PHASE ONE

Why Start Small?

In the beginning God created heaven and earth and theearth was without form ...

—(KJV)Genesis 1:1

I once visited a church where the pastor asked for testimoniesto be shared to the glory of God during service. As it notablyhappens during such calls, lots of people got up to share theirtestimony including those who have heart-moving testimonies,those who want to thank God, and those who just get up becausethey want to be recognized or for whatever reason they hold. But asthey came, the pastor screened them down to ten people. After overtwenty minutes of nonstimulating and sleep-inviting testimonies,the whole church was becoming dull. Then it got to the turn ofthe last woman to share her testimony. When she stepped up, sheasked if she could speak in a local dialect since she could speak verylittle English though she understands very well when spoken to.The rather humble woman, crippled in one leg, gave the shortesttestimony; but her three-minute testimony got the whole churchgiving her a standing ovation for over three minutes to the gloryof God. According to her, she is not known very much in thechurch for her quiet nature except for the pastor who has had aninteraction with her though she has been a regular member of thechurch for some time.

Her testimony

Thank you, Pastor, for this opportunity, I will be asbrief as I can. I want everyone to know that God hasgiven each and everyone a gift and enough resourcesto use to its fullest if they so wish no matter theirsituation. Of all the gifts, the most notable of themis our minds. As long as we can change our mind-setand think of something, we can do it, and I am a livingtestimony.

As I stand before you, I don't know my mum or mydad. I have no formal education, never! And I amcrippled because my dad beat my mum and sackedher when she was pregnant with me according to thestory I was told as I grew up. My mother gave birthto me in a premature state and died during childbirth,and as a result of the beating I was born a cripple. Buttoday I stand before you to let you know that God hasdone something great for me, but I had to take the firststep of faith. Starting as a beggar on the streets of Lagosthen to a basket weaver, today, I am a proud owner ofa business in London and Nigeria. I cannot tell you myentire story on this stage, but all I can say is just pray toGod and you will know and understand that no matteryour circumstance, if you are ready to move withhumility, God will help you to get to your dreams withthe right attitude. I want to use this opportunity tothank God and this church for its teachings on success.This is where it all started when I was brought here bythe pastor who picked me off the street.

I want to thank you once again, Pastor, for the love youshowed me by bringing me here and thank God forusing you to make me a successful woman. With this, Idonate to this church its first sixty-seated bus. My versefor you is Genesis chapter 1 verses 28-30. Thank you.

This woman's story really got me to understand what the Biblesays in Genesis chapter 1 verses 28-30. I started reading it withmeditation and rapt attention like she advised. "And God blessedthem, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, andreplenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over thefish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every livingthing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I havegiven you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of allthe earth, and every tree, in which [is] the fruit of a tree yieldingseed; to you it shall be for meat And to every beast of the earth,and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth uponthe earth, wherein [there is] life, [I have given] every green herb formeat: and it was so."

If this were a Bible class, I would have taken time to break it downand explain one after the other, but these verses got me to reallyunderstand that everything we need to push us to where we desireto be in life was given to us in abundance from creation. Godmade everything and said, "Behold I have given to you ..."

The natural resources we have, the life we share, the air we breathe,the people around us, the brains we have, and so on. All theseresources are worth every penny we need to get started. All weneed to do is to convert the abundance of these resources at ourdisposal into cash when need be. It's simple. As anonymously said,the best and most important things in life are free.

The Beginning of Creation

According to the Bible, before God created the heavens and earth,it was without form (zero). The only resource we know he hadavailable unto him was his unlimited power (the word of mouth,the same power we have.) The Bible talks about the power of thetongue in Proverbs 18:21. It says, "The tongue has the power oflife and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." God usedthis power to the best of his abilities. But he just did not just getup to do it; he planned what to do, how to do it, what to startwith, where to start from, had the readiness and desire to do it;and he got into action and at every point in time. He stopped toanalyse and see if what he had done was good and assess if he wason track. I am sure you got the sequence.

