You Need To Consider This...

John Paul 🐁🐀🐭

Today’s lesson was inspired by a client of mine who recently sent in updates on his large-scale integrated rice project.

Before the project started, his goal was to raise roughly $2 million.

If you’ve been following my emails, you should know by now that raising such a large sum with only a business idea is extremely difficult, especially if you’re in regions outside North America and Europe.

When I first met him, all he wanted was a business plan that could help him raise money.

After he went through my program and finished his business plan, he wanted something different.

I was surprised when he told me he was going ahead to start the project without yet raising any money.

Today, almost 2 years later, he is on track for his second major harvest.

Still, he hasn’t raised any capital. While conversations have advanced with different funding sources, nothing has come in yet.

So, how did he do it?

It’s all about skills and relationships.

Rather than employ over 100 workers as initially planned, he successfully set up an outgrower scheme of independent cultivators.

Instead of paying salaries (which would have required a lot of capital), he shares the costs and profits with the outgrowers.

Also, a big chunk of the capital he wanted to raise was to buy tractors.

But by reaching out to the agric ministry, he found out there’s an FAO program that hires out tractors to farmers for free.

The tractors were just sitting there because nobody was doing any big project that required mechanized support.

Land was another major requirement that required huge capital in the business plan.

To get almost 50 acres of land, he arranged with the local community to pay rent with harvested rice rather than cash.

By successfully selling his vision and ideas, he was able to build important relationships that gave him access to resources.

Today, somehow, because of his skills and relationships, that project is now alive even though he still hasn’t raised that $2 million.

Here’s my challenge to you in 2020.

As I said in last Friday’s email, January 2020 is not just the start of a new year, but the beginning of a new decade.

There are skills that you can develop and relationships you can build that can give you access to the resources (capital) you’re looking for.

For most people, the problem is they’re too focused on ‘waiting’ for capital before they make the move.

Entrepreneurship is a career of creatively solving problems.

Raising capital is a problem. And you need to be creative about solving it.

And to get good at solving business problems, you need to build your business skills.

People with the right business skills often require less capital and move faster because they know how to find alternatives and shortcuts.

Remember, a problem is only a big problem for those who don’t know how to solve it.

That’s why you need to invest in your business skills as from 2020.

And remember, this is not a New Year’s resolution.

One year is too small to make you a rockstar entrepreneur.

That’s why I need you to commit to a 10-year journey. If you make small investments in yourself over the next 10 years, you will surely be a different person by January 2030.

Remember, you can’t stop the clock. Whatever you choose to do, the next 10 years will still pass.

I hope you make the right choice.

Cheers,

John-Paul