Entrepreneurship Is Not A Dream.
You see, lots of people think they could have written the "The Da Vinci Code" or "Harry Potter Books" but only Dan Brown and J.K. Rowlins did so. It's not like they have two heads, it's just that it takes more than mere wishes to make things happen. It takes bold steps, the efforts to do something every single day and remaining focused utill you achieve it.
I was a day dreamer too, every single time I see an online startup; I feel like it's something I could have built. But deep inside me lied only words and mere wishes. But then I came to realize that there is more to achieving anything than just mere thoughts and wishes. So I resolved to do something every single day of my life to attain my goals.
Now I am restructured and getting focused with clean and clear terms.Unless you are in control of your self, I think you should also do the same thing. It doesn't cost an arm or a leg to be successful, it only cost a small chunk of hours from your daily 24.
Happy New Year.
I pledge to 2012 my new year, to be hardworking, focused and accountable. To build my businesses with all my strength, to learn entrepreneurship in all respects and to uphold my customers and partners.... So help me God.
Think and Grow Rich.
Before I proceed, I would like to make it clear that this is not something new to you but it will remind you of the power you have to generate cash flow and attain your financial goals. Its like cooking a delicious food, you may know the ingredients but you also need to know the recipe.
From what I learned from Napoleon's book; to gain control of your potentials and become rich you must possess these characteristics:
Imagination:
This is a free gift giving to human-beings (and only human-beings) by God, which gives you the ability to picture in advance that which you desire. Through Imagination, a desire is giving a true real existence (imaginary).
Take for instance, you want to make $1Million by the end of the year and you imagine yourself holding a bank statement written on it $1,000,000.00, you will gain a sensation that will give you an extra energy towards attaining that money! (Personally, I often even write a check for my self worth an amount I desire to create a more real imaginary existence.)Imagination is a strong power that often gives oneself the courage and strength to purse one's desire.In Chapter 6: I quote; “Through the aid of his imaginative faculty, man has discovered, and harnessed, more of Nature's forces during the past fifty years than the entire history of the human race....”
An example is man's ability to fly... man imagined him self flying like a bird. (that’s our planes today!) and there are million more examples you can pick from.
A motivation speeker, Orison Marden also once wrote; “Thoughts and Imaginations are the only real limits to human possibilities”. That means you can acquire that which you can think and imagine.Sincere Desire:
This is often called the starting point of all achievements. Desire, does not mean greediness or being extremely desirous but a true passion to possess what you imagine. (Through a legitimate source).
Once you have a sincere passion over what you want to acquire, you are giving your mind the courage to overcome obstacles and strive harder to achieve it. It's like a catalyst, when you want something. When you're sincere about it, nothing can stop you from achieving it.Decision:This is often crucial and probably the most important part of the recipe. You may not know it, but a million other people around you also have the same desire and imagination as you do, and they are also willing to meet that desire too! It's up to who makes the quickest decision to move towards it.
But, only a few can actually take the final decision to take action towards their imaginations and this reluctant feeling stops a lot people from achieving their dreams, sometimes I call it “financial breakthrough inertia”. Not taking the decision to do what you have to do can deprive you from lots of things in life.That feeling that is stopping you from getting hold of your desires by taking the immediate action is FEAR! “– Fear is the biggest danger you could ever encounter in your life, because it can stop you from acquiring the greatest bounties of life.Persistence:
Having the keenness to resist hardship and timely crisis is another thing that stops people from attaining the greatest successes of all times.
I use to remember a story that will forever be told about a folk who had a land which was tested full of gold. However, the gold is to be found thousands of meters in the roots of earth. This man had the desire for the gold, the imagination of holding the gold in real sense and he took the final decision to mine it! He spent million of dollars trying to reach the gold, but there was no sign of it. So, he began to wonder if he will ever reach that gold digging! Soon he lost his patience and dropped the idea completely. He then he sold out the land! The new owner thought of giving the gold mining a try, by continuing from where this folk stopped. To your surprise, the first chop of the ground pulled out gold! What a loss? The folk left the land when he was few inches to reach the gold because he lost persistence which cost him all the gold!Learn to be patient and persistent with what you do.Don't forget to buy the book, "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill, it will teach you more on how your brain can drive you to success.
Well, I'm learning here too, so pls do not hesitate commenting your lessons too, bellow.
Do I Need A Business Plan?
But according to Wikipedia: "A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals."
To me, this is really important only to a certain level (from the little experience I have building Aimtech Hosting Co).
Ajibola Aiyedogbon: I really am a noob on business dealings, so I come from "common sense", a plan is needed, regardless of how many times it changes. If not, you are dealing in chaos. It also does not need to be physically written down, as far as one exists that can be recalled on request.
That's what I thought, it doesn't really have to be physical or formal. Can't I just write my plans on a jotter or my diary or even sticky notes. Do I have to write a clean and clear formal document?
