LESSONS FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

An idea acted upon can make you live like royalty for ever……

In the course of my job as a business coach, I meet tons of young people who sincerely desire to get started in Entrepreneuring but don’t know how to get started [our organization has special interest in these people]. Some of them have been victims of 'Idea theft'. Guess that sounds very normal!
They had shared their wonderful ideas to 'trusted' folks, hoping they'd get some level of direction on the “hows” of making their dreams happen, only for the smarter guy to personalize that same idea.

Ever had your idea stolen before you acted on it? It doesn't matter much if you say someone 'personalized it', 'colonized it' or 'modified it', the sad reality is that “it was stolen”. Unfortunately, in the business world ‘idea theft’ is no crime; rather it is generally applauded. There are lots of books that have been written hailing this 'concept'. Fact is, there are many multi-millionaires who made every kobo they have exploiting other people’s ideas... In my university days, there was a guy who was renowned for this and he just didn't pretend about it - he [and those around him] saw it as strength... As expected, there will always be a victim!
While I do not condemn IDEA THEFT in its entirety, this post is however motivated for you not to be a victim. Fact is, life is not fair! New York's Donald Trump once said "Life is a bitch..."

Friends, what separates successful people from failures is ‘the will and the strength to act on whatever it is they believe in’. Failures will always procrastinate until a smarter person adds their idea to his.

From experience, some of the common reasons I have discovered often makes young entrepreneurs talk their ideas out of themselves are:
1. Over excitement: moving from dreaming to talking. Instead of dreaming to planning.
2. Lack of faith in the idea: weak desire.
3. Intimidated by the size of the idea: under-estimating their capacity and over-rating the capacity of the idea.
4. Lack of fiinancial and material resources to convert the idea from form to function: most of them wait to own the money with which to start launch the idea, while some are blinded to the right places to source for funds.

One thing must be made clear here, there are other individuals who are not deficient in any of the 4 areas listed above, but they lack good IDEAS.
These guys see potentials in other people's ideas, they think through ideas and put their thoughts on paper, they are not intimidated by the size of any idea - they believe in their strengths and the envisaged end result propels them to sail ahead, they equally know how to gather the resources to get the idea running.

When you have an idea, you must be ready to go full length to get the relevant information to get it running, without necessarily letting off the idea itself. That is what I call uncovering and acquiring all you need to take your ideas from "RAW to RUNNING”.

Here is my super formula for young entrepreneurs: TELL THE WORLD WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, BUT SHOW THEM FIRST.

You must be determined to get enough information on how to beautify and package your idea and take it to the market. You can lots of FREE resources on this from this website.
People will not have their money over to you just because you have an idea, but you will be make wealth if you push out a refined and relevant idea.
Our country, Nigeria, is rich in oil, yet our people are suffering. Apart from mismanagement of scarce resources, another reason is because she can’t refine her oil; the refineries are very close to not working. Some other countries don’t have the oil but they’ve got the refineries, therefore they make a larger bulk of the money.
The market will not just pay you ‘oil’, but for ‘refined oil’. You need to go all the way, while still preserving your ‘recipe’. Part of your own duty is to give the idea good shape so it can have relevance and proper market value in today’s world.

Another point I need you guys to know is that what will make your idea/dream/business/project soar is not just paper money, marketing is very important. The next ideal stuff refined 'oil' needs is MARKETING. For you to succeed in business and in life, you must learn certain elements of SALES and MARKETING. I know a lot of people who "hand-off" their idea to people simply because they believe they lack basic marketing and people skills.

To my mind, anything on earth can be learnt. So, with close observation and a little research, you too can be a successful marketer; taking your idea/business to right places, using the right words and exchanging value for income. You must be prepared to go all out. Do something. It is the OUT-come that guarantees the IN-come. If you don't send your strengths on errand, success will positively avoid you.

The crux of what I have been saying is that in Entrepreneuring, apart from your idea, there some important attributes you need to consider, you get some before starting out, while others come while you are in the field: CLARITY, CONVICTION, COURAGE, and DRIVE to get started.
Get materials, read books, ask intelligent questions! Having an idea isn't everything. It is just one side of the fight, getting it running is another.
Nobody can understand or run with you idea like you would. So, get your self equipped and don’t leave it in the hands of ‘caretakers’.

Entrepreneuring is deeper than a business idea, it is a life. Perhaps, you may just need to put your idea aside for a while, get yourself equipped, at least to a convincing level. If you are not yet ready to ‘run’ with the idea yet, shut your mouth.
It makes no sense to ‘spit’ out an idea you hope to start running with in 3years time. You must control your exuberance, otherwise someone will keep profiting from it!

Are you lacking in any of the 4 areas I listed above? Settle down, think your way through to success, don't start out hastily. Believe in yourself, and be rest assured of this reality: you just may have to fail your way through to success. Be prepared. Don't start out hastily, because it's not a 2 day journey...

Learn the necessary entrepreneurial skills from those who are succeeding, people who are been consistent with their stuffs. Learn the ‘hows’. Sit your butts and learn. You just may need to have a mentor, this will reduce your chances of failure and increase your chances of success.

If you are well equipped, nobody can steal your idea or shove you aside. There is the issue of patent registration, that’s quite a process in our country at the moment. If you can't go ahead with that, the best I can advice for now is ‘MANUAL PROTECTION’.
You must learn to discipline your tongue if you you want to succeed in business.

You must happen!