“We should not be afraid of failure but see it as opportunity to do better.”
I was speaking recently to a young Entrepreneur who started his first company during his NYSC and presently partnering with other entrepreneurs to launch a digital marketing company- in three different African countries. I guess this re-affirms NYSC is not a total waste of time? Some youths actually discover themselves during that one-year of service.
Drawing from his experience of starting up a company from scratch in a rather harsh economy (as Nigeria’s), this young entrepreneur says youth can reach their dream:
· If they can create new opportunities (most people often think opportunities always have to come knocking on their door- sometimes we need to step out of our comfort zone or oppressive zone to create the environment that will allow us thrive).
· If they don't think they can make million the first day (our over-ambitiousness often make us think we have to start out with a huge budget and hit millions afterwards).
· It doesn't take money to start a business; it takes your mind (the priority is set at- Idea, people then money).
· If you have idea and you refuse to go out and mix with the right people that can project you, then the idea is as good as no idea! (People, the right people are great resource to a new business venture.)
· If you know your onions, life is interesting.
This entrepreneur’s passion is different from what he studied in school- so he focused on making his passion a profession/career. “I read books a lot, not novels- Investment books.” He studied Business Education but today is an expert in digital marketing. On the opinion that Nigeria has a harsh economy thus preventing people from thriving, he said it’s a flimsy excuse youth give... We eat, recharge our phones, buy latest designers wears etc and yet say the economy is harsh? “The economy might be harsh but that's not a factor not to start something.”
Meanwhile, if you are a young budding entrepreneur with a business proposal that needs investment from N50k to N200k, send mail to jackobzn@yahoo.com for an opportunity to pitch your idea and get funded! An example is a true-life story of a National Diploma graduate that had no employment for 2 years. He gave a proposal a month ago that he needed N250k to start a Cyber Café. Today, he has a cafe with 10 computers and 2 play stations. He also employed an attendant. He makes over five thousand-naira daily.
The last time I checked, the statistics read Nigeria has over 43million unemployed youth. With universities and colleges churning out graduates every year, the queue is getting longer. Thus, the earlier we all embrace the era of entrepreneurship, the better. If we all can support each other, things would be fine in Nigeria!
"Raising money is the second hardest part of starting a startup. The hardest part is making something people want: most startups that die, die because they didn’t do that. But the second biggest cause of death is probably the difficulty of raising money. Fundraising is brutal." PaulGraham.com
Checkout these relevant info on starting up:
No comments:
Post a Comment