Photo. ©MagazineJimbere
On February 1, 2024, Diane Kaneza celebrated the completion of her first book titled “Start Smart”, which is the guide to starting growth and running your own business. The book launch and ceremonies took place at the Martha Hotel located in Rohero II, Mukaza commune in Bujumbura city.
Many people in the audience asked Diane why she wrote the book in English when she is Burundian and that the content of the book was primarily to help Burundians know how to start their businesses. She replied that the book will soon be translated into French and Kirundi. But she also wrote in English because it is her current language as she used to live in different African countries where they speak English.
In her book, Diane focused a lot on how to start a business. “When you want to do your project, you first do research, you get started, you register and manage your finances, you manage practices, you market your business, you study sales strategies, taxes, etc. », she says.
Prosper Manirambona, one of the audience, appreciated Diane’s work and emphasized the African cultures in business, particularly in Burundi, where the owner of the company entrusts the hiring of his relatives as staff and the company fails at everything moment because the relatives most of the time think that it is to benefit from the company’s properties as their own instead of working and producing for the company as it is their job. When the employer hires staff not belonging to the family members, he makes a profit as the business runs smoothly without interference of the family affairs. On this point, Ketty mentions that “favor kills business, especially when you hire family members into your business.”
Two panelists, namely Grace Ningejeje and Ketty Ruhara, shared their business experience with the audience. Grace shared how she decided to resign from the private company she worked for and went to start her own business in a bid to gain enough time to run her business and make money on her own. She said that when she was considering starting a business, she was alone. She had no mentor, no advice from friends, no guidance books on how to start a business, etc. She said that at the beginning, she did everything herself, like business management, marketing, sales, communication, everything. And so, it wasn’t easy for her because it wasn’t clear. But now, she has separated everything and her project is going well.
To encourage and empower young entrepreneurs who want to start their businesses, Ketty Ruhara gave them some key strategies and lessons. She said most entrepreneurs start their business the wrong way and in the wrong place. This is why many businesses start and die after a while, “Anyone who wants to run their own project needs to know where to start, have financial management, have the big picture, really understand the business as an owner, how to solve problems and how the business will live for a long time”
Diane Kaneza invited people to purchase and read her book in order to to spread the entrepreneurial spirit. Her vision is to enable people to become entrepreneurs by profession by following the steps and avoiding the fear of getting started.
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