The "R-Currency": Fund your Ideas from your Network

in Project HOPE4 years ago

Hello friends, I am glad to keep-wake on the eve of my birth anniversary to pen this very important post to add to our list of fundraising techniques for the entrepreneur. I am excited to be alive to celebrate another 365 days of God's faithfulness. One of my resolutions for the new year is to impact lives consciously and one of the ways is to share knowledge.

If you're just following my blog, I wish you could have glimpse of other fundraising techniques so far covered in this series: bootstrapping, then followed by bartering, the TTP Code, borrowing and crowdfunding. Today, I'll add a non-popular technique I call "The R-Currency".


Image source

Relationship is Currency

The R-Currency is simply "relationship". Everything in life actually reproduces on the basis of relationship. Think of marriage, buyer-seller, even creator-curator relationship on Hive. It is not enough to have talent and skills. You must understand the power of building valuable relationships as an entrepreneur.

There are heights and opportunities you will never attain if you undervalue the worth of mutually supportive relationships. There are friends around us that would always amplify our ideas to a superb feel. There are other who will criticize it much more than a loan-form would. Also, there are the "dummies" who will always accept everything hook, line and sinker. One must be wary of the last category.

Your relationship is a potential stream of income. As such, en entrepreneur must lookup his list of friends to ensure that there are people who can sharpen him in ideas and in funds. While the funds may not be huge, but their capacity to contribution (if need arise) clearly defines their parasitic tendencies which may drain the entrepreneur. A wise man once said "your network is directly proportional to your net worth".


Image source

A variety of friends mix is crucial but their drive towards business, one must be careful as not to associate with a bunch of those who would always think the "you can't".

Look at growing communities on Hive, you will see a web of relationship that are all-giving (cash, intellect, skills) in a blend that makes a solid outcome. This is to provide a level of collaboration that is forward going and eliminates ti the barest, energy-draining tendencies due to parasitic nature of some.

Who you know matters a lot in this life.

many are often trapped in ignorance when they think that friendship all stops at the social level. There is more to it. Who you know matters a lot in this life and this transcends even to your business.

Image source

I'll share a piece of story I heard from my business coach. It follows thus:

John was a poor man who wrote a book and decided to launch it on his 40th birth anniversary. He had no money to fund the launch (estimated at $10,000) and so John decided to seek help from a wealthy man in his community, Tom.

After a careful presentation of his course, Tom gave John a piece of paper and pen and said "This is my qualification test to earn you all the financial support you need. Write down the names of 10 people who could give you $100 each during your book during the launch." Surprisingly, John could not write even 3 names... the rest is history.

Your situation could be like John. Look again at your web of the friends you keep, how many of them can support your idea with at least a $100 gift? One may say that Tom was stingy, No! He wanted to save John from potential parasites that may suck out the business funds away in a short while.

If your friends are not adding to your life, then they'll be taking away. Not that when there is no recharge, you could reach a state of "no rebound". lookout for mutually supportive relationships and grow healthy with them.


I would be glad to share thoughts with you on this subject. Let's maximize the comments section of this blog post.

How do we build solid relationships that can fund our ideas?

Sort:  

The power of building valuable relationships as an entrepreneur.

This phrase is undoubtedly one of those that by itself says a lot. Without relationships here or anywhere else we don't achieve much. Good point, there are many who do not fully understand this, that you have to relate to others in order to create a good network, otherwise progress is slow, or non-existent.

Thanks very much for the solid addition.

 4 years ago  

@tipu curate

Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 21/28)

I appreciate