We often hear about the entrepreneurship journey and how lonely it can be; an entrepreneur starts a business by themselves with little to no support or resources. They go through the trials and tribulations by themselves and have to be their own best friends, their own support structure. However, as an entrepreneur is this loneliness you are experiencing your own fault?
The entrepreneurial journey is by no means simple, but you don’t have to shoulder the burdens of your business by yourself. Herein comes the value of a coach who has a vested interest in seeing you and your business succeed. Coaching is primarily about 1 thing: Seeing Results, and business coaching provides you with results: it not only “grows you” as an individual but it grows your business and helps you to reach your bottom line. However, coaching is not your only support system in your entrepreneurial journey…
Look around, are you the only ICT business in your province, your town or even your neighbourhood? No, you are not the only one. Meaning that the same challenges you are experiencing another entrepreneur in your community has experienced them, the same lessons you need to learn, another entrepreneur in your community has learnt them and could be a great resource of information. Should you forget that these other entrepreneurs are your competitors? No, but you need to have a mindset that allows you to see other entrepreneurs as potential collaborators instead on competitors and this can occur in a safe community; there is no safer space for collaboration than at the EBL programme.
The programme has connected entrepreneurs who were seemingly competitors vying for the same customers, during 2021 we saw some of our entrepreneurs come together to produce fruitful new partnerships and projects without leaving their own businesses. And this year… we have provided a platform for you to connect in the form of breakaway rooms and we’ve seen the connections happening already… I would advise that you build on this, your breakthrough moment could occur in those meetings of the minds that happen during the sessions but be safe, do not loan each other money and if you need advice, the EBL team is here to help. Entrepreneurship is nuanced, it’s not only challenging and exciting; it is also opportunistic, it’s about seizing the day and the moment. Sometimes you only have 1 shot at converting a client and you have to take that shot or miss out. An entrepreneur doesn’t miss out on closing a sale, when an opportunity presents itself, they take it. And our MentorCLUB sessions and in particular, our breakaway room sessions are your opportunity. The MentorCLUB session showed me one thing that I as a coach find to be very exciting: you have a willingness to learn and this is a great foundation for any success you hope to find.
You are a community of entrepreneurs, thanks to the EBL programme. Why? Because we have been intentional to structure the programme in such a way that you not only learn from myself as your coach but from one another. In a football team, there may be another player who has a better skill at scoring goals or transferring passes, you can learn from them and teach them how to fake injuries (only a joke). But the lesson here is this: entrepreneurship for you does not have to be lonely. You are part of a community that includes the top 50 ICT entrepreneurs in the country with the most potential, that in and of itself is a big opportunity, now be like the entrepreneurs I know you can be and seize your opportunities.
ActionCOACH Thabo Pitse
Africa's #1 Ranking Business Coach
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