Abubakar Gambo: I think business plans are only important at a certain stage in business, for example when looking for people to invest.
Kayode Muyibi: My business plan is designed to illustrate a few things but not limited to my marketing plan, my business strategy, my cost metrics etc.. It is a guide to remind me on what I plan to do, how I plan to do it, and reminds me of my goal and vision. I use it for my own use.
Churchill Nanje Mambe: BUSINESS PLANS are mostly not for you the entrepreneur but for your investors, partners and team.
In a video I watched on TechCrunchTV, "Why Business Plans Are A Waste of Time" with Ryan Blair:
Ryan Blair: "I don't like to see entrepreneurs spending a lot of time on theoretical market place position of a company. I think that's a lot garbage... I think you should just go to work and start building that company!"
So do you write a formal business plan? And how useful has it been to your business? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
How Being Cheap Will Hurt Your Business.
When you want to start a business, you want immediate traction and you try all that is possible to break into the market with an attractive pricing to gain attention, but in the long run; you are actually hurting your business from its infancy.
Ofcourse cheap pricing can fetch you crowd, but the question is... Is it crowd you want or long term customers?
What happens when you're too cheap?
When you appear cheap, you gather customers who's sub-concious minds are towards discounts, sales, giveaways and freebies.
These kind of customers won't mind leaving you any time a better deal is out there and if you cannot slash further, your business is doomed! That's what you taught them from day one (go for the cheap.)Why you should not be too cheap.Because you will have a bunch of low-end customers, who would rather quit business if you ever think about adding a penny to adjust your pricing in the course of running your business.Because you will losing those high-end customers, who care more about the quality of the serivce delivered and ready to pay what it takes to get the best service... because they look for value, while you offer what seems to be too cheap to be valuable.Because being cheap will put you to a niche you don't want to be among. A niche where low pricing is all that matters... That's where it is more difficult to excel.
What you should do then.
Take a deep breath and look past the immediate cash. Look long-term. Know the kind of customers you want, how you want them to think of you, and the kind of relationship you want to establish with them.
It is good for startups to charge less... yes; you should consider a little fair pricing! But don't be so freaking cheap, unless you want to gather some cheap customers too!
Build your business on the niche of quality, reliability and affordability... set your pricing fair enought for what you deliver.
PSS: Do you think being cheap will hurt your business, I would like to hear your thought on this.
Only 2 People Will Buy Your Product.
This is a valuable information that I learned during the few years of my business, I thought I should share with you and If you could learn more about it beyond what I did, I am sure you will make and keep more customers.
I work at Aimtech Hosting Co, a Nigerian web host I founded in 2007 (yes, when I was 17) and for the past 4years, I've been learning more about entrepneurship and business in general and still learning more.
One of the things I learned during the course of my business was that we were make sales from only two types of people. These are people registering a website for the first time and people who are transferring from an existing web host, unsatisfied.I was curious about this... So I went ahead to learn deep into this in relation to other businesses as well and I found out that every business get the same thing, its either they are new to the product/service or they were once not satisfied elsewhere.The only two ways you can make a sales is through one of these:- People buying such product/service for the first time.These kind of people are buying such type of product/service that you sell for the first time, they're newbies or first timers ('they are virgin). They do not have any past history of buying from somone else, they are simply new to it all.The kind of things you should expect from these kind of people are;
- Too many questions.
- Stupid and silly questions.
- Helplessness.
- And fear of paying.
- People who were unsatisfied elsewhere.Yes, if they're not buying such product/service for the first time; then keep in mind they are unsatisfied else where, they are here for better a solution!Most of these people are familiar with what you sell and they do not need your marketing officer to puersuade them, they are here for a straight forward answer to their problem and if you can not provide them with a better option, surely they will leave sooner than you can blink your eyes.Unlike newbies, you should expect from them;
- Threats to the quality of your business and complains of better options out there (even when there is not, but listen to them and adjust.)
- Too much expectations and too little concern.
- They often still seek alternatives even while you serve them.
- They pay Instant payment with no hesitation.
- They requires nearly zero support from you.
These are the two possible ways you can make a sale and if you can learn more and built cool strategies at handling these kind of people, you will make more sales and retain more customers, grow your business in a short time.
Remember, making a customer is one thing... keeping a customer is totally another!
Feel free to comment bellow, if you got a thought; I am also learning we can share. ;)There Will Never Be Enough Time.
There will never be enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important things.
This quote is actually true, an average person tries to work hard at capacity above 100%, often 200% trying to beat tasks at hand, but the truth is he/she will only keeps sinking deeper into more and more task and life will just become so not enough!
