I was reflecting on life the other day and on continuation. As I was reflecting on this, I looked at some of the prominent companies that there are worldwide, and couldn’t help but notice that some of these are over a hundred years old. By virtue of that, I realised that the founders of these companies have now passed on. As my reflection continued, a thought dawned on me that life is a relay race and that if we live everyday with this thought in mind, we are likely to make better decisions about the future.

So, in a relay race, there is mostly four runners who run for a particular distance carrying a baton, passing it to each other until they win. If one team member slacks behind, that affects how fast and how far the one who is to continue with the baton will go. And this enlightened my thinking as an individual and as an entrepreneur. Most people build Legacy businesses, and by doing so they give those who come after them; their kids and grandchildren a head start.

Thinking of it, there is a difference between someone who is the first graduate in the family to the one who comes from a family of graduates. Although the first graduate may actually start working immediately and earn a higher salary, they won’t progress as fast as their counterpart. Reason being that they do not have the head start that the other person has. There is just so much to do and you probably starting from the very bottom. At times, you have to start by buying yourself basic necessities such as a bed or even clothes.

This is, of course, the situation of most African children. And in a country like South Africa, where wealth was not evenly distributed, like most other African countries, the parents are not to be blamed. This affects the entrepreneur a lot as well. Having to start out is difficult because there are no funds to borrow from friends or family unlike the popularized western narrative that your immediate friends and family are your source of capital in the early days. As Africans we don’t have that privilege. Also, it becomes difficult in the beginning as entrepreneur, because you are likely to have to work for your stomach. This makes it very difficult to scale up because it’s always difficult or impossible to reinvest any money in the business while the stomach needs to be filled, and you can’t let your family starve, literally, in the name of ‘I need to reinvest in the business’.

The above might sound like grumbling to some, but it’s not. It is just the reality for most South African entrepreneurs. Actually, I could argue that there are more necessity entrepreneurs more than opportunity entrepreneurs. But of course, this article is for the purpose of how things can be better more than just outlining how bad things are. If we think of life as a relay race, we can do better. As young entrepreneurs, we should strive to give our offspring a better start. We can do this by building up legacy businesses or businesses that are just sustainable enough to pass on to the next generation and become other streams of income for them. That will ensure that they go further than we can. They won’t have to start from the very bottom.

As an entrepreneur, It is not the easiest of things to set up different investments instruments that will ensure that should you pass on, your offspring have something to keep them going.  I have been learning the importance of setting up life insurance and life covers, and boy! It’s so underrated. That is one of the best ways to give your children a headstart.  Very few people will be able to save up a million in their lifetimes, but through a life insurance policy, you can. Why not take advantage of it? Imagine if you had a quarter of that when you started your business? It would have made a huge difference for sure. You can make that huge difference for your offspring. Life is a relay race, don’t disadvantage your offspring. Give them that advantage.