The last article attempted to put business and entrepreneurship side by side, relating them as synonyms and as words used interchangeably in different parlance. Although one seemed more informal, they essentially describe same concepts or vocation. The concept of 'doing business' or entrepreneuring is an art, you learn to do it by doing it and continuosly improving on it. No matter how many books or articles on entrepreneurship you have read; no matter how many seminars you attend until you start pushing an idea, you might not have a firsthand and vivid description of what it takes to build an enterprise. You simply have not started by thinking or imagining! You are only in love with the idea of being an entrepreneur! The best you can be referred to is an enthusiast.
I have seen high levels of beliefs, hope and energy in anticipation of starting a business. I have listened to many ideas been churned out awaiting realization. I have also heard many people express with all seriousness and sincerity how they will dabble into a particular business when they have money, usually a sum of the amount that is not familiar in their bank statements or transactions and all they are 'praying' and 'wishing' for is a 'miraculous' provision. In response to such, many questions fly out of my mind and I attempt to temper it depending on my familiarity with such a person. The real question is "what will such a person be doing till that miraculous provision drops"? "Does it really take a miracle to raise money to start somewhere?" While I cannot undermine the critical role of substantive capital in running an enterprise neither do I intend to minimize application of faith in personal lives including the marketplace, at the same time, I'm more comfortable with these two principles of- "using the rod in the hand to part the Red Sea" and "faith without works is dead. . ."
The real albatross for starting a business is self leadership gauge, it pops itself up a while after you have been charged up at a seminar, after reading a book or by someone's success story. Self leadership gauge attempts to measure reality with enormity of the ideas; define abilities in terms of inabilities and shortcomings; determine how far this idea can scale through in intensity. It's all subconscious but cognitive assessment. By the time the assessment on this self-leadership gauge is done, it's either the dream fizzles away, ideas buried, plans forgotten or energized to set out despite inadequacies.
Starting a business doesn't start by renting a space - office, shop, warehouse. Businesses start by imagining and creating circumstances around a product, a service or a concept and gradually building sets of activities to create value chains. The whole exercise of starting a business is a milestone comparable to cutting the first tooth in children. You do it one step at a time, systematically and consistently also. From idealization, to value definitions, packaging of products or service, value delivery either by driving a product or a service and then taking the lead in other peripheral activities of real management (optimizing on limited humans and financial resources). It's all a roller coaster, not necessarily for amusement alone but of highs, lows, excitement, anxiety, fear, thrill all in one trip.
There is never a convenient time for starting out on a laudable idea. I have these thoughts that I encourage myself with at all times and it goes thus ~
"The best time is actually NOW!
The best point to begin is WHERE you are
The best resources to use is WHAT you have"
Comments, contributions, questions and queries are welcomed on the article.
Email:bankysanya@gmail.com Twitter: @Bankysanya
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