Going into business after employment requires you to think like a different person. Theo has been finance professional for most of his career. He is a qualified accountant and rose up to the level of CFO (Chief Financial Officer) in his last job in a multinational manufacturing company. Theo resigned three months ago and is looking at starting a financial advisory firm. He thinks there is a gap to offer objective financial advice as an external party to companies like the one he recently worked for.
As you can expect, with the level he had reached, Theo has a pretty good lifestyle. He lives in a great neighborhood, his children are in international schools and he definitely has the ability to entertain himself very well. With this kind of life also came expectations from those around him – colleagues, friends, social circle and even relatives.
Theo left work because he wanted a change; he wanted to give his own business a shot. He has good networks and has been going for meetings, pitching his idea. So far nothing concrete has materialized yet. Theo is getting worried. It’s been three months and he has started seeing the level of his savings drop. Watching and observing other people get up and go to work, and seem to be productive is starting to bother him. Theo decided to get some advise from his friend Sam. Sam went into business five years ago and is able to see things from a different perspective. These are the tips Sam gave Theo. Things that Theo had overlooked when he started this journey. Maybe its things that will help you and you can also relate to if you are in this particular transition.
- Be prepared to give it time. In Sam’s opinion the first lesson in business is patience because it will be applied in so many areas. Patience with clients, receiving payments, suppliers, employees, sales etc. There is no shortcut to it; you just have to go through it. This does not mean you while away twiddling thumbs. Do what is needed to the best of your ability. Do what is practical. Even if the business you hoped for has not borne fruit, as you would like, make sure you find something to do everyday. Wake up with an objective. Make calls, see clients, do your research, have a conversation with those who can help, see your bankers. Prepare for what you hope will materialize.
- Get ready to rebuild your brand and networks. A lot of people that Theo was going to see knew him in relation to his previous job. He was Theo, the CFO of XYZ Company. That was his brand. There are people within those networks, and as nice as they want to be with you, will loose association with you because the title does not exist anymore. They may even take the meeting but they will not do business with you simply because of that. And it’s OK. Life does continue. Armed with that insight, you can free up your time to develop other networks that you will find are actually more aligned with what you want to do. Be prepared to rebuild your profile. This will also require that you personally stop identifying with the title you used to carry and maybe the status, attention and open doors that it used to provide for you. Time to really dig deep and understand who you are without the title, your strengths and what you have to offer. That is what needs to come out and be sold.
- Interestingly, when you drop the previous identity you have and stop trying to catch up to who you used to be, you may also see opportunities in a different way. So far Theo has thought about the potential for his business through his qualifications and professional experience. He has a concept that he thinks he would sell to his “peers” in the industry i.e. he has been knocking on doors of finance managers, people at his level so to speak. He is trying to import himself into a business that is somewhat similar to what he used to do. That is what is called completely thinking inside the box. Entrepreneurship requires you completely re-engineer yourself to be able to think outside the box. Sam is a lawyer who now does construction. It’s about matching your unique skills (not paper qualifications) to the opportunity. His negotiation skills really help him in his line of work. Theo has often given financial insight to SME’s in informal settings. Random conversations in social settings. Maybe that’s where his golden opportunity lies and not large multinational companies. It may sound nice to have these companies as your clients, but you may find it makes more business sense to work with SME’s. Just an example to prompt different thinking.
- Last but not least be practical with money. Since you have to give it time, you may not have income for a while. And it could be a very long time to get regular income at the level Theo had at his previous job. Cut down unnecessary spending. (Click to Tweet this thought) You’ve probably accumulated enough things to last a lifetime anyway. You don’t need more. What real difference is buying the next version of your phone going to make in your life?People who will call you remain the same. No new business will come because of a new phone. You are now training yourself to develop the ability to spend on the right things. This will also help you when the business makes money, because without this discipline, when you do get money you will spend to prove a point to yourself and others. To declare you have made it. This is not necessary!
We always hear statistics about how many business fail. I think the last one I heard was three out of every five. Would be interesting if we knew how many failed because the founders held on to the same way of doing things. Changing your mindset is half the battle won.
To learn more about how to use your money as a tool to reach the heights and goals that you had only imagined, click here to learn more about the Centonomy Personal Finance program, Centonomy 101! Ready to register? Click here!
Waceke Nduati-Omanga runs programs on Personal Finance Management, Entrepreneurship and Career Success. Find her at waceken@centonomy.com| twitter @CekeNduati| Facebook /CekeNduati
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