Episode Description
In today's episode, I am chatting with Bontu Galataa, an entrepreneurship ecosystem strategist and Founder of Sayyoo Consulting, a social impact business consultancy about the mistakes immigrant entrepreneurs make and more.
Bontu has met and still meets newcomer entrepreneurs at every stage of their immigration journey; from folks who just landed and are looking to run with an idea to those who have been on the grind for a few years and are looking to figure out why the business can't seem to grow beyond their little circle of friends.
And the common thread is these people mostly skip the research phase. They assume that business works the way back home with some little changes. They don't spend time understanding all the million nuances that could put you in trouble or crater your business.
Bontu and I chat about how to solve that, we also talk about:
How personal credit determines your business lending options till a certain stage
Why banks can't help with everything
The fantasy of being your own boss
Why crowdfunding, pitch competitions, and micro-grants might be better starting points than bank loans
When you should take your first loan
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Dozie's Notes
A few things that struck me as I listened through this week's conversation:
The best market research sometimes is a job. Getting a job in the industry you're hoping to launch a business in means you have a front-row seat to everything. You'll learn the regulations, find the gaps, and even build the relationships that could lead to your first clients or your first mentors.
Starting a business as a newcomer can be hard. Not to be a downer here but people (myself included) often fantasize about how starting our own business can mean some form of freedom. But you get in and discover that if you can't fund the business, the business won't fund itself. Capital is scarce. Grants for for startups are hard to come by. Lending requires personal credit you might not have yet. So you end up running the business on top of a survival job, funding it from your nine-to-five, and testing your product on weekends. Know this and plan for it.
Immigrants sometimes come from economies that have solved problems the Canadian market hasn't even identified yet. The challenge is knowing how to position that expertise in a market that doesn't know it needs it yet. Bontu thinks one way to do that in Canada is to pair that knowledge with local understanding. And execute fast.
Network outside your community. It's natural to stay within your diaspora community when you arrive. But if you want to build a business that reaches beyond that community, you need relationships outside of it. Especially because in Canada, your network is a big part of far you go.
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Official Links
✅ Connect with Bontu Galataa on LinkedIn
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