I recently spoke at an Empowerment Session at Megafest 2013 under the T.D. Jakes School of Leadership. It was an awesome experience and I met several people seeking to launch new businesses. We talked about facing the giants. It sounds like an insurmountable task, but in my last blog I explained that it is not as hard as you think to face these particular giants. The giants are only an illusion that exists solely through the reflection of your negative thoughts and mindset. The giants that inhibit business opportunities are (1) lack of passion, (2) hopelessness, (3) doubt, and (4) fear.

The first giant is a lack of passion. It is difficult to have a passion for something that you don’t quite understand or where there is no clear desire or expectations. You need a clear desire to expand on your business ideas, but you also need to establish a structure and expectations for your business ideas to develop and evolve. This is the first step in the process.  Know the purpose and objectives of your business and make it the focus at all times. Then decide which entity fits that purpose. You must structure your business with the right type of business entity that fits the current and future business and organizational structure needs.  A solid business plan will set the stage for setting expectations which is the next step.  Always plan the ending from the beginning (will you pass it down to heirs, keep it small and private, grow it and keep it private, or take it public). Bottom line: If you are going to create something from nothing, you better know who you intend to own that nothing that becomes something or you may truly end up with the nothing with which you started.

The second giant is Hopelessness. Take that same strategic plan and structure and show others how valuable it could be for them. You could do this through debt financing or equity. Realize that you can seek debt financing or raising capital from investors. There are a plethora of options available to you. Don’t lose hope just because the funds are low. Those funds could just be an idea away.

The next giant is Doubt. Know the basic legal issues that can affect the success of your business. If you know how to manage deals and prevent and handle adversity, it will give you the confidence to focus on the building of the products, services, and ideas of your business. Familiarize yourself with basic types of business transactions and potential business litigation claims that could arise in your industry. This could remove some of the doubts about what you will be facing in the business journey ahead.

The final giant is Fear. Effective management of your business structure and ideas will help you build profit margins, obtain growth capital, and establish a solid brand and reputation for your business. The size of the organization does not matter; it’s how you strategically utilize and protect the resources at your disposal that matters most.

If you know you can be innovative and create something that is uniquely you from nothing and use the right tools to help it grow and expand, you can ignite your passion. If you know there are several ways to fund your ideas and the money does not always have to come from you; you can have hope. If you know ways to protect your property and business interests and have an awareness of the issues you will face; you can diminish the doubts and uncertainty.

If you manage in a way that keeps you aware of your resources and assets and protects your interests; you can alleviate many of the fears of losing the value of the something that you created from nothing. Before you know it; those giants will fall and you will see beyond the illusion of the giants that you once thought were in front of you and discover all of the greatness that truly lies within you.