Most
entrepreneurs see funding as the greatest problem to their dream of becoming a
fulfilled entrepreneur. I use to belong to this school of thought and infact, I
formerly had this staunch belief that if only I could get money, then my
entrepreneurial dreams will be fulfilled to maximum. In this article, I am
going to share with you, five (5) basic factors that influence entrepreneurial
success a little bit more than funding. These factors embedded in the five (5)
tips I am going to give you, are somewhat more psychological in nature, but you
should know that the basis of success for any enterprise is the psychological
condition of the entrepreneur.
1. TRY
TO AVOID BORROWING FROM FAMILY
This might sound to you somewhat
strange, especially since one of the sources of business financing is from
family and relatives. However, looking at the psychological trauma of
attempting to borrow from family, it might outweigh the merits inherent in it.
The first issue is, your
entrepreneurial creams are most probably understandable to you alone, and other
people might not share your view. Thus, a relative or family you are attempting
to borrow from who does not share your view will definitely attempt to
discourage from taking that leap of faith that your ideas require. You could
avoid listening to outsiders who do not share your view, it is sometimes very
difficult to avoid the psychological problems attached to your family member’s
disapproval of your idea.
Eventually, apart from not giving you
the capital you require, a relative might have dampened your enthusiasm by his
inability to see the bright side that you are seeing, maybe because he knew you
from when you were little and finds it hard to believe you are capable of
executing the plans you have. So, as a rule of thumb, try as much as possible
to avoid borrowing from relatives and family except the person really BELIEVES
in you and will approve of anything without saying pessimistic things.
2. IGNORE
THE FACTS AND DO YOUR BEST
There are
numerous entrepreneurial facts in the present day world. These facts ranges
from the inability of nine (9) out of ten (10) businesses to survive after five
(5) years which is a global fact, to the increasing difficulty in accessing
credit facility for business start-up etc.
If you intend to face the fact that 9
out of 10 businesses in the world fold up after 5 years, you would find no
reason to continue on your quest to become a successful entrepreneur forgetting
the truth that yours could be the 1 business that will survive out of the 10 in
your area if only you put in your best. The fact that access to credit facility
is fast becoming impossible for upcoming entrepreneurs can also make you forget
your ideas, at least what is an idea with no capital.
However factual the above information
might sound, it also presents the fact that only 10% of businesses survive
after 5 years. I tell you very sincerely that by giving your best to your idea,
you could make that 10%. If the credit facility is not available as huge as you
would want it, you could start small with that little that you have and grow
with it learning on the job.
3. YOU
STAND A BETTER CHANCE WITH YOUR OWN MONEY
The tips 1 and 2 above stress the fact
that a lot of discouragement can spring from trying to borrow from your family
and relatives, as well as believing the global facts. The basic tip that helps
you avoid the pitfall as enumerated in 1 and 2 above is to utilize your own
money to start.
The first advantage of using your own
money is that you will be fired up to work harder since you do not want your
hard-earned capital to go to waste. The second advantage of using your own
money is the fact that you are not placed under any unusual tension of
re-payment that might frustrate your entrepreneurial ideologies. The last
advantage of it is, since you are just starting up, it is highly likely that
you can not afford a lot of money as your take-off capital, thus, you are
forced to utilize the little capital available, making you start small and
starting small then growing and learning on the job, is the ultimate lesson for
an entrepreneur.
4. AVOID
JEALOUSY AND ENVY
In your race to become successful as
an entrepreneur, it is quite common to find other people in the same line of
entrepreneurship doing better than you are. If you decide to sell clothes, you
soon discover someone very close by doing extremely better than you in the
sales of clothes. In this situation, the immediate human tendency is to start
feeling jealous and envious. This will not do you any good, it will only
discourage you from continuing.
When you discover an entrepreneur
doing better than you, there are only a few profitable options available to
you. You either learn from the person, or concentrate on making your business
successful without measuring the success of others. In entrepreneurship,
jealousy and envy will only lead your business into the 90% failure group.
5. DO
NOT BITE MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW
It is true that you are a capable
entrepreneur who knows his onions. But, I believe, that each human has a
certain limit to his capability per time. This limit is often set by the
enormity of our experiences. The capability of a 5 year old child, is not
anywhere comparable to that of a 30 year old man so long he’s not an imbecile.
So also, the capability of an entrepreneur who has been in the game for 30
years is higher than that of one who started yesterday. This limit is
determined by their experiences.
It would therefore amount to sheer
madness for a fresh entrepreneur to attempt to start at the point where the 30
year old entrepreneur is, the result will be frustration, discouragement and
will be catastrophic in nature. So, as an entrepreneur, you must seek to
understand the limit of your capability at different points in time so that you
may understand ideas that are currently beyond you and those you are capable of
handling. I tell you, the brilliance of an entrepreneur is measured his ability
to differentiate the ‘sensible’ from the ‘gamble’. Whereas a sensible venture
will bring profit, a gamble will bring discouragement, bite only what you can
chew.
For some more
counsel, read my article on THE EXPECTATIONS OF A GRADUATING STUDENT AND WHAT
THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY HAS IN STOCK FOR HER DISCIPLINE.
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