor, but a good one is hard to come by. If you read this book, you will feel that you have found your personal – virtual – mentor who is always there in your pocket or on your devices to answer all your dilemmas and challenges. So keep it and share it with others, as you may not be the only one who needs these insights, and this book fills the gap.
Veronika Pistyur (Co-Founder Bridge Budapest Hungary)
Your Whys: Being an entrepreneur isn’t as easy as ABC. It requires your time and effort. It goes beyond harvesting a passion but also building results; is it profitable? Are you scaling? Now, this brings us to your Whys. This book makes you break down your Whys and with this, you get a bigger picture to why you’re starting a business.
The most important factor is to find your “WHY?”
Why should I be an “Entrepreneur”?
Inspired leaders regardless of their size of business or industry, know their “WHY?” That is how they communicate from the inside out.
I do highly recommend reading the book 21 Questions on Entrepreneurship as it will provide you not just the “WHY” but also the “WHAT” and “HOW’”.
Dawood Marafie (Board member, Kuwait National Fund for Development of SMEs)
Turning your passion into a business: Starting a new business as an entrepreneur is an emotional roller coaster. There may be days where you “fail” and feel like giving up and that is okay. Yes, passion is good, but that won’t convert into a revenue stream without a solid business structure. The 21 Questions on Entrepreneurship shows you how to structure your business to help you make a living out of what you love.
This book should be mandatory reading for all entrepreneurs, and the same goes for business owners who desire greater entrepreneurial instincts. I am delighted to be able to share this book with you, with the hope that you find it incredibly helpful when structuring better business concepts for your own business.
I applaud Charles for his achievement – and for his continuing contributions as a mentor and entrepreneur who devotes his time immensely to build the motivated community in Africa, and is a critical friend to many members of Nigeria’s start-up scene.
