The
Entrepreneurial Awakening
online course
What if you could mobilise your group to think and act more entrepreneurial?
What if such a group could multiply and speed up the result that we need to achieve?
What if we could change South Africa's economic and social wilderness into a garden?
What if, step by step, we could get from here...
Economically South Africa is a very unequal society. At the foot of a very high cliff is a crowd looking up to a smaller group looking from above. The bottom group typically represents the majority of South Africans in our economy. Our economy has left the majority of South Africans behind. They bundle together at the bottom. The big question is, how are they going to make it to the top? What are they going to do? The group at the top looks down at those below with an overwhelming sense of hopelessness; there are too many down there, too few up here and the cliff is too high.
... to here?
This is a zig-zag road, with a moderate slope, on which groups of people progress at different speeds. This image breaks down an impossible situation into more achievable challenges. It ensures small wins and therefore promotes momentum and hope. Lack of hope makes one unable to perform. Economically, we need to create an upward movement for our people, no matter if it is small initially.
What if you could learn one of the single most important skills in the 4th Industrial Revolution: the ability to see opportunities where other people miss them and translate them into action plans?
What is an entrepreneur?
Misconceptions about entrepreneurs

Society has misconceptions of who and what an entrepreneur is and often to our own detriment.

The media has introduced us to the expressions "tenderpreneurs" and "culturapreneurs" but these expressions are wrong!

Entrepreneurs are powerful agents of change in communities. An entrepreneur is someone who:
  • looks at a desert and sees a garden
  • sees possibility where others cannot see it
  • pushes forward to make these possibilities a reality
  • through their perseverance, hard work and innovation spark economic growth and contributes to prosperous communities.
Watch a short introduction of what you can expect in this online course


This course is fundamentally within a Christian world view and is directed towards groups.
We believe that this "less common" approach to entrepreneurship opens up fresh insights.
Yes!
This course will...
  • give you a practical understanding of what an entrepreneur is
  • mobilise groups to start thinking and acting entrepreneurial
  • mobilise groups to see opportunities that previously went unnoticed
  • teach your group how to convert opportunities into action plans
  • highlight learning insights through real-life examples
  • allow for active learning and group participation
  • challenge your group to believe in their ability to make a difference
  • introduce your group to big thinking (birds-eye view of situations)
  • practise skills to organise information into big thinking.
Course options

You have a choice to do:

  • option 1 (full course)
  • option 2 (shortened course: parts 1, 2, 3 and 8)

Update November 2021: Added "The Slave Entrepreneur" lesson to both courses.

Parts 1 to 3 provide the firm base of understanding entrepreneurship and uses real-life examples of individuals.

Parts 4 to 7 investigate the real-life example of a group of people. It is unusual to have a documented case study of a group of people’s collective entrepreneurial journey. What is more unusual is that this case study first documented the group’s century-long economic decline that ended up in economic retardation. This highlights the factors that negatively impact on people's ability to be economically competent. It then proceeds to follow their acceptance of their situation and the strategies they employed to "rescue" themselves. Straightforward strategies, yet it was successful to such a degree that within 10 years they had to a great extend overcome poverty.

This case study is about the Afrikaner’s history prior to apartheid. We are mindful that studying the history of the Afrikaner will not be acceptable for some people because of the connection with apartheid. Therefor the split in the course.

Still we want to state that in no way do we endorse or even want to soften apartheid. It is what it is: an indefensible abuse of human rights. Finally, since this case study is about the century-long history of the Afrikaner before apartheid, the principles, practices and policies of apartheid are not part of this course.

Part 8 guides you through steps to identify possible opportunities, brainstorm solutions and develop an action plan for a solution.

A course facilitator in Zambia made the following remark:
"The participants had absolutely no problem with the case of the Afrikaner, even though they were fully aware of the apartheid story. Their perspective of an Afrikaner had been that of an 'originally' rich community, but they were actually shocked to learn that the people they so perceived were actually 'very poor and neglected' at some point in history. In my observation, that actually inspired them as they reasoned that they could also make it!"
Who will benefit from this course?
  • Church groups
  • Community groups
  • Families
  • A group of friends
  • Although this course has primarily been developed for groups, individuals will benefit from it just as much
  • This course is appropriate for people 16-years old and older (research shows that many successful entrepreneurs are aged 40 and up)
How much does the online course cost?
Option 1: Full course*
Start the full course now →
Option 2: Shortened course*
Start the shortened course now →

*Find out more about the differences between the 2 course options.

Should your group have problems to raise the money for this course, we urge you to use this seemingly adverse situation to become entrepreneurial.

Let the group collectively plan and execute fundraising actions. Experience has taught us that a strategy like this will exponentially increase the value of the course for your group. Before they explicitly learn about an entrepreneur, a fundraising action will unknowingly immerse them in the world of an entrepreneur and the course will become a way of formalising and ordering their experience.

Here is a short video on the church bazaar to spark your imagination.


Newsletter

Subscribe to GoodNight Entrepreneur's newsletter. We'll let you know when we publish new articles, or start new actions and courses.


Your email address will be securely stored. We will never sell or distribute your email address to a third party.
FAQs
How does the online course work?
  1. The entire course is divided into 9 lessons.
  2. It should be completed within 3 days. For maximum impact we suggest that you have at least one day open between each day you attend the course. This is to give the group time to do some field work that will greatly increase the learning impact.
  3. A lesson typically:
    • consists of a video of between 10 minutes to 22 minutes,
    • provides real-life examples of entrepreneurs, and
    • self-reflection questions are asked at the end of each lesson to assess their understanding and prompt them to adopt positive habits.
  4. The shorter course consists of 4 lessons and could be completed in one day.

What will I need to do this course?
  1. A computer or tablet.
  2. An Internet connection to access the online course and watch (stream) the videos.
  3. A venue for your group.
  4. Sticky notes and pens for members of your group.

Can I facilitate the Entrepreneurial Awakening course even though I myself have little or no knowledge of entrepreneurship?

Yes definitely! The course is designed to make it effortlessly to facilitate. All actions, materials needed and even the time frames are provided. We suggest that you study the facilitator notes in preparation, the rest will be self explanatory.

Who is this course suited for?

As we make use of real-life stories and case studies this course is suited for a diverse audience from absolute novice or non entrepreneurs to more advance entrepreneurs. Regardless your level of competency you can learn from the experiences of others. These stories are inspirational and selected for their great diversity.

We have had feedback from a family with children in primary school who have done this course and the children were captivate by the course material. We however suggest that your group be slightly older; say from grade 10 upwards.

Will we have a business plan by the end of the course?

No. We believe that to start with a business plan will be to put the horse before the cart. The single aspect that set an entrepreneur apart is the person of the entrepreneur. This is where the magic begins, with the thought patterns, attitudes and perseverance of the entrepreneur, and this is what we focus on. We believe that a business plan is a secondary skill - and one we have seen that entrepreneurs can easily acquire once they are motivated for a venture. To be able to see opportunities however, where other people cannot see them and to have the skills and emotional strength to make this opportunity a reality, is far more challenging.

In a later course we talk about a business plan.

I am not a Christian can I do this course?

Yes certainly. Learning form real-life examples and from different perspectives can always provide insight even if you do not agree with everything.