Don't ever be afraid of working for yourself and don't ever let someone talk you out of doing it either.
Martin Stewart (pictured), director, London Money
Or so they say. It certainly did for Les Dawson and Bonnie Langford. But then again also for Darren Day so let’s not get too hung up about it eh?
There are some fantastic quotes on the subject of opportunity. You won’t have seen them on LinkedIn because everyone is too busy being a property investment strategist or filming themselves in a car they can’t afford telling you how to be a millionaire (free advice klaxon: Having a £1m mortgage does NOT necessarily make you a millionaire).
One quote that I personally like is from Winston Churchill and I’ll paraphrase it to save time as I can see some of you are losing interest already. He said that most people trip over an opportunity in their life but that people fail to realise it and instead they pick themselves up, brush themselves off and carry on as though nothing had happened.
Sound familiar? It might do soon because there are going to be further redundancies this year within financial services and sadly some of them have already happened. This then is your opportunity. It is time to say goodbye to the payslip. That thing which you think gives you a blanket of comfort when in reality it is a monthly death certificate only with your name on it.
Furthermore the opportunity comes from realising that you have been part of someone else's business plan for all these years or part of their career path, or both.
And where did that get you? The job centre? And where are they now? Probably in another well-paid job back working with their mates.
So don't ever be afraid of working for yourself and don't ever let someone talk you out of doing it either. There is no permanent employment anymore (just ask any of the recent Brexit secretaries). Unfortunately, in the modern world you are as disposable as a disposable camera – and look what happened to them.
Building a brand is about creating opportunities.
Serial entrepreneur John Rampton suggests concentrating on how people see you; building your online platform; weaving your brand into everything you do; being consistent; producing value; getting sneaky with brand-building awareness; not trying to please everyone; and the one that I’m very passionate about, associating yourself with strong brands – such as London Money.
Strong brands often have more opportunities than Hughie Green (Google him kids!).
Please don't therefore stumble over and ignore one that will allow you to own, create and build a business in your own image. With the right brand, backing and resource you can be elevate yourself to a position that you never thought was possible.
