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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The COVID-19 crisis is predicted to have far-reaching consequences that will be felt for years to come. We have started witnessing its grave impact on the global economy, particularly, on business entrepreneurship.

As we celebrate all Mothers this week, It is important to note that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is not gender neutral, as it affects men and women differently. Globally, women are more vulnerable to economic shocks wrought by crises such as the corona-virus pandemic.

Why are women at risk?  Firstly, women are more likely to lose their jobs than men. In many countries, women’s participation in the labour market is often in the form of temporary employment. Secondly considering that most women rely on small businesses for their livelihoods, due to Covid-19 majority are extremely stressed; low sales, reduced or closed markets, limited mobility, no income alternatives, and no safety nets. Most importantly women have to balance between being a mother (mama) and career/Business.

Balancing Family and work

With families at home; children not going to school and both men and women working from home you will still find more women jumping into household chores than men. Sometimes the so called ‘online learning’ for your children is not ‘online learning’ until it is combined with ‘mama learning’ But as a ‘mama’ entrepreneur you cannot afford to lose the opportunity to meet the sharp increase in demand that has just come your way during this Covid-19. Furthermore you just cut your salary by half and have asked your staff to work part-time as you expect tough times ahead. Hard as it may be for you, keep it there and do whatever it takes to balance both family and work. They both desperately need. Never doubt your strength to give each sufficient attention.

Going digital

Did you know that you can retain a bulk of your clientele without necessarily having to be there physically? It is now the time to focus heavily on providing more of digital marketing services and this allows you to work remotely. The biggest lesson here is to invest just a little in a digital skill set.

As a ‘Mama Entrepreneur’ you can chose to block out the first half of your day (or more/less) managing/running your Business remotely and the second half of your day as time for meditation, reading, and bonding with loved ones. And there you go; Family and work done. “be sure to use this time wisely. Learn something new, sharpen your skills and be grateful for the life you have.” Happy Mother’s day!

Help another

“Virtue cannot live in isolation: Neighbors are sure to grow around it”. Regardless of your situation, remember you have something to offer as well—a connection, an insight, a skill, an encouragement etc. You will find women around you who believe there is no hope or solution in this current crisis. Be there to give them hope. What about educating that ‘mama’ on how she can build a new stream of income? What about encouraging her to pass the knowledge already gained to others within her reach?  There is enough success to go around and if everyone goes out of their way to help one another, we can truly improve each other’s quality of life. So reach out to someone and offer to help, it doesn’t have to cost you money and you know what? Help has a way of coming back to you!

Self-care

As a ‘Mama Entrepreneur’ trying to do it all can be a recipe so know your limits and enforce them. Self-care is not selfish. Repeat-Self-care is not selfish! You need you strong and healthy to be of service to all those looking up to you and hence the need to be fueled for the long haul. Apply these few tips;

• Make sleep a non-negotiable; Give yourself the best gift you can during this stressful time and get enough sleep
• Shower and get dressed every single day; Showering and getting dressed (preferably into NON-pajama clothing) communicates to your brain and subconscious that it’s time to get to work.
• Write a task list for each day and stick to it; Either at the end of your workday or first thing in the morning, compose a list of all your tasks for the day.
• Talk to at least one human every day; It’s no news that human beings need connection. We literally can’t survive without it. You don’t need a specific reason for talking/calling someone – simply connecting is all the reason you need.
• Dust off ideas from your “Someday Maybe” list; Guess what? Now that you’re at home for who knows how long, it’s the perfect time to dust off those “someday maybe” items and turn some of them into “this week for sure” items.
• Watch something every day that makes you laugh; Laughter is good for the body and good for the soul. And I think we all need a lot more of it these days, wouldn’t you agree? Treat yourself to something every day that will make you laugh. Your body will thank you!
• Devise your own personal mantra for getting through this; When you say something over and over again relentlessly in your mind, your brain begins to support that thought or belief. What will you train your brain to believe during this crisis? Possibly something like: “I will come out of this stronger and wiser than ever.”

“Self-care is not a waste of time. Self-care makes your use of time more sustainable.”– Jackie Viramontez[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”835″ label=””][vc_column_text]Mary Kamore is the Lead Consultant, Molives Mentors[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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What and Why a Business Model Canvas?

A ‘Business model’ is a description of how your business makes money-it describes how a Business creates, delivers and captures value.

