Browsing: Start Up

Uncertainty, fear and doubt remind us that past successes are no guarantee for future ones. They remind us that what got us here may not take us there. They remind us of our imperfection as mortals. We are never above mistakes. We will never have it all figured out. We will always be subject to the laws of nature. We will always be at mercy of chance. Why? Because in life, there are no guarantees, period.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the result of other people’s thinking; don’t let the noise of other people’s opinion ground out your own inner voice and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become, everything else is secondary!”
–Steve Jobs, 1955 – 2011

Creativity is the essence of entrepreneurship. Meaning, an entrepreneur is nothing without creating. Products/services don’t fall from the sky like manna, they are created. And the one person that must bear the burden to create is no other than you the entrepreneur.

The entrepreneur’s journey is about unleashing the spirit of business within. It is about our lifelong quest as entrepreneurs of creatively coming up with unique and useful solutions to the problems plaguing humanity. It is about using your life to make an impact through your business. It is about you and the contributions you want to make through the business or businesses you establish. It is about finding and fulfilling your life’s purpose profitably. It is about making profits by making a difference [creating unique and useful solutions to humanity’s problems]. It is about using your life to build a SIGNIFICANT [extra-ordinary] business that fulfills your purpose here on earth profitably.

You’ve probably heard about the golden rule of life; “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Well, here’s the thing, the golden rule of business is no different; “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

For the majority of you who have gone into business nurturing only the juicy thoughts of being an entrepreneur, things are about to get very sour. I’m sorry, but there’s some really bad news I need to break to you; entrepreneurship as much as it’s celebrated also has a dark side. At least, I’ve been able to identify 8 of them Coming to terms with this dark side of entrepreneurship is what this unusual article is about.

Being self-employed [doing business] is the deadliest trap of business ever. That you are small is no excuse for wanting to be a one-man army. Someday soon, you will no longer be able to do all the things you so easily do now as a result of age, so what will become of your business then? Someday soon, your small business will outgrow your capacity to meet all your customer’s increasing demand, so what will become of your business then? Then, you’ll suddenly realize that all your ‘can-do-it-all-by-myself’ attitude as a self-employed entrepreneur is counterproductive. Then you will come to terms with the universal truth that one tree does not make up a forest and that one is too small a number to achieve greatness!

You are dead if you’re just like the rest!
It’s just simple logic, why would anyone remember your business if there’s nothing remarkable about your business? There are a thousand and one competitions out there and people want to know what’s so unusual about your business that makes you different from all others. Especially at a time like this when the whole world is going through a financially constraining phase, people are more prudent with the way they spend. Meaning, getting money out of people’s pocket ain’t going to be as easy as it used to be.

All businesses are not created equal. Hence, there two kinds of businesses;

1. Good Companies: Business as Usual
These are companies whose customers simply TOLERATE them because they haven’t seen an alternative provider yet.

2. Great Companies: Business NOT as Usual

These are companies who don’t have customers but have fans that CELEBRATE rather than tolerate what the company does.

Many people venture into the world of business without taking the time to critically answer some very fundamental business questions that goes a long way in determining how successful the new business
venture becomes or not. In this article, I will be sharing the 11 fundamental business questions I usually use in my coaching and consulting process for start-ups.