MY BUSINESS is MY BUSINESS

Learn How To Earn A Fortune

Many people aspire to be their own boss, run their own business, and achieve financial independence, but seldom do they sit back and ask what it takes to run a successful business. Perhaps you are one of the few who have asked this question, and if so, I want to congratulate you for your brave action.

When I first told people I was writing this book, many asked, "Why this subject?" and, "What qualifies you to write about starting your own business?" Let me answer these questions by explaining why I believe that I am the best person to advise you about starting your own business. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt so attracted to something that you just couldn't get it out of your mind? Have you ever fallen in love with something? The subject that I cover in this book is one that I fell in love with at an early age, and I am still so attracted to it that I just cannot live a single day without discussing what makes a business successful. I have been very interested in the subject of business dynamics since I was a child, and this interest never dissipated over the years. In fact, my interest in the subject intensified with the passing of time. I have spent countless hours talking to business owners of all types about what makes their business successful and what challenges they face. My research is not just limited to interviews with business owners; I have also read many books on the subject of business management, strategy, and development. Whenever I think about all the books I have read on this subject, however, there is one author who sticks in my mind: Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad/Poor Dad and other books. I have found Kiyosaki's books about business very inspirational, enlightening, and motivational. His humility about his own failures and the lessons he learned through the influence of his Rich Dad and his Poor Dad are awesome. Another book that forms the bedrock of the topics covered in my book is Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill. This is a book that was instigated by Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest businessmen of his time. He was very keen to share the recipe for business success with the rest of the world. It was Andrew Carnegie who asked Napoleon Hill to interview over 500 successful businessmen and compile their success formulas, which have helped millions of people to develop successful businesses and earn financial fortune. With this same goal in mind I have written this book to help you, the reader, access useful tools and knowledge for managing your own business or for advising current or new entrepreneurs how to manage their businesses effectively.

All too often, business support programmes and business studies tend to be limited to teaching technical skills; they fail to provide an adequate focus on areas such as attitude and personal character. In this book, you will find that success in business calls for a respectable amount of positive attitude and character strength, as well as the technical skills required to deliver products and services. Failure to give adequate attention to any of these elements carries the risk of causing a business to fail. It is therefore not surprising to find that a significant proportion of businesses fail before their fifth birthday. When it comes to attitude, it is important to have an understanding of limiting cultural beliefs, as well as a willingness to ditch them and replace them with empowering beliefs. This is an area that many people, including business advisors, are frightened to discuss. There are those who believe that the government owes it to them to bail them out from their self-inflicted predicaments. Rather than being grateful for business support, such people would rather criticise the level and types of support they receive; they even go one step further by asserting that they should be given handouts, irrespective of the quality of their services and products. Allow me to state unequivocally that there is nothing wrong with getting grant aid or financing from the government. After all, some businesses could not be started without such support. However, when people believe that the responsibility for the success of their business rests with the government, and when they fail to appreciate support given to them in any form, then a culture of irresponsibility is bred, which in itself is dangerous for sustainable social and economic development.

The title of this book should hopefully bring it home to you, the reader, that your business is your business, first and foremost. If you fail to take full responsibility for your business, then you do not deserve the assistance of anyone else. There are certain communities where people have failed to start a business because they are too focused on recounting their lacks, deficits, scarcity, and historical heritage. These people are completely oblivious of the fact that if they spend their time and effort on developing their ideas, they will be able to attract the money required to bring their business to the market. Then there are other communities where limiting cultural beliefs stealthily kill businesses even before they have gained enough strength to prosper. Without adequate understanding of these issues, using a one-size-fits-all approach to support businesses in such communities will simply result in private- or public-sector capital investment being poured down a black hole.

Consider another limiting belief I have observed many Christians professing, and you will see some of the challenges that cripple success in some communities. I was once privy to several discussions in which people asked individual business owners whether they believed that they were really working within the will of God, simply because their businesses had not been profitable in the first two years. These business owners were made to believe that they might have acted too soon in starting their businesses, when in fact it is not uncommon for businesses to suffer a loss in the first two years after they are founded. Given such ingrained beliefs, you can see why many businesses pack up before they even start. If they had only looked at the experiences of successful businesses like Southwest Airlines, they would have discovered that their situation is not uncommon. By sharing stories of the founders of several successful businesses, this book will give you a broader perspective on the reality of starting, developing, and growing a successful business. It will also enrich you with tools that will empower you for success in the business world, and as a result, you will save considerable time and effort as you implement proven strategies and tactics used by wealthy entrepreneurs who have made significant financial fortunes through their businesses.