Dear Optimist!

Today I’ll start with one of my favorite quotes by Lori Greiner; she is a woman in business, Host and ‘Shark Tank’ Investor. It reads:

“Dear optimist, pessimist, and realist – while you guys were busy arguing about the glass of wine. I drank it! Sincerely, the opportunist!”

I could stop this post here, and I know you would have gotten the message. But I’ll go ahead and introduce you to the opportunist, and then you chose for yourself which you will be.

A team of three African women started a dress making company in the early 2000s, with their very loyal secretary. After two years in business an Asian textile manufacturer approached them with an offer. He said ‘I’ll like for you to become re-sellers of my textiles and cloth in Africa. They came together in a meeting to discuss the offer.

The first said “I am very optimistic about this offer and I think it would be good for us in the long run.”

The second said “Oh, I’m not sure we should trust these white people, they give in one hand and take with the other.”

The third said “Let’s be realistic here, we have enough to manage already. If we take another we definitely will not have enough to sustain our company.”

While they argued, the loyal secretary sent a reply mail to the Asian company through her personal email address and the rest is history.Today, she is a competitor with a stronger edge; she partners with some of the world’s most prestigious textile and clothing makers and runs departmental stores across Africa.
That is not actually a real life story. It’s fiction. A mirror of society and reflection of what our businesses would be if chose to argue than act. Over-thinking is seeing problems that don’t exist and when we over think, we waist time, we lose opportunities and don’t grow.

READ: TYPES OF EMPLOYEES ENTREPRENEURS DEAL WITH

The optimist who prefers to wait for a bigger deal, the pessimist who thinks everyone is out to destroy them and the realist who chooses to work based on what she can see. But someone called the opportunist knows that opportunities come in every business day, it starts really small but definitely grows.

READ: MYTHS ABOUT ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN KENYA

 The skills and experience gained from small opportunities is what enables you to handle a bigger one without breaking a sweat. Like a wise friend would say, ‘better to make a mistake on a local TV channel than on BBC!’

What I am saying today is take opportunities. Think, but do not over-think. Unless of course you like the business just as small as it is and have no aspirations for more.
Find local brands and names to associate with. Take offers. Seek Legal advice before entering a contract. Do background researches on the other party, and above all drink the glass of wine!

Have a great week.

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