Hi. Welcome back. I’m Jane Pfeiffer, president of Fieldtrip. You know, over the years, I’ve worked with a lot of entrepreneurs, and they have come at all different phases of their business cycle from, you know, just the nugget of an idea to working on a proof of concept, getting ready to go to market getting ready to embark on a large growth phase. And the thing that’s constant across the entrepreneurs is the best leaders view everyone as a potential investor. They have their elevator pitch down. They have several versions of their pitch deck. One that’s heavy on the numbers, one that’s heavy on the vision and one that’s heavy on the audience needs. They’re always ready and they’re always asking.They expect more nos than yeses. And they don’t treat that no as a sign of failure, but a sign that they’re just getting closer to finding the right person who will say yes. And as business owners, over time, we become faced with not only that startup excitement but also the reality of keeping the business going. And that stress and requirement is building constantly. And so it’s natural that we tend to focus on where people are most likely to say yes to us. And how do we focus our time and energy to be more efficient. Now, that makes great business sense, but there is something magical about holding on to that belief that everyone is a potential investor.
When nonprofit organizations or mission driven businesses ask for a gift or for charity, there’s really not a requirement that that person has to believe in your mission. They can do it out of obligation, guilt, small token of appreciation. A number of honorable reasons. But if they don’t believe that you can make a difference, they’re not invested in your organization. And investors don’t expect an immediate return, but they do expect a return, and they’re going to be with you in the reality of what is today, and the potential of what comes tomorrow. They’re going to recognize that there are good times and bad times and how can they help or find resources that they have that they can bring to the table. So instead of looking for gifts or acting like charity, let’s look for investors because those are the people who are willing to believe today and for all of the tomorrows. Thanks for watching.
