by Nomihlali Ntsunguzi
It was the very first presentation I had to make to pitch for business after I had just started. The potential client was in an industry I knew very well, and I knew the human capital challenges everyone was experiencing. I was so excited yet anxious, but I was quite confident that my pitch was on point. As I walk into the boardroom, I recognize someone I know from church and I immediately felt relieved….my thought, “God indeed works in miraculous ways”. Little did I know that out of all the executives that were sitting there, I was going to get the worst treatment from the one I recognized.
His only question, which was followed by a series of discouraging comments, was “how long have you been in business?”. I said, I’ve just started but I’ve been in the HR field for more than 15 years, and I know the industry very well. The meeting then turned into a one-sided conversation and the three statements that rang so loud in my mind that day and days to follow were, “It doesn’t seem like you have the infrastructure to run a successful business”, “I normally do not trust small businesses to provide best practice service to large companies like ours because you don’t have the infrastructure big consultancies have”, “it’s a tough space that you decided to work in and I’m not sure you will have enough piece of the pie to keep you going”! The facial expressions of the rest of the executives in the boardroom told me that they felt sorry for me…. To be honest, my bubble burst, but I didn’t want to show it.
I concluded my presentation with a smile and walked out of that meeting feeling like a
failure. A couple of days later, I received a phone call from the executive who discouraged me offering me a job instead of a business opportunity, which I turned down. All of this would come back as I faced challenges in building the business, and I would ask if I shouldn’t go back to work. I was offered executive positions twice, but my dream was and is still bigger than any job.
My take in the business world is that as long as you have a dream that is big enough to fulfill your purpose in life, go for it! That dream will make you wake up every morning and keep on pushing in the midst of challenges, doubts, miseries, and disappointments. Believe in that dream and in yourself! You are unique, there’s something you do differently to the rest of the world/ competitors. Look good! Smile even if you feel different inside – the world or your “discourager” should never see that they have won in pulling you down with their discouraging statements. And lastly, have fun in doing what you love most….you’re the boss after all!
Nomihlali Ntsunguzi, the founder and director of NISSI: Human Capital Solutions. Having worked in the Human Resources field for more than 18 years, she is motivated to see people succeed by helping them make a positive impact in their work environments. Before founding NISSI, Nomihlali held executive HR positions at Aveng Trident Steel, the De Beers Group, the Department of Trade and Industry, and Lonmin.
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