Martin had been thinking about becoming an entrepreneur for his whole life because he could not imagine being satisfied with becoming “the employee of the month”. However, he had never tried to become self-employed because he feared that he lacked the practical skills. He explained that he had some knowledge in entrepreneurship but did not know how to put it into practice and, hence, never started a business. Asked about the most important learning experiences, Martin said that the training taught him how to plan and execute the start-up of a business, how to develop financial plans, and how to manage finances. After the training, Martin started a restaurant in a town near the capital of Uganda, recognizing a lack of restaurants in the local market. Martin identified the business idea of a restaurant during the STEP training, in which he sold fresh juice together with the other members of the start-up team. He opened the restaurant about eight months after the training. When we met him 18 months after the training, he managed his restaurant successfully and made about 380 USD sales per month. He employed five persons, two full-time employees, and three part-time employees. In addition to the restaurant, Martin started a boutique that sold clothes and shoes for women and children 15 months after the training. The business was located in his parents’ home village some hours away from Kampala. Martin also identified the opportunity to start a company supplying construction materials but because of the high capital requirements, he was not yet able to start operations. Martin mentioned that despite the high amount of starting capital, he would not give up on that business opportunity.
After some time Martin faced sudden setbacks and difficult challenges. Four years after the training, he mentioned that he had also opened up a small hotel. His workload from managing several businesses at the same time had been very high. Furthermore, the hotel incurred losses and Martin lost a high amount of money. Despite the fact that he had diligently planned the different steps to start and run the businesses, he had to close the hotel. He explained that the training was a crucial factor in deciding to continue with entrepreneurship because STEP gave him the determination and courage to do so. After the training, his most important principle became “never give up”. This determination and persistence resulted in new businesses and in employment opportunities that he created for himself and other people. Martin had to close one business but was able to continue running his other businesses. He wanted to use the profits to create new businesses that start small and grow over time. Martin persisted in his entrepreneurial ventures and became a successful serial entrepreneur.