Black Entrepreneur Blueprint 640 - Jay Jones - What To Do When Nobody Believes In Your Entrepreneurial Dreams

[00:00:12] Welcome to Black Entrepreneur Blueprint, the number one podcast and resource for Black entrepreneurs. I'm your host Jay Jones and Black Entrepreneur Blueprint was created specifically to educate and inspire Black entrepreneurs to launch, build and grow successful, sustainable businesses. Join us as we help build an economic power base in the worldwide Black community by building and supporting Black owned businesses.

[00:00:41] If you're currently an entrepreneur or want to be an entrepreneur, you're invited to join us each and every week here at Black Entrepreneur Blueprint. Welcome to the BEB family and get ready to elevate your entrepreneur IQ. Welcome to the Black Entrepreneur Blueprint, episode number 640.

[00:01:07] I'm your host Jay Jones and today we have another outstanding and informative show in store for you. Today's show topic is what to do when nobody believes in your entrepreneurial dreams. What to do when nobody believes in your entrepreneurial dreams. Building a business or successful business is hard enough even when everything goes right. You need a killer product, a hungry market, a solid execution and maybe even a little bit of luck.

[00:01:35] But what happens when the people closest to you don't see that vision. Today guys I'm going to give you 7 tips on what to do when nobody believes in your entrepreneurial dreams. But before we get to today's show content, let me just share a few things with the Black Entrepreneur Blueprint family. First and foremost, I want to welcome all first time listeners to Black Entrepreneur Blueprint. Welcome to the BEB family.

[00:02:01] Please stick around until the end of today's broadcast and I'm going to share all my social media contact information and resource links such as the link to the website BlackEntrepreneurBlueprint.com. Make sure you check out the website guys. We have all types of free resources to help you move from point A to point B. Now you know this podcast and everything we do is about actionable steps. Also I want to give you guys a heads up. We're revising the website and it's going to be amazing.

[00:02:31] We're probably going to have it done within the next 7 to 10 days and it's going to be even better than it is now with more actionable steps and actual things that will make you move from point A to point B. Now let's get ready for today's show content. What to do when nobody believes in your entrepreneurial dreams. Now today's show is going to be a little short and we're going to get right to the point.

[00:02:55] One of the things as a serial entrepreneur I've gone through this with loved ones people that were very close to me that didn't believe in my dreams. So I've been a serial entrepreneur for over 25 plus years and I started back in the 90s. So this is before it was cool to be a founder or an entrepreneur. So I left a high paying job good job at Merrill Lynch.

[00:03:23] I was a stockbroker and I started out in my own business. So needless to say they were a whole bunch of naysayers. Like I said back in those days it wasn't common for somebody to start their own business that was in corporate America like that especially that early. I only did about five to six years in corporate America after college.

[00:03:43] And so going through that and having a wife that actually was not into entrepreneurship both of her parents were in the education field and so was she. So she wasn't used to that up and down in terms of income not having a steady income benefits and all that good stuff. So I actually live this. So I'm speaking from experience from know-how.

[00:04:08] Okay, so I definitely want to speak to people about this because this is super important and it's something that I talk to a lot of my my coaching students about all the time because many times you don't get that support that you need. And it's not necessarily because people don't believe in you. They just don't understand it. One of the things I talk about for people that are nine to five or work a nine to five job or not entrepreneurs and there's nothing wrong with that because I did that been there done that I call them civilians.

[00:04:38] Right, because they're not in the fire. They're not in the war that we're in as entrepreneurs if your sole income is based on your business. That means you're not a civilian you're in this thing knee deep. So it's a difference out there. So you can go to work and perform marginally well well enough not to get fired and you know every week or two weeks you're going to have a paycheck for us if we don't produce guess what we don't get paid.

[00:05:05] So let's talk about the seven tips to help you thrive when nobody believes in you. We're going to start with tip number one. Keep your head down and go to work guys. Keep your head down and go to work people watch patterns not promises. And this is something that's super important and we're going to get into it a little bit later.

