Starting a Business is Expensive, but not How you think.

Returning to the MLM BOP on Wednesday night. In the same session, Jason Kong, the speaker, was relating how he started his business.

Icons used here and in my previous post can be found at thenounproject.com

“As an employee, you are your boss’ money making machine.”

Thanks to Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad made popular in 2000, I think most of the Gen X, Gen Y, and Millennials share the same view.

What he shared next was something attendees did not realise. Being part of BNI Signature Chapter since April 2014, I’ve heard it from my fellow members. From October 2014, I experience it first hand.

When you start a business, you are your employees’ money making machine.

Note: start. Looking in our cultural context in Malaysia, most employees will only work to be seen. Cukup syarat some times. Our culture, taking initiative or being proactive is frowned upon. I know people who would resist doing anything that is not in the agreed job scope. Let us face that reality honestly.

From our school days, we pick on the nerds, geeks, and smarter ones. Classmates who were close to a lecturer or teacher were looked with suspicion. Compound that with the idea of “we must never make mistakes”.

Yes, there are many out there who do not conform to the stereotypes. I laud them. It takes a certain degree of maturity and understanding.

When you start your business, everything hinges on the founder. From systems development to customer service to business development. In some instances, even operations.

I don’t blame either employer or employee. It is a process we have to go through before we can scale our business.

Over time, when start-ups mature into a business with strong systems, it becomes easier on everyone’s part. Just as it takes two to tango, both founder and employee have their roles to play.

At the end of the day, when a start-up fails, what and how is your exit strategy?