Screw business as usual

“I will build a car for the great multitude, constructed of the BEST materials by the BEST men to be hired after the SIMPLEST designs that modern engineering can devise…so LOW in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one–and ENJOY with his family the blessing of hours of PLEASURE in God’s great open spaces”. – Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motors   How many entrepreneurs go into business with such a vision, purpose, mission or mindset? Yet we wonder why few businesses achieve GLOBAL SIGNIFICANCE.

The answer is simple; we go into business NOT for the benefit of OTHERS but for OURSELVES! To build a business that MATTERS, fight a CAUSE [vision, purpose, or mission] that MATTERS! Business: It’s not only about you!  “If you do something good, the future will come. By doing good, the world will conspire to work with you to achieve new heights.” –Illac Diaz, founder, MyShelter Foundation Back in 2010, which was the launch year of naijapreneur, I wrote two very heart pouring articles titled “why doing business as usual is suicidal” and “two kinds of companies: what kind are you building?“. Unknown to me back then, as I was busy pouring my heart out from far away Africa [Nigeria to be precise] on why doing business as usual is suicidal and why the growth and success of your business now depended on doing business Not as usual.

Somewhere else on planet earth on a little island called Necker; Sir Richard Branson of the global Virgin brand was having the same idea and was putting it all together as a new book for entrepreneurs. Talk about collision of ideas! Last two years, in November 2011, he launched the book titled; “Screw Business as usual“. And guess what? Yours truly hadn’t read or ever heard about this book when I wrote those two unusual articles.

So, what’s all these got to do with you or your business or your entrepreneurial journey for that matter?

“Every single business person has the responsibility for taking care of the people and planet that make up our global village, all 24,902 circumferential miles of it.” –Richard Branson ‘Doing Good’ Is Good Business.

Meaning, you can make more money IF MONEY ISN’T THE ONLY THING ON YOUR MIND! Business is no longer as usual. To survive you’ve got to do the unusual. Being UNUSUAL is the NEW business as usual. Before now, the usual was to focus on money [profit] –what you will get from your business. NOW, the table has turned. You have to focus on the unusual, meaning [purpose] –what you will give through your business. For regular readers, you are already familiar with this.

This is the core of what we preach. Not to be overly arrogant or proud, but with all humility and with pureness of heart, seriously you need to pay attention to what you read here! Beyond the fact that I am also an entrepreneur like you and all that I publish are from my personal experiences in life and in business. I strongly feel what I share is beyond me. They are not just theories as they might literally seem at first glance; they are timeless principles that have repeatedly been used to build businesses that MATTER. And that’s why I particularly like Richard Branson’s bold move to challenge the business world with this new book.

“Over the last few decades as I’ve started up one exciting business after another, I thought that life and work could not get any better. In writing this book, I’ve realized that we’ve really been on a practice run, getting ready for the greatest challenge and opportunity of our lifetime. We’ve got a shot at really pulling together to turn upside down the way we approach the challenges we are facing in the world and look at them in a brand new entrepreneurial way.

Never has there been a more exciting time for all of us to explore this great next frontier where the boundaries between work and purpose are merging into one, where doing good, really is good for business.” –Richard Branson   Change the world, profit from purpose This mantra of changing the world and profiting from purpose works. I have applied it and I’m still applying it and so have several other unusual entrepreneurs like Sir Richard Branson who in my opinion is like the Godfather of unusual entrepreneurs following legendary Steve Jobs and Sam Walton of blessed memories.

I am encouraging you to take these principles to heart and much more than that, PUT THEM TO TEST through APPLICATION. Meaning, practice what you learn! It is my utmost desire to see you awaken the spirit of business within, build a business that MATTERS, change the world and profit from purpose. I will forever always do my part, which is bringing you unusual business and entrepreneurship principles, ideas and best practices.

But all of these won’t matter if you NEVER put to use the things you learn here. And this is where I draw the curtain on this little heart-to-heart talk from me to you. The world is awaiting the manifestation of unusual entrepreneurs who would not only build businesses that MATTER, but will also change the world and profit from purpose. Tito Philips Jnr, an unusual Nigerian that is MAD – Making A Difference. He leads a TRIBE of Unusual Entrepreneurs that raise the bar of entrepreneurship.