A Business Model Canvas is a great way of mapping out an idea, allowing it to be understood, tested and improved. The tool is a single page with nine connected boxes, which show how all parts of your business work together for success. It can be sketched anywhere – on a whiteboard or notepad. A Business Model Canvas can be used when starting a new Business or when updating an existing Business idea

When filling out a Business Model Canvas, it is important to brainstorm and conduct research on each of the nine elements.  This week we discussed four of the elements.

1. Customer Segments

In this building block, you enter the different customer segments that you will serve. These are the groups of people or companies that you are trying to target and sell your product or service to.

Segmenting your customers based on similarities such as geographical area, gender, age, behaviors, interests, etc. gives you the opportunity to better serve their needs, specifically by customizing the solution you are providing them. One really important point to get across here is that customers don’t exist for you, but rather you exist to serve your customers.

Question; Which customers and users are you serving? Which jobs do they really want to get done?

2. Value propositions

At the center of your Canvas is the Value Proposition box. Inside this very important box you write down your unique solution (product or service) for a problem faced by a customer (that which creates value for the customer segment). A value proposition should be unique or should be different from that of your competitors.

Think about a ‘Unique Value Proposition’ (UVP)-why are you different and worth getting attention? What are you offering them? Some common value propositions are include; High performance, Ability to customize, Design, Price, Convenience etc.

Good news! You don’t have to get this perfect right away. Like everything on the Canvas, start with a best guess and perfect as you go.

3. Channels

In this block you describe how your company will communicate with and reach out to your customers. How does each customer want to be reached? How are your products and services delivered to the market?

Channels are the touchpoints that let your customers connect with your company. They play two main roles; (i) raising awareness of your product or service among customers and (ii) delivering your value propositions to them.  There are two types of channels

• Owned channels: This includes your company/business website, social media sites, in-house sales, etc.
• Partner channels: These are partner-owned websites, wholesale distribution, retail etc

4. Customer Relationships

In this section, you write down the type of relationship you will have with each of your customer segments.  How will you interact with them throughout their journey with your business?  It is here that you answer the question of how you get, keep, and grow customers;

• Get: Establish how customers find out about you to make their initial purchase e.g. advertising on Google/facebook, referral etc.
• Keep: How do you keep customers? e.g. excellent customer service.
• Grow: How do you get your customers to spend more? e.g sending out a monthly update/newsletter to keep them informed about your latest products or service.

The easiest way to define all of this is to walk through the entire customer journey in detail- a customer journey map. Know how customers find out about you, investigate whether to buy your product, purchase it and how they are managed after purchase.  This will help you make sense of how to get, keep and grow your customers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”835″][vc_column_text]Mary Kamore is the Lead Consultant M_OliveS Mentors[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In High School (Third and Fourth form) there is nothing I dreaded like having to stand in front of hundreds of girls (plus the teachers) every Monday morning and give a speech.  However being the school Head girl that was the expectation, it was a routine. Every Monday morning I would give a brief of what happened the previous week and advice on expectations for the new week.  A statement in my speech could read like; “Good morning school, last week the duties were fairly well done and would want to give special recognition to Form Two(T) who did exceptionally well in keeping the Dining Hall clean. This week we have Provincial Drama festivals being held in our school and in that respect I expect all of us to maintain high level of discipline and keep our school compound clean…”  At age 17 I could put this weekly speech together and I could not only give a speech but follow through to ensure that the issued instructions, school rules and regulations are followed. Of course I did this with the help of other school captains. I must admit that I was not the most responsible, obedient or even loyal student in the school.  But the moment this huge responsibility was placed on my shoulders my behavior changed, I had first to be responsible before asking others to be responsible. This sense of responsibility has been my value to date.

I love teaching children and teens in my church. In the course of my teaching I occasionally encounter a stubborn child or teen but the moment I give that child/teen a responsibility say to help arrange the seats, gather teaching aids or any other, their behavior changes.  I have observed this same behavior with my own children; The most successful way to make them responsible is by giving them responsibilities.

Note  I am not ruling out the fact that we can have youth who are out-rightly rebellious, irresponsible and arrogant. Those who will not accept any responsibility just because they don’t want their ‘peace’ disrupted. However, these are few- you only need to look within your circles and realize that they are the minority.

The Bible is not silent when it comes to giving the youth an opportunity. We find some very young leaders in the Bible; Prophet Jeremiah was only around 17 years old when God called him to minister to the people of Judah, Samuel would have been around 12 or 13 when God called him to ministry, David was anointed by Samuel when he was in his teenage years, Mary was just a teen girl when an angel of God announced to her that she would be the mother of the promised Messiah, Timothy was probably in his late teens when he was asked by Paul to join him on his missionary journey while most scholars believe that most of the disciples were under the age of 18.

