When Opportunity Knocks, Will You Be Ready?

I recently heard a wonderful keynote speech from Alexia Hilbertidou, one of New Zealand’s most inspirational young leaders and the youngest-ever winner of a Queen’s Young Leader Award. Alexia founded a program called Girl Boss1 to get more girls into information technology and STEM programs in schools. She said,

‘If you want opportunities that not many people get, you need to make choices that not many people make.’

I think this is a wonderful mantra for an entrepreneur who wants to break through the entrepreneurial ceiling and create a business by design. It takes courage, commitment and belief. Belief is fostered through action and realised by doing what most people will not. The status quo of being trapped under the entrepreneurial ceiling can be chaotic and often overwhelming, but nonetheless it is familiar. Staying trapped requires little courage; committing to do things differently requires daring.

In the 2022 AFL season Geelong Football Club did it differently. The oldest team to ever play a game in AFL history attracted significant criticism for resting key older players throughout the season in a bid to have them primed for the final’s series. But it worked!

Following Geelong’s demolition of Sydney in the Grand Final, coach Chris Scott said, ‘It’s a metaphor for life really, if you want to do great things, don’t expect it to be smooth sailing. You’re going to have to shake hands with adversity at some point. If you hang in, with no guarantee that you’ll get the ultimate success, it might be worth it.’

The good news, however, is that mustering the courage to be different is not new to you. After all, there was a time that you started or took on a business and backed yourself to follow your dream. It is this feeling you must again capture. So, what’s holding you back now from creating your business by design?

#businessbydesign #growyourbusiness #oppurtunity