Enriching moment with Bevan

from Zim Influencers Magazine 5th Edition

Zim Influencers Magazine 5th Edition

a Winner how to Win

“ M arried to beautiful Megan with two adorable kids, Bev- an Makaka grew up in Mabvuku Harare Zimbabwe and relocated to the U.S at the age of 15. He is a seasoned family man, whose tireless diligence, ambition and unmitigated zest are fuelled by his passion and desire for success enveloped by the fear of being average. Bevan has managed to stay afloat because he has mastered the skills to overcome and endure during seasons of crisis, he is a man who prayed for the courage to dare and the strength to act. A humble and strong man with a firm conviction so profound than what could be assumed at first glance, when you walk into his presence you experience an efflux of power and greatness. Bevan is in the Technology field as an IT Consultant, Data Driven Geek, Business Advisor based in the USA and a Philanthropist who is looking forward to growing his influence is helping people and making the world a better place. His story exemplifies a collection of the success stories of many great men and women with one common understanding being that success does not come easy but rather, it goes hand in hand with adversity and challenges. Never lose hope and sight of your goals, embrace struggles; they are a requirement for great things. His belief system is rooted in the idea of helping others in any way he deems necessary, to deepen his passion for helping people he has partnered with Zimbabwean Hip Hop gospel superstar Mudiwa Hood who recently launched a bible quiz show on Instagram were winners will walk away with cash. The idea is to have fun whilst encouraging each to embrace the word of God. On many occasions he has committed his time and resources to help vulnerable groups in Zimbabwe, on his last visit to Zimbabwe he provided food hampers to a group of widows, His vision is to expand his capacity in terms of helping the needy. He commits his time to mentoring young people about business. He is always emphasizing that he believes so much in stretching his hand to uplift others and improving the lives of those who are not as lucky as he is, he finds joy in doing sol 1 We are blessed with the ability to give and we give until there is nothing left. Go out of your way to help the people around you and make a difference in their life (Mother Theresa) 2 Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others, Unsuccessful people are always asking what’s in it for me (Sir Brian Tracy) He is enjoys waters games and he is a globetrotter who has travelled to all the 7 continents and he believes that in traveling we discover ourselves and learn to appreciate the diversity of others especially in experiencing life in different ways. Drawing inspiration from several people Bevan has learned that inspiration awakens us to new possibilities by allowing us to transcend our ordinary experiences and limitations, He believes that inspiration facilitates progress towards the benchmark of success. He draws his inspiration from a number of people first: His parents who has always been there for him through the thick and thin. The late Evangelist P.D Chiweshe took him in as his son taught him to have faith that moves mountains and builds a solid foundation in God. In his sphere he has very renowned and successful individuals who motivate and inspires him to become the man that he is today, he draws greater inspiration from Apostle Philip Mkaratigwa base in Gweru pushed him to greater heights, for this reason, he encourages young people to place themselves around people who will push them to greater heights forcing them to level up especially in prayer. Pastor Emanuel Sundure in Dallas Texas who is more of a father and brother taught him how he could become anything in life. On the same page, Bishop Isaiah Musabaya CEO of EatnLick Zimbabwe taught him a lot of principles about money which gave him the wisdom to handle finances. Archbishop Dr. Asa Guripira of Faith in God International Ministries has greatly helped him to understand that the most important thing in life is to have a personal relationship with God investing in this relationship is paramount. Last but not least Mr. Evans Kureya a business magnet in Florida USA is one of his biggest inspirations it is him who showed him what it means to think outside the box, to take risks, to trust the process, and to commit to the journey. Story by Prosper Lovemore Nyamvura 21

An Exclusive Talk with Bevan Makanaka

Hello and good day to you Mr Bevan. Which daily principles or habits that keep you focused to being this successful? I Wake up at 3:45 am every day mainly because in the morning it typically means you’re less prone to distractions because most people just don’t like getting up early, hence I am automatically more productive. I get to focus on the priorities that move the needle before all the chaos of a normal workday comes. I make sure that I start the day with prayer because when you give God the best part of your day, He will take over the rest of it, and time you spend in God’s presence will never be in vain. I proceed to read four chapters of the bible and do my devotion for an hour the important thing about morning devotional prayer is that you start your day in worship. Setting aside time for a personal moment with God, especially in the morning before going about your day, allows you to get that moment of connection with God. I do gym and workouts for an hour normally between 5:30 to 6:30, catch up with emails, WhatsApp messages, trying to figure out if I’m up to date with the latest news and information so that I can upgrade my performance by embracing new ideas, knowledge, and skills.

Mr Bevan, I understand you’re into the Youth Empowerment through entrepreneurship endorsements. What challenges do you think young entrepreneurs should be aware of? S tarting a business is like walking through a minefield that is infested with landmines its either you make it alive or you die, it is a swim or sink situation, especially because young entrepreneurs are not so sure how the market will treat them. Out of confusion, they ask questions with no solid, reliable answers, how long will my business exist? How profitable will the business be? Will customers like the product? Will I be able to give myself a steady pay check? Young entrepreneurs must know that in every story there are many winds to contend with, but before your journey as an entrepreneur, you have to observe the wind detect the direction then follow it. Entrepreneurs are brave people that influence a stable and growing economy, for this reason, young people must become relentless to embark this journey of entrepreneurship with commitment and an acute vision such that even if you are running a small business and you don’t have a lot of customers you want to cater for these few as though you have a lot of customers, even though you don’t see any returns instantly your vision must be that of exceeding the expectations of your clients. The biggest mistakes that young entrepreneur make is that they want to start big, they don’t set realist goals or assume they don’t have enough resources to start a business my word ‘Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can”, follow your passion money will always come, don’t take a no for an answer, you don’t need to focus on swag and waste resources on designer clothes, chains , pleasing the streets and friends when the business is bleeding there is always going to be time for that.Your faith will take you as far as you can go but the favor of God will also make the difference Bevan, you have left no stone unturned due to your philanthropist works, what’s the whole motivation behind giving or helping people? I believe I want to continue turning stones, I have not yet reached a tenth of where I want to be yet, I want to leave no stone unturned, there still is more to come. Because to discover more you have to leave no stone unturned. I believe in helping others because I find joy in doing so I’m not the owner of my resources I’m just a steward, for as long as God is still blessing me I will continue to be like a pipe that carries water to where it is supposed to be I believe in the process it gets wet too, I take care of Gods business and he takes care of mine, it’s very hard to love God and not love his people. Stewardship is the use of God-given resources for the accomplishment of God-given goals. You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you. Which three things do you wish you had known when you were still 20? I ’m now 33 and I would want to admit that I have learned a lot and experienced much from when I was 20. Well, I wish I had added more focus and had listened to the voice of God more. I wish I had appreciated the value of the time I wasted more time chasing trends in fashion, expensive designer clothes this leads me to the third point that I wish I had known the importance of saving money and investing. I have learned that if you start investing early you will have various choices of investment alternatives to choose from as well as better alignment towards goal-based planning and that my advice to young people 22