The Bible has a strong message on how valuable our children (read youth as well) are-Psalm 127:3-4^{; ‘}Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth’.

I invite you to consider our youthful population an asset; Let us nurture and invest in them, Let us make them lead and not wait to see what will happen if we do not invest in them, Let us consider them a blessing and not a curse.  They are our children, our heritage![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”620″ label=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Mary Kamore is the Lead Consultant M-OliveS Mentors[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”IWD: JESUS ‘A LIBERATOR OF WOMEN?’” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%232d6523″ use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Women Liberation may sound modern, ungodly and feminist. But did you know that it is as old as Christianity and it was at the center of Jesus Ministry? When Jesus walked the earth, He did not only confront the culture, heal the sick and raise the dead but also liberated the oppressed and set the captives free. Women were at the top of his list!
Consider the story of Lazarus, where Jesus had an encounter with Mary and Martha as reported by John in the apostles. When Jesus received the report that Lazarus, the brother to Mary and Martha, was deathly ill He purposely delays His visit two more days so that Lazarus would die (John 11:6). When He (Jesus) finally shows up Martha is upset with His delayed response and says so (John 11:21). Mary on the other hand is weeping, broken with despair and full of emotion. In anguish she falls down at His feet, and through her tears she utters, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died”(John 11:32). In response Jesus embraces Mary in the midst of her grief and weeps with her, ‘Jesus wept’. Note that mourning was women’s work; it exposed weakness and was not the macho thing to do. Still, Jesus wept. His weeping sent a message to Mary, to women everywhere and to the watching crowd. He was saying, ‘I value emotion, I feel your pain and I understand your sorrow” Finally, deeply moved within, Jesus arrives at the tomb and says, “Remove the stone”…The rest is History.
What about the story of Mary stepping into a room with perfume worth a year’s wages? With all the disciples watching she gets down on the floor and began to pour this expensive perfume over Jesus feet, wiping them with her hair. The men begin to complain about the poor stewardship of wasting expensive perfume… and Jesus responds, “…Wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her” (Mathew 26: 10-11, 13). Does it begin to make sense? When the Pharisee’s brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus but did not bring the man, they were not only upset about Jesus forgiving the guilty; they were angry that He was honoring and empowering women.
I can go on and on how Jesus protected the feelings of women, valued their passions and validated their actions. In all this Jesus was sending a clear message that it takes both the femininity of women, whom they oppressed and the masculinity of men to represent God. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). It is no doubt that by empowering and according full recognition to women we are embracing the full scale of the nature of God.
“Isn’t it amazing that the first person who designed us equal was God? We certainly are different in many ways – physically, emotionally and many other areas – but we are definitely equal in value. Embracing our femininity doesn’t mean we are weak. On the contrary it means we are exercising our God-given differences in the best way he designed us!” Ann Thuo, Communication Expert & MoliveS Team Member[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”835″ label=””][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]Mary Kamore is the Founder and Lead Consultant, M_OliveS Mentors[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Guard it!” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%232d6523″ use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I have a set of chairs that is close to 20 years old. It happens to meet the bare minimum on comfort and presentability. It is not modern, though, and subsequently not one that would catch your flavor and especially if you have a taste of attractiveness. I have made attempts to change the chairs but every time I do, my resolve gets hijacked by the assumed time, effort and money it will take to get a new one. It is in this state of ramble that an alternative is born; ‘fix the seat!-do a bit of make-over here and there and the seat will be good to go.

The truth is it is very expensive to buy new items (besides chairs), not only in terms of money but time, effort and emotional commitment.  Before our mind settles on stuff alone the same applies to associations. There are relations I will do all I can to keep because if lost the cost to replace is too high if at all. What about my marriage relationship? This I jealously guard, reason being if lost it is irreplaceable, no amount of money, time or effort would replace.

Our theme this week is customer retention and we summed it to say it is six to seven times more expensive to attract a new customer than it is to retain an existing one. In fact you have a higher probability of winning back a lost customer than converting a prospect into a first-time buyer. That is why win back programs like rebranding, special discounts, incentives and targeted services are popular among them that understand that an existing customer is a treasure to preserve.

The Bible is not silent on this either, ‘Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it’ Proverbs 4:23. It appreciates how important it is to care for what matters most.

