After Office Hours // 4 More Business Lessons Learned

After Office Hours // 4 More Business Lessons Learned

Events form an integral part of our culture as Nairobi Garage and one such event is the #AfterOfficeHours Session.

Held every last Thursday of the month at 5 pm, since 2016, the After Office Hours session has seen us have close to 100 great and inspiring African business leaders come into space and cover certain topics relating to entrepreneurship and business.

It is through their inspirational sessions that event attendees learn about personal motivation, leadership, endurance, overcoming failure in business, and managing success.

Last week we shared 4 business lessons gathered over time from our AOH host speakers. Here are more lessons:

Fail Forward

From Harry Hare who is a serial entrepreneur, Founder and Chairman at CIO East Africa, Founder and CEO DEMO Africa, to Dr. Kiprono Kittony, and other business leaders that gave a talk, they all agreed that on trying to start a business and failing once in a while was okay, but it was all dependent on your will to push on.

And as Mark Cuban says, business is never about money or connections-it’s the willingness to outwork and out-learn everyone… And if it fails, you learn from what happened and do a better job next time.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many times you fail. You only have to be right once and then everyone can tell you that you are an overnight success.

Competition is Good

All businesses face competition. Even if you’re the only restaurant in town you must compete with cinemas, bars and other businesses where your customers will spend their money instead of with you. 

To be successful, you really need to know who your competitors are, and what they offer, which can help you to make your products, services, and marketing stand out. 

It will enable you to set your prices competitively and help you to respond to rival marketing campaigns with your own initiatives.

Network with the Right People:

Today’s competitive marketplace, relationships, and networks are critical assets in a professional or a business toolkit. 

Networking with the right people will help you position yourself in a place where you will be able to source the right customers for your product. Your network serves not only as a lead source for new business, but as a sounding board, a support system, and a news source.

If managed and nurtured well, your network can become a valuable part of your personal brand arsenal, all

Learn more from the 6 Lessons from Terryanne Chebet’s journey.

Never Stop Learning

Apart from formal education, never stop learning as an entrepreneur. The world is changing every day and every day presents a new opportunity to learn a thing or two. 

The best entrepreneurs and most successful business people are always looking for ways to expand their knowledge, improve their skills and keep up to date with any developments, both in their own industry and the broader environment. 

Never take chances, identify people you admire and read blogs, watch TED Talks that matter, and are in line with your career.

The outside world is constantly shifting and changing, and as more research is done on management and business skills, the more effective training becomes, and the more insight is gained into the best ways of working and improving your business, owing you to enhance and advance your reputation. In line with this, we have shared a list of 9 books that can help you kickstart your year

Understand this and more by reading 9 tips to staying motivated in your career and business journey as shared by Lizz Ntonjira during her After Office Hours session.

Upcoming Event

As the year kick starts in earnest, we are excited to continue bringing you more inspiring business leaders that will inspire you in your journey of entrepreneurship.

We’ll be hosting the first After Office Hours of the year on Thursday, 25th February 2021. Save the date and stay tuned for further details.