Finding Help in times of need -Part 27

Do not Beg, Negotiate

Most often than not, some people feel helpless because of their need. They usually lose the sense of worth or reduce themselves to nothing—they seem to think the only way out is to be at the mercy of other people that have what they do not have. It could be challenging, but they are usually still worth more than they think if only they could understand the concept of negotiation. You will not need to beg, yet you can get more than what you need honourably—yes, without losing your sense of dignity.

You may be in a challenging situation, or it seems you have nothing left. You probably still have something, if not many, that could help you get back on track. You may get help by begging but is that the most productive? You get what people decide to give you or what they decide you need—it may include some advice or attitude that may cause you to lose the taste for any good thing they may have done. Negotiation, on the other hand, helps you get what you need based on agreement. It can help to achieve your goal, make progress in life or become independent.

Let us assume that a man has lost his job and needs money. He also thinks he has nothing of value. A friend found that he could produce bread and confectioneries. He also has a lot of customers that like his bread and confectioneries. His excuse for begging is that he has lost his job, he has nothing left—He needs money. When told about the idea of baking, he has excuses—he does not have money to start the business, no commercial baking equipment, no money to buy raw materials. ‘I need money for everything.’

Some people get stuck in a similar position today and never see a way to progress because they do not have what they need. You may have discovered that someone has it, and you can also have it for your use to achieve your own goal by negotiation. Yes, you do not have everything you require, but you can negotiate to get what you do not have from those that have it. You may not even need to pay for it from your pocket if you make favourable arrangements.

Let us consider what the man in the example above could do without money. He has skill and customers but nothing to produce. What does he need to get the income? Raw materials, commercial baking equipment, and so on. He could negotiate with those that have them, producing a business plan to share the risks and profits. Every party contributes to the business, shares the risks and profits in proportion according to their negotiation. If it is a convincing deal, they will part with their resources to contribute to the idea. The man at the end will have some gain that he would be proud of as well as every party that contributed. It could also fail, but every party shares the failure as well. It is an opportunity, if well harnessed, that could help initiate a change of circumstance.

Some professionals or traders have fallen victim to hard times, but they still have their skills and a track record of good performance. They do not have money to buy raw materials or goods to sell. They could negotiate with those that have it and come up with an agreement that benefits those involved. They receive the raw materials and process them to finished products, using their skills, time and energy. The sale of the products brings benefits to everyone that contributed. It could be an effective way to get back on track with low risk.

You can negotiate your way out of need. There could be services that could help you depending on what you have and what you need. I know of some organisations that set up solutions that give access to people that require professional services. They help you produce your product at no cost to you, sell it and share the profit according to the negotiated agreement. It is a win-win situation. You may not make as much profit as if you provided everything yourself, but you would not have made anything without them because you did not have everything you needed in the first place.

A young man once approached my car as I parked at a car park. He was hungry and would like to eat, but he did not beg for money. He offered to wash my car so that I could pay him for the service. I thought it was an honourable approach, although I gave him more than he could have gotten and told him he did not need to wash my car.

There could be some opportunities to earn money with dignity, which could help you get back on track. You could probably offer services to your neighbour, friends and colleagues. You do not have a job—you are available all day and need money. You can help other people with their needs or relevant services they pay for or would be willing to pay you for doing it. It is about offering value and helping them. If you could use your time to add value to others or make life easy or convenient, they could be willing to pay for your time. It could be to pick up groceries from a shop, house chores, cooking, gardening, fixing faulty equipment, school runs, installing new machines, among others. They could be some ways to earn some money.

If you have something you are good at doing, you can offer it to others. Look for those that need what you have, offer it at competitive prices, and you would be surprised that you have been wasting time all along. You can teach, but you do not have a job yet? Some students local to you could benefit from your skill. You can drive, but you are doing nothing at the moment? It can earn you some income. You may find someone with a car they do not use, or probably someone with a car but cannot drive. A good agreement can give you what you need and will benefit the parties involved. Waiting to get all you need may not be wise because you can use what you have now to negotiate to get what you need.

You can start something small with low risk. You can commence a business by engaging friends and family to help and share the risks and profits. Encourage everyone involved to learn to do what is involved, and you would see the business grow. It may not be perfect, but it could help you identify abilities that could change your situation. The feedback could help you believe in it and provide the confidence to do more. A young man once got his siblings to contribute time, energy or any available resource to an idea. It was a low risk as they had little or nothing to lose because they did not engage their time in any other productive thing. If they succeeded, however, it would change their situation for the better.

You may be in need, but you have access to some raw materials, someone has machinery that could process the raw materials, someone else has space for processing, and someone else has potential buyers for the end product. You cannot produce and finish the end product to make the maximum profit from those raw materials. You can negotiate and collaborate with everyone that could help you along the way by sharing the profit and challenges. You will get more profit and experiences than waiting for a sudden change of circumstance.

It may be a good idea to think of what you have and consider how you can use them to get what you need on your way to where you desire to be in the future. You may be worth more than you think if you consider negotiating for what you do not have.

To be continued next week, don’t miss it.

Thank you for investing time to read this post. I hope you have found it valuable. I will be glad to hear from you. Please leave a comment below and share.

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