Interested in starting your own journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Marcel Awori, Founder of B.U.I.L.D Sports Africa, located in Boston, MA, USA.
What's your organization, and who are your members?
B.U.I.L.D Sports Africa is a non-profit entity that is committed to providing youth grass-roots programs across the African Continent with opportunities through sports. This is done by providing teams with the necessary funding to ensure young talented individuals are able to play the sports they love. We also focus a key aspect of our fundraising towards enabling kids to receive and pursue secondary education.
Tell us about yourself
I started working on this business because of my love for sports. Having spent time playing them and playing soccer at a Division 1 level, I have always known I want to work in the industry. This, paired with me originally being Kenyan, is what led me to start B.U.I.L.D Sports Africa. Additionally, spending vast amounts of time in grassroots program settings and seeing how little support they receive also made me determined to make a difference.
What's your biggest accomplishment as an organization?
Sending multiple children on full scholarships to schools around the world.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being an organization?
The beginning. Starting a company is hard because many people are alone at the beginning. Even though the amount of time working alone varies from person to person, this means that at some point, you are responsible for keeping on top of everything. This means making sure things happen and happen the way they are supposed to, coming up with new ideas for the company, and much more. Ultimately, starting a company is a completely self-motivated task, meaning that you are not, for the beginning, at least, expected to do anything by anyone. This means that you have to be extremely diligent about not only making sure everything is running smoothly but also that it begins and continues running in the first place.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow an organization today?
- Just get started. If you have an idea, truly believe in it, and are passionate about it, then just get started.
- Start small. Businesses don't go from 0-100 overnight. Start small and build organically. Often people try to do too much too quickly and burn out.
- Stay motivated. Even when things go wrong or not according to plan, stay motivated. Everything that happens when you run a business is something you can learn from. Don't get held up complaining about bad things happening. Trust the process.
Where can people find you and your group?
Website: https://buildsportsafrica.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildsportsafrica
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildsportsafrica/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildsportsafrica/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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