IDENTIFYING THE RIGHT PEOPLE WHO WILL HELP YOU
In Napoleon Hill’s book ‘Think ad Grow Rich’, he spoke about collaboration with the right people in order to get ahead in life to succeed. Many successful businessmen, motivational speakers, like Bob Proctor and Joe Vitale, consultants and business development people will tell you that if you want to get ahead in life, you need to do what Napoleon Hill said, that is to collaborate with the right people and have a circle of people around who are progressive in thinking and ways.
If you observe people in all societies and in all countries around the world, you will notice that the majority of people think small and have self limiting beliefs and they live their entire lives within the confines of these beliefs. Even their attitudes and mentalities are determined by these beliefs and how they operate and interact with others will show this. These are the people who can see only problems and no solutions. On the other hand there are the minority of people who think positively, have a positive attitude and mentality towards life, which will be reflected by how they speak and conduct themselves. These are the people who will always find solutions to problems around them. These are the kinds of people you will need to have around you, in order to help you move your project forward.
Since the problem makers and non solvers of problems are in the majority, there is a high chance that you will be interacting with these kinds of people on a daily basis. These are the people who you will have to walk away from, avoid or keep your plans away from. They are the ones who will give you negative advice and will give you many reasons why your idea, plan of business venture will never work. They will give you a variety of reasons why your idea, plan or business venture will never be possible, and will never give you one reason why your idea, plan of business venture will work.
Firstly, you will need to identify someone in your family or among your circle of friends who will support you. This can be your girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse, cousin, any other relative or it can be an unpopular friend that you have. Most of the times, the one who everyone considers unpopular will be the one who will be able to help you with any issue. So choose your friends wisely. Once you identify this individual or individuals, then you can tell them about your idea, plan or business venture and if they want to support you, they will tell you how they will be able to do so. Most times the person who likes your idea will voluntarily offer help and tell you what they can do to make your project a success.
Secondly, venture capitalists and even hedge fund companies are always on the look out to see where they can invest in order to get returns. If you know reputable venture capitalists and hedge funds companies you can approach them with an idea, product or prototype. There are also people in specialist fields of study who will also be able to assist you, so take the time to get to know some of them. When Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak needed financial backing for their Personal Computer invention, they approached many companies that rejected them, but when one investor visited them at Steve Job’s home and saw the potential of the invention, he immediately invested in the invention. He only visited them after Steve Jobs called his office a few hundred times. When investors heard about Henry Ford’s machine they visited him, saw the potential in his machine and invested in him and the machine. Today this machine is called a car. Note that Henry Ford did not invent the car or its engine. He simply made a cheaper design for the masses. At that time there were already automobile manufacturing Factories, but they were only catering for the wealth people who were in the minority. King Camp Gillette, inventor of the Gillette disposable razor, fought all odds as he embarked upon his vision of making shaving a simpler, safer, inexpensive, and time saving exercise. This happened after he accidentally cut himself with a barber’s razor which was used to cut facial hairs in that era. Gillette brought about a revolution in men’s shaving by his stunning marketing plans. Gillette visited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and inquired if it was possible to make a small strip of steel sharp enough to shave. After getting a negative response, he decided to partner with his friend William Emery Nickerson and started working on the blade. After five years of struggle and using much of their own money they perfected a double-edged safety razor. There is a valuable lesson to learn here. Although the specialist said that something was impossible, this does not mean that it is absolutely impossible. Here MIT was the specialist that said Gillette’s design was impossible. He proved them wrong because he believed in his idea.
Thirdly, you can approach online crowd funding sites that can help you with your project, depending on how small or big it is. The list below gives some of these sites.
You can also do an internet search on Directory of crowd funding platforms to view more crowd finding companies. Each site has its own rules and each site offers funding for specific needs, so you can read these details online to know which company will be of relevance to you.
Fourthly, depending on how complex your concept is, you can approach your local University for help. There you will meet highly trained professors and graduate students who will be ready, willing and enthusiastic to help you with an issue. For example, the owner of Myers Motors got help with engineering issues from the local University in his district. The students and lecturers there gladly gave him advice and helped him.
Networking is an important aspect of moving ahead and you will recognize this from experience.
Regardless of who you are and where you live, you can get help from the right people and the right places. Sometimes you will have to give something in return for help from others, like for example, an equal partnership share in the enterprise. Your personal situation will determine who you will partner with and what percentage of your enterprise you are willing to give to that person.