Post-creation support is sorely lacking
25 May 2011
Read by 1659 persons
Many young people express a certain fear because they are not prepared. Scientific studies in America have shown that successful people have experienced at least three failures in their careers.
For fear of failure, many young people prefer to seek salaried employment instead of taking a chance by becoming self-employed. Lack of support, financing problems, or simply the non-existent culture of entrepreneurship are the causes. Listening to Zakaria Fahim, chartered accountant and CEO of the BDO firm, it is however possible to overcome obstacles by relying on experts.
With the failure of the Moukawalati program, is business creation still a risky venture for many?
Absolutely! Today, the main obstacle to business creation is psychological. Young people are still poorly informed about the act of entrepreneurship in general. Many young people fail to succeed due to lack of confidence. They feel isolated in their world. However, many firmly believe in their project and are not ready to do anything else. Cases of business failures after creation are often mentioned, but we ignore that many projects were abandoned even before creation, for several reasons. A survey conducted by the Centre des jeunes dirigeants (CJD) in 2009 shows that there are many obstacles, besides financing.
Which ones?
I would first mention the lack of preparation upstream, the inadequacy of the creators' profile to the project's requirements: open-mindedness, entrepreneurial spirit, perseverance skills, lack of creativity and innovation, lack of management training, insufficient reception and support infrastructure for business creators, and above all the lack of post-creation support in duration and quality.
What advice would you give to a future entrepreneur?
Today, many young people express a certain fear because they are not prepared. There are no bridges between young people and the business world. We must show these young people the way. When you tell them about the brilliant careers of leaders from modest backgrounds, they are amazed and understand that anything is possible. You have to sell them a dream. Today, young people in high schools, schools and universities are not sufficiently sensitized to the importance of entrepreneurship.
Another factor of reluctance: the fear of failure. Scientific studies in America have shown that successful people have experienced at least three failures in their careers. You don't necessarily succeed on the first try, but you learn to capitalize on failures to bounce back better. In retrospect, I think that if this reluctance exists, it is due to a lack of support. Despite all the measures taken, we have not yet found the right formula to create a nursery of entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, there is no shortage of good examples. Today, within the framework of the CJD, a future entrepreneur must first develop the behaviors of an entrepreneur, namely initiative and opportunity seeking, risk-taking, constant pursuit of quality and efficiency, respect for commitments, information research capacity, definition of short-term and long-term objectives, systematic planning and monitoring, persuasion and network development, independence and self-confidence. The entrepreneur must carry his dream, must dare to go all the way with self-confidence
Regarding the legal form, which one do you recommend the most?
Most often, people opt for the SARL. Otherwise, for micro-projects, the sole proprietorship remains the most used formula. This is a status generally reserved for small structures, such as crafts or small businesses. Legally, no distinction is made between the entrepreneur's private property and the property related to his activity. The number of sole proprietorships continues to grow each year. Several factors make this structure very popular. Indeed, the legislation simplifies the creation formalities to encourage young people to set up their own business.
In addition, the related tax obligations also make it possible to develop one's small activity to the best of one's ability. And the best advantage is that, being your own boss, you are completely free to make all the decisions. Although it presents many advantages both in terms of its creation and its growth, this structure presents a major constraint. It is that it puts the entrepreneur's personal assets at stake. The implementation of a self-entrepreneurship formula, which does not yet exist in Morocco, would be able to solve this problem.
What advantages does it offer?
The self-entrepreneur status allows each person to facilitate business creation by lightening the creation and management formalities and by giving the self-entrepreneur a simplified system for paying tax and social security contributions. With a simple click, you can create your business online without worrying about administrative procedures.
What, in your opinion, is the prerequisite before embarking on the entrepreneurial adventure?
First of all, a feasibility study of the project is necessary. It is necessary to ensure the possibilities of its realization at the legal, administrative, financial, commercial and other levels. This prerequisite thus requires the choice of a qualified advisor. It is especially important to avoid always choosing the "cheapest" advisor, since this choice could prove to be penalizing.
What to do when you have no knowledge of accounting, finance, business law?
In fact, the ideal would be for the young entrepreneur to invest, alongside the development of his business, in training in various fields directly related to his project, including necessarily the accounting, legal and tax aspects. Objective: to avoid unpleasant surprises and reduce mistakes.
Close monitoring of accounting, financial and legal aspects allows the beginning entrepreneur to avoid the risk of criminal liability as manager of the company and also to avoid penalties and late payment surcharges caused by the late filing of tax, accounting and legal declarations and the non-payment within the deadlines of taxes due by the company.