Let's consider the birth of a baby. Even before the baby comes out,within the nine months in her mother's womb, her food would havealready been prepared in the form of breast milk. (This is free.) Butthat is even the second most important provision made for the babybefore she comes into the world. Before that, God had already inthe human system, provided every necessary and needed nutrition,food, and substances that will help the baby survive in the mother.The question is when the baby comes out, who teaches the babyhow to suck the breast milk? No one, but as soon as she landsand the breast directed to her mouth, she stops crying and startsfeeding herself. How did she know that she has to suck? Accordingto science, a signal is sent from the mothers breast to the brain ofthe baby and that triggers the baby to start sucking. That is thefirst most important provision made by God to help a baby growwhen she gets into the world. (That same provision has been madefor you if you want to succeed.) All the baby needs is to be shownwhere the breast is. That's all. The rest of the action is up to him/her. The facilitator of the baby's growth came from three mainsources. Two were provided by God and one the baby's own effortto use what has been provided:

1. The breast milk: An already-made natural resource providedfrom creation.

2. The Mind: Her ability to know she has to suck the breastcomes from the mind, a creation of God that cannot beeasily understood by man. Eccl.3v11, "He has madeeverything beautiful in his time: also he has set the worldin their heart, so that no man can find out the work thatGod maketh from the beginning to the end."

3. Action: The ability of the baby to act by sucking the breastmilk is what concludes it.

These resources and processes are what help the baby to grow intoa woman or man. All the baby has to do is to make use of what hasalready been provided by God. Act (action causes a turnaround)and, as the baby grows, the resources keep coming, and it's allabout recognising them and making use of them.

What this means is that everything you ever need or want hasalready been provided before you were born or even before a goodand convincing idea was dropped on your mind. All you need to dois to identify the resource and move into action. It does not matterat which level—cultural, educational, or social background—aslong as the provisions have already been made available at creation.

Everyone has an account of abundance opened on theirbehalf before they were born. All we need to do is toactivate and make use of that account.

Your decision is what makes the difference. Every change thattakes place in our lives is by the measure of decisions, actions,and inactions our parents started taking for us as babies and thedecisions we started taking for ourselves as we took charge of thedecision making process while growing up.

"The way you think, see yourself and the things around you,dictates how you perform in life."

The scenario of life is another typical example of small beginnings.As babies, we grow from 0-1-2-3 and so on. Almost all of thethings around us are designed to operate that way, and so are ourbusiness lives.

"Growth is like a ladder, each step defines the next step to come.Only those with wings can fly from the bottom to the top withoutusing the steps and those who grow wings and fly without usingthe process of growth fall when they get to the top because theywill have no foundation to stand on."

If you think you have taken all the steps there is to take and yetconsider yourself still at point one, I've got news for you:

1. Either you did not understand the steps you were takingbefore you took them, or

2. You took the wrong steps because every good and positivestep moves us a stride ahead.

It is not for any reason that statements like "a thousand-kilometrejourney starts with a step," "Rome was not built in a day," and"Little drops of water make a mighty ocean" exist.

All these statements remind us of the fact that others have takenthe same road of starting small, have learnt from it, and havefound it worthwhile. It is therefore imperative not to despisesmall beginnings as many want to build their Rome in a day. Ifwe would endeavor not to despise small beginnings, it is thenimportant to know how to start small.

There are two roads to success, one that comes with pain andstruggle before happiness and one that comes with happinessbefore pain and disgrace. The Bible says in Matthew 7:13-14,"Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate, and broad isthe way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go inHow to Start Your Business with or without Moneythereat: Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, whichleads unto life, and few there be that find it."

Which one do you choose today? You must be among the few whowould choose to go through the straight and narrow gate that leadsto life and success yet a difficult route.

Whichever one you choose has a price attached; but the magnitude,type, and the time of the price is in your decision. Choosing tostart small and patiently go through the mill is called the art ofgrowth. You must desire to choose the path that enables you togrow in humility rather than the one that will bring you misery.

The Bible, which is the overall guide of life, says in Psalm 126:5that "they that sow in tears shall reap in joy." Why would the Bibleassociate sowing with tears and reaping with joy?

Therefore, if anyone wants to reap before sowing, that person mustthen realize that there is something wrong. It is a simple principleof small beginnings. Sow before you reap, and sowing starts withjust a single seed, and that single seed has already been provided.So what else do you need? Do the self-analysis test in honesty andanswer yourself.

One would ask, if the seed has been provided, where is it?

Answer: It's inside of you (Life, energy, strength, health, and yourmind),

It's around you (natural resources, problems, and challenges),

It's with you (your network of family and friends,other people's money, other people's experiences andknowledge) and

It's for you (just ask).

