Have you ever paused to think about why you are so smart, talented and amazing yet you're ever broke? Maybe not or could be you're rich already, but here's a few reasons why the world's smartest people aren't always the richest. Before I proceed you need to get on the edge today to engage the world on social media.
They don’t want business partners
They don’t want business partners
There are loads of smart people out there doing cool stuff,
with amazing business ideas but they will never grow. These people are local
heroes in their state, county, province or nation but one thing that they lack
is that strategic partner to catapult their businesses to national or global
market. One major reason is greed, these guys want full control of their
ventures! They want to own 100 percent of 10 million rather than get a partner,
allocate some equity and own 60 percent of 1 billion. How dumb? These partners
could be distributors, well known people with the influence and connections an
entrepreneur needs to grow or could even be a financial partner. The other
reason why smart people fear partners is that they are afraid of losing their
business. Well, that’s a valid point however there are lawyers to assist in
this, to ensure the deal/ agreement is binding to both parties. Most of the
successful business today sought partners. From Facebook to
Instagram, to Microsoft; their founders had co founders!
They don’t know people
Not all the smart people are blessed with connections and
networks in the right places. Having the networks doesn’t necessarily mean
you’ve got to be from a rich family, however to succeed in business you need to
be known! How do you get known? Befriend the press, get social, attend forums,
hangouts, seminars and events where you are likely to meet the bigwigs in your
industry. If you’ve got a nice cool product people will like it, you may get
new customers, coverage in the media, meet potential partners etc. So go out
there and seek contacts, do not chill out and bum all day, seek help out there
and most important don’t be selfish; always approach people with a clear value
proposition. Remember it’s not all about you, always demonstrate clearly
“what’s in it for them”!
Lack of Information
There a lot of smart guys out there who do not have the
information on what’s happening, what they can use to their advantage, how they
can benefit from various organizations and platforms. As entrepreneurs complain
of lack of funds, there are very many government, private sector bodies, trusts
and other non-governmental organizations that disburse funds either inform of
soft loans, grants, or offer non financial assistance to business owners. There
are also loads of other business clubs and networking forums that you could
take advantage of. Just ensure you are in the loop, seek to know who’s doing
what, where and when, then analyze whether you need to participate individually
or as a business.
They never see the business angle
If you’ve met a few
smart then you understand this point clearly. These guys simply don’t see the
money in what they do! For one reason or the other these people do not want to
commercialize what they do! What happens when they don’t see the business
angle? This is what has led to the creation of agencies, brokerage firms,
agents who manage talented people like artistes, athletes and such. Brokers for
example will go out seek business, come back armed with a deal and loads of
cash, pay them a small percentage to do the work. The brokers live large and
happily, the smart guys struggle to make ends meet! These smart people have
fallen for rogue guys who steal their ideas and implement them. Why? If someone
is sitting on diamonds but doesn’t see the cash in the stones then someone who
does takes the opportunity because they can see the business and thus the huge
returns from what the smart guys are ‘sleeping on’!
Lack of customer focus
Smart guys tend to think everyone in the world is as smart
as they are; well its not the case. These guys are very innovative, they do
really cool stuff that no one else understands how to use or operate. Whenever Facebook changes its design people complain, when we moved to the timeline
people wanted the old Facebook! Why? People want to use simple, easy to
understand gadgets and appliances. The literacy levels in the world are still
very low, In Africa we still have people who haven’t touched leave alone seeing
a mobile phone! These people cannot operate an I phone even if you gave it to
them for free!
They simply don’t want to be rich
These guys simply do not want to be RICH! For one reason or
the other some of them want to popular, well known, others want to change the
world, others want to be recognized and win global awards. However in a
capitalist world you need money, if you can do something to change the world,
make some money out of it. Have a revenue model to ensure your business is
sustainable, monetize some of your services or products, make some $$$$. We are
on planet earth, you need money here, probably if we get to the next world
where the bible tells me everything will be free then we can chill out and
enjoy but for now you’ve got pay your bills. The only free thing we got today
is the dirty air we breathe; well someone has been selling clean air (oxygen)
and very soon you may need to buy some from him should we keep burning more
carbon and cutting down our trees!