Entrepreneurship

Sub-topic area: Personal development

Key unit competence: To be able to create SMART goals and plan to achieve them

3. Translate the goals in the table below into SMART goals.

Review activity 

Reflecting on unit 2 in Senior 1, discuss the following questions. 

1. What personal qualities do you have? 

2. How could your personal qualities help you become an entrepreneur?

Introductory activity

 Imagine that you are dreaming of standing at the top of Mount Karisimbi, Rwanda’s highest mountain. Do you think that this dream could become a reality one day? How should you go about achieving this dream? 

Answer the following with the class.

 1. What is a goal? 

2. What does it mean to set a goal? 

3. Why are goals important?

2.1 Setting goals

 You have goals and dreams of things that you would like to do, places that you would like to visit and jobs that you would like to do. 

• What qualities do you think help you to achieve your goals? 

• Which person, or persons, can assist you to reach your goals?

Exercise 2.1 

Compare your own growth and development to that of a tree. A tree needs roots, a trunk, major branches, leaves, flowers and thorns. Draw the tree in the image below. Compare each part of the tree to values, people and places that help with your growth and development.

Prepare and present a poster to the class. Include the following in your presentation: 

1. Explain how you can relate the growth and development of a person to the different parts of the tree. 

2. Which people and places give you strength like the trunk of a tree? 

3. Which people or places give you protection like the thorns? 

4. How can you use this analogy to work towards your goals?

2.2 SMART goals

 Sometimes a goal feels like it is just a dream. You may wish to do something one day, but it never seems to happen. A useful tool for setting goals that you can reach is a SMART goal. When we set a SMART goal, we can direct our actions into achieving the goal.

Activity 2.1 

1. Can all goals be achieved? Explain your answer. 

2. What do you think the acronym SMART means.

Activity 2.2 

1. Study the table below and make the goals SMART.

Exercise 2.

2 Study the cartoon. Then answer the questions that follow.

1. Does the entrepreneur have a SMART goal?

2. Fill in the goal in the table.

4. Write your own personal SMART goals.

2.3 Long-term and short-term goals

 Some goals take a long time to reach. For example, completing an education or starting a new business.

2.3.1 Long-term goals and milestones 

When long-term goals are far in the future you should set milestones. A milestone marks the completion of an event. For example, completing Entrepreneurship Senior 2 is a milestone towards completing your education. You should always celebrate reaching a milestone.

2.3.2 Short-term goals

 A short-term goal is a goal that you can reach within a short time. Often short-term goals can lead to long-term goals. For example, selling your first product is a shortterm goal towards the long-term goal of being a business owner. You can compare short-term goals to low-hanging fruit. When the fruit on a tree ripens, it is easy to pick the fruit at the bottom. By picking the low-hanging fruit, you will not harvest all the fruit on the tree. However, it is a good step on the way.

How to draw up an action plan

Step 1

 Create a list of the tasks that need to be done. Start each task with a verb (doing word) because a task is something that you can do. 

Step 2

 Break down the tasks into short-term and long-term actions. To identify short-term actions, ask yourself ‘What can I do right now that will bring me closer to my goal?’ 

Step 3 

Write a to-do list of actions and include guidelines (describe how to do each task). 

Step 4 

Create a timeline for your actions and include milestones.

2.4 Creating a timeline 

A timeline is a tool that shows the progress of a task. It shows how much time a project will take and how each task fits into the overall project. The most common type of timeline is the bar chart or Gannt chart. The chart shows the activities that need to be done. The chart also shows the start and finish date of each activity. It shows how the activities relate to each other. For example, if you build a house, you cannot fit the roof before you build the walls.

Learning activity 1

 Design an action plan for the goals set on the previous page.

Learning activity 2

 Create a timeline for the action plan created above.

How to create a timeline

 Step1 

Draw a graph where the X-axis (horizontal line) represents the time period for your project. You can use days, weeks or months as the time units. The Y-axis (vertical line) represents activities or tasks. The activities can be practical such as designing, constructing or installing. They can also include periods where there are no tasks, such as holidays or waiting for approval for your plans. Waiting time also influences how long it will take you to complete the project. 

Step 2 

Add tasks to your graph. If the first task (A) will take two weeks, then fill in a bar across two weeks on the X-axis. The next task (B) will take one week and can only start when task A is complete.

Did you know? 

H.L. Gannt was an American engineer. He used his charts on important projects like the Hoover Dam. This dam was constructed during the Great Depression in the1930s to help reduce unemployment.

