I met a friend in church yesterday, who told me he was seriously considering leaving his employment with one of the reigning brands to soujorn into full time self employment. I looked him in the eye and told him he should make sure that he was ready. He told me he was, and went on to talk about how he feels that he would put some investments in place, to secure his backside and progress into managing his consulting concern. I smiled, how ignorant we all are of what it takes to survive in another world. If you are currently employed and you want to unlock the padlock on the slippers of your life and risk the odds, I have some little advice for you.
1. Get a mentor – Someone who has travelled that road. Believe me, no matter how much of a genius you think you are, this will prove very useful. Beg for it if need be, but get someone who can tell you the truth about the events that have made him successful.
2. Develop your network – Employees think that by working for 25yrs they can become experts in particular feilds and then become consultants? I’m really sorry for you. Why? Because you’ll soon discover that what it takes to be an entrepreneur is not skill but relationships and resources. Deposit into emotional bank accounts today or you won’t have anything to withdraw from in 25yrs. You need skill don’t get me wrong, but believe me your present proportions of it are a little far from correct.
3. Good business ideas are abundant – It’s not how good your idea is that matters it is who runs it and how it is run.
“An idea is plain yellow or golden, depending on the talent it rubs on” – Mark Twain
Don’t go into business because it’s a good idea, go into it because you have talent and passion for it, and it makes economic sense. Every business has it’s very down time, you will chicken out if it’s not connected to a deep passion.
4. Once upon a time some frogs gathered together to climb the tallest building. The building was high and the wall was steep. Spectators chanted discouragements from beginning to end, warning the frogs of the dangers ahead. The frogs resigned one by one until there was only one frog left for over 10 floors. It went on to win, and in its congratulatory ceremony it was asked what its motivation was. He kept silent! Upon further observation, they discovered that the frog was actually deaf. No wonder it did not hear the discouragements. If you want to start your business, go deaf. It’s not unlikely that your savings will get depleted, go deaf to it.
5. Close your back door! That sounds like bad advice if you are moving from employment to employment, but believe me in the business world, those that succeed are those that didn’t make alternative plans for returning when the going gets tough. The doors of fortune opens to those who have closed all other doors. If Bill gates didn’t make it, he would have been a drop out, if Richard Branson didn’t he would have been a dullard, if Obasanjo didn’t make it, he would have been a bar tender, if the option to your not making it is still good, chances are you won’t. Good is the greatest enemy of better.
6. Be led. Believe me, something must be leading you, or how else will Thomas Edison try 10,000 times, how will Syvelster Stallone try over 1000 times, or Colonel Sanders 1000 times, persistence?? No I think being led. I hear the richest people in the world consult mediums, practice astrology, use spiritual help for direction, are spiritualists of believe in the ability of the holy spirit. Be Led.