Kenton Clarke
By Kenton Clarke, founder CCA, DiversityBusiness, National Supplier Registration, Omnikal and Together We Are.
Our country, the greatest country on the planet, was created, nourished and developed from a spirit of freedom to build and maintain businesses. Professions, developed during the birth of America such as the farmer, miller, blacksmith and trader created the foundation of the economy across America. The deeply rooted belief of ‘opportunity’ in our country for men/women to develop and sustain businesses created the framework for business people to flourish from the onset of our republic. Capitalism and entrepreneurship are what makes America great and continues to create the opportunity to allow anything (from a one-person business to a global conglomerate) to operate and enjoy the benefits and rewards of risk taking.
While the distribution of significant wealth in the United States continues to hover (around 1% of the population possessing 40% of the wealth), the only way for anyone to get a bigger piece of the pie is to create their own recipe and bake their own pie.
Now before I talk about the journey of getting to the pie, I want to clear up some misconceptions about the 1%. Often, the 1% are generally ridiculed as being “unfair” for possessing that large proportion of wealth. No one will ever give credit to the millions of jobs and opportunities created by the 1% nor understand the real distribution of income and wealth.
When someone points to a lady driving her Lexus and says, “Gee, the cost of that car could have fed a lot of people”; they have no idea of the circular economic impact that has resulted from that purchase. From the jobs created as a result of building that car (from the materials used, the production, marketing, to the distribution and sales channels). The taxes paid (support the functioning of both local and federal government) and so forth. It’s huge and the supply chain impacts are wide and deep (circular economy) and most importantly…sustainable.
As you can see, there are many opportunities from the “piece of the pie” that are generated from the 1%. It is up to the the 99% to capitalize on these opportunities by “baking their own pies.”
With more “pies,” we will see the distribution of wealth continue to flow succinctly. In a land of opportunity and freedom, it is up to us as individuals to hone in on our gifts and passions and pursue them. So how can we encourage the message of entrepreneurship and wealth creation to the 99% throughout our communities and nation?
It is our strong belief that building communities and creating wealth are highly possible and should be encouraged by government, education and other business people. Through community programs, support systems, promotions and mentorship, each of these aspects can play a tremendous role in drawing out the talents that are at the very heart and foundation of entrepreneurship. “Together We Are” the strongest force to create economic opportunity for all people by encouraging entrepreneurship.
We see landscaping companies are launched by a love of the outdoors, and a cleaning business is created allowing a mom flexibility and income. It is these examples of homegrown entrepreneurship that need our support. Each and every job in America provides the opportunity to learn a skill, a business model and to understand a market. The purchase of a paint brush and ladder combined with a little sweat equity can create a foundation of wealth for a hardworking early entrepreneur. No one said it’s going to be easy.
It is our belief that everyone, no matter what your profession, can create his or her own chance to move the needle of wealth distribution. You can’t legislate wealth or tax someone into becoming poor. It’s time we celebrate success in America and encourage our business leaders to keep moving forward. As the simple model of revenue illustrates, the top 1% of our wealth population would have more if everyone else had more.
Access to capital and the never ending excuse of the lack there of is a long standing tired excuse and can be misleading. Success in business is not something that should be handicapped by receiving startup or operational funding. A true entrepreneur will bootstrap him or herself into financial success by growing as revenues and profits allow. Too many ‘would-be’ business owners have been influenced by the venture capitalists and all the hype. The facts are that capital funding has always been an insignificant driver to business startups and growth. You have to build your business one step at a time and be willing to invest your own money the old fashioned way.
Risk remains the dominant reason so few people execute their dreams. Many great ideas never materialize for the simple reason of not marching forward. You have to get off the line and enter the field to perform your dream. Having a kick ass fanfare always sets the stage and creates expectations for what’s to come. If your product or service can resonate with your audience and eventual marketplace, you simply need to execute with skills, planning and passion. With those three components of skill, a plan and your own passion, you will know when it’s time to move forward and step onto the field.
Just as a musician knows, it’s not how high a note you can hit but rather your ability to sustain the note with clarity, pitch and power. In the same vein, a successful business owner must be in tune with their product, employees and customers. Entrepreneurship is an art that takes one on a journey. It should never be confused with making a quick fortune on a great idea or product. It has everything to do with creating something for a marketplace that may or may not exist, having a clear vision of your “why” and the ability to remain relevant and profitable.
Entrepreneurship is not for everyone and that’s okay. The resilience and ability to sustain your business through tough periods is no joke and not for the light hearted. Being responsible for all the pieces, moving parts and most importantly many people’s livelihood requires superhero characteristics most of the time. So my hat is off to Ford, Gates, Jobs, Zuckerberg, Steward, Castillo, Reddy and an endless list of kick ass entrepreneurs.
Fundamentally at Omnikal, our entire program is designed to win the show. Each and every aspect of our philosophy on entrepreneurship is included and crafted into our digital process. Omnikal technology solutions allow a business owner to connect, research, source, and network to develop the connections to take your company to the next level.
Never loose sight of the fact that a company like Amazon was only able to build an amazing business because of the platforms and infrastructure that others built. With a transportation system, credit card processing and many other processes in place they were able to create their solutions on top of these systems. Omnikal provides a system to entrepreneurs to build their businesses on in the 21st century.
A business plan will never make anyone an entrepreneur. Creativity and innovative ideas will not either. Resiliency and a deep passion to win are the key ingredients …………….. Blood, Sweat and Tears are a given!
At Omnikal our plan is simple: We believe in America and building wealth for all people and communities through business ownership. We solve the problem of making business connections. We’ve built a platform that makes this simple, easy and affordable for all size of businesses.
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