COUNTRY CONTEXT
A mistake that would definitely not be applicable in South Africa is “trying to sell too many products” . In SA you will not survive if you only focus on a single product. Almost quitting is also not applicable in SA, because you can’t have a product that nobody wants to buy and then keep on spending money on marketing etc. when the product is not suitable to the country or nobody is interested in the product/service.
I think an American Entrepreneur will be able to run a small business in SA, depending on the product or service he offers. The American would need to do a lot of market research before even considering opening a small business, because of how diverse SA is. Some products/services would not sell in SA because of the climate, language, etc.
I think that I would be able to run a successful small business in America, because I can read the community and their needs and supply to those specific needs. A successful business means a business that makes profit. generating profit is not hard when you are selling the right product/service to fulfill the immediate needs of the community.
- Clarissa van Staden