Last week, someone asked me a question over WhatsApp:
“With what you know now if someone wants to start a business that will grow, what are the 3 major things you will tell the person to do?”
I took time to think about the question and then I responded along the lines of:
THINK BIGGER
The word “growth” means many things to many different people, what exactly does starting a “growth” business mean to you?
Then, you should draft a solid vision and mission statement.
This is very important because it reveals how much you understand about where you intend taking your company to. It also reveals the boldness and clarity of your vision. We could as well say: “show me your vision and mission statements and I will tell you exactly the kind of person you are”.
The Mission statement or lack of it will determine the quality of minds you will attract unto yourself.
ASSEMBLE A BOARD OF DIRECTORS
No, it’s not premature.
While you might think your company is “just a small thing” right now… If you are serious about playing in the big leagues. DO IT. You don’t need a 21-man board. Nah. An odd numbered board of 3 people or 5 people is OK.
Personally, I think a 5-member board is a good idea for a start. When you do the board of directors thing very well… You’ll realize that it brings you prestige and credibility. If you don’t know why CREDIBILITY is important to you or your company please stop reading this and go get a good Disney teen-age romance movie 🙄
You are CEO and President of your company.
Now, you go out there and bring on board someone at least 10 to 15 years “ahead” of you to serve as Chairman. So that you, your Chairman and 3 others can constitute an initial board of directors.
Don’t be CEO and Chairman.
E get why 😅
TAKE TIME TO DEVELOP A BUSINESS PLAN
â›” Don’t pay someone to write for you… rather get guidance on how to put one together for the business by seeking guidance from someone with such knowledge. Then present this business plan to your board for further deliberation and ACTION.
When I was a “tech startup entrepreneur”, I used to think business plans were lame and dumb and I hated it. I now know better…
Look:
If you met YOUR DESTINY HELPER TODAY, someone that genuinely wants to help you in your business, guess the first thing they will ask for….
Yes: A BUSINESS PLAN. 🙄
If you met an INVESTOR TODAY, someone who wants to give you money to grow your company, guess the first thing they will ask for:
Yes, a business plan! 🛄
A business plan IS NOT A WASTE OF TIME or money. It’s a very powerful and quite honestly, it’s an effective tool that helps you gain clarity in your business, helps you plan effectively and with it, attracting money from family members or STONE COLD INVESTORS is easier.
It’s like this…
Your business plan paints a picture. If your business plan doesn’t make sense or your numbers don’t look achievable on paper… It probably won’t make sense or work for real. A business plan forces you to focus and think through your business deeply (that’s why as a first time Entrepreneur, write the damn thing yourself).
If the numbers don’t work on paper, we are sure it can’t work for real.
So, it’s a lot of work, but it’s the best business education out there. When you complete this 3-step process described above… You’ll be a changed person.
I believe all this is a good way to lay a SOLID foundation for your business.
As I wrote and edited this, it occurred to me that someone reading this might require my one-on-one help to implement this.
I and my business development team could help you:
✅ Think through your mission, vision and motivations for the business.
✅ Help you with putting together a board of directors.
✅ Guide you through putting together a business plan. We won’t write for you, but We’ll guide you through it.
I will bill you N100, 000 for this, and we’ll work on everything together. This might take up around 3 months to work through if we start right away. I think that I and my business dev team can only take on like 3 people right now. So, that’s it.
THREE SLOTS ONLY.
3 people and we are done.
If interested, please send me a private message.
May your business grow without limits 📈