[00:05:25] When you have a dream or vision right everybody doesn't believe in that dream or vision and if they don't see you or see the patterns of you trying to be successful guess what they're really not going to believe it. So if you're telling people oh yeah I'm an entrepreneur and you're out golfing you know five days a week you know six hours a day and then you spend two hours on your business guess what.

[00:05:50] What type of pattern is that people watch patterns not promises you can promise the world right. And here's one of the things we'll talk about a little later you don't want to over promise. So especially to the people that are closest to you. So it's it's unfortunate because many of the people you could be sleeping in bed with this person every night. It could be a spouse your husband your wife your partner. It could be a close relative. It could be a best friend.

[00:06:18] Everybody does not have your best interest at heart. And one of the reasons that they may not have your best interest at heart is because they're jealous that you're going out there trying to live your dreams. You know a lot of people want to do it but they're very few that take the steps necessary to make that to make that leap. So sometimes people see you and they're like oh man you know they they out there who do they think they are that they can do this.

[00:06:45] You know while they're slaving away in a job that they don't like working with people they can't stand and trying to impress people that don't even care about them. Okay tip number one keep your head down and go to work. So when when you're an entrepreneur guys you have to work there has to be action behind behind your business. You just can't go and say oh yeah I'm in business. Now yes you can create systems that that move that move big doors that levers that move big objects.

[00:07:14] Move big things help you move from point A to point B. But the real thing is guys you have to have action. All right. So tip number one keep your head down and go to work. Tip number two stay focused guys have tunnel vision and keep out the distractions. Have tunnel vision and keep out the distractions. So they say if your mind isn't on your on the on your goal all you're seeing is obstacles right.

[00:07:40] So focus on your goal because if you take your eyes off that goal guess what all you're going to see is obstacles. So stay focused have tunnel vision and keep out distractions. Now some of these distractions may live with you. As I mentioned before some of these distractions may sleep in the same bed with you. Right. And so not talking disparagingly about my wife but to be honest she didn't understand it. Why are you leaving corporate America for this quote unquote whim.

[00:08:09] And I'm saying it nicely. Right. She has some more choice words for me. But one of the things is and I used to tell her I said yo I'm gonna have to put you in the corner. I said I'm gonna have to put you in time out because I can't have this negative energy around. You know I'm already struggling trying to figure this thing out. And I don't need any more negative energy so I'm gonna put you over there in the corner figuratively not literally.

[00:08:35] So I have to keep out distractions and those distractions may come from people that you love. All right. And so another thing I want to tell you entrepreneurs and prospective entrepreneurs. Many times you can't continue to do the things that you love to do if you like to golf you know three times a week and you're trying to start a business. I know you can do deals on the golf course but guess what. You need to put the energy into your business so you can get what the results out of those out of that business.

[00:09:04] And the results basically are money right. We're doing this because we need to make money. We need to take care of our family and ourselves. And also hopefully you're doing something that you're passionate about and that you believe in. And we're talking about what to do when nobody believes in your entrepreneurial dreams. Number one keep your head down go to work. All right. Remember people watch patterns not promises.

[00:09:27] Number two stay focused have tunnel vision and keep out the distractions no matter who or what they may be. Number three this is real big guys surround yourself with like minded people. And I mean other entrepreneurs they understand what you're going through. And I used the term civilian earlier right and not in a negative way. But if you've never done this guess what you'll never be able to really understand it.

[00:09:53] And it's not because you don't know what being an entrepreneur is but you don't know how it feels. Okay, you have to be in the mix. Sometimes you think things are going to go great. Oh, I'm going to get this new deal. Guess what the deal falls through. Sometimes positive things happen. You didn't think you were going to make this much traction this quick this quick and guess what you made that much traction. So you need to surround yourself with like minded people other entrepreneurs. So if you have if you work out of your house,

[00:10:23] sometime you need to leave your house and go to a co-working space like a WeWork or something like that where you're around other people that are doing business. And once again guys, you need that energy that positive energy that action. Now I have a we work and I work out of my house two to three times a week depending upon what I'm what's going on. But I like to get into my office in the city and be around other people that are active. So surround yourself with like minded people.

