When picking fruits, the first fruit that one should take is not the best-looking one that is way above the rest but the one that will require the least effort and can be reached without a ladder or a pole. It may not be the best looking one, but that fruit will certainly start filling your stomach which is already grumbling for food. The next ones might require more time and effort, but since your hunger has been dealt with, reaching for the next will become a lot easier.
In building a business or career, one should start with a product or service that will bring in income with the least amount of investment and time to produce. Then, one can start going from one step to another which will require more and more investment. Those additional investments can come from the income that you got from the low hanging fruit.
Cay Acuna, founder, and owner of Ad Garlic, an ad agency now catering to multinational and top tier companies, did not start as a business owner. She started a career as a lowly employee of an ad agency. That was the fastest way she can earn enough to support her 2 children and herself. It didn’t seem too promising at the beginning. But as she grew, she discovered her own unique value proposition in the advertising business. This led her to form her own company together with a partner.
Rudy Guillen now owns companies in the high tech security solutions business. Recently, he won global awards for innovation. As his first venture into business, he repaired office intercoms, a skill he learned from his brother who was employed as a technician.
(You can read the interesting stories of these 2 successful entrepreneurs in bonidejesus.com
Cay Acuna – https://bonidejesus.com/2019/05/27/complete-the-story/
Rudy Guillen – https://bonidejesus.com/2017/08/09/business-success-series-barefoot-farm-boy-to-ceo/)
Arnel Pepito, a stockbroker and founder of Investambayan, a community of serious stock investors, started as an employee in a BPO. He didn’t even have money to pay for a jeepney ride when he started. You can know more about him in Investambayan.
I started my career as a factory supervisor. Back then, I cannot imagine becoming a business and financial consultant since I did not study finance in college. I finished chemical engineering instead. But my third job in a finance company set me on course to a consultancy profession in finance.
We all have a dream job or a dream business, but no one gets to the top without starting at the bottom. The important thing is, we should not park at the bottom. Each step requires a new way of thinking. Being a learner is important.
When you get to the best-looking fruit at the top of the tree, you will remember and appreciate that ugly low hanging fruit you started with. Had you not taken it, you might still be staring at the tree and wondering how you will get to the top. It might be too late to pick the lowest hanging fruit because they won’t be there. It is overripe and has fallen to the ground. Don’t overthink. When we do, our mind goes into negative territory, where we can be overcome by fear. Stay focused on your long term goal, but make a step forward and keep on trusting God.
If it is saving, start with a few pesos by forgoing some habits. If it is about time, give up some time-consuming activities that have nothing to do with your goal. If it is about investment, do not wait until you have much. For a person who is willing to make sacrifices, success is sure. As my friend Rudy always says, if you want to go north, give up south.
Start with what you have, not with what other people have. Better yet, have a goal and pat yourself at the back every time you take a step closer to it no matter how small.
That low hanging fruit is just waiting to be picked. The moment you pick it, you are on your way to the top. Your journey can bring you closer to your purpose.
Boni de Jesus 