Posted on May 25, 2011
Lavieeco.com
For fear of failure, many young people prefer to seek salaried employment instead of taking a chance by becoming self-employed. Lack of support, financing problems, or simply the non-existent culture of entrepreneurship are the causes. Listening to Zakaria Fahim, chartered accountant and CEO of the BDO firm, it is however possible to overcome obstacles by relying on experts.
With the failure of the Moukawalati program, is business creation still a risky venture for many?
Absolutely! Today, the main obstacle to business creation is psychological. Young people are still poorly informed about the act of entrepreneurship in general. Many young people fail to succeed due to lack of confidence. They feel isolated in their world. However, many firmly believe in their project and are not ready to do anything else. Cases of business failures after creation are often mentioned, but we ignore that many projects were abandoned even before creation, for several reasons. A survey conducted by the Centre des jeunes dirigeants (CJD) in 2009 shows that there are many obstacles, besides financing.
Which ones?
I would first mention the lack of preparation upstream, the inadequacy of the creators' profile to the project's requirements: open-mindedness, entrepreneurial spirit, perseverance skills, lack of creativity and innovation, lack of management training, insufficient reception and support infrastructure for business creators, and above all the lack of post-creation support in duration and quality.
What advice would you give to a future entrepreneur?
Today, many young people express a certain fear because they are not prepared. There are no bridges between young people and the business world. We must show these young people the way. When you tell them about the brilliant careers of leaders from modest backgrounds, they are amazed and understand that anything is possible. You have to sell them a dream. Today, young people in high schools, schools and universities are not sufficiently sensitized to the importance of entrepreneurship.
Another factor of reluctance: the fear of failure. Scientific studies in America have shown that successful people have experienced at least three failures in their careers. You don't necessarily succeed on the first try, but you learn to capitalize on failures to bounce back better. In retrospect, I think that if this reluctance exists, it is due to a lack of support. Despite all the measures taken, we have not yet found the right formula to create a nursery of entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, there is no shortage of good examples. Today, within the framework of the CJD, a future entrepreneur must first develop the behaviors of an entrepreneur, namely initiative and opportunity seeking, risk-taking, constant pursuit of quality and efficiency, respect for commitments, information research capacity, definition of short-term and long-term objectives, systematic planning and monitoring, persuasion and network development, independence and self-confidence. The entrepreneur must carry his dream, must dare to go all the way with self-confidence
Regarding the legal form, which one do you recommend the most?
Most often, people opt for the SARL. Otherwise, for micro-projects, the sole proprietorship remains the most used formula. This is a status generally reserved for small structures, such as crafts or small businesses. Legally, no distinction is made between the entrepreneur's private property and the property related to his activity. The number of sole proprietorships continues to grow each year. Several factors make this structure very popular. Indeed, the legislation simplifies the creation formalities to encourage young people to set up their own business.
In addition, the related tax obligations also make it possible to develop one's small activity to the best of one's ability. And the best advantage is that, being your own boss, you are completely free to make all the decisions. Although it presents many advantages both in terms of its creation and its growth, this structure presents a major constraint. It is that it puts the entrepreneur's personal assets at stake. The implementation of a self-entrepreneurship formula, which does not yet exist in Morocco, would be able to solve this problem.
What advantages does it offer?
The self-entrepreneur status allows each person to facilitate business creation by lightening the creation and management formalities and by giving the self-entrepreneur a simplified system for paying tax and social security contributions. With a simple click, you can create your business online without worrying about administrative procedures.
What, in your opinion, is the prerequisite before embarking on the entrepreneurial adventure?
First of all, a feasibility study of the project is necessary. It is necessary to ensure the possibilities of its realization at the legal, administrative, financial, commercial and other levels. This prerequisite thus requires the choice of a qualified advisor. It is especially important to avoid always choosing the "cheapest" advisor, since this choice could prove to be penalizing.
What to do when you have no knowledge of accounting, finance, business law?
In fact, the ideal would be for the young entrepreneur to invest, alongside the development of his business, in training in various fields directly related to his project, including necessarily the accounting, legal and tax aspects. Objective: to avoid unpleasant surprises and reduce mistakes.
Close monitoring of accounting, financial and legal aspects allows the beginning entrepreneur to avoid the risk of criminal liability as manager of the company and also to avoid penalties and late payment surcharges caused by the late filing of tax, accounting and legal declarations and the non-payment within the deadlines of taxes due by the company.
Posted on May 25, 2011
Lavieeco.com
