The success we crave, in 10 crucial steps!
By Morrisen Mamutse
Last week I had my first article published by this online newspaper. No one, and I mean no one can understand the sense of success and achievement I felt at clicking that link the Editor sent me and saw my article right there, for the world to read!! The feeling is priceless, an achievement, a feat that ranks up there with all others I have achieved so far. For those of you that missed it, check out How to achieve Self Actualisation in the opinions column of this site.
To have the first article published wasn’t a stroll in a park. There were knock backs, empty criticisms, hours and hours of typing(by the way I am old school; faster with the pen than a computer keyboard!!), editing and even a change in lifestyle to fit in this incredibly satisfying investment of writing my views for the world to read! So if anyone thought it was easy, hell no, it wasn’t! Right…what’s on for this week? As promised, it’s the 10 steps to success..,
Today’s article is the real deal. It asks for 3 words that guarantee success; action, action, action! After navigating the maze of self actualisation from my last article and possibly getting a few positive answers on the way, the time is come for action. This phase is only for those with a made up mind aiming for just one outcome, success!
If your mind is not made up to take action, then read like a novel. If it’s made up and ready, then pause the reading right now, grab a pen and paper, put that phone on aeroplane mode for the next 20 minutes so there aren’t disturbances from the never ending “titi titiii” apps and message notifications (most of them unhelpful anyway). This read could be the read of your lifetime, changing it for the better, forever!
Today I will focus on entrepreneurial steps to success as I find these very transferrable to all other avenues to success in life. This piece is for beginners, the dreamers, the optimists and the self believers no matter their age, starting with and from nothing but the zeal, energy and enthusiasm to do and be better in and with life. Ready? Ok… Here we go..,
Step one: Do you plan 2 years in advance, in detail?
I don’t know what came to your mind as soon as you read the question above. As for me, the first time I came across this, asked myself a million questions in less than 2 seconds. What? Are you kidding me right now? Produce a 2 year plan from what, for what? No way…better leave it! It’s impossible…etc.
Here is the thing; anyone that asks themselves such puzzling questions is on the right track. Confusion is perfect sense at this stage. Anyone feeling demotivated already should do themselves a favour, a big one for that matter; capture those thoughts, emotions, fears, anxieties somewhere for future reference.
Record them, write them down. All successful dreamers should fall deeply in love with a note pad and a pen to capture every thought, every question, every answer, and every suggestion relevant to their enterprise idea. Mariah Carey, one of the best musicians of all time once said whenever she thinks, or dreams of a new song , she records the thought or dream then go back to sleep.
That small hum into a bedside recorder, in a sleepy voice, could arguably be the basis for the best songs we ever heard in our lives from the diva! As well, the pen and paper approach is timeless. I urge all dreamer entrepreneurs to get into the habit of writing things down. Its old school but safe, visual, easily accessible and can be interpreted later in life to enhance your enterprise. So let’s start writing EVERYTHING about the idea, the project, the business; planning key milestone, performance and progress indicators…to cover two years!
A few of you might ask, what needs be written down at this stage? My answer is simple yet very very important: EVERYTHING! Write everything that comes to mind about how you want to achieve success. Once pen comes to paper and words get written, diagrams start to be drawn, circles appear on some words, capital letters on others, some erased off (never erase completely anything at this stage, just circle, question mark or cross out etc) then we are getting somewhere.
If you feel like shredding or erasing this all important document at this point, just ask yourself these questions; why am I erasing this out completely before I give it a go? Am I not succumbing to fears and anxieties at this very first stage? For how long shall I deny the inner me the beauty of happiness in trying? Do I really need this in the same way I would gasp for that life breath when I accidentally choke? Do I really want this? Really? Really? Really? Answers to these crucial questions should possibly sober you up to soldier on.
Once a rough document is produced, make copies, keep referring to it, file it somewhere and treasure it for it’s your first achievement, probably the most important of them all. Read about your sector of interest from people successful in it. If your idea is venturing into the production sector for example, read reviews of current products in the relevant market, especially the bad reviews on existing products so as to learn if your product can strike gold in the niche market of unhappy consumers.
Research on prices, supply chains and resources needed for your enterprise. Write all this down, file all this somewhere, invest time, loads of time writing stuff down. File a divorce with that TV remote! Spend more time researching and writing things down till your family/friends etc unconsciously notice that you have “changed”. They will ask definitely once your focus changes, tell them what you wanna tell them, it’s your choice, you know them better!
Be consistent with researching, planning and writing things down till it becomes the new hobby (replacing watching African movies, Kardashians, x-factor and every football match on earth all weekend long). Stop recording TV series at this stage thinking you will catch up with them later….you wont. You now have a new hobby; possibly leading into higher echelons of success where you could be the next success story everyone is hearing about and watching everyday!
