YOU DON’T …….WHO WILL?
As an entrepreneur with over a decade experience in managing my business, one mistake I often see young entrepreneurs make is that they get angry when no one believes or invests in their business while they are just starting.
They wonder why some friends and family members as well as angel investors are not seeing the goldmine hidden in their business idea to give them the required support
The truth is, life does not work that way.
No one is going to believe or invest in your vision except you prove it first. In other words, you need to prove yourself. Not prove a point.
Guess what?
It is alright for people not to believe in your business vision at first. But the most important thing is for you to believe in it yourself. And if you believe in your vision, you will tenaciously drive it to fruition. If you don’t drive it, no one will.
Also, if you believe in your vision, you will defend it against vision killers.
That reminds me of the story of Peter J. Daniels, an Australian Christian international business statesman.
While he was in the fourth grade, his teacher, Mrs. Phillips, used to tell him “Peter J. Daniel, you’re not good, you’re a bad apple and you’re never going to amount to anything.”
Peter was illiterate until he was 26. However, a friend stayed up with him all night and read him a copy of Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
As of today, he owns the street corners he used to fight on. And he has served on International Boards with some of the world’s greatest intellectual, business, academic, religious, and corporate giants of the 20th and 21st centuries.
At the same time, he has written and published over 15 books, including Mrs. Phillips, You Were Wrong!
What is the essence of this story? You may ask.
The answer is simple. Believe in your vision. Do everything possible to defend it and never surrender it to vision killers.
Given the above, let’s look at how to defend your vision.
First, always remember that the vision is yours. And it can only survive if you preserve and defend it.
A lot of people will only see the impossibility (i.e. the cannot) in the vision at the beginning. That is not normal. But that should not make you give up on the vision.
Second, you need to nurture the vision. I mean you should give life to it. And one of the ways to do that is to seek more knowledge and understanding of that subject area.
Thus, I will say, attend training on that area of thought, and look for people that are already in that line of business or related business. Then, sign up to be mentored by any one of them you prefer.
Third, if you are currently in a career and you have a vision of starting a business someday, I advise you to plan gradually for it. I mean, save towards that vision so that you can also be a contributor (financially) towards the business startup.
Finally, be accountable. Potential investors or partners want to be sure their money would be safe with you.
So, ensure you do proper bookkeeping for your business and you are transparent in your business dealings. With that, you will be able to attract support from individuals or corporate loans, when the need arises.
I hope this helps.
Nkem Adenuga
