A Dream Comes Through A Multitude Of Business

The Bible is full of timeless wisdom that entrepreneurs can apply to build successful businesses. In this edition of BUSINESS WISDOM FROM THE BIBLE we turn to Ecclesiastes 5:3, which says in the King James Version:

“For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.”

Let us concentrate on the first part: “For a dream cometh through the multitude of business.”

The message is simple but powerful. If you have a dream, ambition or business goal, do not merely sit down and admire it. Back it up with a multitude of practical activities directed towards achieving it.

A dream becomes a reality through a series of purposeful actions, consistently taken.

Imagine that your ambition is to establish a school. You may have been thinking about it for years, discussing it with friends and imagining the day your first students will arrive. But none of these activities, on their own, will open the school.

You need a plan of action that takes you from where you are today to where you want to be. Your activities may include conducting a feasibility study, identifying your target market, securing suitable premises, obtaining the necessary approvals, preparing your budget, recruiting teachers, acquiring learning materials and marketing the school to prospective parents.

Every completed activity brings you closer to your goal. Eventually, the school opens its doors.

That is the practical meaning of a dream coming through a multitude of business.

Consider another illustration from Nigeria. Aliko Dangote did not build an industrial empire in one day. His business journey involved identifying opportunities, trading, reinvesting, developing production capacity and expanding into new industries. Each stage required decisions, resources and sustained execution. His achievement illustrates how a large ambition can be pursued through successive business activities over time.

Look abroad at Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon as an online bookstore. The company did not begin as the enormous global marketplace we know today. It started with a focused offering and grew through successive efforts to improve customer experience, expand product categories, develop logistics and invest in technology.

The lesson is that you do not have to begin with the size of the business you dream of owning. You must begin with the actions required to move towards it.

Consider the story of a small food business owner who dreams of operating a chain of restaurants. Rather than wait until sufficient money is available to open five branches, the entrepreneur can start with one outlet, establish consistent food quality, understand customer preferences, control costs, build a loyal customer base and reinvest profits where appropriate.

The first outlet becomes the foundation for the second. The second provides lessons for the third. Growth comes from a sequence of deliberate, well-managed steps.

Even the natural world reminds us that great numbers can emerge from small beginnings. Humanity’s growth from its earliest beginnings to today’s global population did not happen overnight; it unfolded across generations. God started the world with just one man, then added another person and it went on like that and today 8.3 billion people live on the earth. Likewise, a business vision may require time, patience and repeated effort.

Dear entrepreneur, do not be discouraged because your present resources appear small compared with your ambition. Begin at your current level, but do not begin without direction.

Write down your goal. Prepare a sound plan of action. Identify the activities required, arrange them in a sensible sequence and take practical steps every day. Review your progress, learn from setbacks and adjust your approach when necessary.

Remember, talking about your dream is not the same as working towards it.

Take the first step, and keep taking the next steps until your dream becomes a reality.

• Kola Owolabi is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria. He is the CEO of David Solomon Consulting, a foremost business plan preparation and business consulting firm, which operates out of Igbesa, near Crawford University, Ogun State. He can be reached on 08023203198 ( WhatsApp line)

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