May it be an item, a relationship or a customer it is important to embrace this truth- that losing them could bring you emotional, material or financial dip that would take years to fill. This way you would do whatever it takes to preserve that item, guard that relationship and win back that customer.  Are you guarding that which matters to you?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Inviting the Unfamiliar” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%2381d742″ use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]“I chose to do what many girls in my community will not do. You see in my Masaai community girls’ education is not that important that’s why we are married off at a very early age. Those who are lucky to pursue education they don’t take up ‘men’ careers like I have done. So when I decided to become a tour guide and a driver my family considered me an outcast, they almost disowned me and up to today I don’t have a relationship with my father. I understand why he feels disappointed; I brought shame on him and has nothing to show about me according to our culture. I am, however, determined to show my father and my community that girls have rights too” .As Ann Tumpesia, my Tour Guide, said all this she did not take her eyes off the murky terrain that we had to cruise during this wet morning game drive at the Masaai Mara Game Reserve.  She also elicited high level of confidence being in control of the four wheel land cruiser that had just the two of us on board. For some reason I felt safer oblivious to the fact that she was a stranger in unfamiliar environment.

It happened that this was my last day at the camp and I desired to have a game drive before embarking on my journey back home. However, after a whole night of heavy rains, I didn’t think this would be possible until the camp administrator assured me it can be done. He went further to introduce me to my guide cum driver who, to my surprise, was a young lady standing next to me with a beautiful smile ready to offer the needed service. That was Tumpesia and within no time we were on the road penetrating through the savanna, the mud and the floods notwithstanding. Before we hit the bush, Tumpesia was clear on what to expect; ‘I will see all the animals there is to see’, ‘I will be safely driven’ and ‘I will be a happy customer’. This was accomplished as she talked freely with me you would mistake us for old friends. “You know I was so happy to be awarded the Tour Guide of the Year by the company”, her final words as Tumpesia escorted me back to the camp.

Mission was accomplished with a plus; I had loads of lessons to learn from the young lady. Our two hour moment beat one semester in class learning a module I would call “Inviting the unfamiliar”. I’ll share three; First, Tumpesia knew too well that going against the norm would attract rejection and ridicule from her own people, but she did it anyway. Two, while it was more comfortable to stay within the limits she risked being different-She stepped out of her comfort zone. Three, she trained herself to thrive in new ways and as William Faulkner puts it she realized that “She cannot swim for new horizons until she has courage to lose sight of the shore”.  “When I started to support my family financially, they began to respect me; they now look at me differently. My mission is to encourage girls to go to school; I even pay fees for those whose parents can’t afford”

There is a story in the Bible where Jesus asked Simon to do the unusual. Fishing in broad daylight is pretty pointless. The best times to fish are late into the night or very early in the morning which is what Simon and his companions had done. Here Jesus comes (a carpenter, mind you) and is telling Simon (the master fisherman) that he needs to cast the net and fish again. Luke 5:4 “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” It is no wonder that Simon’s excuses flowed so easily, “…We haven’t caught anything all night” but then in the end he complies, “..But because you say so, I will let down the nets” What happens when Simon complies by ‘launching into the deep’? They were astonished at the size of the catch of fish (see Luke 5:9)!

The deep is where you will find a whole lot of fish. You won’t find them near the shore in shallow waters. But to launch out into the deep is to move away from the comfort of the shoreline-It is to ‘Invite the unfamiliar’ like Tumpesia my friend and Simon in the Bible did. You, too, would you chose today to move out of your comfort zone and launch into the deep-Invite the unfamiliar? You will be astonished at your catch![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”835″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Mary Kamore is the Founder and Lead Consultant, M_OliveS Mentors[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”‘It is worth every penny’” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%2345731f” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]For a small team one would not think that team building is of much significance neither would they be keen to spend money and time on that. But my view on this was challenged this week when the owner of a Business that has less than ten employees asked me to facilitate a staff capacity and team building retreat for the team. I gladly took it up with my focus biased towards capacity rather than team building. At the end of the retreat I asked the team to fill in an evaluation tool that had four questions, two of which were; ‘What stood out for you during this retreat? and, ‘What improvement would you want to see in the next retreat? For the former 80% of the team indicated team building activities is what stood out for them, mind you I was biased so the activities were few. For the latter an almost equal percentage indicated that they would want more team building activities and less of training in the next retreat, I was embarrassed. While I tackled other sessions during this retreat that were quite relevant and interesting, it turned out that these ‘fun’ activities that can pass for ‘time wasters’ is what the team appreciated most.
It is no wonder that team building is one of the most widely used group-development activities in organizations and is said to have the strongest effect (versus financial measures) for improving organizational performance. With the time we spend with our employees, the benefits of investing time and money in teambuilding cannot be overemphasized. Some of the benefits of team building include; responsive and meaningful communication, facilitates collaborative and motivated work culture, identifies and develops strengths of the team members, creates self-awareness of one’s own strengths and weaknesses, helps in problem-solving and decision making, boosts morale and job appreciation, helps in creativity, innovation and out of the box thinking, enhances productivity and improves organizational performance.
You may consider one or more of the following approaches;

