Browsing: Start Up

“The content of your personal life experience is your greatest competitive edge in business!” Take it or leave it. Your most competitive advantage in business as an entrepreneur is your personal life experience as an individual. Why is this so? Because there is something unique about you and your life experience that no other competition can replicate no matter how hard they try. They simply cannot replicate your life experience. It is totally liberating to know that you have an edge over all the others in your niche just because you have a personal life experience that is uniquely yours. Your only task therefore is to find a way to add some usefulness to your uniqueness. That is, use your unique personal life experience to do some good [useful] in the world through your business.

Entrepreneurship is much more than making money. It is a calling. And like every other calling, it’s people-centered. It’s never about you, it’s all about others. It’s a calling to serve; it’s not about what you can accumulate (money/profit), it’s about what you can contribute (service/value). Why do I say this?

what is a business model?

In the words of Seth Godin;

“This classic MBA phrase describes how you set up a business so you can get money out of it. A business model is a machine, a method, a plan for extracting money from a system. Without a business model, a company can get publicity, hire employees and spend money, but it won’t make a profit.”

As an entrepreneur, if your idea of a great company is to own a business that makes you loads of money, then I suggest you find another career path for yourself, because being an entrepreneur might not be your thing. Why? Because true entrepreneurs seek to make a difference by creating something new and exciting; money is never their primary objective. Their sole objective for going into business is to build a significant company. That is; a company that is different (uniqueness) and making a difference (usefulness). To bring this significant company into existence and nurture it into greatness is the passion of a true entrepreneur. Money is never their main reason for existing, to them, money is only a reward or the result of their commitment and passion to building a great company. As a result, true entrepreneurs don’t do business as usual – they go about business in an unusual manner. In other words, true entrepreneurs are not motivated by money rather they are motivated by a cause. They go into business to make a vision, idea or dream a reality both for themselves and for others. Their passion is building a significant company and nurturing it into greatness.

Why on earth should anyone buy into your idea?

Providing answer to this question is where your greatest nightmare as an entrepreneur begins. Your idea is great; it has the potential to change the world, but how come no one except you is willing to stick their neck out for it? How come all people ever do when you pitch your idea is listen, nod their heads and do nothing else? Because you are not convincing. Let me be very quick to draw a line here; there is big difference between sounding convincing and actually being convincing. Sounding convincing is a matter of presentation, being convincing is a matter of credibility.