[00:10:52] If you have a group you can join entrepreneur groups, right? Go to workshops go to trainings go to things that are going to are going to connect you to other entrepreneurs. And I'm telling you the conversation is totally different. There's so many things that you know, I was talking to my buddy about who's an entrepreneur and I'm like damn. I love having these conversations because I can't have these conversations with a lot of people because they don't understand what I'm talking about. It's like I'm talking a different language.

[00:11:22] So three surround yourself with like minded people. Number four be mindful of who you tell about your dreams and aspirations. And this is key. This is serious guys. Be mindful of who you tell about your dreams and aspirations. All right. Now I know you're excited about your endeavors in your new business, but guess what I mentioned earlier? Everybody doesn't want to see you succeed.

[00:11:47] And what I tell people is that vision that you have that vision that God gave you was given specifically to you. It wasn't given to your wife. It wasn't given to your husband. It wasn't given to your partner. It wasn't given to your cousin wasn't given to your brother's sister mother father or anybody else. It was given specifically to you. And I had to learn that the hard way. Now my mom always supported everything I did.

[00:12:16] A lot of the stuff she didn't understand it, but she was like, okay, if you think you can make it happen, you got my support. That's how me and my mom. That's how we used to roll. And if I got it, she got it. If she got it, I got it. And we always roll like that. So but you have to be mindful. I know you're excited about what you're trying to do. All right. Many people can't wait to see you fail. Also, many people cannot wait. To see you fail. I mentioned that earlier.

[00:12:45] And a lot of times it could be something just as simple as they're jealous because they don't have the gumption or the wherewithal to live out their dreams or to chase their dreams. Some people are just haters. They just don't want to see you do better than them. They don't want to see you happy. And unfortunately, many of the people that are like that are smiling in your face. They're at your cookout at your house with a plate in their hand. They're drinking with you. They're hanging out with you.

[00:13:13] You know, but really, and I had to learn this the hard way. You know, the people that you think love you a lot of times really are praying for your downfall. And I had to remove myself from certain people, you know, that was super close to me, longtime friends and even family members, because I had to understand, you know, not everybody is going to going to rock with this vision that I have. So I keep that to myself and only share it with people that you feel you need to share it with.

[00:13:43] All right. And I'll talk about number seven and it kind of ties into that. So that's number four. Number five, if you have a spouse or partner or significant other, discuss with them how much they want to know. And this is important. So my wife initially told me, yeah, keep me abreast of what's going on with the business. And me as a, as a numb nut at the time, I was pretty much telling her everything. Oh yeah, we got this great opportunity here. We got this great opportunity here, blah, blah, blah.

[00:14:13] So now she's thinking all of these great opportunities, something's got to give, right? You know, somebody's got to, got to say yes to this nut and come to find out I was over promising and under delivering, right? Because in business, even though it looks like it may be a done deal, it's never done until it's done, right? Until that check hits the, hits your account or whatever PayPal, whatever it is, however you, you take monies until it's done. It's not done.

[00:14:43] All right. And so expectations, and I say this all the time when I do my coaching, when I, I do my live online or live online and live in person events, expectations will make or break any relationship. So if you do not meet or exceed those expectations, you're going to have a problem, right? If you meet or exceed them, guess what? You're going to be okay, but you never over promise, especially guys.

[00:15:11] If you're a new entrepreneur, you know, you have to find out how much your partner or spouse or significant other really wants to know. And I found out the hard way because my wife will bring up stuff verbatim. Well, you said that by in three weeks, you would have this, this, this, and this. And I was like, yeah, you know, that was my projection. So what I learned was guess what? My wife doesn't care what I'm doing in business.

[00:15:38] All she wants to know is when is the money coming in? So we had to learn that. So I don't tell her much of anything. You know, she asked me and she, she pays attention. But if you ask my wife right now, what is he working on? She probably wouldn't be able to tell. She might be able to tell you, but not to the degree that, that other people would. So you have to understand how people receive information, how much information they want to receive.

