X-raying an entrepreneur’s journey to lasting legacy (2)
Concluding part of last week’s entrepreneurial journey by Yewande Zacchaeus, chief executive of Eventful, on building lasting legacy in business, a speech she delivered at the Women of Africa forum organised by the Enterprise Development Centre of Pan Atlantic University recently
Expansion/relevance
We must diversify to expand our businesses and establish other streams of income. We must seize opportunities when they arise and embrace calculated risks. We need to think big and not be afraid of stretching ourselves and our businesses so we can move to the proverbial next level.
Richard Devos says, “The only thing that stands between a person and what they want is the will to try and faith to believe it is possible”. We must remain relevant and not become dinosaurs in our field. We must be prepared to reinvent ourselves to survive the business terrain. Charles Darwin says, “It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent but the ones who are most responsive to change.”
Training
We cannot talk about reinventing ourselves without touching on retraining ourselves. How can we lead if we don’t know better? The world is so dynamic now, the effect of technology on businesses and the world in general is phenomenal. Of course as we grow we learn on the job, but we must also seek specific training to enhance our skills and update our outlook.
You must identify the stars in your company and begin to train them, equip them with the skills required to take the business over and run it well. I presently have two of my senior staff attending the EDC’s entrepreneurial training. I realised that my staff must begin to think as entrepreneurs if they are going to take the business to the next level when I exit.
Work/life balance
Clearly as a business owner with responsibilities for your employees and obligations to your clients, it is probably much more demanding a life than that of a 9-5 executive.
We live and breathe our businesses all day and even all night when the going gets tough. We daily have to juggle all our balls, daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, entrepreneur, employer, to stay the course yet be true to ourselves! I have found that priorities will differ depending on your season of life, your job or business. The path to balance is to determine the priorities of your life at any given time and work assiduously to the goal of achieving them.
Can we have it all? I once heard a high flying corporate woman say: ‘I have both a uterus and a brain and I intend to use both of them!’ Each of us has a distinct purpose we were born to fulfil; success and happiness come from fulfilling purpose. So yes, we can have it all; probably just not all at the same time.
Health
It is only a woman who is alive that will live to lead into a legacy. Take rest and relax (whatever you conceive this to be!) Go on holidays, exercise, eat healthy. Whatever the case let us look after ourselves so that by God’s grace we live long enough to enjoy the fruits of our labour and the handing over of our businesses to the next generation of leaders.
Integrity
Perhaps the most important issue in establishing a legacy is deciding what you stand for. What do you want to be known for or remembered by? I have tried over the years to run my business based on the very simple principles of integrity, fairness and a desire to provide a superior service to my clients.
As a committed Christian, I endeavour daily to use the word of God to guide my actions and the principles on which I establish my business. It has been said that if you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything. We do not pay bribes or give kickbacks in our company to get business; we would rather walk away from a multi million naira transaction than compromise our values. This is not easy in this environment but it can be done.
If our businesses are to be sustainable they must flourish regardless of who is in power in a particular corporation and how much they have decided we are to part with from the fees we have legitimately earned! The values we profess and the ethical choices we make clearly are fundamental to the sustainability of our businesses.
Making a difference
Finally, strive to make a difference. Whatever we do, we must make sure that our lives count for something. Whether it be as a daughter, wife, mother, sister, friend, executive or entrepreneur.
I went into the business of event planning because it was simply harnessing a natural gift and talent God had given me to organise people and events. I just found my calling and did what I enjoyed doing. My gift truly made a way for me.
OLUYINKA ALAWODE