Know thyself

"He who has thorough knowledge of himself and his enemy is bound to win in all battles.He who knows himself but not the enemy, has only an even chance of winning. he who knows not himself and the enemy is bound to perish in all battles."- Sun Tzu, Art of War

     In Starting your business it is best to know 4 things about yourself. your Skills, your Interest, your Experience and your Business Network. 

   Skills.  I recommend that you write down at least 10 things that you know that you are good at. You can also ask your close friends, classmates, workmates, relatives at what you are good at. Things that wows people when you do it

   Interest. What do you enjoy doing? An activity that you are fond of doing. This could be drawing, doing a video of yourself, watching movies( what kind of movies?), watching You Tube video(what kind of videos?), fixing broken appliances, woodworking,playing basketball or badminton or any sports? This will help you discover a lot of things about your personality and the business that will suit you. 

    Experience. What training, education or work experience? I am not stopping anyone to reinvent themselves. If  having a military training for most their life and ending up cutting women's hair(like Zohan). Passing the Dentistry board exam and ending up manufacturing clothes. From teaching high-school to call center agents. From a corporate guy to an Uber driver.           There are tons of  people who went out of their experiences and training, trying new things for a greener pasture.  But what I'm trying to say is having the experience,discipline and exposure from the field that you want to start your business, will make it easier and more natural. 

     Business Network. People you know, friends and relatives who are in business and who could provide information, advise or assistance to you.   Steve Jobs use to work with a tech company Atari and live nearby Silicon Valley a haven for computer products. Mark Zuckerberg  was from Harvard with computer wiz friends. 

    Taytay is well known for 2 things. garments and woodworking. Indians in the Philippines are in the lending business famously known "5-6", generation after generation do the same business because of their experience. Most Filipino-Chinese are either in the retail business like construction material hardware or in the wholesale business,like raw materials. 

     However if you are surrounded by negative people and stuffs. As a good entrepreneur would do is to start being resourceful, use the internet, meet new people and build a new network.

     This are 4 must know before you start your business, do this for it will help you see clearer the path to success.When entrepreneurs fail they put the blame on their family being a drag, parents only giving them so much, luck, not having this and not having that.  You can be a maverick all you want but make sure that you don't stop looking at the reward, be ready for the toil and frustrations. 

     Finish first before you start. 

     (title of my next blog)