An average entreprenuer like me struggling to build businesses and run life, tends to have tons of books and blogs to read, business planning and forcasting to do, studying, experimenting, and ofcourse socializing with a 100% hope of making a success at the end. :\That has been my headache for years;( trying to do everything possible) until I got fedup and stretched out to study the reasons why I just cannot do everything I want to do and why my 150% over capacity just won't take anywhere.That's what I'm about to share with you.....The fact is that, you will never have enough time and you will never do everything that you should do or want to do. All that is possible for you to do is what is IMPORTANT and the rest can wait for some other time, if at all.Trying to do everything leads also leads to multitasking, and elongation a given Job and in the end you procrastinate, driving your over capcity into the mud. But what happens when you run at of time to a specific job?
Studies show that many people tend to work best under the pressure of deadlines, often self-created through procrastination.
When you run out of time, you wakeup early, work longer, stay late and you just somehow magically drive yourself to complete the the job.
But under the pressure of deadline it is also true that, you suffer greater consequences trying to rush the job, often at the last minute you make mistake and have to redo it again! This happens because you it is more make more mistakes when you're in pressure.
So, how did I over come all this?
It was simple, I found 3 answers that worked for me:- Stop doing everything and do something.
Everything you do in your 24hrs has a specific value to your life and unless you do more of those things with more values, you're bound to be like me in the past years; working so hard with so low results. Remember the 80/20 Rule: "Only 20% of what you do everyday amount to 80% of your success today", the vital few and trivial many - Pareto Principle.What happens if you cut down the 80% time wasting stuff you do and focus on the 20% that have long term values to your life? You will achive more results with less work of course.So, Identify those vital things that matter the most and finish them first! - Focus on singleton task at a time.
Yes, multitasking is not good and you will endup with law efficiency due to insufficient attention to what you do, causing more errors and making things unnecessarily cumbersome.Even physics has tought us the power of focus. The sun rays burn when brought to focus using a convex lens. (I'm a Physics, don't mind my example! lol).So, learn to do one thing at a time, you can set time for each task and unless you're done with it or its time frame, you shoud focus on it. - Do not feel guilty.
At first when I started following these principles, I felt guilty of so many things I didn't do like not being there at my friends party because I was busy working on a project! That was hurting but it was the best thing for me than rocking the night and procrastinating the job.The truth is every successfull person, took the zeal to let go things he could have done for things he should do. If Bill Gates spent the nights doing parties and the day hanging out with friends, I doubt if he would build Microsoft at all!So get that feeling out of your mind, its not bad that you have to do what is best for you. People will be against that, but never let it get into you.When you're succesfull everyone will understand why you weren't there all the time. :)Be happy that you found the right path and just keep going without any negative feeling, its the best thing you can do for your self. Atleast for what I know.
So, go head; cut the crap and face the vital few.
Like Goethe Johann once wrote, "Things which matter most MUST never be at the mercy of things which matter least."Brian Tracy also said, "Your most powerful thinking tool for SUCCESS is your ability to discriminate between one priority and another."Feel free to comment what you think and how you're able to do more work in your 24hrs.
Stop Being Lazy, Start Being Successful.
Make as little as possible. Save as little as possible. Invest as little as possible. Learn as little as possible... Hey i tell you what; it won't work.
You'll endup with too little money, not enough love, not enought work, not enough customer... Infact everything will be never be enough for you.
What Social Networks Should Be.
I finally understood what social networks should be, or maybe its just what they're serving me. First, what is a social network? According to Oxford dictionary: "A social network is facebook/twitter/google+" (ROTFL).
For the few years i've been actively using social networks, I get a number of satisfactions which cannot be over emphasized.
Social networks allow me to:
- Connect with my friends. (send them messages and poke them all in one place!) This alone saves me enormous amount of time to work without beeing a nerd.
- Get live feeds on what's happening to my friends and the world at large, at any given time! still from my friends! (Isn't that awsome?) It's like being in the neighbourhood where every person is a reporter.
- Comment on people's lives, (if they post about their lives!).
- Share and receive awesome photos/videos from my friends. (Most of the times, very entertaining!)
- Organise my social networking, offcourse differentiate family/friends and friends/acquitences so i could follow my mentors. (Googe+)
- Promote my business.
- and more and more and more....
Another impportant thing social networks have helped my life with is allowing me to meet companies, orgnisations and geeks I wouldn't have had the chance to meet on the street. I follow them, share with them and learn from them, people like Gbenga Sesan; Loy Okezie; Seun Osewa; Mambe Nanje; Ernest Ojeh, and a lot more in my Following list!
I understand that; there is more to learn from these things than what I know and i'm willing to learn from your comment!
Its a pleasure having you Mr. Google+, though I use to be best friends with Facebook untill Twitter stole my heart. I'm still inlove with you all and thanks for being there for me.
Not Having Money Can Also Be An Illness.
John: I am very ill, i can't do anything today.
Jack: Let me take you to a hospital.
John: No, I'd prefer a bank!
