SMEs are the engines that run our economies, and supporting them with the resources they need is critical for their survival
There is an old adage that says, experience is the best teacher, and Naima Mwawasi knows this fact all too well.
Naima is a Customer Experience expert, and had been rendering her expertise for more than 15 years working for one of the world’s most reputable airline company.
She decided to leave the safety of formal employment and dive into the murky waters of self-employment.
Like most start-up owners, she did her business research and due diligence, put her funds together and started a consulting firm, Content CX Consulting.
But not even her extensive experience could have prepared her for what running a business really entailed. Her capital could only last her so long, she did not have a marketing strategy for the business, and finding a like-minded partner proved a tall order.
“To steady my ship, I had to learn and act fast. First, I stopped renting and decided to work from home and only hired staff based on the projects I was handling to cut costs. I also reached out to my peers in the same space who coached me on how to run my business. To market my company, I relied on word of mouth and social media,” she recalls.
Her tough start in business stirred a desire in her to mentor fellow small business owners who faced the kind of challenges she overcame.
Having a shared experience
“Having external support from a mentor with shared experiences can make a huge difference in the success and growth of a business,” says Naima.
And for the last five years, the customer experience expert has been working with Business Partners International (BPI), a business finance institution for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to assist entrepreneurs nurture their businesses into profitable and scalable enterprises.
“Ordinarily, when a business person approaches a traditional bank for loan, they get the funds and the only interaction the customer has with the bank is when repaying the loan, not so with BPI,” says Naima.
In contrast, when a small business owner approaches BPI, they get much more than the funds they apply for. They get tailor-made funding and technical assistance; the funding helps them meet the need they wanted the funds for in the first place, while the technical assistance assists them to streamline their business processes.
Tools for survival
“Technical assistance is a form of mentorship and technical expert support that include a set of services created to provide small businesses owners with the support, know-how, resources and tools that are critical for their survival”.
“Most people get into business but don’t know how to run a business. Others don’t even know how to relate with employees. But through the Technical Assistance offered by BPI, I help the business owner build seamless operational processes in order to achieve operational efficiency,” she says.
And because every small business is unique, with its own set of goals and challenges, Technical Assistance is therefore a tailored approach. This means that the mentorship and expert support are customised to respond to the needs of each individual business.
Technical Assistance can offer guidance and support on areas such as strategic planning, employee relations, marketing, communication, reporting, legal services, financial management, and even product development.
Naima explains that when BPI assigns her a business owner to work with, she prefers the old-fashioned one-on-one interaction. “This way, I’m able to see and share the emotions and pain points of the owners, employees and the organisation as a whole.”
Four stages of technical assistance
The Technical Assistance (TA) programme has four stages; Assessment, Planning, Execution and Monitoring.
After the initial interactions with the business owner, Naima then carries out an audit of operational processes to gauge where the business is vis-à-vis where the owner aspires it to be. Typically, this can take 40 to 60 days.
After the assessment of the business comes planning, which involves tailor-making solutions that would fit the specific pain points of the business. The plan will lay out the approach to be taken, resources that will be required, and the timelines for the undertaking.
“Planning is followed by execution or delivery, which may take the form of training, capacity building, coaching, developing policies or even one-on-one mentorship,” says Naima.
Monitoring and evaluation
The programme is monitored regularly to ensure that the Technical Assistance being offered is working and is bearing the desired results. If need be, the programme can be reworked to accommodate unforeseen eventualities.
“The TA programme can last anything from three to eight months depending on the size of the business, and how fast the business and its people embrace the changes,” Naima adds.
Naima says she has enjoyed working with different business owners. She says most of the people she has walked with keep in touch long after the programme has ended.
However, her biggest challenges this far are those clients, though few, who require instant results or those who take too long to make decisions, especially if the partners with the business are pulling in different directions.
“In one case, the business owners wanted to see changes immediately, they wanted employees’ attitudes to change instantly. However, I was able to work with them and eventually, they embraced the process and were appreciative when the programme started bearing fruit,” Naima recalls.
Learning and relearning
To keep herself abreast of the changing business environment, Naima says she has to keep learning and relearning. “The business environment is not static. There is so much happening. For example, with regard to technology, we are not where we were 10 years ago. I read a lot, regularly attend leadership and coaching classes and peer review meetings to learn what other mentors are doing. This way, I ensure the knowledge I pass on to business owners is timely and relevant.”
Naima says one of the skills she possesses that has enabled her to deliver results is her ability to make an emotional connection with her clients. “I am passionate about helping a business owner thrive. I try to put myself in their shoes in order to feel and see things as they do. I build an emotional connection so that I can know and help them navigate through their pain points.”
Navigating the blind spots
For small business owners who may be hesitant to embrace mentorship, Naima tells them; “Technical Assistance can have an enormous impact on the success of your business. You need someone to hold your hand, mentor you, coach you because having external support will help you see the blind spots, which you, as the business owner, may be oblivious to.”
Naima says the Technical Assistant service that BPI offers is a game changer in the SME sector, because over and above the financing, they show that they have faith in you and in your business and want to see you win.
Naima’s small business is thriving. She is keen to apply what she trains and learns in her line of work and learns from the mistakes of her fellow business owners.