Today I wanted to share with you some advice that I received when I was 17. It was given to me by Edd Smith. At the time Edd was running a company called Dreadworx that was one of the countries largest sellers of dreadlock products. He now runs a creative agency called Purple Claw.
This email changed my whole outlook on business and gave me the confidence to go out and start a company. I hope that it’s as useful for you as it has been for me.
When you get home and you think about the computer idea, ignore what your family think, ignore what your friends think, ignore what your teachers think and ignore the negative thoughts in your head telling you not to do it. If you know you can sell computer parts (and as long as you don’t get yourself into massive debt!) then you should and at the end of your time in sixth form you can think ”˜hey it was fun but I’ve had enough of that and am going to uni’ (with I might add a fantastic addition to the CV) or you might think ”˜this is going really well I could make a living from this’. All that matters is your own self belief in your ability to sell products and don’t let anything or anyone else let you wonder otherwise. Work hard, believe in your ability and you will go far.
Another entreprenuer I met said something along these lines to me once, actually he wrote it on a bit of paper after I gave a business presentation to him as part of the A-Level course – still have it on my pinboard in the kitchen at home.
“The blind belief of others in your ability is always a boost when even those closest to you don’t always see the opportunity you see” ;o).