Unprepared but Unstoppable
Let’s be real for a minute — how many times have you felt underprepared for a task at hand? If you’re a creative, an entrepreneur, or even a startup founder, the answer is probably “more times than I’d like to admit.” And guess what? That’s perfectly normal.
We often talk about plans, roadmaps, and strategies in business. But here’s the thing no one tells you at those fancy conferences: many of us spend years navigating through unpreparedness. For Nigerian business owners and creatives, especially, the journey isn’t always about feeling 100% ready; it’s more about learning to thrive even when you’re not.
“The Beauty of Unexpected Growth”
When I first got into entrepreneurship, I thought there would be this defining moment when I’d feel prepared — when everything would align, and I’d magically know what to do next.
Spoiler alert: that moment never came. But here’s what did happen — I started discovering new opportunities when I least expected them. — Ellaromire (Pastry Chef)
For many Nigerian creatives and entrepreneurs, there’s often this gap between where you are and where you think you should be. You start your venture, convinced you’ve got everything figured out, and then boom! Reality hits. From securing funding to hiring the right team, it’s easy to feel like you’re constantly playing catch-up. But this is exactly where unexpected growth comes into play.
Think about it: How many times have you found yourself in situations where the skills you thought were insignificant suddenly became the game-changer? Maybe you were thrust into managing a team and realized you were a better leader than you gave yourself credit for. Or perhaps a failed project opened doors to new collaborations, sparking ideas that changed your business’s direction. That feeling of unpreparedness can often lead to the most significant growth you’ll experience as an entrepreneur.
Startups are a prime example of this dynamic. We hear success stories of Nigerian founders building companies that scale across Africa, but what we don’t always hear is the chaos behind the scenes. Most of the time, startups operate in a constant state of flux — relying on what can sometimes feel like sheer willpower to survive.
In The Nest community, we’ve seen this play out time and again. Entrepreneurs and founders come in with grand ideas, only to realize that their biggest breakthroughs didn’t come from perfect execution, but from those messy, uncertain moments where they had to pivot. In fact, the startup ecosystem thrives on adaptation. Many founders will tell you that their initial business model looks nothing like the one they started with. But, in those five years of “unpreparedness,” they found new, lucrative paths they hadn’t even considered.
For many business owners, particularly in Nigeria, the feeling of unpreparedness is amplified by the unpredictable business environment. From fluctuating economic conditions to limited infrastructure, we’re constantly on our ten toes. But there’s a powerful lesson here: It’s not always about having the perfect plan. Sometimes, it’s about being flexible enough to grab the opportunities that come your way.
That’s why we always tell fellow entrepreneurs and creatives to lean into that discomfort. If you’re feeling like you don’t have all the answers, that’s okay. No one does. The most successful people I know didn’t start their careers with every piece of the puzzle in place. They started with what they had, learned as they went, and kept evolving. In fact, The Nest has built its community on the principle of continuous learning and growth, especially for startups that need to adapt quickly to survive in today’s fast-paced environment.
Finding Your Potential in Uncertainty
The most unexpected outcomes come when we push past the need to feel completely ready. Five years may seem like a long time to not have all your ducks in a row, but it’s also five years of invaluable experience. Every misstep, every pivot, and every “unprepared” moment is building something bigger.
So, to every creative, entrepreneur, and startup founder out there — don’t wait until you feel ready. Start with what you have now. The path to success often looks nothing like you imagined it, and that’s perfectly fine. It’s in those moments of uncertainty that you’ll find your true potential, and who knows? The next pivot might just be the one that changes everything.
As someone who has spent years feeling like I wasn’t quite where I needed to be, I can tell you this: your biggest breakthroughs come when you embrace the unpreparedness. Entrepreneurship, is about flexibility, resilience, and growth in the face of uncertainty. Don’t shy away from the challenges — lean into them. You might just unlock potential you didn’t even know you had.
After all, it’s the journey that defines you, not how “ready” you were when you started.
