I wish someone had told me

As you read this article the Global Entrepreneurship Summit is in progress.  Because of that Entrepreneurship is a trending topic worldwide.  Naturally with everything going on, I started thinking of what I have learnt and wish someone had told me.  It is said that hindsight is twenty –twenty. This is me connecting the dots backwards. I hope though that my backward 20-20 vision up to this point will help you even as you listen to all the entrepreneurship noise going on or at the very least give you something to read.

1. It is never about the money. No surprises here and has been said many times by many people. If you want to be an entrepreneur to make money you are in the wrong business. It is such a challenging journey and if money is what you think will help you navigate the dark times or keep you there in the long run you are mistaken. Money can take extremely long to appear so you need something more than the money to keep you going. Entrepreneurs don’t respond so much to money as much as they respond to providing a solution.
2. You grow when you work yourself out of a job. In many traditional corporate environments, people hang on to their roles. In fact many people are fearful that someone else could come close to doing their job or doing it better than them. However as an Entrepreneur being the only one who can do what you do is a big problem to have. You must consistently being moving from one role to the next.  When you start you do play multiple roles – business development, administrator, debt collector, strategic thinker, sales, capital raising etc.  However progressively you need to let go of these roles.  It doesn’t mean you don’t anything but your ability to let go ensures you are building something that works without you and releases you to take your business or enterprise to the next level, the next region, the next product etc.  Things that you cannot do if all your time is spent trying to play these multiple roles and frustrating people working with you who know they have the ability to rise up to the challenge. Progressively put in structures and get the right people to work with you.
3. Especially in this market, your business will grow in tandem with the value of your network. Now networking doesn’t mean that you met or know the CEO’s of big companies. For some businesses maybe but for others that is not the network you need.  If you want to start growing tomatoes, knowing the CEO of Safaricom may not help you. However knowing the person who sells or distributes seeds, fertilizers, has information on new technology, can help you access capital or market is what will help you. Networking is not how many people you know but the quality of the relationships you have.  If you go to an event you are better coming out of there with two solid contacts rather than 50 business cards that will never help you. Be focused with your networking.
4. Entrepreneurship is not just about you the founder. It is not just about your personal growth, wealth and making a name for you. Entrepreneurship is also about lifting others and cultivating an environment where others can thrive and even explore their own entrepreneurial spirit. Entrepreneurship is not just about starting a business. In fact that doesn’t make you an entrepreneur. It’s an attitude. There are certain roles in your business that will require that attitude. In my opinion there are many entrepreneurs who have not necessarily started a business but are creating a huge impact in the organisations they work for. Companies die because the founder was the sole entrepreneur in the organisation. Create the environment where entrepreneurship can thrive. Let it be a culture you operate within.
5. Having an idea is OK. Remember everybody has ideas.  There is really nothing special about an idea.  Execution is way better.  Between two people with ideas, I think you’d agree that the one who actually executes is in a better place. Having Passion is great. It gives energy and impetus to the idea.  It’s great to do something that you actually love. Having a Vision is Fantastic.  This gives passion direction.  A place to go. The winning formula is IDEA +EXECUTION+ PASSION+ VISION.
6. An entrepreneur has a different relationship with money. They can see millions of shillings in their accounts and still know that they cannot touch a cent of it. Still know that they can’t even buy lunch that day. The concern is not short-term gratification but achieving their vision so they look at money very differently.  Business money is business money. Your money is your money. The business money is not your money.  I will also stress here the business account cannot be your personal account and vice versa.
7. You will feel bad. Contrary to popular belief entrepreneurs are not always cheerful, confident, optimistic, focused, solution driven, assertive and all those other terms that are commonly used on them.  Many times they are petrified, depressed, broke, confused, annoyed, etc. Every so often you might even give yourself a moment to feel bad.  But after and despite still feeling bad, entrepreneurs will still get up.  They learn not to let their feelings dictate what they chose to do.  Feel bad but do it anyway. Fail, but fail forward.
8. The best attitude to have is that of a child and a student. Children always ask why, why, why? As am entrepreneur you cannot stop asking that same question.  You cannot stop challenging the status quo – because opportunities are found in those questions. You need to know you don’t know it all and will never know it all.  Go into situations, meetings, and conversations ready to learn. The less attached you are to your own way of thinking, the more you will see. The minute you think you are the best at what you do, you will become complacent.

Waceke runs programs on Personal Financial Management and Entrepreneurship. Find her at waceken@centonomy.com| twitter @cekenduati