If you spend 4 hours plus a day watching TV, you wont be successful in life unless if it’s part of your job to. (Yes I just said that!) So the point here is; invest loads of time planning, researching and recording plans for your project on durable soft or hardware files. Keep refining the ideas as you see fit. This is the stage where change happens. Miss this step and the foundation will probably be shaky. Once this foundation is firmly set, let’s lay this first brick on it ..,
Step two: How much capital do you have? SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!!!
Blessed are the dreamers like Donald Trump that started their entrepreneurial journeys with a million dollar capital “loan” from their family. That’s not the discussion I will have here. This is about the dreamer who has no savings, no capital, nothing materially except the motivation to be the best with their ideas.
Financial discipline is one of the most crucial components for success at any stage. It’s a life skill that needs be tattooed in a dreamer’s heart for forever. The day the draft is started should be the day a savings account for the project is born. This account should collect whatever that doesn’t strain your monthly budgets. Some people will tell you to sacrifice almost everything in order to build capital for your project. I disagree. From lived experiences, capital from huge monthly budget sacrifices build a shaky business where the little profit gained in the infant stages of trading is spent on covering “holes” created during the “saving” times.
Unfortunately such enterprises don’t last forever, they crumble. Saving should start humbly and consistently by cutting out on items and luxuries you can do without e.g. catching a bus than driving to work everyday, reducing the number of take away meals per month by half, packing lunch to work etc. If you are fortunate enough to get a tax rebate, add it into that pot! Make sure you calculate all these “little” savings and put them away. Add a little from your monthly salary and yipiiie, the savings account is born, breathing, alive and healthy.
Guard jealously these little savings. Be very very selfish with them. You didn’t start them to lend to a friend in dire need, or to bury a deceased loved one, or to buy a Christmas present, or to a surprise family holiday. This is capital for your entrepreneurial idea Sir/Madam. Period! This is restricted funds that should serve only one purpose, set up your dream enterprise. Even yourself as fund manager, never borrow from this fund “promising to pay back with interest”- you wont! It’s called fiscal discipline for a reason my dearests! It’s hard, really hard to adopt but once observed, the rewards will be sweet with all the pain forgotten.
Ask all successful entrepreneurs that started from scratch, they will tell you they had to forgo short term spending pleasures to achieve long term spending pleasures. That’s step number two for you. By the way, as soon as the capital funds reach a certain milestone £500, £1000, etc, start investing in equipment purchases. Once the first purchase is done, be it a spirit level for a dream builder, a tools box for a mechanic dreamer…that’s as good as proverbially breathing life into the project and for sure it will start living from that day.
Step Three: Do you have the right skills for your dream enterprise? Train, train, train. Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer!
Not all dreamers have skills compatible to their dream enterprise. Once the two steps above are alive and running, running parallel to them should be investing in the relevant skills required to run the enterprise. The worst start to any enterprise is for the founder and owner to hire someone to run the project in its infancy. That’s a recipe for disaster.
Mark Zuckerberg graduated this year after he dropped out from college 12 years ago to concentrate on founding Facebook! He trained, skilled himself from within the idea, actively participating at every stage, especially the fragile infant stages till Facebook became a global phenomena then went back to finish his studies.
My father quit his job as an agricultural extension officer in Zimbabwe the month he opened his first shop! He became a household business name in the whole district thereafter. If you are passionate about opening a bakery, start training formally or informally in bakery and confectionary concepts. Volunteer with well established enterprises that will soon be your competitors.
I cannot emphasize the power of volunteering enough…volunteer, volunteer, volunteer. I perfected my grant writing skills by volunteering to grant write for a UK registered charity. In return they sent me to various workshops, met seasoned grant writers that held my hand, critiqued my work, appraised my style till I bagged my first grant. To date, I have successfully applied for grants worth more than £300, 000 in value. These have benefited people in the UK, Zimbabwe and Uganda directly as well as the rest of the world indirectly. Thanks to the power of volunteering, I am a better development practitioner exposed to various facets of the discourse of development; from academic to practice, intellectual to lived experiences, research to evaluations.
To gain the skills for your enterprise, start investing in yourself now. Pay for those lessons now, volunteer now, and join that relevant club today, volunteer time with the right motivational people starting today. Results from such investments will surely be there for the world to see.
There we go. I will stop here for now (I know it’s only 3 steps so far!). Believe me these three steps are worth investing time and thinking hard on. Ask yourself; is success my thing and dream? If the answer is yes, then “wake up from your sleep”. Stop typing “Amen” on Facebook then go to sleep expecting a miracle to bring the success you “deserve.” You don’t deserve nothing. You earn everything! Turn that belief into ACTION. Do something. Read something. Write Something. Save Something. Say something and stop something, those unhelpful, lazy, regressive and unproductive habits!
Till next time when I will be exploring the remaining 7 steps, let’s get down to work.
Morrisen Mamutse is an International Development Practitioner and Motivational Speaker-Birmingham, UK For private coaching, motivational sessions and guest speaking, get in touch on [email protected] Tel +44 7535 899 053
