Six Things Aspiring Founders Need To Know - Number One Is Often Neglected In Nigeria.
Birthing an idea into the business world is not a challenge, keeping it alive is. Resolving challenges and making provision for other arising issues involved in structuring a business idea require much more than a tactical approach.
New founders need to have a broad knowledge of the dynamic quality of business environment in order to conquer challenges and risks which are even higher in Nigeria considering that you have to make provision for personal water supply, electricity and security.
These six key points can help you keep your idea afloat long enough to cast down it’s roots.
- Develop an open mind for learning - To be successful in the business world, you need to develop an attitude for learning. Great products are created by people who learn, try, fail and learn from their failure. Embark on the quest for knowledge by reading more books and surfing the Internet for stories about successful entrepreneurs before you, their challenges, how they survived and the lesson learnt.
- Think like an entrepreneur — An entrepreneur is a person who sees opportunities for job creation, problem solving and wealth generation where others don’t. Entrepreneurs can emerge from any background and profession. Be innovative; use your idea to create something new with value or develop a different approach for solving an existing problem.
- Get yourself a mentor — Mentors are crucially important in building new business ideas. They are required for growth of any new founder. Mentors provide support, information, advice and even marketing network. Understudy successful entrepreneurs in your area and choose the best person to approach for mentorship depending on your type of business.
- Surround yourself with A-players — Whether we accept it or not, overtime we become who we spend most of our time with. Become an active member of innovative clubs, attend seminars and conferences to learn new ideas and meet people in your niche. Hangout with highly skilled people, they will not only give you one or two ideas but will also challenge and encourage you to do more.
- Be tenacious — To be honest, it takes an unwavering determination, a sticky self-discipline and a dose of self awareness to rise above the tentacles of invading into a new venture. We go online and read success stories of entrepreneurs like Aliko Dangote, Wale Adenuga, Tony Elumelu etc and the ones in the western world like Steve Jobs, Bills Gate, Richard Branson etc. No one cares to dig deeper and learn about the many trials and errors and the many many years it took them to reach the height they are today. Learn never to settle, be resilient, remain genuine to your mission and brand, if it fails, analyse the problem, fix it, learn from it and try again.
- Be humble — Learn to be grateful for your members, recognize every of their efforts in the movement. Don’t take team effort for granted, you can’t do it alone. When it feels like you’re sinking, don’t be ashamed to put up your hand and ask for help. You’re human, everyone needs help every now and then.
Conclusion — Be sure to apply this few important points in your quest to conquer new grounds. Don't let impulse and fear of failure deprive you of the great adventure involved with following your passion and belief. Moreover,
“what use is an idea if you don’t act on it?” - Chude Jideonwo
Enjoyed reading this article? Learn more about the skills required to build your idea into a startup here - www.slatecube.com/services/iDeaLabs
Don’t forget to hit the clap button!
For updates on our freebies and bonuses,
Follow us and say Hello On — Instagram| Facebook | Twitter : @slatecube
