Business killers in Nigeria

After taking critical surveys about business. I did a lot of researches on various business men and women, I studied their growths and downfall and I came up with this great business killers. Please be very concious about them.
1.POOR BUSINESS BACKGROUND : if you will agree with me. Many people just jump into business because they liked it, some was because they see another person making huge profits from it, some were influenced by friends or relatives. Only few had the full background knowledge of the businesses. I was at a computer centre weeks back and I saw a woman who brought her son for computer training. I was surprised when the operator told her to bring 3,000 for 3 months training. I asked him after the woman’s departure that did he attended any computer training before setting up this business?, he replied that “not at all, I practised it on my brother’s computer and I became an expert”. I replied“no wonder” and said nothing. Because ordinary desktop publishing should go for nothing less than 6,000. Especially for 3 months.
2.POOR ENTREPRENEUR SPIRIT: many people has the money and idea to set up a business but the entrepreneur spirit is lacking. The spirit to keep business moving even out of season, the spirit to stand firm during challenges and the spirit to maximise. The spirit to take risks, The spirit to withstand insults from customers and threats from competitors, the spirit to face challenges. That’s why most people fold up business when the flows they foresaw wasn’t coming in as they expected. I will encourage people in this category to read books about successful entrepreneurship.
3. POOR MARKETING STRATEGY: many people do business without efficient marketing. I was looking for where to take an urgent passport one day. I asked 3 people in that street about where to get a passport photographer and no one could direct me. It was the 4th person that pointed to a shop closer to me. I was surprised because I had passed the shop without knowing something like that was been operated there. I got there and took the passport. I asked him, “why not get a good advertisement signboard to show passersby that you run this business?” I was shocked when he replied me that “is it ontop this my kobo-kobo business I go put signboard?, besides, state government will charge me 10k every year, and I can’t affordit”. I was like WTF?, a good signboard will attract more than 10 people daily to patronise you beyond your neighbourhood but he was “inconvinceable”. A business without strategic marketing and advertisement will render the growth of the business stagnant and slow. Ask seun osewa, he dey advertise, that’s why you would see “HOW TO PLACE TARGETED adson nairaland” because the more the awareness, the more the income flow.
4. POOR SPENDING HABBIT: as a good businessman, especially the newbies, you have to be concious of the way you spend, your spending should be from your profits and not your capital. And for a better business growth, 40% of your profit should be added to your next capital. Otherwise, you will remain in your first capital capacity till Buhari leaves aso rock..
5. POOR SAVING HABBIT: no matter how small the business is, always cultivate a non-withdrawable savings in your rainy seasons. You can never tell what the future holds. You might need to diversify your business in future, repair generators, pay bills and you might suddenly impregnate a poor man’s daughter. So this savings will save you during the dry seasons.
6. FAMILY AND FRIENDS: yes!!, here comes a great business killer. When you are doing business, always set a boundary for your family and friends. Let them pay for the services rendered to them most especially when the money is needed to get another goods. The good news is that, if you keep rendering free service to friends and family especially as a newbie in the business, you mite go broke and run dry. The same friends and family will be the first to insult you saying “look at that goat, he started business last year and folded up this year” forgetting the fact that they contributed to your downfall.
7. POOR TIME MANAGEMENT: you will all agree with me that “Time na money” do your work when you are supposed to work, spend much of your time strategizing on expansion than the time you use on social networks to catch fun, unless you are there for business purpose. Remember, social network owners are making their money from your poor time management.
8. EXCESSIVE DEMANDING RELATIONSHIP: you will agree with me that some girlfriends are so cruel when it comes to money demands. They can demand money more than your profit at a go. Some don’t care about how you make the money and the need on ground to keep business moving, all they always wanted is financial satisfaction. I don’t need to advice you on this area. When your shop folded up, they will dump you for a fresh rich guy. And bros,don’t waste your time cursing them, it will not have any effect because you weren’t robbed. Remember the lyrical Amaka that always disappoints 9. SELFISHNESS ON BUSINESS IDEAS . After making a lot of researches on numerous dead companies. I came to realize that so many CEOs were very selfish about the ideas of the business they run, they don’t disclose it to family and co-workers. Though it has its advantages in terms of competitors. But what happens when you fall sick or die?, who will succeed the seat of the CEO?, is he/she properly trained on how to keep the business going?.That’s why when I checked the operation of Yahoo, Google, Facebook etc, there is no special office of the CEO, the owners work together plainly with many staffs as a BOARD. They open ideas to one-another and the organisation will keep moving because the blueprint is opened. Unlike the africolas and time-colas of Nigeria.
10. THE GOD FACTOR. If you are a christian, muslim, atheist, or traditional worshipper, there is always this “supreme-being” factors that you have to always call on for the spiritual business growth. If you know how far and long your competitors goto carry sacrifices, going on fast and prayers, visiting pastors , babalawos and imams just to outshine you in that business,then you would know how to involve your own supreme being whom you believe in..

