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To be a successful entrepreneur, you need to be extremely passionate about your dream. Passion is what makes you persevere long enough to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Doing the right things may ensure that you fare well. What if we slip and are unable to recognize the Judases? Or we just take things for granted and drift away from reality? So, for a change lets look at the factors that will kill our dream. Hopefully if we learn to avoid these pitfalls like the pestilence then we will be on the way to an exciting business life. 1.Take your health for granted In the current business era, the ability to innovate continuously is always a strategic advantage. Want to keep your brain fresh, active and always on the go? The answer is maintaining good health. Quite often we are so engrossed in our business that we hardly find time to eat right, exercise and even do medical check-ups. Over time our bodies become tired and we lose our initial drive and passion. Many entrepreneurs, know they need a soft or hard copy of a business plan but instead majority have vital components of this plan both long and short term in their memory. So what happens when you are unwell? The growth of your business stalls and may even collapse totally. Lets do ourselves a favour and not take our health for granted � good health could be the trump card for success. 2. Think you are infallible Sometimes we think we �know it all� and will not read or even listen to trends in our industry. Ever wondered why the Japanese were able to penetrate the US market with Toyota and Honda? It is always revealing beyond measure to talk to your clients/customers and even employees who are way down the organizational ladder. There is no advantage in turning your office into an ivory tower and refusing/ failing to interact with your clients, customers and employees. The thought that we are infallible makes us extremely inflexible. The beauty of life is the chance to change our minds sometimes. There is no point sticking to a plan or goal you set five (5) years ago when clearly market, economic and social factors have changed drastically almost making that idea obsolete. 3. Never stop to think We are always too busy. No time to sleep, no time to socialize, no time to listen to customers and employees/advisors, no time to assess what you have achieved to date and eventually no time to succeed. It is important that we take a few minutes at the end of the day to go over what has been accomplished. Creating different scenarios for our business turns an opportunity into a �d�j� vu�. We can then seize the moment and run for gold. Many financial giants have failed in recent time because of conducting business the �usual way�. Scenario staging could have averted some catastrophes. New and innovative business paradigms will no longer focus on finance and marketing, but a resilient human resource unit that can attract and grow talent. In this era of cost cutting and time bound success (Just-In-Time deliveries), our businesses will fail without an established Supply Chain system. If we want to succeed we have to stop and think regularly, doing otherwise will surely send us to the other side. 4. Put all your trust in your employees and outside consultants Many times I have sat with colleagues in corporate bodies listening to outside consultants present their findings on research carried out and my heart always bleeds. We had advised our company several times on these same issues at no cost only for huge cheques to be written for such consultants. The worst part is when these consultants offer suicidal suggestions. Do not get me wrong, there are excellent consultants out there but sometimes the �inside� people may have the advantage of being dipped in the company�s culture and know exactly what will work. I used to be an advocate of �grow talent by giving them freedom to express themselves� but I have been burnt on so many occasions I have resorted to setting rules and protocols for most people to follow and allowing just a couple of people a lot more room to excel. It is great to place your trust in your employees but always have a backup; they tend to have an affinity to disappoint you just when your back is turned. 5. Be Bureaucratic Many brilliant ideas and businesses have failed simply because the paper work, committee meetings, signatures and all the red tapism has been too cumbersome and complicated. It is very important that for small companies especially, a strategic advantage over the large multinationals is to have an extremely short turn-around time. Decisions should be made without going through a tall corporate hierachy. Bureaucracy may be a way to reduce corrupt practices, but does that really work? Stick to bureaucracy and you will surely be killing that beautiful dream you have been nursing. 6. Avoid taking risks Entrepreneurship in itself is a risky venture thus how can one expect to make great strides without taking risks. Many successful businesses today have made giant strides because someone was bold enough to take an �educated� risk. Sometimes the figures may not look good but you will have to rely on intuition. 7. Always strive to let expenses exceed income There you go, use your capital and first fruits to purchase cars, houses and all the luxuries of life and I can predict the future with 100% certainty � your business will fold up quicker than it took you to obtain your certificate of incorporation. What goes out should never be greater than your earnings. Yes, I understand you need to invest into the business and over a certain period you may be earning far less than you have to spend but this expenditure is made for future income and is a must in most businesses. The catch phrase here is expenditure can only exceed income over a limited and forecasted period while we set up the business. 8. Never collect your invoices/cash on time In our part of the world, and hmmm and others are joining us fast, inflation reigns supreme. The value of your money keeps eroding the longer it stays with your dear clients. The worst part of this scene is you may end up borrowing money (and paying interest on this amount) to run your business while your clients comfortably use money you have earned for other purposes. Keep playing the nice guy role and do not insist on money being paid on time and your guess is as good as mine. 9. Isolate self Be a loner. This may be because you think you know it all so you need not interact with your clients and employees. Sit in your office and insulate yourself from everyone and set hairy audacious goals and draw business strategies that cannot be faltered by anyone. Top this up with ignoring current trends in your industry and other associated businesses and you will be on your way to killing your business. 10. Avoid paying your tithes The bible my dear reader is always right. Do not substitute tithe for donations, charity work etc. Do not think someone corrupt will spend your money � choose the right congregation and do what God has commanded. Pay your tithes and see what happens. I am sure there are other disastrous paths that lead to entrepreneurial �suicide� but these points listed above definitely go a long way to keep you on the path to success. I am making a conscious effort to avoid these demons and I hope my fellow entrepreneur or corporate guru, you are going to do the same. Dr. Kojo Essel, MBChB, MBA, FT