Start small and build from the bottom up too earn big someday

We all want to build the next million rand company, is that not so? How do you get started?

These are the questions asked by many entrepreneurs, especially those at start-up stage. The answer to this question is as simple as it sounds: you start at the beginning.

Many people really try to make it difficult to succeed. They want to start up a company today and start earning R100 000 as their personal income tomorrow.

Another challenge most entrepreneurs face is that no one wants to start small. When you start a company, the market is not established at this stage and sales are not guaranteed yet. That is why they start looking for funding. While it been proven beyond reasonable doubt that capital is definitely not the answer to the success of a business, it is still quite amazing that so many businesses still believe that they need capital to get their business ideas going.

If you are still not convinced that capital is not the answer, check out these statistics: Only about 21% of all funded business ideas ever get to make it past the first year and after that, less than 10% of the surviving businesses make it to the fifth year of operating. These statistcis show that, with all the billions of rands invested into empowering entrepreneurs, the success rate keeps dropping. Five years ago it was 50% that eventually failed, and now 79% of businesses fail within the first year.

It is for these reasons that I often show people the difference between be in the business of “raising funds” and “building a business’. When you are building a business and are willing to start at the bottom, you do not even need any funding.

Your growth is purely dependent on how much effort and time you are willing to give. By starting with one brick at a time and giving it your total focus, you will soon have a wall.

It is really not about how small you start, but how you will finish at the end of the day. Until many entrepreneurs start understanding this simple principle, they will forever still remain frustrated by being in the “business of fundraising” instead of changing their approaches and realising successes with their business ideas. The old saying goes: Mighty things from small beginnings grow.

Kholofelo Pholafudi is the author of The Psychology, Science & Art of Turning Contacts into Connections.