I took to facebook and asked all my Maori Entrepreneurial type fiends this exact question. It created some interesting discussion on and offline.
Here were some of the things they said;
Know your why.
Don’t compare yourself
Run your own race
Be prepared to pay for the best advice
Be prepared to be diluted to bring in more capital
Be prepared to work 24/7/365 for a time
No rules rule
Speak with a financial advisor first
Profit is cruicial
Keep an eye on cashflow
Just do it
Don’t undervalue your time contribution.
Actually, there were loads, but the key theme that stood out for me was financial literacy, and paying more attention to profit. It is really easy at the start when you are full of passion and energy to get caught up in the hustle and vibe. You begin to get pulled in all directions. And then you find yourself in over your head.
I read somewhere recently that Maori rate amongst the highest in the world for Start up businesses which is amazing because it shows how innovative and motivated Maori can be. But we rate poorly for retention, and show less sustainability in business. I believe in part this has come from the drive to increase more Maori into business as a means of lifting communities out of poverty. Problem is there has never been enough focus on sustainability. Start ups rarely ever discuss long term, and once you are up and running you are basically on your own. There needs to be a deliberate focus on entrepreneurial and financial literacy. And it needs to include some sort of reconciliation around money matters and mindsets as Maori in general have a negative mindset toward money. Even in business and how many choose to operate, which is often why they fail in the end.
It comes from ideas growing up either within the whanau unit or in community of money being evil, or rich people being selfish and not wanting to associate with that kind of label. Even the term money doesn’t grow on trees impacts on a person idea of money management.
Maori Women’s Development Inc established a financial literacy programme for schools but I still haven’t come across anything for adults as yet, that has a cultural component in it. However, I have seen ‘Hidden Figures” an account on Instagram unpacking some of the cultural trauma via their social media tips. That is a good page for reference and I believe they are on to a good thing with helping others while they share their own journey. They have created a space for people to share their own knowledge and this is often where people share things they wish they had known.
This is an idea I have had to grapple with myself and would like to explore more widely amongst Maori.
Maori Entrepreneurship 