Les Brown did not originally believe in himself because he did not have a tertiary education but went on to become one of the best-known motivational speakers in the world. Born in an abandoned building in Liberty City, a poverty-stricken area in Miami, Brown was labelled ‘educable mentally retarded’ in the 5th grade due to his hyperactivity and inability to concentrate. Brown was placed into special education classes until high school. Despite this setback and having no college education, Brown became a bestselling author of several books on achievement and is looked at as an icon by some of his peers for his motivational speaking engagements. It is stories like these that indicate the power of entrepreneurial mindset. Success lies in the mindset of an entrepreneur, which must be in the right place to leave a legacy or master something. It also involves passion, doing what you love to do the most. Source Les Brown Enterprises. (n.d.) Available at https://lesbrown.com/ ————————————————————————————————————– Nkosikhona Nicholas Mokwena – equipment maintenance I worked at a company called CGR Bakery Services for two and half years, which is the service provider for one of the biggest bakery manufacturing companies in Africa. Being the technician at CGR bakery services at the time, I saw an opportunity to start my own company, Nick’s Bakery Services, and help other small bakeries who could not afford to pay big companies for maintenance of their equipment. I had to wake up at 4 a.m. to attend to my customers before starting my 7.30 a.m. shift. I had to take my savings of which they were not that much since I worked for about 30 months and being young at that time, savings was not what a black African was taught at home. I learnt to save each and every cent I made from the business. I was undermined when approaching big corporates to offer maintenance for their equipment, as I was told I am too young to have a business of this nature. That is when I learnt to respect everyone in general. Today my company is responsible for three supermarket chains in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. I have employed more than 50 employees in the past eight years. I do encourage my employees to venture in all forms of learning since I do that too. SMEs are very important because they don’t only create jobs but they also help the communities by reducing the high number of unemployment and improve lives. For future entrepreneurs, I have two lessons: 1) Dream big, never stop dreaming … and let your dreams have vision! 2) Don’t study to be hired but study to empower yourself! Source Interview, 4 October 2018, reproduced with permission, for more information see: http://www.nicksbakeryservices.co.za/index.html Possible Questions 1.Compare and contrast the cases above by indicating the similarities and differences in Les and Nkosikhona’s backgrounds. 2.What are the key lessons from both cases? 3.Explain the key characteristics that Les and Nkosikhona possess?
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