Business strategist and personal development coach, Dr. Stephen Enike-Matthew, has said acquiring vocational or professional skills alone is not enough to build sustainable businesses.

He urged entrepreneurs to develop the business knowledge, financial discipline, and systems needed to move beyond survival.

Enike-Matthew said skills-based entrepreneurs must also understand their markets and build structures that allow their ventures to operate beyond their direct involvement if they are to achieve sustained growth.

Speaking with our correspondent on the place of self-discovery in entrepreneurship on Friday, he said understanding one’s identity, abilities and purpose was important to unlocking individual potential.

“Understanding one’s identity, abilities and purpose provides a foundation for building sustainable personal and professional success,” he said.

Enike-Matthew who spoke in Lagos said his approach was centred on “Discovery, Development and Deployment”, which involves identifying individual strengths, developing those abilities and putting them to productive use.

He urged entrepreneurs to look beyond quick-money schemes and focus on creating value from their individual capabilities, saying “building value from individual skills, ideas, experiences and creativity” should form part of efforts to create sustainable income streams.

He also stressed the need for entrepreneurs to move from informal or highly personalised operations to structured businesses supported by systems and processes.

“The framework is also presented as a tool for entrepreneurs seeking to move beyond short-term survival and build businesses with structures that can support growth and succession.

“Understanding an individual’s abilities was only part of the process, as those abilities must be developed and eventually deployed productively to create value.”