Step 3 

Identify start and end points for your project. Write the date that you can start the project. When you have added all the tasks, you can also see the date when your project will be complete.

Resources 

To reach your goals you also need resources. These can be:

 • money 

• materials

 • people. 

The resources must also be included in an action plan.

Learning activity 3

 Identify the resources needed to achieve the goal set on page 18

Cross-cutting issue 

Peace and values education: Celebrating Umuganura is a great way to promote Rwandan cultural values that we can use to build, unite and reconcile Rwanda as a nation.

Activity 2.3

 Your class has been appointed as festival coordinators for the annual Umuganura celebrations. Every year the harvest is celebrated as a day to give thanks. The event occurs on the first day of August. This year, you have been asked to plan a festival with decorated trucks and musical processions. You are given the following list of responsibilities: 

• Create a route for the procession through your community. 

• Ask the cell council for permission if you need to close roads.

 • Arrange a theme for your truck to celebrate the harvest and the importance of agriculture for Rwanda.

 • Arrange bands and musicians and other forms of entertainment. 

• Allocate spaces for stalls that offer food and drinks.

 • Advertise the event to attract as many visitors as possible. To plan the festival you need to: 

• Draw up an action plan where you identify the tasks and resources needed. 

• Develop a timeline that shows start and end points. Discuss the following: 

1. What are the obstacles (things in the way) that you need to overcome to plan the festival?

 2. Which skills do you need to run the festival? 

3. Which opportunities do this festival give your community?

Activity 2.4

 Make suggestions for SMART goals that the farmer can set to reach his goals of growing his farm.

Case study 2.1 Read the case study. 

Then answer the questions that follow

The future is bright for Haguminshuti’s chicken empire

Dieudonne Haguminshuti discovered farming opportunities in 2003, while working on a project in Kanombe. Here he developed poultry farming projects for people living with HIV. The work gave him an idea to start a business in agriculture. However, it would take him several years to make his dream a reality. 

After learning about poultry farming in the United States, Dieudonne Haguminshuti returned to Rwanda. His first application for a bank loan was rejected. He did not have collateral (property or other wealth) for the loan. Dieudonne also faced other difficulties such as an irregular supply of birds. He also had problems with the quality of the birds. However, he did not give up on his dream. He continued applying for funds and eventually the Rwanda Development Bank agreed to fund the project. There were many conditions for the loan. Dieudonne had to invest all his savings to get the project going. Today, he runs a successful poultry farm in the Bugesera district in the Eastern Province. The farm contains four chicken houses that each house 25 000 birds. Haguminshuti’s customers include supermarkets such as Nakumatt and Simba. Dieudonne is an ambitious business man and he has further plans (goals) for his chicken empire. He is currently looking for investors who can assist him with his plans to increase production. He estimates that he can increase meat production to 70 000 kilograms in nine months. Then he will spend the next six months increasing production at the chicken hatchery from 60 000 to 300 000 chicks per week.

Sources: www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2014-10-12/181864/ and www.cndpoultryfarm.blogspot. co.za/2013/07/c-n-d-ltd-poultry-form.html

Questions 

1. What was the goal that Dieudonne Haguminshuti had in 2003? 

2. Describe some of the obstacles that he had to overcome to reach his goal.

 3. The chicken business is still growing. List his goals for growth as SMART goals. 

4. Create a timeline to assist Haguminshuti with planning

The concept of a SMART goal

 •The S M A R T tool will help you to reach and attain your goals. 

•Goals must be: Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, Timebound.

Achieving SMART goals 

• An action plan is a tool that you can use to break up a large goal into smaller actions.

• The action plan uses the four Ws (What, When, Who and Whenever) to reach the goal. 

• A timeline is a tool that shows the chronological progress of a task. 

• It has a start date, end date, all the activities that must be completed and how activities relate to one another. 

• To reach a goal, you need to allocate the correct resources.

Setting long and short term goals 

• Goals can be long-term of short-term, depending on how long it will take to achieve.

Self-assessment 

Traffic congestion in Kigali during rush hour is not as severe as in other East African capitals. However, an increase in private vehicles has seen an increase in traffic jams during recent years. Improving public transport is key to reducing traffic jams. In addition, public transport is better for the environment. Kigali City Council has approached you to help them develop a solution. They need you to do the following:

 1. Develop SMART goals for reducing traffic jams in Kigali. 

2. Draw up an action plan with short-term and long-term goals. 

3. Write a timeline for the tasks that you need to complete.