"Finally back in the US of A after nearly two months abroad in Dubai and South Africa. When looking back on the experience that was EESA (Entrepreneurship and Empowerment in South Africa), I can’t help but take another look at what I expected to get out of the program. As the name suggests I thought it would be about Entrepreneurship, Empowerment and getting to experience S. Africa. My feelings entering the program were that what I personally wanted to get out of it was the chance to empower people. To do something more than just volunteer or donate money, but to actually get my hands dirty and make a long lasting difference in the lives of those less fortunate then me. I focused on this aspect of the program the most during my decision to join because I thought that I had already learned a lot about entrepreneurship through my MSE (University of Florida's Master of Science in Entrepreneurship Program) experience. And as much as I heard how beautiful S. Africa was, I just assumed that was a little added perk of the program.
Wow, was I blown away by how much more I got out of the program than I would have ever expected.
EMPOWERMENT
First and foremost, I absolutely felt that I empowered people in the world, but in so many more ways than I had originally expected to. And the confirmation of that empowerment via the final client meetings and the closing ceremony was so much stronger than I had expected. Getting to hear Kutta (a client) discuss how our team helped him. Listening to Dr. Skosana (another client) tell us how much we had changed her perspective on what it really takes to be an entrepreneur, that it takes more than just passion to accomplish your dreams: it also takes discipline, the construction of systems/processes, and the ability to come at obstacles from different angles so as to overcome them.
So much of EESA tends to blur together, but seeing the smiles on our clients’ faces is something that will always stand out as a distinct moment in my life. To know that in just six short weeks, four young adults could make such an impact is simply astonishing. But I guess it goes to the point that truly anything is possible in this world… making the impossible, possible (entrepreneurship). We always read and see stories about how people have achieved the seemingly impossible, from Neil Armstrong landing on the moon, to Felix Baumgartner literally jumping from outer space to land on his own two feet on Earth. Many things seem impossible until they are done. The experience of actually achieving some small impossibility through EESA has given me confidence going forward to achieve so much more in life. I now have personal evidence that big dreams and hard work can change anything.
The other big thing I learned from EESA is that entrepreneurship is so much more than just big dreams and lots of passion. It requires disciplined processes and busting your ass at all hours of the day to make those dreams come true. Because, as much as our unique brainstorms and approaches to client issues mattered, none of it would have really mattered if we didn’t take massive action at all times to make them real.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
So I came to EESA, certainly not thinking I know everything about entrepreneurship (far from it), but I didn’t think I would learn as much about entrepreneurship as I did. Maybe it’s for selfish reasons, but I know going forward what I did in EESA will help me with so many challenges in my life. It will help me to build businesses, teach others how to start and manage businesses, and help me to feel more confident about the entire process of owning a business. Sometimes I find it hard to convince people that what I learn in a book or in class is true about entrepreneurship. But now that I’ve actually used those entrepreneurial skills to create something in real life, it’s hard to question those policies and systems that I know work. What was learned in EESA can be translated into almost any business situation. In fact I have realized that all businesses, big or small, all have many of the same issues, just at different magnitudes.
SOUTH AFRICA
And then there is South Africa: more beautiful and magical of a place than I could have ever imagined. The sites we got to see and the people we got to meet was really the icing on the cake for the EESA experience. But more than just the beauty, it was the people that make me want to go back. Working among people in the townships who could have every right to complain about their situations and struggles and yet instead of complaining they decide to push forward and make a difference in their communities. It’s so different than most underprivileged whom I’ve met in America who like to sit back and complain about the rich, the banks, the government, etc. Here in America people spend so much time blaming others for their issues instead of going out and changing their own lives, taking responsibility for their own lives. Complaining is certainly easier than challenging yourself everyday to be something greater, but in South Africa complaining isn’t an option, it is about survival. The other quality I found different about the township entrepreneurs is that they don’t want to just make money and “get out”. They actually want to stay within the townships and grow their businesses within the townships. In America it’s always about “getting out” of a poor neighborhood. How amazing could this country be if more poor people created businesses and changed the communities around them?
In America it seems that so many people see the success of others and get jealous; almost as though the successful people were nothing but lucky. In South Africa the people view successful people as the type of people they need to emulate, such as Luvuyo. Everyone at EKASI wanted to emulate the great success of Luvuyo and Silulo. Those entrepreneurs could take the easy road and just sit back and call him lucky, but they don’t, instead they attempt to learn from his successes. The entrepreneurs in S. Africa choose to take the harder road, the one “less traveled”. The passion I got to see from people who had seemingly nothing but a dream and hope was astounding. It has brought me back to America realizing how many resources we have at our disposable that we waste everyday. Anytime I want to make an excuse about why something isn’t possible, I will look back to the EESA experience and realize I’m being a fool for making that excuse.
SUMMARY
In summary, EESA truly was a life changing experience, all of it. To be honest I thought Dr. Morris was being a little dramatic about how life changing it was going to be before we left Gainesville. Maybe I felt that way because I was older than most of the students in the program, or because I had some real world work experience. But the reality is that nothing can truly prepare you for the EESA experience, and I think that is what makes it so special. You are forced out of your comfort zone in so many different ways. Traveling across the world, interacting with a completely different culture, asked to help real people change the world around them, and not doing any harm to the their businesses/lives in the process. The task is daunting. It’s an experience that just about anyone, at any age, at any experience level would find life changing. It was all summarized for me when Kutta stood at the podium in the final ceremony and said; “Now I feel like a businessman”. At that very moment the impact felt surreal. That we could all come together as consultants and make a human being a “businessman” in only six weeks. EESA isn’t just a program; it is truly an EXPERIENCE, and one that I will never forget. Seeing the other side of the world, learning, working, and changing the world. An experience that when looking back on the pictures, the journals, the people, and the memories makes me want to be something bigger than myself. Simply… Amazing.”
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