[00:16:05] And is it beneficial to give them super detailed information? All right. So, you know, once again, discuss how much they want to know. Uh, and, and that's super important because like I said, sometime they say they want to know something, but if the prognosis is bad, right? Right. Yo, I'm not going to make any money for three months to six months.

[00:16:28] You know, that might not be a good conversation to have right off the bat, but you have to set those expectations realistically. All right. And we're talking about what to do when nobody believes in your entrepreneurial dreams. Now, number six, have realistic expectations for your business and its growth. Have realistic expectations for your business and its growth. Now I tell you, I'm speaking from experience here.

[00:16:55] So years ago in the early nineties, my, my business partner, uh, and I started a business. It was Jones brothers incorporated. His last name was Jones too. And we're like brothers. And our product at the time was Zulu condoms, the condom design with the black man in mind. And we were, man, we were getting passed out by, uh, TLC Luke from the two live crew. We were in all types of magazines. The source essence, Ebony were written up.

[00:17:22] We were doing the black expo tours back in the day and we were rocking. Now this is for you young folk. This is before the internet and all that stuff. So we were rocking. And one of the things is, um, when we wrote our business plan, I look at it today and I still laugh. Now we said that we wanted to capture 5% of the condom market. And that was in like 1992, right? 5%.

[00:17:48] You coming out with, with really no, no resources, no money. And remember back then in terms of advertising and marketing, you had the television, newspaper, magazines, word of mouth or, or live events. So it wasn't like I can go and run $5,000 of Facebook ads or something right now. It was totally different. We were taking orders over the phone. People would call in and we do interviews on the radio. They call in, leave them information.

[00:18:17] We take it down, ship out the product. But having realistic expectations is, is big guys. You know, and I look at that business plan and I kept it and I look at it sometime and I laugh. I'm like, boy, it's amazing how much I did not know. Right. But that was my first quote unquote real business. And I'm telling you right now, we learned so much. And once again, the expectations were totally, totally out of, out of whack.

[00:18:47] And I'm sure the investors that looked at this proposal were laughing too, but we did get investors. I think just on the strength of who we were. That's number six, have realistic expectations for your business and its growth. Number seven, this is real personal to me. Keep your head down, your mouth shut and follow your course. This is what I heard from the Lord. This is several months ago.

[00:19:13] Um, I was looking to make a, a shift in black entrepreneur blueprint, a shift in what I wanted to do. And, uh, so I wasn't quite sure what to do. I wasn't quite sure who to share it with. And, uh, I still haven't shared it a lot. There are going to be some changes, uh, all facets of my life in terms of my businesses, black entrepreneur blueprint and things of that nature.

[00:19:37] But the Lord said to me, keep your head down, your mouth shut and follow your course. Not somebody else's course, follow Jay Jones's course. And so that's something I want to impart to you guys. There are going to be all types of distractions. There are going to be people telling you all types of different things. There are going to be people that are going to say to you, what are you doing? You know what?

[00:20:04] I don't understand this, but once again, everything is not for everybody to understand. Matter of fact, it's so, it's so, uh, ironic today. I actually got a text and I'm going to read this text and I get a prayer every day. And, um, I actually was dealing with this not long ago, but it says, dear God, when I am waiting on breakthrough, when the same obstacles keep standing in my way.

[00:20:31] And when my faith starts to feel thin, help me keep believing. When I want to give up or settle for less than what you have spoken, strengthen my trust and lift my hope again. Teach me to hold on to your promises. Even when I cannot see the way forward yet, everything is possible for one who believes Mark 9 23. Father grow bold faith in me today. Help me pray with expectancy, walk with courage and refuse to let doubt have the final word.

[00:21:00] Remind me that you are able to do more than I can ask or imagine. Keep my heart soft, my hope alive and my eyes fixed on you. As I wait for the breakthrough, you are preparing now in Jesus name. Amen. And I'm telling you that came today and that was just confirmation because I'm looking for a breakthrough in certain areas of my life. I'm looking for a breakthrough actually in entrepreneurship in another venture that, that I am just starting.

