How do I chase my dream? — Sam
First, you need money. Moola. Cash. Capital.
Chasing your dream without enough capital is akin to having a premature baby. All the baby’s energy goes into survival rather than growth. Start-ups are not about survival (paying the bills). They’re about growth (getting rich).
Before you chase your dream, make sure you have enough capital. Keep your lifestyle simple and living costs down. Save up enough to last two years. Or marry rich.
I’m considering selling my business. I need help. — Clark
Before you enter M&A conversations, first decide: “Am I a seller?”
You won’t find it easy backing out during negotiations. Don’t start a process you can’t finish. Don’t look for buyers if you don’t want to sell.
Most people I know that sold their business regret it, unless they had a very specific reason: i.e. the business was about to die, or the business can’t grow without a big brother, or they want to leave the country. If that’s your reason, go ahead and sell. If it’s simply to have a pile of cash, reconsider.
What are you going to do with the money? Put it in your bathtub and wash yourself with notes? Buy fancy cars? Buy a fancy spouse?
Lots of money in your pocket can only tempt you to the dark side. Eventually you’ll get bored and you’ll want to start a business again, and you’ll start all over. If you don’t need to, don’t sell.
How do you instil an ownership mindset in your staff? — Johan
It’s hard to work with people that have no drive. Some people just come to work and go home with no planning or vision or energy. Start with getting rid of the bad apples, then start fine-tuning recruitment to only let in the folks with a good attitude.
Use some of these methods to motivate and encourage buy-in from staff:
- Ask staff for feedback.
- Do not tolerate mediocrity.
- Make sure everyone knows their job.
- Share information. Keep everyone in the loop.
- Look after your staff and they’ll look after you.
- Lead by example. Pick up litter. Be first to office. Be last to leave.
How do I determine what venture to dedicate my energy to and when do I know when to stop pursuing one of the opportunities? — Mike
Go with whatever gets traction first. Ruthlessly scratch everything else off your to-do list. Generally speaking, go with the business with the most tried-and-tested business model.
I left my former employer to move away from the legal side of things. I know that I have the technical skills in this area and I have used that in completely running the legal side of the micro lending venture, but the ultimate aim is to be an entrepreneur/businessman rather than constantly seen as the ‘lawyer’. Do I discontinue the legal consulting or slowly taper off? — Mike
If you can live without the sideline income, do so. Focus 100% on business. If you need the money, keep selling hours on the side.
I have a very successful farm store. I’m considering expanding countrywide. Any advice? — Elo
Ask yourself “why?”
If the answer is to get rich, that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to scale your successful farm store.
Maybe a better option is to take the free cashflow of your farm store and invest it in a different business. An annuity revenue business. A business that will make money while you sleep, rather than only when you’re behind the till. Cash cows are hard to come by. If you don’t want to lose your cow, don’t try to scale it unless you’re 100% sure you never have to sell it.
Can you help me flesh out the detail of a pitch to investors? — Mamkhele
There’s only so much you can rely on others for. At some point, you need to man up and do the work yourself. You need to answer the questions yourself. The answers for all pitch-related questions are on the Internet. Google it. No one will save you, only you will save you.
Listen to this
Alan’s audible book Be a Hero: Make Life an Adventure is now available on amazon.com and Audible.com
Read by Alan himself, Be a Hero is a collection of stories on how to make your life an adventure by changing your mindset and tackling adversity.
Go to amazon.com or audible.com to download your copy. Be a Hero is also available in Kindle and paperback through Amazon.com.
Read ‘Be A Hero’ today
