Don’t be afraid to ask questions

They say you should never be too proud to ask questions when you don’t know something, and you should never stop learning from others. In business, that is particularly the case. I was reading a really interesting article this week about Gwyneth Paltrow’s super successful lifestyle brand business, Goop, which is valued at around $250 million today. Now, your first reaction might be to ask, “what relevance can a famous actress turned entrepreneur have to my own life experience as an entrepreneur in Africa, when we come from very different backgrounds and industry sectors?” Well, it comes down to learning that, no matter what our personal entrepreneurial journeys are like, we still have a lot of shared experiences and we can always find something to learn. For me, the interesting thing she was talking about was how, in the early stages of building her business, she felt a sense of shame about asking questions - she felt ignorant - she had to lean into criticism and disagreement from the sector she was trying to break into. On reflection she says she wished she had given herself permission to be ignorant, to ask questions, and as a result, to avoid making a lot of mistakes. Now there is something we can all learn from. 

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! — Melanie