How to discover one’s true path in entrepreneurship?
There is a saying in Zen Buddhism that compares the human mind with a teacup. There are various versions of it. But this is how I have understood and applied the essence of it in entrepreneurship.
‘If the cup is already full, one cannot pour fresh tea into it’.
It means one must keep an open mind when learning something new.
I had come across it several years back. But it would be several years later that I would practice it.
For the last two years, I have been mentoring individuals in entrepreneurship. In that, I focus on how to get individuals to start the journey well. I do that to help them avoid crashing and burning quickly.
I started mentoring, in parallel to building a healthcare social enterprise. Most of my mentees were from European and African countries. The difference in time zone allowed me to work on both projects in parallel. At that time I had shifted from the commercial business sector to the social business sector. (How I hate making such distinctions now!)
So my cup was full. Which means this.
I was ready to guide people with the business frameworks and processes I had used earlier.
In the first meeting with the mentees, I would ask if they knew the kind of business they wanted to build.
An NGO? A Social Enterprise? A for-profit business? A Not-for-profit organization?
I had expected people to be clear about it.
But to my surprise, I received a variety of responses. Some were blank. Some asked me to explain the different types of businesses. Some had vague ideas about the differences.
One mentee wanted to build an organization to tackle mental health issues among men.
Another mentee wanted to build an Ice Cream business
Another wanted to tackle healthcare issues among women.
I observed two things from the above:
- They knew what they wanted to do. But not the type of organization they should build.
- Their central intention was to build a venture. Figuring out the type wasn’t as important.
I was in a bit of a sandwich situation.
Should I mentor them in first figuring out the type of venture? Or should I guide them to build a venture first?
I realized that I had to half-empty my cup.
I discontinued my existing process of helping people to figure out their venture type first.
Also, I stopped distinguishing between the types of ventures.
Why?
Because I wanted to offer lessons that would be relevant to their situation. Hence, I asked a hard question to myself.
How important is it to decide the type of organization in the first step to entrepreneurship?
I realized that it is not!
Imagine you are out on your first date. Would you rush to discuss the type of family you would build with your date? It’s immature thinking. You can dream about it.
I would call that wishful thinking. Out of touch with reality.
You have to first discover each other’s choices and preferences in life.
It is similar in the case of entrepreneurship.
First, discover the type of entrepreneur you can be. Then discover the hard truths and dynamics about the category of your business.
By then you will know the type of venture you wish to launch.
When you are starting out in entrepreneurship, first remain open.
My approach to helping an individual start a business has evolved.
I ask them to first spend time practicing the purpose for which they want to get into entrepreneurship. Practicing and living the purpose will help decide the type of venture.
A mentee of mine wanted to improve the maternal health of the pregnant ladies in her village in Cameroon. That was her purpose.
So she dreamt of opening her own NGO to make fresh cow milk accessible.
I asked her to park her dream aside.
Then asked her why she was getting into entrepreneurship.
She wanted a better life for herself and the pregnant ladies. Okay!
What’s a better life?
She wanted to improve her financial condition and build a meaningful life.
Knowing that I made her do research and concept testing for homemade butter instead. In her village ilk was available but butter wasn’t. It was only available in a few stores in the town. Hence, it was expensive. So I told her to first make a list of milk products she was aware of. Then identify the ones she could make herself. After several trials and errors, we zeroed in on butter. Her mother was willing to help in the production.
The next step was to find out the market acceptability of butter (product) at a certain price.
She found out that her target audience liked the taste of her butter. They were also willing to pay the price at which she was offering it.
So she ended up starting a social enterprise, instead.
Now she reframed her purpose behind being an entrepreneur.
It’s dual.
Improve the health of pregnant women belonging to the lower socioeconomic strata. And remain profitable.
If you are a single-person business then you can remain profitable by selling a limited quality of products too.
She was happy. There was cash flow. Also, she was building a business with a social purpose.
Cash flow is like oxygen to business and life.
So as they say in flight, put an oxygen mask on yourself first, before helping others.
If you remain open-minded then you will find the right path to entrepreneurship.
In the beginning, I had a fixed way of mentoring. That got me headed toward a wall. No progress.
But then I revisited my purpose.
It is to make the relevant information accessible to the target audience. The point of relevance got me to question the conventional way of mentoring.
Through that, I found my own approach.
That’s what I teach my mentees.
When starting out in entrepreneurship, I ask them to stick to the purpose. But remain open-minded while doing research and concept testing.
Because meaningful discoveries happen when one remains open-minded.
So remain open and discover your path to entrepreneurship.
