The other day I had lunch at the newly established Skyz Hotel in Naguru. This place is grand and luxurious and the food was amazing. I am trying to develop a habit of hanging out at places where rich people usually hangout. This way I force my brain to start thinking and believing that I am already WEALTHY. I started reflecting on what kind of MINDSET it takes to build such a place. Obviously Patrick Bitature is one of the richest people in Uganda and we may suppose that he is the only one entitled to taking on such grand projects. However what Patrick has accomplished can be replicated with exact precision by any of us as long as we develop the RIGHT mindset.
This project might have come to him as a random fleeting idea which caught his IMAGINATION. The idea might have come from his wife, a friend, business partner, or from keen observation and reflection. He probably didn’t think much of it then. But being a serial entrepreneur he probably recognized the opportunity and knew how to bring it into existence. He nurtured this idea and slept on it. He probably asked himself a million questions. Do I have the money? Whom will I partner with? What unique service offering will I offer? Who will finance it? Who will manage the project? Do I have the land? How much will it cost? Will I succeed? Do I have the time and resources?
He probably had a BURNING DESIRE to make this project a reality with the ultimate aim of dedicating it to his wife. He also had deep FAITH in himself to make this reality. I am sure he was bombarded with all sorts of problems. But through it all he PERSISTED until his DREAM became a reality.
Patrick must have known that dreams without ACTION are merely WISHES. So he set up practical PLANS to achieve his dream. He must have contacted a top notch architect to translate his dream into visible architectural drawing and pictures. He probably displayed these architectural drawings in his office where he could see them daily. The architect must have given him a cost estimate for the project. The amount must have been overwhelming even for a rich man like Patrick. However he knew that money is usually not the challenge for an enterprising person and that there is a lot of money in the world to aid productive and ambitious people.
Once he had a clear VISION of what he wanted to achieve he set about finding a reputable contractor who could build this project. The contractor gave him a quotation and a detailed project plan on how to make the dream a reality.
Next he found the land. But this might not have been a challenge because this dream was conceived probably decades earlier. At that time Patrick should have realized that he would need strategically located land to build a grand hotel. So he might have acquired the land way before he began actively considering the project. At that point he didn’t really know when or how this dream would be realised. He just BELIEVED that it would come to pass.
Once he had the land and a clear vision plus the detailed drawings and plans he should have incorporated a separate company to handle this project. This way he was trying to actively manage the risk of project failure affecting his other business ventures.
He then went about looking for credible business partners. In this case it was the Protea and the Mariott Hotel Groups. They must have come to some sort of understanding in which they agreed the roles, responsibilities, risk, and profit sharing mechanism. Once they had reached agreement they must have proceeded to a bank or other financier to provide financing for the project.
The bank must have considered the credibility of the partners and the project economics before advancing the loan. Patrick must have used his other assets as collateral to secure the financing. A good lawyer must have helped with the negotiations and all the legal intricacies.
With money in place, a credible business partner, a good architect, and a good contractor he then set out to build the project. There must have been many challenges but for a resourceful person like Patrick he must have found a way through the multitude of problems.
As the project was ongoing Patrick must have began to assemble a team that would run the hotel once the construction was done. He then proceeded to train the team in proper hotel management and excellent customer service. Critical among the team should have been someone in marketing and sales whose sole job was to sell the new project to potential customers even before the project was complete.
Sooner or later the project became a reality and I was blessed to have a meal in this magnificent place all because someone dared to DREAM BIG.
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