• Interpersonal-relations; This emphasizes increasing teamwork skills such as giving and receiving support, communication and sharing. Teams with fewer interpersonal conflicts generally function more effectively than others.
• Problem solving; This emphasizes identifying major problems within the team and working together to find solutions. This can have the added benefit of enhancing critical thinking & creativity
• Role clarification; This emphasizes improving team members’ understanding of their own and others’ respective roles and duties. It also emphasizes the members’ interdependence and the value of having each member focus on their own role in the team’s success.
• Setting Goals; This emphasizes the importance of setting clear objectives, individual, team and organizational goals. Team members become involved in action planning to identify ways to define success and failure and achieve goals.

I applaud my client who did not hesitate to invest time and money in building their ‘small team’; it was worth every minute and every penny. Isn’t it possibly time that you considered investing time and money in your valuable team regardless of how few/many they are?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”835″][vc_column_text]Mary Kamore is the Founder and Lead Consultant, M_OliveS Mentors[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”The Power of positivity ” title_align=”separator_align_left” color=”green”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When I was in high school I went through a very wearisome experience which, ironically, was a lifetime opportunity. The president of the Republic of Kenya then, Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi, had been kind to our school by supporting the construction of a modern Dinning hall and in addition buying goodies for all the girls, as many as we were. To appreciate him for his kind gesture a student was to write to him a thank you letter, a minimum of one and a half foolscap. This student happened to be me, not because I was the best in writing letters but mostly because I was the school head girl (captain if you want) and according to my headmistress, I was the best placed to represent the school. This was definitely a privilege, a lifetime opportunity. But the tedious part was nothing to celebrate. I did not have a good handwriting and so you can only imagine how difficult it was for me to write the letter. When I wrote the letter the first time, the headmistress looked at it and said, “Mary I can’t read this letter and the President can’t read it either, write again”. This happened three times and each time it was getting worse and both of us were getting more frustrated. At the fourth time she walked over to me placed her hand on my shoulder and told me, “Mary I believe you can write better than this, Just try one more time; I will be right here beside you”. That did it and the next piece I wrote was good enough to be handed over to the president! My relationship with my headmistress moved to another level; she was more than just an authority, but a mentor.
What contributed towards the positive outcome in this difficult experience? It is the power of positivity. I was struggling with a shortcoming which I was painfully aware of. All through, I wished I could get it right, yet I feared to be condemned and judged if I don’t get it right. In the end my headmistress did what a good mentor should do-instead of being judgmental she saw beyond the negatives and conveyed hope. That is the reason I got it right at the last attempt. Lawrence club says, ‘Mentors speak three messages: ‘It can be done. You are not alone. I believe in you’. If my headmistress did not speak the positive words, I still wonder how many more times I would have tried to get it right or if I would have gotten it right at all.
In the Bible Paul as a mentor to Timothy spoke positive words to him many times; “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” 1Tim 1; 6, 7. It is no wonder that Timothy turned out to be the most effective Christina Evangelist in his time.
Would you this week consider using the power of positivity as a mentor? You will be surprised what this can do to your mentee. Try to apply the following tips;
 Be eager to ‘see’ not only the present reality but also the possible future for the mentee-Vision
 Be present to support and stick with your mentee-it makes all the difference in their ability to face the difficulties of life with hope-Encouragement.
 Take every opportunity to celebrate with them for those wonderful breakthrough moments in their lives-Celebrating Progress.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”The Business Champion” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%2345731f” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]This week I have been reading a book ‘Champion’ by David Ndegwa a former Golden Gloves amateur boxing champion and High School teacher. David uses his experience as a boxing Champion to demonstrate what it takes to fight life’s battles and become a Champion. Though the book was given to our 13 year old son as a gift upon his transition to adolescent I am learning lessons that apply to everyone not just a 13 year old.

