I DO NOT KNOW IT ALL- ASK MAYBE YOU COULD AVOID A MAJOR BLUNDER

Alfred Sheinwold says: "Learn all you can from the mistakes of others. You won't have time to make them all yourself" a saying that i have found very interesting and true in the past months since i started my business and more so today as i decided to ask for help from a past colleague i have not talked to in a very long time.. I also learnt to appreciate the fact that their is always something to learn form everyone around you.  How you use the lessons is entirely on you, you can either use the learning by applying it to a situation or using the learning to avoid a mistake already made by others, keep it for another day or better still ignore it all together.

Working for a man (Thanks one Mr. Ken Waibochi) of very few words and intolerant of mediocrity: a man  and Boss that i came to appreciate and regard as one who through fear, patience and many many meetings (every meeting was a torture at first) that included shredding my plans and asking that i re-do the same incorporating his observations from Zero, taught me that being criticized for a job done below expectation did not make me foolish but made a better person and enhanced my skills that have been useful in my career especially in planning and operations involving complex logistics. This man was meticulous to a dot and worse i as learning the  job yet all he could comfort me with was " i identified you for that position because i knew you could handle it" and these words gave my career as a Logistician that i so much enjoy and has span over 19 years with different commercial and Humanitarian organizations in different countries and most complex environments in the Horn Of Africa and a stint in Swaziland.

I was desperate to get a job that when luck threw me into a factory counting and packing Vicks throat lozenges and Vicks Ointment after staying at home and tarmacking for almost 3 years trying to get something to do after high school, i as more than ready to do it just to get me out of my parents list of stress factors. Within 6 months i was thrown from the factory to the Warehouse lead a team putting all the data on the stock cards into a computerized system and then after one year into Operations in the planning department and all because of being at the right place at the right time, having my then very important MS-DOS, MS-WORD and MS-EXCEL certificates from the 3 months salary in the factory and an Operations Director ho believed in me and more so believed in women empowerment in the mid 90's.

My boss always reminded me almost every day (as i could get terrified seeing him) to ask him anything that i did not understand or tell him in advance if something slipped through the cracks that i should have been on top of before he hears it from the factory manager.( Initially it felt like he wanted me to report myself to him the boss- No way......) "For what you do not know say it aloud and we will sit together and find a way" he would murmur to me as he passed by. Later on i learnt that asking as not the same as belittling myself, reporting myself or showing how stupid i was, instead he used these opportunities to coach and mentor me such that i did not have to go back next time as i then had the tools and knowledge on how to work on my own. 

This guy singly gave me 75% of the work ethics, confidence and knowledge that i have since planning and delivering all the components needed to run the factory for 24hrs a day, 7 days a week was no mean feat and he made sure i ate, slept, dreamt, sang, walked, talked the whole inventory planning, procurement and delivery schedule and also made sure  no stock-outs or machine down time that could be tracked back to lack of raw or packaging Material to a single bolt.

To make it worse he as very clear that he was not going to allow me to work over the weekends as he needed me to rest and be ready on Monday morning. Interestingly and i still hold that maxim dearly is  what he once said in my defense " what will she do on Saturday and Sunday that she should not do Monday to Friday or what will she do from 5pm to 6pm that she could not do from 7am to 4.59pm, either she is working or not if not she knows what to do"

This i have taken into my Journey and decided to ask and consult those ho have walked the journey before me. Most part people are selfish and a bit reserved with information but once in a while i have met friends, colleagues and even strangers who see the best in every question and are willing to share there expertise.

 It humbles me that i can pick a phone and call either of them and they will patiently listen, explain and even take time to look at my crazy worksheets and polish them to a document that i can present with authority to any financier and go ahead and explain every figure to the last detail in as much as i believed i am not an accounts person, today i stand a convert.

One such man is  my Husband  a Finance Guru and a Former colleague who was a Finance Manager i worked with before. This week they have taught me valuable lessons in financing and how to go about writing financial proposals, preparing cash flow budgets, sales projections that i need to get financing from my banker ( I hope he approves it as this is the final hurdle i have to go through before i begin my second phase).

Out of of all this experience i have learnt that everyone comes through your life for a purpose. You can shed those that you do not need at whatever point you are in life but do not burn those bridges as you never know what fate has for you. We do cross paths with different people for a reason and even here you have lost contact or  have nothing in common let them go but leave things open in case you need to go back to them in future.

I have also learnt a valuable lesson, that in business it is all about humility and the ability to realize at what point it ends for you and you can not go any further on your own then call for help for those with expertise. It makes things easier, simple and saves you a lot of time that you can put into better use to ensure the success of your business.

There is a wealth of knowledge on basically every single question you may have as you start your business, just be courageous enough and ask!!!!!!!!

Happy Weekend as we watch and celebrate another big event 2014 World Cup..