Hey there, thanks for stopping by.
Last week, still on growing your dream, we looked at how to take an organic dream and grow it into a strong brand. We focused on 5 ways to simulate growth. Today, I want to answer the question ‘Do we need to grow, if yes why?’ […]
Of course the answer to the first part of the question is a resounding Yes. We do need to grow. And if you are there wondering why someone will even ask that kind of question, then well maybe you need to hear from me first. When we started the ROTH Conference; one of my unspoken rules was to keep it small. How can? Yes, I wanted to keep it small because to my mind because it is a God thing allowing it to become overly big might corrupt and contaminate what we had set out to achieve. Yes what a shame! However, this is the truth.
So why did I change my mind on the size of the conference? Well, I will come to that as soon as I answer the second part of the question why do we need to grow? Both answers are actually the same.
I was the one that received the Vision to put a conference together and sometimes being that person can make us think that the vision is about us. One of the very first things I found out about ROTH and still find out yearly is that it is not about me! I remember I used to tell myself, this is the way I want it and it must be done that way…
One day, I woke up and realised that it had absolutely nothing to do with me! It was a God idea all right but God had a reason for giving the idea. That was when I woke up to the fact that though I was in the middle of it all; it was not actually about me. Phew! Imagine how loud the burst was when it finally dawned on me that the Vision was not in any way about me!
As pioneers, entrepreneurs and dream chasers, we get so engrossed and involved in what we have been called to do that we totally forget that the reason for whatever we do isn’t us. If you are called to render a service then recognising that it is about the customer helps you fine tune and refine your product and service to accommodate that fact.
I remember before I discovered my purpose that I tried selling clothes for women. I obviously didn’t realise that it was all about the customer so every time I went to get supplies; I bought only clothes in my size. What that meant was if someone came to buy and wasn’t the same size as I was, they wouldn’t find something to buy. Ultimately, most of the outfits were not sold and I would have to either wear them or give to my sister who was about the same size as I was. Any wonder the business didn’t last?
With ROTH once I realised that I wasn’t called to meet my own needs but those of the women that we were called to; I started to listen more to the needs of the women who came, I began to take time to talk to attendees and do my best to keep an on-going relationship with some through the year just to ensure that we were spot on the needs of our ‘clients’.
The success and growth of any dream is 100% dependent on how the customer or client receives and purposes it. Knowing this as the service provider or product manufacturer goes a long way in helping you ascertain that you are on track and keep your focus on the majors.
So how do you ensure that what you are doing is not only focused on you? Well, with ROTH this is what we did:
1. We made sure that every woman who attended found something she could identify with. That each one of them found meaning which meant when we had only one speaker; she usually will have ample time to touch on life for the different seasons of womanhood. When eventually we removed the limitations of smallness, we increased the number of speakers and ensured that each year, we had speakers who could speak to the different demographics and seasons of womanhood.
2. The other thing I had to learn to do was to allow others buy in to the conference. I had to learn to release aspects of the planning and execution to others and manage not to manifest my control freak tendencies even when I had the urge to. What this did was allow for the team to increase and in doing that also increase the kinds of women and men who attended the conference.
The point of today’s podcast is that when it comes to your vision; you are not as important as you think! For growth to happen, you need to get over yourself and focus on the needs of those for whom you set out. You also need to give others room to join in expanding the vision to quarters you may not have access to. These days I am constantly surprised at the calibre of women who attend the ROTH conference and had I not shifted from my mind-set of smallness and allowed others in; I know for sure that we would not have been able to reach a lot of them. So yes, whatever you are doing is your baby; but it will remain a baby unless focus is shifted in the right direction and you allow help to expand it.
Should you need another person to help you midwife what you carry; ROTH is the place to either find that person or learn how to find him or her.
I look forward to you joining us in July. Please log on to www.returnofthehelper.com.ng and register.
You will make it NeverTheLess
Here is to your success!
Bidemi