Entrepreneurship:
Not to burst anyone’s bubble lest you stop reading this…but that line up there is the truth. One of the biggest mistakes we make as entrepreneurs is that we assume our ingenuity will solve all our issues. You got that beautiful idea; in a market you will practically be creating, carving out your riches…looks good doesn’t it? You’ll be living in a mansion by year-end! But If only life looked upon us with such love.
It is true that most of the great businessmen and women birthed their riches from ideas, what is often forgotten is the amount of work in between. There is the huge task of making everyone believe in your dream, good an idea as it may be people aren’t going to be falling over each other, cheque books in hand to be a part of your project. You will have to prove that it will work, and this will not be easy, mostly because you may be doing this by yourself.
When you have a good idea, it is very easy to start thinking that you won’t have to do any of the hard work. Not true! If you do not knock on every door available (and unavailable) and leave your footprints on every corner of your potential market you may set yourself up for a fall. Granted some people get lucky and their ideas are spotted early but in business, luck should find you, you shouldn’t bank on it. Here in Zimbabwe bank loans do not come easily, and the impressiveness of your business proposal with all your cash flow projections will not mean you will get that call. On the other hand, there are some government offices willing to fund good looking projects, but these mean a lot more work.
Being an entrepreneur is not just a title you give to yourself if you have the “my own boss” or “my own hours” mentality. You will put the most hours into the business, lose the most sleep, probably get paid the least (if at all) initially. YOU, my dear friend, will be the slave, and that’s not the half of it. The corner office, the subordinates…all that comes after hoardes of hard work and a lot of interaction with people. People will be the key to your success; your team, investors, partners, customers – all people.
The biggest thing to understand is that people come up with ideas every day, some better than yours and some identical to yours. There’s no room for prima donnas in business, hard work is what awaits you when you decide to be an entrepreneur. It is not ideas that set people aside, its execution. The way you take your idea and make it a business is what will set you aside. As an entrepreneur you will need to be persistent; a lot of doors will be closed and a lot will not be opened just because you knocked.
So, if you are new to the road of the entrepreneur this is what you should know. The idea is just the beginning. That doesn’t mean it’s not important, protect your ideas with your life (and a Lawyer, but that’s a post for another day)
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