Years back, out of curiosity my friend visited Simba Telecom. He found an interesting attendant who answered all his questions and explained in detail what each phone does. He ended up buying a phone. Before he could leave, he asked the attendant’s name so that one day he could tell his boss how well this ‘attendant’ served him. The ‘attendant’ said “I am Patrick Bitature.” No doubt Bitature has risen to become one of the top businessmen in Africa because he pays attention to details. For the 10 years I’ve had him as my mentor, I’ve observed that he never leaves anything to chance.
When my wife was pregnant, I kept a keen eye on her and whenever I noticed any unusual change I would quickly consult a doctor or experienced friends. Not out of fear, but to be sure such a development posed no significant effect on her wellbeing and that of the baby. Consider your career or business as a pregnant wife, for it gives you ‘babies’, in terms of salary, profit... Don’t lose one customer, spend more money than planned or forget to attend a business meeting and call that a small error.
Sam (not real name) borrowed three million shillings and went into the business of produce. “If villagers who have never gone to school are earning from the business, what of me, a graduate?” he reasoned. Friends advised him to first do some market research and come up with a business plan, but he trashed those as unnecessary details. Off he went to Kigezi, bought Irish potatoes and threw them onto the lorry he co-hired with other traders.
On reaching Kampala, it hit him that he had not planned where to keep his stock. He ended up improvising a friend’s room for a store. A few days later, his colleagues were ready for another trip, but he had not yet secured any customer. At the warning of a terrible stench, he checked and found that his stock had rotten away. Little did he know that those who know the details of the game always first pour the potatoes on the ground and sort out the bad ones before they spoil the rest. He learnt the hard way, never to ignore any detail when trying to turn an idea into money.
An idea is different from information. While information is what enters your mind, an idea is a workable solution coming out of your mind. To judge whether your idea is great, ask yourself: Is my idea unique? Does it bring something new to the world? Does it solve a problem? Does it add value to society (or is the motive just making money)? Ideas often come from looking at the problems/challenges around us because if we can solve any of them, then we shall have fulfilled a need and so people would be willing to pay for it. Think of someone who came up with the idea of toothpics; he/she really took care of a detail that many people were ignoring. Here in Kampala, there was need for service to people who needed food after midnight and someone thought of a 24-hour food business and called it “Chicken Tonight”. The rest is history.
I had always used my ideas to benefit others by writing newspaper articles, songs, proposals e.t.c without earning from them until I learnt that people rarely pay for ideas; they pay for products. I have since learnt to package my ideas into sellable products. I have authored several books, printing in thousands of copies and averagely earning a net profit of UGX 7,000 to 15,000 on each copy. I have earned from writing songs, movie scripts, proposals, business plans… I have even earned from just speaking to people! In the 21st Century, success is no longer majorly dependant on natural resources such as land, gas, oil, steel, e.t.c, but rather on ideas. Giant companies like Facebook, Amazon and Google are simply based on ideas.
I used to have big problems when it came to managing time and other resources. I would leave home wanting to do ten things, only to realize it’s evening and I’ve accomplished only two. I would move with money in my pocket only to return with almost nothing. I would repeat the same New Year resolutions year in, year out. The ugly cycle continued until I discovered the secret in taking care of details. In an attempt to solve my problem, I started drawing a simple plan every day, specifying what I wanted to do, what time I’d spend on each activity, the required resources and what I intended to achieve out of each activity, in relation to my overall vision.
As fruits began to show, I started sharing the same idea with other people and the results got more fascinating. The process ended up giving birth to the famous Action Planning course that World of Inspiration offers to individuals and organizations to help them pay attention to every detail. This month we are registering those who want to attend this course. Try it out and you will enjoy your 2015.
Bake is the Managing Director, WORLD OF INSPIRATION
& a Published Author of 8 Inspirational Books.
On Facebook: BAKE ROBERT TUMUHAISE (aka Mr Inspiration)
On Twitter: BAKE ROBERT (@inspiredbake)
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