This article is based on one paragraph that I read in the very first chapter of the book. “As you strife to win your life fights, you will also face these four obstacles; Lack of resources, Poor techniques, Inexperience and Doubt” Says David in his book. As I reflected on this I thought, ‘How true this is, not only in fighting life’s battles, but also in fighting Business battles!’ These four are key determinants of Business success. In the beginning lack of resources, finances and others, always stand out as the missing piece for you to push that Business idea from your mind. But as soon as you apply all the resources at your disposal you are confronted with the next obstacle-poor techniques. You immediately realize that your Business is unique and the technique that seemed to work for your friend or competitor is not working for you. You also realize that you require different techniques at each stage of your Business.

The next thing you realize is that you cannot run your Business without relevant experience either in the your line of Business or in a related field. While it is true you can hire people with the skills and experiences that you need, as the Business founder and owner you cannot blindly get into a certain line of product/service with zero understanding. A couple of years ago my friend decided to gain entry into the shoe market and with a vision of manufacturing her own shoes. She signed up for one month course at a shoe making Industry just for her to have a general idea of what it means to make such a bold move-her background being in a totally different field she needed this. Mark you she will not be the one ‘stitching’ the shoes but she needed to know how it is done and what it takes.

The last obstacle I find it as unifying factor for most of us if not all-‘Doubt’. We always doubt our ability to start that Business, sell that unique product/service, change to that new line of product/service or even move into that new location or region. Many a times you realize that the difference between your ideal entrepreneur and the entrepreneur you are right now is doubt-that if you would be bold enough to get rid of doubt in your mind you would be surprised to find it is all you needed to become your best self.  In the Bible we are reminded of how doubt can make us unstable in all we do. “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind” James 1:6. Will you allow doubt to make you like the ‘surf of the sea?’

To face your doubts this week I invite you to address some key Business Elements in your Business which I would consider important for you to become a ‘Business champion’.  We, however, at times leave them unattended because we doubt our capacity to address them.  These elements include; Vision and Leadership, Business Development, Operations & Delivery and Financial Management. To read more on the four please go to our facebook page[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Build a Business that you Love” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%2345731f” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]This week I experienced two related episodes but in different settings. I was having a chat with a business owner and she made this comment, “I am glad that, after five years, my Business is now past the delicate stage. I was away for the last one week attending to some personal matters and I returned to find my business still on. It did not close down! But I am just not sure I can be away for longer than that. It seems hard to predict what can happen to my Business at any one point in time”

I was among a group of mothers who were in a room waiting to receive our sons who had gone through rites of passage experiences (RROPES) program. After the pastor gave a talk to prepare these ‘mothers of sons’ one mom raised her hand for a comment; “Like all mothers here today I am grateful to God that my son has gone through this stage and I am receiving ‘a man’ who we brought here as ‘a young boy’. We are excited as mothers that this experience has prepared our boys to be strong and courageous, ready for life”. We all nodded in agreement as we clapped.

Business and children have one thing in common; both should grow. However, while we are deliberate about our children growth most often we are not deliberate about our Business growth. I was excited about our son’s transition and did everything possible to see it happen since I knew it is a start of his maturity process. How is it that we expect our children to grow, plan for their maturity and mobilize all the needed resources to ensure they eventually leave the ‘mothers nest’ mature enough to stand on their own yet we have no such plans for our Businesses. Some of us have changed diapers in our Business for years; we can’t be away for one hour because this baby needs ‘diaper change’ every other minute.

These two lessons from Chuck Blakeman can change the way you treat your Business.
1. It is possible to Build a Business that you will love and have a life too. Your Business should give you three things; Time, money and significance. But for some reason we only expect it to give us one: Money. And because we focus on just making money, our Business never gives back time or help us have a significant impact in the world around us. We most often find ourselves too busy making money that we hardly have a life!
2. Every Business, big or small has Two opposing realities; The Tyranny of the urgent vs The Priority of the Important. Urgent things keep us from paying attention to the important things in our Business. They fly at us all day, every day causing us to be reactive and defensive as we hold the business together as best as we can. We jump from one task to another or manage many tasks at once-‘multitask’. They rule over us and like small kids, they scream and yell. We don’t have to find them they find us and we become their loyal subjects. On the other hand important things require us to be proactive because they almost never seem urgent. Thinking about next month/year, Business maturity, customer responses, processes/systems is very important but never seem urgent. You will not make any money today by sitting down to write a plan, or work on your Business processes- this may not seem as important and definitely not as urgent as paying your bills.
However your Business and mine might never mature if we do not strike a balance between these two; Urgent vs Important. Be deliberate to build a Mature Business that you love.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]