eBusiness Weekly
Arthur Marara
Thousands of years ago, a certain woman lost her husband who happened to be a Pastor.
Unbeknown to her, this gentleman had left serious debts behind and the children were about to be taken into slavery for the debt of the father.
The woman cried to Elisha, for help, and the story goes as follows; “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”
“Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied. And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbours. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.” So she did as she was told.
Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim! “Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons.
“There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing.
When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.” (NLT) (2 Kings 4:1-7).
The reason for this story is to demonstrate the obvious fact, that many people we find ourselves in crisis which we either create ourselves or were created for us by other people.
However, what came out from the story is a powerful lesson on entrepreneurship. This will inspire everyone who is thinking about starting a small business.
There are many people who are thinking of it, but genuinely do not know where to start.
Let us share some thoughts from this.
1. You are not empty, and neither are you stranded
The thinking has to be right! The mistake many people make is to think they have nothing. This explains why many people always talk in terms of not having “capital”.
The widow thought she had “nothing”. You need to programme your mind into thinking abundance instead of thinking lack. When you think in terms of lack, you will even miss out on what you even have. This widow had oil.
I want to challenge you to look around you, see what you have. Look within you; see what you are gifted in.
You might be the next biggest bakery in the nation, yet you only see a few scones in your oven, you might the next biggest entertainer in the nation, yet you only see an anonymous composer of jokes which always go viral on Whatsapp and social media. You are loaded.
2. Start from where you are
From a broke widow, one of the largest distributors of oil was birthed. Do not complain about what you do not have be thankful for what you have. You do not need to worry much about the capital that you do not have.
Start where you are, it might be an idea, it might even mean doing a few gardens for people, but one day you can develop yourself into a force to be reckoned with in landscaping and gardening business.
Milton Kamwendo always say, “…the taste of money is always sweet.”
Money does not even tell where it has come from. Stop wishing your life was like that of your neighbour, look at your own life, and work from where you are to where you ought to be. Where are you now? Where do you want to go?
3. Enlarge your vision
The provision for the widow ended where the vessels ended. The challenge with many people is our thinking, does not go far. This explains why some of the businesses in Zimbabwe are not going on for years.
Start small but have a big vision. Your business can only go as far as your vision. Vision will give you the discipline that you need to sustain the business. This is why Solomon says, “where there is no vision people perish”.
What is the vision for your life? Do not limit yourself. The only limitations that will stop us in life are the ones that we place upon ourselves. The quality of your vision determines the quality of decisions and actions you will take.
4. Strive for freedom for debt
Many people are serial debtors, they owe practically everything. Some even owe clothes; mobile phones they so much spend time on owing, some owe airtime to service providers.
The widow in the above case had to work on freedom from debt. The debt was consumptive.
Not every debt is bad, but avoid consumptive debt, it will ruin you. I do not know what and how much you owe, but you will never be free in life if you owe anyone.
Work on your financial freedom.
Do not put status over financial freedom. Do not kill a business venture in order to impress people who are too busy to notice what you are doing, and possibly don’t even care.
5. Become good at whatever you will do
Having a great idea or a great product is not the same thing as having the money. You need to develop your skills in business or whatever area that you are good at.
Do not worry about competition; concern yourself with being a better you. The oil needed someone to sell and to sell effectively.
It was enough to pay the debts, and also to provide for the widow and the family. The purpose of miracles is not to promote laziness, but strangely people in Zimbabwe look for miracles in practically everything.
The greatest miracle is the opening of your mind to realise that you need to think, and work.
Your entrepreneurial walk must not be based on sheer luck, let it be based on principles; vision, focus, determination, drive, dedication, and a commitment to adding value and serving people. Unleash the entrepreneur in you!!
Arthur Marara is a corporate law attorney, keynote speaker, corporate and personal branding speaker commanding the stage with his delightful humour, raw energy, and wealth of life experiences. He is a financial wellness expert and is passionate about addressing the issues of wellness, strategy and personal and professional development. Arthur is the author of “Toys for Adults” a thought provoking book on entrepreneurship, and “No one is Coming” a book that seeks to equip leaders to take charge. Send your feedback to [email protected] or Visit his website www.arthurmarara.com or contact him on WhatsApp: wa.me//263780055152 or call +263772467255.
