Likhwa Tech

When starting a business or applying for funding, you will be required to prepare a cashflow statement. This is basically a simple projection of your cash inflows and outflows. It's main purpose is:  • to ensure that your business doesn't run out of money. So the document will show you any potential pitfalls, and that way, you can plan ahead e.g. proactively request a loan, defer payments etc. While business is unpredictable, most financial institutions(including investors) will need to be convinced that you've done your best to anticipate any possible events that could occur within your budgeting period. A Cashflow statement is a great tool to achieve that. HOW SMALL BUSINESSES RUN OUT OF MONEY: • You get a tender You have a small profitable business but you think a tender is what you need to take your business to the next level. You apply for one and that uncle of yours helps you get the deal. You get the tender but you don't have the money. So you borrow from friend

I'm a 'NOW' person. When I say I'll do something I do it, or if I get excited about something I start working on it immediately. Not tomorrow or next week, but NOW. Nah, I'm just kidding... but its sounds cool when I say it, doesn't it? I won't lie, I do try, but I still have quite a long way to go when it comes to self mastery and discipline. One thing I've mastered though, is to cover as much ground whenever I can.  I do this for a number of reasons. The first one is that I know I won't always feel fired up. I work in bursts of superhuman energy- so much that at times I amaze myself, but at the same time I also have my off days (not sure what the opposite of superhuman is). So I try to cover as much ground during my ON days. The second reason is that I believe everything happens for a reason. So I take that inspiration and use it as a compass, to guide me towards my dream. While it may not always makes sense most of the time, I believe it will all

When it comes to setting prices one thing we all seem to understand is that we need to add a markup to our cost. While this may seem easy, many small business owners take it at face value. e.g. I bought this for $5 so if I sell it at $10 I'm making 100% profit.  While that's a good start, it is not the end. They are making one critical mistake:  ignoring their fixed costs - and as a result, they undercharge. That's because most small business owners will tell you they don't take a salary or they understate their fixed costs. I work from home so I don't pay rent but at the end of the day, you still need to live, don't you?  Examples of costs that small business owners ignore How much do you deduct from your business for: • lunch • airtime • the electricity you use to bake • water • transport • the money you gave your helpers to 'buy a drink' and so on.  These amounts may seem inconsequential but over time they become significant... and they need to be fac

In previous articles, I shared my backstory, my biggest risk and the motivation behind everything I'm doing. In this article I'll talk more about my personal plan and roadmap towards the vision. First and foremost, I make apps- Android apps to be specific. My flagship app is called the Business Builder- Small Business Management Suite and I've made a more advanced version of it called Asaqè Business Pro . Which is the one I'm currently pushing and hoping will bring us the big bucks. Both apps are available on the Google Playstore and they are intended to help people especially in lower income economies to start and grow sustainable businesses. When most people think about apps, or software in general, they consider the technical functions... what does it do? What technology does it use and so on. I've since come to realize that there is more to it. To quote George Berkowski: It's not just an app, it's a business. Creating the software is the easy part. I'

One thing I've learnt over time is to never leave anything to chance, especially in business. It's important to make data driven decisions. This means collecting and using the information around you to choose those options which give you the best outcomes. While you will not always get it right all the time, it's important to err on the side of caution. So with that said, many small businesses seem to be unknowingly undercharging for their goods in an effort to be competitive. They set prices based on the markets and totally ignore their internal cost structure. Some industries (like retail) are about moving volumes. The profit margins are often quite small and so the only way to be profitable is to sell as many units as you can, while minimizing your costs. However, you can only manage your costs effectively, if you understand them. How to set a good price There are 3 factors to consider when setting prices: a.) Your costs b.) Your competitors c.) How much your customers

Did you know that since 2012 over US$3.4 trillion in venture capital (VC)has been invested around the globe? However less than 0.5% (as in half of 1%) has gone to African startups? The irony is that VC money is literally being thrown at Startups from everywhere. Here's how it works: Just to put things into context- large corporations like Google, Microsoft and Amazon are all on the lookout for new ideas. So they will fund as many ' seemingly good ' ideas and then rely on the probability that one of those ideas will be worth billions. For example- they can allocate a million dollars to 10 startups. That's $100k apiece. Out of those 10, not all will fail, and there's a chance that one could be worth 10x, 20x or even 100x as much within a year or two.  The key however, is that each of these investments should have the potential to recoup the cost of the the other 9 that fail and in addition, bring a profit. So even if 9 out of 10 investments fail, they know that one in

Why do you do what you do? What motivates you? Well, I normally have two answers reserved for that question and both are true. One is glamorous, romanticized and maybe even dramatic. Revolutionizing an industry, inspiring people, changing the world and so on. The second is more personal, and you might even call it selfish. That's the one I'll be sharing in this article. Wish I could lie a bit, but I made a promise to myself and anyone who would read this, that I would be as genuine as I could. So this is my truth. We'll reserve the glamorous one for my Forbes feature someday. Deal? Great. Some years back, my country faced a devastating fuel shortage. It was hard to get transport to and from work, and so people would wait for hours just to get a ride home. Needless to say, there was always some shoving and pushing as people jostled to board the few vehicles that came by. As I stood in line at the bus terminus, I noticed a heavily pregnant woman. She was visibly weary, probab