Browsing: Start Up

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.

Love is at the core of entrepreneurship.
Love is what drives true entrepreneurial endeavours.
Love is the reason why you think that idea of yours is going to change the world.
Love is the reason why you gave up everything else to chase your entrepreneurial dreams.
Love is why you are risking everything you’ve ever known and owned in pursuit of an idea.
Love is why you jump out of bed in a scurry to pen down an idea that you conceived in your sleep.
Love is the source of your passion.
Love is the fuel for your creativity.
Love is the energy we use up for creation.
Love is the source of inspiration for ground breaking innovations and inventions.

Becoming your own boss has sort of gained a global appeal. These days many people start up their own businesses for virtually any reason. Somehow it doesn’t seem to count anymore what led people to go into business, going into business has suddenly become the new mantra of the 21st century. In this article I will be x-raying some of the ways how NOT to start a business so that in the end, you can have the right mindset needed to start a business. I welcome you to join me in this exciting journey and as you go through this unusual article I want you to constantly bear this in mind, failure in business is usually as a result of how you start.