[00:21:29] And so that was so timely. It was right on time and it was confirmation. So keep your head down, your mouth shut and follow your course, not somebody else's course. Now, before we get to this last segment, I want to share all my social media contact information and resource links. I mentioned earlier, the resource link is blackentrepreneurblueprint.com. Go to the website, hit the learn tab.

[00:21:54] We have all types of free resources to help you elevate your entrepreneur IQ and move you from point A to point B. Things like marketing, scaling your business, mindset, everything designed guys, like I said, to move you from point A to point B. The actionable steps. Now, if you want to connect with me anything long, hit me on my email. Jay Jones at blackentrepreneurblueprint.com. J-A-Y-J-O-N-E-S at blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:22:23] Facebook, blackentrepreneurblueprint. Instagram, I have two IG accounts. The first one is Jay Jones for real. J-A-Y-J-O-N-E-S, the number four, R-E-A-L. Second one is blackentrepreneurblueprint. For Twitter or X, it's Jay Jones 001. J-A-Y-J-O-N-E-S 001. LinkedIn, just go to LinkedIn, type in Jay Jones blackentrepreneurblueprint. You should see me right there. And also make sure you get the YouTube.

[00:22:53] Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Go to YouTube, type in blackentrepreneurblueprint. Now, wherever you're watching this or listening to this, make sure you hit that subscribe button so you will not miss. This is an episode. We drop a new episode every Monday morning, 5 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on all your major podcast platforms and YouTube. So hit that subscribe button and make sure that you stay part of the BEB family. Now, let's get back to the last segment of the show.

[00:23:22] So today, guys, we talked about what to do when nobody believes in your entrepreneurial dreams. And that can be a gut punch, guys. It can be a killer that can actually pour water on your fire. You're super excited about building your business. You're all ready to rock and roll. And then you get this person or people or whatever that don't believe in your dreams. And one of the things is you have to protect your dreams and your visions. That's why I say you only share them with select few people.

[00:23:50] Not everybody needs to know what your moves are. Keep your head down. Keep your mouth shut and follow your course. That's what I do. And a lot of times people don't even know what's going on until I come out and be like, yo, this is this is my thing. Yo, how'd you do that? I've been working on it for months, bro. I just didn't share it with anybody. So once again, your dreams, guys, were given to you by the creator. They weren't given to anybody else.

[00:24:16] And so when you think people are supposed to understand it, you know, I don't understand. Not everything is designed for everybody else to understand. It's designed for you to understand. And one of the things about the creator is that he's going to give you dreams that align with you. Okay. Other people may not see it. They might not know your talents, your gifts, your skills, your desires, your wants. But all of those were given to you by the creator.

[00:24:45] So once again, it's like a fingerprint. Everybody's fingerprint is different. Your DNA is different than everybody else's. Your dreams are different than everybody else's. Your visions are different than everybody else's because you are one in a million. You're one of a kind. You're not even one in a million. You're one of a kind. And you're built specifically to fulfill your mission. So don't worry about what other people say.

[00:25:12] Don't worry about what the people talking about you and thinking about you. You go ahead and you do you. You continue to move forward. And like I said, move forward in silence. Let your work show. You don't have to tell people what you're doing. What's one of the funniest things is people will talk about you. You got your head down for six months. You pop back up and now you're at a different level. And they see that. Right? The old saying is I can show you better than I can tell you.

[00:25:40] People are going to tell you anything they want. But if they see you doing something, they know it's real. And I'm going to close with this once again. And this came directly from the creator to me. And I audibly heard this. All right. Keep your head down. Keep your mouth shut. And follow your course. All right. Keep your head down. Keep your mouth shut and follow your course. Do that. And you're going to be all right.

[00:26:09] Now, I say this each and every week family because it's true. We get more and more downloads because of you, the BEB family. I appreciate you guys so much. Please continue to spread the word about the podcast, the online courses, the books, the whole ecosystem designed to help you elevate your entrepreneur IQ. Remember, it's not about me. It's not about you. It's about us. It's about building an economic power base in the worldwide black community by building and supporting black owned businesses.

[00:26:39] Love you guys. See you same time next week. Peace.