Mohammed Al-Shalfi

Founder and CEO of the Almoheet.net

According to my own experiences, there are at least two paths in entrepreneurship and establishing startups. The first is the quick stoppage shortly after the setting up. The second is slow reaching. The reason for the quick stoppage of a business is seemingly the enthusiasm that leads to a fictional image – we know the importance of imagination in creativity. Enthusiasm leads to very ambitious plans for the business with very little expectations about funding. The greater the enthusiasm, the greater the number of difficulties faced; and the ultimate result is nothing but stopping.

Slow reaching as a second option to start a business, means being well aware, climbing the stairs step by step, maintaining long-term enthusiasm through small successes, and low-cost learning from mistakes.

There is a symbolic tale that was frequently stated in our childhood, from which this meaning can be drawn. It is a tale of the rabbit and the turtle race. With the launch of the race, the rabbit sped up like the wind, while the turtle began to walk step by step. Halfway through, the rabbit became tired and decided to sleep a little, assured of the winning at the end. The turtle continued to walk enjoying the race and all around it. Finally, the turtle reached the end point and win, while the rabbit was in a deep sleep.

This allegory expresses the idea that I am presenting here: focusing all the energy in the beginning and not distributing it to all stages will lead to a quick stoppage. Here, I can only share with you some points I managed to capture through my humble experience:

 

  • Inspiring experiences of most notable entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Ma, usually point us the wrong way. These experiences make us think the path is very easy. If you are thinking of becoming like them, you have to think carefully about their beginnings when they worked from the house garage and had to face many difficulties. And because you are in the beginning, you have to achieve the success that those people had achieved in their beginnings before they became what they are today.
  • Always at the launching of a business, we are accompanied by certain convictions, including that we can carry out all the tasks on our own without the help of anyone or a partner who shares us the same belief and is fully prepared to make the effort and time in order to make the business a success. Doing all the tasks alone will inevitably lead us to boredom, tiredness, and perhaps even a halt in the end.
  • An overestimation of the importance of what we are doing, without considering that we are still in the beginning, might lead us to a miscalculation of the value of the services provided by the project. If you are close to getting a business to launch, never consult those who advise you of a high rating of the services according to the market. Always be keen to rate your services according to the size of the company. Accept that experience and building relationships with clients are part of the value you get.
  • One of the important things for an entrepreneur is to be prepared, in case he feels tired, to rest a little to maintain his calm in order not to find himself obliged to end the journey early. But this short rest must be accompanied by a strong focus on the goal and a sincere desire to continue achieving it, so that you will not be preceded by the world around you, and not forced to search for a new idea at best.
  • Take care to maintain the minimum requirements of the business for the longest possible period. This will give you space to maneuver and overcome any difficulties that might arise. If you have an online store, for example, it is important that you pay to keep it running on the Internet for a longer period, because such details can be considered the minimum requirement in running the business, and failure to fulfill them will be a sign that you are nearing the end.