Building a Business Startup: Part Two

As mentioned in the part one of this 3-part series, it takes a lot to build a business from scratch. This journey is not for the faint-hearted or the short-term oriented mindset. It is a long game. Everyday, you will wake up to the same routine, a strive towards making your business better. Each day is different and the challenges you face are equally different. Although the world wants to brainwash you with the fairy-tales of instant wealth and overnight success, I have learned that such is simply a load of baloney;

It is about drive.

They do not teach you drive in school. Most of the founders I have spoken to say that they invest more in passion and drive, then a great business plan. There are so many highs and lows days in and day out that only those with the most endurance will make it through. Others will give up too early.

Start Small

You can never climb a tree from the top. It is easy to be carried away by the glamour and allure of running a BIG company. It is great to be the owner of Safaricom, Equity Bank, Centum and Oando among other big players. What we are never told are the behind-the-scene stories of humble beginning, hard work, failure and setbacks, and the amount of time it has taken for the above companies to get where they are today.

As a startup entrepreneur, start small and be proud of it. Many of the world's top billionaires such as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg started small. For example, Mr. Gates and Mr. Zuckerberg, who hold $79.3 billion and $35.7 billion fortunes respectively, started their business ideas and enterprises from their university hostels. Apple founder Steve Jobs started in a garage.

You will work longer hours

A day has 24 hours, but if you ask any entrepreneur, these hours are not even enough. I know there are those who keep talking about having a balance, and that is all good. I can assure you one thing, during the initial years, having 'balance' is a luxury. A lot goes on, mostly mistakes and building systems. Weekends and holidays become part of your working days. You will miss lunches, sleep late and wake up even earlier. This is real stuff.

I read an update on Linkedin earlier today posted by the owner of CompuLynx Limited who said, "...its been an amazing 21 year journey of starting, building and growing Compulynx from a 2 man 1 location company to a 150+ people organization...A lot has been done, but a lot more remains to be achieved".

Think about that....21 years is not a short period of time. Others have done it for what seems to be forever. For example, Warren Buffet.

That statement sums up my attitude towards building a business. It takes working hard, for long hours a day and for a very long period of time. The tragedy is that sometimes what is portrayed in the media is very deceiving. Success is not as easy as they make it look in the movies.

Embrace and Enjoy Failure.

Most of us do not give ourselves a second chance. Yet failure is a part of life. As a brother, as friend, as a boyfriend, as an entrepreneur, failure is something I know about. I have failed in all aspects of life you can think about. But guess what, the day I learned to enjoy failure was my biggest break.

I draw inspiration from the likes of billionaire Richard Branson. Among his famous failures include Virgin Drinks, social networking platform VirginStudent, wedding dress business Virgin Brides, online car sales outfit Virgin Cars, and lingerie store line Virginware.

According to Mr. Branson, who is worth $4.8 billion, the failures have sharpened his business skills. He says that his mistakes gave him a chance to bounce back and make smarter choices in his subsequent moves.

I believe that is the spirit you should embrace, to accept failures and learn from your mistakes. Am doing it on a daily basis.

There you have it. Building a business from scratch is not easy...you need to embrace failure as it is real, you will start small and then scale up and you must have drive!