Someone once said, "Too many people climb the ladder of successonly to find that it is leaning against the wrong wall." You wouldnot like your dream to be built on a wrong foundation. You willbe in for a great setback later on if realized at a time when youneed the peace and happiness to enjoy your success. Remember,you have the power to choose, but you do not have power over theconsequences of your choice.

I must emphasize here that small beginnings is quite relative as thereis no universal definition of a small beginning because what maybe considered small by you may be considered big by someone elseand vice versa, but for the purposes of this book, I am referringto small beginnings as a situation where the individual desiring toengage in a business or activity has no money or already preparedsource of income or resources where they can easily tap into.

I've spent the last few years learning everything there is to knowabout starting small and building a great business out of nothing,and I've taken the time to write down everything I've learnedand discovered alongside what other people have gone throughunder the same circumstances in this book in a plain andeasy-to-understand language.

For you, the difficulty of starting small will be something of thepast, and it will be on your fingertips since you have the light. Thisbook is the light written to make starting a business an enjoyableadventure. It will allow you to see and understand starting smallbetter. Though it is not an easy task to start small, knowing andunderstanding it is the first key.

Summary

Simple reasons to consider if you still question why it is necessaryto start small:

1. Out of nothing the world was created—You do not needto have all your resources in place to start a business. Usewhat you have to get what you want. If you want to geteverything before you get into action, you may never beready even if you are given one thousand years. Besides,the basic resources you need to do whatever you want inthis world have already been made available to you evenbefore you were born. Just use what you find available toyou.

2. Starting small gives a better understanding of what you aredoing, and it directs your dream—If you know where andhow you started, it helps your level of understanding andhelps you to expand to a desired destination.

3. Starting small helps in evaluating what is available andwhat is yet to come and offers the opportunity to bettercare for it—If you struggle to put something in place outof nothing, you will do well to keep it for something.

4. It prompts when you are doing anything that can or willharm what you have worked so hard to build.

5. Starting small serves as a monitoring tool of growth—Thingsgrow as they move on and gain strength as theygo. In everything we do, if we look back at what we havedone, it reminds us of our capabilities, the challenges,achievements; and it invariably reminds us of where weare determined to get to, and it motivates us to realize adream.

6. Starting small makes us wise in spending—The simple factthat you squeezed water out of stones is enough reasonfor you to know how and where to spend what you havestruggled to acquire.

7. It motivates your move to the next step—Your foundationmust be like a pyramid. A pyramid has a big base at thebottom, and it rises to a sharp small apex at the top. Insmall beginnings, you have to reverse the pyramid becauseof the lack of certain basic factors such as experience,money, and knowledge to handle the big situations. Soyou start building your business with the little strengthyou have and as you grow in experience, knowledge, andcapital, so you reinvest to grow your business. And startingfrom that small point to the broad top where you canactually build that dream offers you the needed confidenceand belief in yourself because you have what you canmeasure up to and the foundation to stand on.

The key here is to start from the scratch with whatever youhave and keep building and growing until you get to thetop. If you are able to make a dollar out of a cent, thenyou should be motivated enough to make a hundred outof a dollar and a million out of a hundred.

Starting small brings positive pride and offers an educativeand motivational story to share someday—Your story andexperience is what people would mostly consider whenthey have to look up to you for advice and leadershipespecially your children. The sound of your name wouldalways raise questions such as who is that, what is his/herexperience and answers to these questions are what will setyou apart or add you to the masses.

8. Starting small offers a clear outlook of what you wantdo—Even with a large capital in hand, it's still wise to startat a point considered as its beginning because you needto do things gradually which will help you assess how thebusiness goes, how to better your products and services,and how to deal with your clients and competitors. Otherthan that you may go in fully to start a business witheverything you posses, and should anything go wrong, theeffect ripples down to the very core of your dream.

9. Experience cannot be bought. It can only be acquired bygoing through the process. Small beginning offers thegrounds for experience, growth, and knowledge acquisition.When businesses are looking to do employment, they askfor years of experience; and in some cases, your experiencewill determine your remuneration. In business building,your experience brings to bare your knowledge, and theseshows in the result you produce. Real education is not whatis given to us by someone in the classroom but what welearn for ourselves.