Dear my Sweetheart,
You told me the other day how you dreamt that you had an empire – a jewellery empire – and the whole world was lining up to take your products to be distributed all over the globe. Well, it is possible. It is. It doesn’t even have to take very many years for it to be a great and amazing reality.
That said, I think there are things that have to be considered for it to come from the stage of being a dream to a point of seeing it physically with your eyes and much more, feeling it in your pocket and your bank account… and in your asset column!
The beginning point, I know, is to understand that you cannot build an empire unless you are one yourself. You have to BE an empire in thought and operation in order to BUILD an empire e.g. in your business, profession, or career. Below I share what I know I have to DO and who I have to BE so as to HAVE an empire
- Reading:
I have to read as much relevant and helpful literature as possible in my area of interest. Without information, most of my decisions are likely to always be faulty. Information is power. Reference: Hosea 4:6 – “My people perish because of lack of knowledge.” Knowledge is strength.
- Network:
I have to connect with as many people as possible – people who have a similar passion with me, and I can learn a lot from them. TEAM means “Together Everyone Achieves More.” I need people so as to actualize my dreams. I can go so far alone, but not further than that without others. But I have to know which people are relevant in this dream. These should not be those at my same level, but mostly those that have something challenging about them that I can aspire to achieve and get better. They should be a kind that have what I don’t have yet I need to progress.
- Selling skills:
I have to improve on my salesmanship skills because I am in the business to sell – sell products, ideas, fashions, designs, and myself as a product. If I can’t sell, people can’t buy; and if no one is buying, what the heck am I doing here? I have to equip myself in the art of persuasion, negotiating, influencing and convincing my customers or clients so they can see the great benefits of my products or service. I have to make them see how much they need it – urgently. If I am not selling, I am not in business.
- Creative Thinking:
The impossible is only accomplished at the place of thinking beyond what the obvious is. Possibilities lie hidden in the province of outside-the-box thinking. So, I have to think creatively so as to unearth brandy new, innovative ideas, products, designs and limitless possibilities. These are what will make my products and I unique and much sought-after. There is always something new I can do. Or at least I can do the same thing but only do it differently. But by all means, I have to have something new. I can change the packaging or improve the branding. I can add some value to the existing product. I can label differently. I can create a different size, shape, scent, or colour of the product. I can use a different marketing approach. I can go to a new target audience. I can always have something creative I can do. But all this is as a result of how innovatively I think.
- Market Analysis:
I have to study the market and be knowledgeable about my trade. With an understanding of the trends in my sector, I can make wiser decisions and be able to calculate risks that I can take to break new grounds and grab opportunities. What are others doing? Who are my closest competitors? Who am I targeting? How much is he/she willing to pay for my product? What does he/she need? How can I deliver it to him/her – wherever he/she is? How much are others charging for a similar product or service? What makes my product unique? What are the benefits of my product or service which makes it beat the rest on the market? Where is the trend going in the next 2, 5, 10 years in this area?
- Practice:
I have to frequently and regularly do practice and have consistent products that are of high, incomparable quality. The more I do it, the better I become. The more I do it right, the sharper I become. Repetition and practice go a long way in establishing stuff. I have to practice consistently. One apple a day keeps the doctor away. It is not one big basket of apples once a week! It is one small apple each day – consistently. I have to do to something every day – small or big. I only have to do it – every often. Gradually, I will grow steadily and surely.
Now let me go and make an empire of myself and bring it about in all I do. With the faithful God on my determined side, nothing will stop me from being an empire and building one for my wealth accumulation and touching lives of as many people as possible with what I will have earned. So help me God, especially to start NOW.
Go ye too and make it happen. Know what you want to BE, DO and HAVE. Then go for it unreservedly. After all, you can do it.
