[:en]Business Lesson #2 from the Book of Proverbs: Be Vigilant[:]

[:en]

by Stevenson Q. Yu

Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

In this passage, Solomon tells us to “keep” our hearts with all vigilance. The word “keep” means to guard or protect it. Not just with vigilance, but ALL vigilance, over and above the other things you are guarding.

Why? Because everything you do, whether good or evil, depends on the condition of your heart. If you allow corruption to enter your heart, then you will do corrupt things. Here, Solomon used a beautiful metaphor of your heart pumping out life, just like a fountain.

So, how do we apply this to business? See, it takes a particular mindset to engage in business. If you listen to all the negative things everyone has to say, you’ll never get started. Let us illustrate this with some negativity, shall we?

  1. You want to start a new venture? The odds are against you. Around 80% of all new businesses fail in the first year. [1]Keith Speights. (2017, May 21). Success rate: What percentage of businesses fail in their first year? USA Today. Retrieved from … Continue reading  The good news is: the longer a company stays in business, the more likely it will survive. But ultimately, nine out of ten new businesses will fail. [2]Griffith, E. (2014, September 25). Startups are failing because they make products no one wants. Fortune. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2014/09/25/why-startups-fail-according-to-their-founders/   
  2. You think you’re a pretty good cook, and made the perfect fried chicken recipe that everyone would like. What makes you think you will succeed? Many companies already sell fried chicken, like Jollibee, Max’s or Sunburst. They can easily squash you like a bug.Let’s say, your formulation is better. Can you then beat them in other areas? Areas such as good locations, hospitable hosts, access to suppliers of good-quality ingredients, and financial capital to expand your operations?

    Even if the big boys don’t try to drive you out of business, you can bet that once your food concept becomes popular, many people will try to imitate you. Remember the craze with bubble tea, donuts (think about the long lines with Krispy Kreme and J.Co), and frozen yogurt? [3]Goody Feed Team. (2015, June 11). 5 food fads in Singapore that died quietly in the last few years… [Blog]. Retrieved May 28, 2018, from … Continue reading Sure, you may experience instant success, but you’ll get instant competition. Once the fad dies down, what do you do?

  3. So, you have this killer product that will revolutionize the [insert pain point] industry? Is this really the best time to launch? Assuming you can get your business started, the economic indicators are starting to fall.There’s a lot of bad things that can happen. High inflation. Peso devaluation. Trade wars. Maybe even real war, either in the Middle East (more expensive oil!) or against North Korea (nuclear annihilation!)

Needless to say, being in business requires you to have a good understanding of the situation. Then, you make decisive choices based on your analysis of the risks and rewards. But there is a LOT of negativity out there. Once you allow it to enter your heart, you start to fear and second-guess your decisions. That’s when trouble starts to brew.

Edgar Sia II opened the first Mang Inasal branch in Iloilo at the age of 26 in 2003. Before this, he dropped out of college at 19 to start a laundry business (Mister Labada) and a photo-developing shop (Injap Color Express). [4]Del Rosario, A. (2017, July 17). Success Story of Injap Sia: Youngest Billionaire in PH. Philippine Primer. Retrieved from … Continue reading

Edgar “Injap” Sia II (standing) did not let negativity stop him from starting Mang Inasal. Today, he is a real estate mogul, in partnership with Jollibee’s Tony Tan Caktiong

Most people will look at the crowded barbecued food segment [5]Edgar Sia: The man behind Mang Inasal. (2008, January 7). The News Today. Retrieved from http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/01/07/edgar.sia.the.man.behind.mang.inasal.html and conclude that Sia will fail. But, he persevered, and Mang Inasal grew. Eventually, it was acquired by rival fast-food giant Jollibee in 2010, making Sia at 34 the youngest billionaire in the Philippines. [6]Phyllis Fang Savage. (2011, June 22). Edgar Sia’s FastFood Cashout. Forbes Asia. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/global/2011/0718/philippinesbillionaires-11-edgar-sia-mang-inasal-mr-bbq.html

Regarding my third negative point, do you know that launching a business during a recession can be a smart move? A business that learns to survive on lean times can be more successful than one that gets fat first and must then take a crash diet.

Many successful companies launched during a recession. We have GE (1892), IBM (1896), General Motors (1908), Walt Disney (1923), Revlon (1932), Hewlett-Packard (1939), FedEx (1973), Apple (1975), and Microsoft (1975).

Apple itself is in the habit of launching products during recessions. The iPod was launched in 2001, after the Dotcom crash of 2000. The iPhone was launched in 2007, during the subprime crisis. The iPad was launched in 2010, when the world was still recovering from the 2008 recession.

To be clear, I am not saying that you should not listen to anything negative—this is also a mistake. You cannot afford to ignore all the bad news. You must be very selective in choosing what to pay attention to. Not just with great vigilance, but with ALL vigilance.

(Links to Lesson 1 and Lesson 3)[:]

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