Episode 1
I Never Planned to Start a Business
Close your eyes for a moment.
Think back to the day your business began.
Not the day you registered it.
Not the day you printed business cards.
Not the day you opened a Facebook page.
Go back even further.
Back to the day you first thought:
“Maybe I can make a little money from this.”
That…
…was the day your business was born.
Let me tell you a story!
Sarah is a mother of three.
Every Friday she sits at her dining table trying to work out how the family will make it through another week.
School fees are coming.
The Unelco Smart meter is almost empty.
Rice is running low.
Her youngest child needs medicine.
Her husband works, but his income is stretched before payday.
Sarah doesn’t dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur.
She simply wants to help.
One afternoon she remembers the coconut oil her grandmother taught her to make.
Friends always tell her it smells beautiful.
She decides to make ten small bottles.
She isn’t thinking about branding.
She doesn’t have a logo.
She doesn’t know anything about bookkeeping.
She doesn’t even call it a business.
She simply writes on Facebook:
“Fresh homemade coconut oil available.”
Within two days…
Everything is sold.
Someone asks,
“Can you make more?”
Another customer says,
“Can you make one for my sister?”
Someone else says,
“Can I order five bottles?”
Without realising it…
Sarah has crossed an invisible line.
She is no longer simply making coconut oil.
She is solving someone else’s problem.
Someone values her product enough to exchange money for it.
That…
…is a business.
Let’s Pause
Many people think a business starts when they register with the government.
It doesn’t.
A business starts when someone willingly pays you because you create value.
Registration comes later.
Bookkeeping comes later.
Marketing comes later.
But value…
Value comes first.
This is the conversation I would have as a Business Coach..
Imagine I am sitting with you over a cup of tea.
I would ask:
Why did you really start?
Was it because…
- you wanted extra income?
- school fees were difficult?
- you wanted independence?
- you lost your job?
- you saw an opportunity?
- people kept asking to buy what you made?
There is no wrong answer.
Every successful business begins with a reason.
Never forget yours.
Because one day, when business becomes difficult, your reason will become your motivation.
Something Most Business Owners Don’t Realise
At this stage…
you are excited.
You have made money.
Customers are happy.
People are ordering.
Everything feels wonderful.
But something dangerous is already happening.
You are carrying the business inside your head.
You remember who ordered.
You remember who paid.
You remember how much ingredients cost.
You remember where everything is.
This works…
until the business grows.
Then memory becomes your biggest weakness.
Lets do a reflection Activity..
Take your notebook.
Don’t rush.
Write your answers honestly.
Why did I start my business?
What problem was I trying to solve?
How did I get my very first customer?
What was I feeling after my first sale?
If I stopped today…
Would I be proud that I tried?
Why?
A little bit of my insight as a Business Coach..
Over the years I have coached many business owners.
Do you know what surprises me?
Very few of them started because they wanted to become “business people.”
Most started because life gave them a reason.
Some wanted to pay school fees.
Some wanted to support elderly parents.
Some lost their jobs.
Some wanted freedom.
Some simply wanted enough money to survive.
There is nothing wrong with starting small.
The mistake is staying small because you never build the systems needed to grow.
This Week’s Challenge
I don’t want you to change your whole business this week.
I want you to do only one thing.
Tell someone your business story.
Not what you sell.
Your story.
Why you started.
Watch how people respond.
People remember stories.
They forget products.
Coming Next…
You made your first sale.
Then another.
Then another.
One day you looked inside your purse…
and asked,
“Where did all my money go?”
That is where our next episode begins.
Lukim you!!
Narara Consulting 
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