As part of an interview, I got recently asked what I think are the two most important characteristics of being an entrepreneur. One of them I already described here quite often and it is by far the right mindset. From my experience, if your mind, your thoughts, and your beliefs are not in alignment with your big vision to really change something (hopefully in the world), I think it is not possible to build up and run a business. This rollercoaster is just doable with a strong mind.
The second one is clearly the capability to pivot. I heard Sara Blakely speaking about it a lot, and it is so incredibly true. With nookees so often, I have ideas about how we can do things, but once we start the process, a million things come up and sometimes lead us in a totally different direction if we allow it. And we should, because ideas need to grow and part of it is to pivot.
One great example is the work we are doing with the nookees Foundation: The first big production I did (back then in Indonesia) I split. I sold half of it and I donated half of it. That was fine as still every part of it happened in Indonesia. Then I realized it does not make sense to produce a reusable pad e.g. in Europe to afterwards send it to our projects in Nepal, Uganda and South Africa. So we pivoted to local production in the corresponding areas, and with that not just donate the product but also support the local economy through paid work projects.
But then we figured out that not all areas and cultures accept reusable period products, so again, we had to think in a new way and, together with NIDISI switched to the production of biodegradable pads made out of local waste.
Thinking back to how the idea once started and where it led us, once we allowed to think left and right, is pretty amazing. I used to be kind of scared of pivoting because it means (again) tapping into the unknown. But now I honestly enjoy the process as it mostly turns good ideas into great ones.
