Wow. Its been 6 months since my last blog post. Not like my entrepreneural journey has been without incident but its been so overwhelming I don't even think of putting up a post here. Not until I just had a discussion with someone who is meant to do me a proposal did I have a strong feeling to come here and put my thoughts into words.
I want to be as transparent as I can be with this blog. That's not a norm for Nigerians
but the oyibo people are quite transparent with their personal and entrepreneural journey and truth is if we had more people promoting transparency and collaboration, we'll all be in a much better place.
Back to business! What did I find out today? That I'm not a strong negotiator. I think I've become too soft. lol. Do I have to be mean to be a businessman?
Anyway, I said this because I had initially decided not to pay a dime for the proposed service however, the guy to do the proposal somehow haggled me into commiting to paying him 30K for the job. Imagine me saying I won't pay a dime and still end up paying? lol.
Justifying my action, I'll say you have to pay for quality! If you can't do the job yourself, you should outsource it. 30K is not a bad deal considering my very own friend whom I'll do almost anything for charged me N300K for the same job. Haha! Brother you no try..... And then a simple post on FB brought me a ton of offers. I had to choose this guy. Admired his negotiation skills, picked out a thing or two from it. Infact, I also learnt from my friend who charged me a whooping N300K. Will be applying what I learn in my next negotiation. Don't say I've become a ruthless negotiator, the business thought me.
Another reason why I kinda justify paying for that service is you may not value what you get for free. Imagine someone sent me a proposal to adapt and I just left it in my inbox to lay. He was shocked when he saw me again asking people to write me a proposal for a token. People (including me?) don't value what they get for free. I had to pay in order to put it into good use.
Its also a seed. I was all confused yesterday and was considering giving up on this venture. The path wasn't clear but now I think I know my next 2 lines of action.
Let me share once principle I learnt from Oprah Winfrey and Patrick David Bet, when you feel overwhelmed by a situation, don't panic! Relax and take a step back to analyse the situation. Now ask yourself these 3 questions:
1. Where am I now?
2. Where do I want to be?
3. What is the next logical step I can take now that will take me closer to where I want to be? Then take that next logical step. Don't overwork yourself. Just take the next logical step that will get you closer to your goal. Don't over think it. You'll find out your life will become easier and before you know it, you'll be able to achieve more and reach your goals. This process simplifies your life and does not complicate things for you.
Infact a killer idea just came to my mind now that I am writing this. This is a little CEO secret. When putting together a team, ignore degree and qualifications. Hire for passion instead. So I've had interactions with a few people during my entrepreneurship quest and most of them have failed me. 3 guys seem to have that drive and passion. They're not going to be reliable all the time but their zeal and passion has won me. I'll cut them a deal soon. The path just got clearer.
Another boss advice. Get a diary. Or blog! You'll be amazed what writing does to you. It lightens your burden and its a documentary of your journey.
Apart from this blog, there are some other places where I take personal notes 4 my eyes only (Oh did you listen to J Cole's album.
I'm tending to veer off the main topic but what I want to do is guide you from my discoveries and experiences.
I just want to be your role model... Oshe! A thought leader! Not everyone understands that. I'd love to read your comments.
Tell me how I have inspired you or how much of gibberish I've been saying. I'll try not to let the negative ones get to me.
I want to be as transparent as I can be with this blog. That's not a norm for Nigerians
but the oyibo people are quite transparent with their personal and entrepreneural journey and truth is if we had more people promoting transparency and collaboration, we'll all be in a much better place.
Back to business! What did I find out today? That I'm not a strong negotiator. I think I've become too soft. lol. Do I have to be mean to be a businessman?
Anyway, I said this because I had initially decided not to pay a dime for the proposed service however, the guy to do the proposal somehow haggled me into commiting to paying him 30K for the job. Imagine me saying I won't pay a dime and still end up paying? lol.
Justifying my action, I'll say you have to pay for quality! If you can't do the job yourself, you should outsource it. 30K is not a bad deal considering my very own friend whom I'll do almost anything for charged me N300K for the same job. Haha! Brother you no try..... And then a simple post on FB brought me a ton of offers. I had to choose this guy. Admired his negotiation skills, picked out a thing or two from it. Infact, I also learnt from my friend who charged me a whooping N300K. Will be applying what I learn in my next negotiation. Don't say I've become a ruthless negotiator, the business thought me.
Another reason why I kinda justify paying for that service is you may not value what you get for free. Imagine someone sent me a proposal to adapt and I just left it in my inbox to lay. He was shocked when he saw me again asking people to write me a proposal for a token. People (including me?) don't value what they get for free. I had to pay in order to put it into good use.
Its also a seed. I was all confused yesterday and was considering giving up on this venture. The path wasn't clear but now I think I know my next 2 lines of action.
Let me share once principle I learnt from Oprah Winfrey and Patrick David Bet, when you feel overwhelmed by a situation, don't panic! Relax and take a step back to analyse the situation. Now ask yourself these 3 questions:
1. Where am I now?
2. Where do I want to be?
3. What is the next logical step I can take now that will take me closer to where I want to be? Then take that next logical step. Don't overwork yourself. Just take the next logical step that will get you closer to your goal. Don't over think it. You'll find out your life will become easier and before you know it, you'll be able to achieve more and reach your goals. This process simplifies your life and does not complicate things for you.
Infact a killer idea just came to my mind now that I am writing this. This is a little CEO secret. When putting together a team, ignore degree and qualifications. Hire for passion instead. So I've had interactions with a few people during my entrepreneurship quest and most of them have failed me. 3 guys seem to have that drive and passion. They're not going to be reliable all the time but their zeal and passion has won me. I'll cut them a deal soon. The path just got clearer.
Another boss advice. Get a diary. Or blog! You'll be amazed what writing does to you. It lightens your burden and its a documentary of your journey.
Apart from this blog, there are some other places where I take personal notes 4 my eyes only (Oh did you listen to J Cole's album.
I'm tending to veer off the main topic but what I want to do is guide you from my discoveries and experiences.
I just want to be your role model... Oshe! A thought leader! Not everyone understands that. I'd love to read your comments.
Tell me how I have inspired you or how much of gibberish I've been saying. I'll try not to let the negative ones get to me.
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