Years ago I started a beef feedlot and slaughterhouse in Ethiopia. It was a for-profit business but would provide jobs and a market for people who had none.
The only way to scale the business was to grow our own corn for feed, and we needed a HUGE amount of land to do it on.👇
The only way to scale the business was to grow our own corn for feed, and we needed a HUGE amount of land to do it on.👇
All of the usual routes to get that land were dead ends, so I decided I would try to go straight to the Prime Minister.
Problem was I didn’t have any connections to him. So I wrote a compelling letter and got some fancy looking folders made with our logo on them.
Problem was I didn’t have any connections to him. So I wrote a compelling letter and got some fancy looking folders made with our logo on them.
I found out where the visitor entrance to the palace was and went there every day for 16 days. Each time I would drop off a new version of the letter with a bit more info about us. Eventually there were enough of my letters on his desk that he picked up the phone and called me.
It was 10 PM when he called, but he was the nicest guy. He said he was excited about what my company would do for the country and wanted to give me the land I needed. “How much land do you want?” He asked at the end of the call.
I knew of a parcel that the government owned that was 8000 acres. I told him I wanted that one. “The whole thing” “yes sir” I replied. The next day someone from his office called me to tell me that he has been tasked with changing the name on the title of the land over to me.
Moral of the story. Be unashamedly persistent. It was absurd to go to the PM, it was even more absurd to drop off a letter every day, but it got his attention and got me the 8000 acres of land that I wanted for free.
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