100% shareholding of zero is zero

Why is it that we choose to run our little one man startups when we can easily consolidate our resources with other similar startups and form bigger entities? 100% of a small entity equals to a small value but a 10% shareholding of a bigger consolidated entity is a bigger value. The same reasoning applies…

Obsess about your customers

Don’t worry about your competitors. Thinking about what they are doing will only cause anxiety. Concentrate all your attention on your customers. Make sure they are happy with your service and you are doing everything possible. If you don't listen to your customers, someone else will. Image by Pexels 

Imitation to Innovation

Deloittes has a nice new office building in Midrand, it is that subtle kind of beauty. To my surprise I saw a similar designed new building close to the OR Tambo international airport. So I assumed it is the same developer/constructor who built both buildings and decided to use the same design. I recently learned…

Discipline equals freedom

In his book Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World, Timothy Ferriss interviews former Navy Seal Jocko Willink and he shared a great note on Discipline = Freedom: _________________________________________________ “Discipline equals freedom.” Everyone wants freedom. We want to be physically free and mentally free. We want to be financially free…

How do you spell love?

Piglet: How do you spell love? Pooh: You don't spell it, you feel it. In the movie Finding Forrester, while mentoring a young author he says: "No thinking - that comes later. You must write your first draft with your heart. You rewrite with your head. The first key to writing is... to write, not…

Caring mismatch

Care mismatch = when one party in a 2 way relationship cares more about it than the other. For example: …when you realise your friend only calls you if he/she needs something from you. …when you find that the sales person is only being nice to you to make the sale. …when you cannot understand why your…

Turn your idea into a prototype

As a startup entrepreneur, the best investment you can make is to build a simple prototype. One of the most effective ways to visualise your thinking is through a prototype designed to transform ideas into tangible, workable artifact. A prototype is worth more than 100 pages of planning docs. “If a picture is worth a…

A great product is not the same as a great business

Having a great product is great when you start a business, but a great product not the same as having a great business. A profitable product is not the same a profitable businesses. That's why it is important to know your numbers, because in business if you don't know your numbers you don't know your…

Uncertainty

Nobody creates from a place of certainty. You cannot predict the future. You never could. Nobody can. Despite this fact, you took action in the past. You made brave decisions without absolute proof. You started that business without knowing with certainty if people will buy from you. You loved without knowing if your love would…

Resourcesful

When things do not go according to plan. Remember this is not the first time you have had to change direction. Make a list of all the other times you pushed through despite the challenges. Remind yourself of the skills and strengths you previously called on in challenging times. Tell yourself those stories today, tomorrow…

Writing for self vs. writing for others

I have had the opportunity of speaking to few people interested in writing publicly [on a blog of their own] over the years. As you might imagine, I’m a huge fan of writing regularly in public as the act of doing so can have a transformative effect on our life by pushing us to be…

Molehills

So much of our ability to build long-lasting relationships that bring love, peace, and joy to our lives rests on our ability to let molehills be molehills. Every invitation to a molehill showdown should not be honoured. Every stimulus does not need a response.