When I was starting my business I made the very conscious decision to just run with it.

Looking back now I realised I was far bolder then than I gave myself credit for. You see I had the vision, I called a few of my friends who I thought would help my vision happen, I called my partner at the time and I called my mother.

It was like any ordinary day. I woke up, I prayed and I set off to go to work. That day I had a meeting in the morning so I was heading there before the office. I had an extra hour to myself and then bang..what started off as a friend asking me to buy them a particular outfit when I went to Nigeria turned into a business. Within a month S’Alongé was registered, a photo-shoot took place and a website was built.

Anyway fast forward to now, I realise that I was truly blessed with builders and not tearers.

A tearer is not always an identifiable person. Let me give you a few portfolios of a tearer. They are the people who will always have a ‘but’ before and after every idea you have.

They are also the people who bring forth the criticism but forget to bring the constructivism. A tearer doesn’t have to be an enemy but they so often present themselves falsely as a friend.

So when people ask me what the steps are to building a business while working, maintaining a work life balance and being the best you, I say identify the tearers and builders in your life.

Starting a business or any venture is not just a physical strain but it takes courage, resilience and faith. You have to be sure to minimise the noise around you and channel into the vision.

So without glorifying the tearers, let us move on to the builders. The builders are the people who positively stand in the gap between you and your vision. The one’s who will remind you of why you started and give you words of encouragement throughout the journey because trust me you will need it! They are the people who know you are working towards a deadline and won’t occupy your time with meaningless drama or unproductive activity. They are the ones who will push you towards the goal when fear, anxiety and doubt try to push you away from it.

I have been fortunate to take a trip out to Atlanta and during my trip I visited the Martin Luther King Jr memorial. To say I was mind blown is an understatement! But I will be sharing more on that experience shortly.  during the exhibition, it was clear to see that Mr King was surrounded by people who understood his vision. So much so that even after he passed they were still there doing the work to make sure the vision lived on.

No man is an island and the honest truth is aside from my determination and God as the ultimate, I am able to do this journey because I identified the builders in my life. I kept them around and asked the tearers to exit stage left. Builders may not always be there at the foundation and they may not be there at the completion but they will help you to add the layers as you go along.

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Until next time x