Growing up, one of the questions that adults kept asking is “what do you want to be when you grow up?”. The question itself looked simple and in most cases was simple since we were brought up to want to be doctors, engineers, pilots, big shot lawyers and so on and so forth. We were conditioned to want the big things in life and in most cases pushed towards these big things. Once we joined school, teachers had a knack for claiming they are doing what they are doing so that you can grow up to be what you want to be in future. This would of course mostly relate to any punishments that they meted out when you were on the wrong. In doing so, teachers and parents helped build the characters of the children and as a result we are now what we are in whatever fields we currently run.

I want to juxtapose this story to the normal day to day business lives that we run. Like in life, there is always that ambition that you have when starting out a business. There is that place that you would like to reach and that person that you would like to be at a certain stage in your life. This is what we refer to as future business. Future business opportunities, the place that you want to go and the level you would like to reach. Of course, when you are starting out, you really only have your ambitions to hold on to. However, by continually adding to that cup that is your ambition, you build your future business into what it will be. In essence, the success and /or failure of your business will be reliant on how much work you put in today.

In business, there is the temptation to focus on the current without putting in the work for the future. Just like in school, you will need to pass current exams so that you get an opportunity to pursue the courses that you want in the University. Even then, you need to ensure that core courses are your favorite and you understand the principle that will help you in future. In business, while you focus on your current business, also ensure that you put in the work towards your future business. This means that you will need to balance between the pressure that comes with the current business needs vs that which you foresee in the future business. Whether it is making cold calls to clients informing them of your product, whether it is research into a new line of product, whether it is creating networks that will provide you with future business, you need to ensure that you have focused on your future business just as much as your current business.

If this is done properly, like in normal life, you will be setting up the foundation upon which your future business will thrive. Put in the effort now to enjoy the fruits later on.