Taking up challenges can be scary, I broke my ice when I took the chance

1. Break the Ice – My Entrepreneurship Story
Photo Credit: barentsobserver.com
My entrepreneurship journey started rather abruptly, it started out of necessity for
survival, and my future was dependent on it. Before my journey started, I have
always envisioned the freedom and a life time of fulfilment owning my own gig
could bring. I desired satisfaction and wellbeing that accompanied being the
“Boss”. Admirers and wannabe entrepreneurs’ will look up to me for mentorship,
inspiration, business idea opinion, life time experiences and write ups like this.
I knew one day I could be one, as events would naturally unfold as I enjoyed my
comfort zone, probably after settling down and having kids with the love of my life,
a fat bank account to my name, life insurance policy, medicals for my family and a
robust pension plan to retire into. I had it all figured out in my mind.
Life is not always what we assume. Good and bad things happen to everyone. It’s
a blend we must all embrace to the wholeness of life. A well-paying job was what I
intensely pursued. Shortly after youth service, I got a job at an investment house but
I was placed as a temporary staff for a period of three years with a salary starting at
25,000 naira and eventually received the long awaited offer letter for employment.
This job was rewarding in every sense of it both in prestige, career advancement
and remuneration. It paid my bills, enabled robust savings, catered for family and I
still had leftovers to throw around. Two years after, my trip up that corporate ladder
was cut short. After seventeen years of what it seemed as a jolly cruise from
Southampton England to the New York of our dreams, the company hit an iceberg.
It had difficulties explaining its accounts to the regulators as irreconcilable financial
posts to the shareholders and the public were false. The management was
replaced and termination letters handed out to the entire staff by the new owners.
I believe you can mentally create the events that unfolded afterwards.
This development was devastating and gloomy as I barely got married nine months
earlier. It wasn’t good news at all, anyone who has experienced a job loss would

2. feel the same way whether you are just starting out as a young graduate or
approaching the retirement mark. Leaving employment involuntarily is
disheartening. I informed my wife and parents about the sad development and we
decided a way forward that same week off course after receiving a dose of
counsel and encouragement. Starting a business was the first liberating step as I
have always nursed the idea but now I have the support of my family which was a
green light to move ahead.
I tried to tap into my experience in business while in university. While at school, I
started a mobile telephone centre business for students off campus which failed
woefully. The business barely survived a month as I paid all revenue generated from
phone calls as salary to my only staff. I eventually lost the mobile phone to the
state’s task force officials and that was the end of that business venture. That was
naivety and poor business planning on my part. This experience was not worth
tapping any lesson worthy of note. Starting off a new business at this stage in life
bearing in mind my present job loss meant failing all over again, so I thought. Well I
chose to forge ahead and not to dwell on my past experiences and gave
entrepreneurship another chance.
With a seed capital from my father, he prayed for me and released me into the
world of business like an eagle releases her eaglets from the mountain top to learn
to fly for themselves. The confidence that gave me encouraged me further to go
and succeed as my future depends on it. I started out trading petroleum products
for my close friend and mentor in business. He was indeed very helpful and patient.
I’m so grateful to him as he thought me the essentials of the business as one could
encounter fraudsters in your quest to get help. I registered a company and sold his
product while I invoiced in my name. Once the customer pays, I transferred the
payment back to him. This arrangement worked as it helped me get and build my
clientele base. At the back of my mind I really wanted to own a truck as this would
enable me run the business properly and profit as well. As I continued in the trade, I
searched intensely for a peddler truck to buy for my own supplies. The price of
trucks at the open market was rather too expensive for me, I couldn’t afford it, even
if I did, that would mean investing my whole seed capital into a single purchase.
That wasn’t reasonable. I prayed and searched further, I made as much contacts
as I could, In my search, I ran into dudes that asked me to pay a certain huge sum
into an account as advance payment before inspection at Customs office in an
undisclosed location. I took to my heels as I knew this were swindlers as they
continued pestering me to make the payment before another buyer indicates
interest and buys it off. I eventually switched off my phone when they continually
raided me with calls. My search continued even online for other alternatives, I
spoke with some of my suppliers and veterans in the trade giving them a price
range in mind.
As Napoleon Hill will say “Whatever the mind can conceive the mind can achieve”
The reality of my desire started to crystallise two months after my encounter with the

3. swindlers. I saw a deal online close to the amount I had, my ice was beginning to
crack, I knew I could convince the owner of the peddler truck I saw to give it away
at the amount I had. The truck looked deteriorated on the outside. I decided in my
mind that I would buy it if the engine was sound. That was my criteria for
considering it. I immediately put a call to him and we started talking. He rejected
my offer at first but conceded a month later. I arranged for an inspection and
travelled out of town to see it as it had been parked in a garage 85 km away from
Lagos. I just had to rely on the instincts of my technician who accompanied me.
After he checked, I received a good report that the engine was okay. This was just
the first step. I went further to verify the extent of bodily repair job required to bring it
up to standard. This included the chassis check, replacement of six tyres, flow meter
service, calibration head & rear lights change, and other contingencies. After
factoring in all these costs. I decided that I would make a 75% payment to the
owner to balance up in two weeks. That was a huge risk as I related with the
owner’s agent who consciously assured me of he and his principal’s genuineness.
Well the truck is currently in my company’s possession as the risk I took paid off not
to leave out the encouragement and support of my wife throughout the searching
period. The truck still remains a valuable asset in our business. We have in turn
added another vehicle afterwards.
My ice was fear, the moment I made that payment, I knew the barrier was
removed, that I could assess my desire. I desired a truck so much that I would keep
admiring different trucks along the roadside, garages and any other place I could
find them. The mental picture was so strong. There was a connection with the
resources I had at hand and the object I wanted to possess. God through His infinite
power brought me in contact with my desire and this is just the beginning. Many
other business successes came afterwards. As a business, we are not where we
want to be and we are not where we used to be. Your dreams can come alive
again, however be ready to work it out. These are a few steps you can take to
break your ice:
1. Envision first: You have to know what you want, it starts from the mind. Until
you can visualise or imagine what you desire in life, you cannot call forth
those desires into existence. No man can do that for you. Great achievers are
great visionaries.
2. Have a plan: This is not to say you should come up with graphs, projections
and all sorts. Great achievers learnt to keep their plans simple and logical.
There’s no point coming up with plans that are ambiguous with the aim to
impress. The simpler and clearer it is, it becomes easier for you to
communicate those plans to yourself and your team.
3. Believe: There’s no point proceeding from the known to the unknown if you
don’t believe you will make it. No doubt, obstacles will set in, failure at some
point could emanate. This shouldn’t deter you once you believe.
4. You are not alone: To go fast, you go alone, to go far, go with others. This
means you should look for partners, associates, friends to encourage you

4. because there will be downtimes. You should not be a lone ranger. It’s
dangerous.
5. Record your progress: Take time to document your progress. In project
management, I use a tool known as Gantt chart to track my project’s
development and speed. This enables me keep to project completion time.
You need to know when you are going in circles, when you are taking one
step forward and three steps backwards.
No matter how frozen ice can be, it has its melting point. You will wait longer if you
decide to wait for it to melt. Go ahead and break that ice.
By: Chinedu Ozulumba
Author Name: Eddu Oz
Blog: www.aspirebyforce.com