From the outside, the business looks big. The founder is smiling, the team is growing, the brand is getting stronger. But nobody sees what happened before all that.
Over the last few days, I’ve been doing a lot of private one-to-one sessions with business owners I’ve coached for 3 to 11 years. Among them Najib Assadok from Momentum Iyziq, Datin Dr Kartika from Eskayvie, Kamarul Hadi and Rohani from Kaharo Jewels, and Hajah Ida and Izzati from Andalusia Umrah Travel.
I’ve received their messages at night. Some were crying because they were so stuck. Some said, “I don’t know what to do anymore.” Some went blank when facing cash flow problems, falling sales, team issues, customer complaints, or too many things that needed to be solved at one time.
There were times they felt like quitting too.
But the next day, they still got up. Still walked into the office. Still called the team. Still thought about how to pay salaries. Because they know that behind every one of these businesses are staff who need to support their families, children who need to go to school, and a lot of people depending on the stability of their company.
That’s what outsiders don’t see.
Haters, on the other hand, only know how to see the results and hate. They don’t see the nights full of worry. They don’t see the hard decisions that had to be made. They don’t see how many times a founder almost gave up, but chose to keep fighting.
Some started at around RM1 million a year, and this year they’ve already hit RM45 million. Some went from RM2 million a year to RM65 million. Some broke a record of RM150 million this year.
But it’s not the numbers that make me proudest.
I’m proud because even after reaching that level, they still don’t feel comfortable. Still want to learn. Still want the team to rise together. Still want to pay zakat and give sedekah. Still want to grow the business so more people can benefit from their products and services.
To me, that’s the difference between building a business for yourself and building a business with a mission.
So what makes you keep fighting when business gets really hard?
#DatukWira #BusinessGrowth #SMEGrowth #EntrepreneurJourney #Leadership #BusinessTransformation #RichWorks #SMEMalaysia
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