I think it is imperative to always define a topic before you talk about it, don’t you? There is the general definition that I get as I speak to people from different backgrounds and circumstances. In fact, from talking to most people, I get the impression that the general expectation is a pyramid scheme, a scandal or a well-orchestrated con. In actual truth, leaving behind all the unfortunate experiences, the money lost to smooth talking conmen and fraud, a business by definition ranges from a multinational corporation to the shoe shiner at a corner in town. A business is simply a solution to a problem. It is the supply a product of a service that meets a specific need.

I have made some mistakes in my life. People around me are too kind to tell me just how exceptional my mistakes have been but I know. When I was younger, I figured I was brilliant. I knew that this thing called business in which I had no experience could really not be that hard. Well, ignorance is bliss and I did not maintain that opinion for long. I was given a hard lesson in a manner of speaking. Here are some of the basic lessons that I got from my experiences.

I learnt the hard way that a business is not simply throwing money at an establishment and expecting results. I took advice from everyone in the beginning. I followed statements like it takes money to make money, the economy is growing and generally assumed that I was the chosen one who would make it at my first attempt and achieve previously unheard of success. I initially thought of working hard for years, saving up then setting up a business when in truth, that would be a disastrous mistake especially in a situation in which I have dependents. If you have never failed at business, once or twice and still kept going, then you still have not learnt what it takes. Please do not invest blindly, talk to someone who has failed a few times, you might be heading the same way.

The most basic approach of a successful business venture entails finding a need for a product or service or creating a service/product then marketing it as a need. This is nothing like just opening a kiosk when there are six or seven more. As with anything that is worthy, certain skills make good entrepreneurs. In order to understand anything in this universe, there are two approaches. One way is to look at the subject matter in detail while the other way is to look at it from a broader perspective, basically, looking at the bigger picture. An example of a suitable metaphor is that in order to understand ourselves as humans and our place in life, some scientists have decided to go into microbiology in order to understand our composition, our basic building blocks while others study the environment, the stars, the galaxy and everything else. The more information you gather in details and with regard to the broader perspective, the better you understand the workings of businesses.