Trojan
New Lister
Every human being is born with a unique and special contribution to the world. The sad reality is, less than one percent of humanity is confident enough to find and exploit their natural potential.
In my experience, I have found that everyone has some skill or knowledge that can be turned into a business. The interesting thing about this principle is that you don’t need to be the best at anything to succeed in it.
A lot of people make the mistake of thinking they have to be the best at something before they can make money out of it. Not true.
Here’s a reality check:
The most gifted people in almost every field are usually too SCARED, and can hardly muster the guts to start a business.
Have you ever wondered why most of the people who really start businesses in Africa don’t have MBAs and PhDs?
In my opinion, I believe the more a person knows about a subject, the greater the fear they have to take risks. I call it the ‘curse of knowledge.’
The truth is, you don’t need to have the largest fountain of knowledge to use it to your advantage. What you actually need is confidence to apply the knowledge that you have (or can learn). Unfortunately, most people do the reverse; they spend all their life acquiring more knowledge that they will never use.
In my experience, knowledge is overrated. What we need is passion, creativity and courage to exploit the knowledge and skills we currently have.
Linda Ikeji isn’t the best writer in Nigeria, by any means. Yet, her blog is one of the most successful in Africa, earning her thousands of dollars in income every month.
Linda is not a trained journalist, but millions of Nigerians depend on her blog for a daily dose of breaking news and society gossip.
By applying some creativity, she has successfully transformed her keen interest and passion into a viable business.
Faustina Sakyi, the highly successful Ghanaian cassava farmer is not by any means the most skilled cassava producer in her country. She doesn’t even have a university degree.
But by applying some basic knowledge and experience in farming, she has transformed her small cassava and gari products into a multinational export commodity.
Just by applying ‘common sense’, this woman was able to earn enough money to rise out of poverty.
Bimbo Balogun was a novice at making African bead jewelry and was only ‘passing time’ with the art until she discovered by accident how lucrative a venture it was. Today, her bead jewelry is worn by celebrities and public figures in her country.
One thing is clear from the stories of these entrepreneurs: they are hardly masters or experts at what they do. Their successes prove that determination, passion and a will to take action with what you already have may just be all it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur.
Are your natural abilities in cooking, writing, organizing, farming or influencing people? Do you have a basic but specific knowledge of a trade, product or market?
Even if you don’t have the knowledge or skills, but have a strong interest and passion for it, you can learn it.
There are several free platforms on the internet e.g youtube where Africans can learn anything for free these days.
You should take out a sheet of paper and list all the things you know and can do quite well. Remember, you don’t have to be the best at any of them.
In my experience, I have found that most of the things on your list are likely to be things you’ve known all your life, and can do almost effortlessly, but you have always taken them for granted. People may have often praised these abilities but you never gave too much thought to it.
Think deep, they can’t be that far away.
In my experience, I have found that everyone has some skill or knowledge that can be turned into a business. The interesting thing about this principle is that you don’t need to be the best at anything to succeed in it.
A lot of people make the mistake of thinking they have to be the best at something before they can make money out of it. Not true.
Here’s a reality check:
The most gifted people in almost every field are usually too SCARED, and can hardly muster the guts to start a business.
Have you ever wondered why most of the people who really start businesses in Africa don’t have MBAs and PhDs?
In my opinion, I believe the more a person knows about a subject, the greater the fear they have to take risks. I call it the ‘curse of knowledge.’
The truth is, you don’t need to have the largest fountain of knowledge to use it to your advantage. What you actually need is confidence to apply the knowledge that you have (or can learn). Unfortunately, most people do the reverse; they spend all their life acquiring more knowledge that they will never use.
In my experience, knowledge is overrated. What we need is passion, creativity and courage to exploit the knowledge and skills we currently have.
Linda Ikeji isn’t the best writer in Nigeria, by any means. Yet, her blog is one of the most successful in Africa, earning her thousands of dollars in income every month.
Linda is not a trained journalist, but millions of Nigerians depend on her blog for a daily dose of breaking news and society gossip.
By applying some creativity, she has successfully transformed her keen interest and passion into a viable business.
Faustina Sakyi, the highly successful Ghanaian cassava farmer is not by any means the most skilled cassava producer in her country. She doesn’t even have a university degree.
But by applying some basic knowledge and experience in farming, she has transformed her small cassava and gari products into a multinational export commodity.
Just by applying ‘common sense’, this woman was able to earn enough money to rise out of poverty.
Bimbo Balogun was a novice at making African bead jewelry and was only ‘passing time’ with the art until she discovered by accident how lucrative a venture it was. Today, her bead jewelry is worn by celebrities and public figures in her country.
One thing is clear from the stories of these entrepreneurs: they are hardly masters or experts at what they do. Their successes prove that determination, passion and a will to take action with what you already have may just be all it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur.
Are your natural abilities in cooking, writing, organizing, farming or influencing people? Do you have a basic but specific knowledge of a trade, product or market?
Even if you don’t have the knowledge or skills, but have a strong interest and passion for it, you can learn it.
There are several free platforms on the internet e.g youtube where Africans can learn anything for free these days.
You should take out a sheet of paper and list all the things you know and can do quite well. Remember, you don’t have to be the best at any of them.
In my experience, I have found that most of the things on your list are likely to be things you’ve known all your life, and can do almost effortlessly, but you have always taken them for granted. People may have often praised these abilities but you never gave too much thought to it.
Think deep, they can’t be that far away.