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Woman, please invest!

I listened to Sade Adu’s ''sweetest taboo’’ recently and nodded my head in soothing appreciation to this old classic tune. What ever happened to fine music of the 80’s? They don’t make music like this anymore.

Sade has great talent backed with amazing vocals and wish she would release another inspirational album soon. Women are doing big things these days and more women are breaking barriers.

The world is fast changing, just like the investment world is rapidly changing but sometimes wonder why few women invest in the stock market. Seriously, the old days of putting money in a savings account and watching its slow interest growth drowned by a higher inflation rate is over.

We are in the age where technology keeps blowing the minds of many, and an artificial intelligence app can monitor all your investments and trigger when to hold or sell.

“I am afraid that I will lose my hard-earned cash”, is actually the most common answer I receive when I ask a woman why she keeps all her money in a savings account. Sometimes, she may continue by saying “I can’t be bothered really, I can just pile it up in my account, that way I know it is safe’’.

Others will say ''The market is unwelcoming, male dominated and full of jargon’’ while some even feel the investment services advertised all around are not aimed at them. This is why an investment service aimed solely at women to educate them about finance and investing will do well in Nigeria.

Some women think this is a risky thing to do and would rather remain in their comfort zones. A comfort zone is a beautiful place to be, but nothing ever grows there. In life, you have to grow and evolve, just as the world evolves around us. Do not remain static, else, the world leaves you behind.

The major reason why I invest my money in the stock market instead of leaving it in the equivalent of cash in my bank account is because I am so risk averse. Following my educational and experience, I believe a woman who doesn’t invest is actually taking on more risk than I do, because if she loses her job for example, she probably would have nothing else that would generate income for her. She then dips her hands into the savings till it probably dries up. What if her husband is facing a similar challenge and unable to sustain her? It becomes a battle.

Also, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s inflation rate has been dropping consistently for the past four quarters. Inflation is an economic tax and if you put money in a savings account, the economic tax you pay exceeds the return from your savings account. To ensure that your return is higher than the economic tax you pay, it is wise to put your money in an investment that pays you more money with more favorable returns.

The first step is to make up your mind that investing in stocks is an area you would like to explore, and then take up steps to learn about it. With this mindset, you will be on your way to having a winning portfolio.

Here, we equip you with tutorials, recommendations and market news to help you become a seasoned investor. Fear not woman, take up the challenge.

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Don't entertain fear

I saw the movie ‘’Justice League” recently and it delivered just what it promised; excitement, adrenaline rush and the desire for more. I am not usually a movie fanatic, but this by far surpasses any fictional movie I have seen in a while. I hear Thor is good too, but I am yet to see that.

Justice League is basically about the formation of an unprecedented league of heroes who recruit a strategy to fight against a newly awakened enemy who has tried to instill fear and pain into citizens of that nation while stealing their mother boxes. The mother boxes are major sources of power and unity and the enemy stole this before they formed the rescue league to retrieve them back to their community.

Fear is healthy. It is an essential instinct that has kept humans alive. We all know that gut-level feeling of fear, followed by a reaction of fight or flight. When fear strikes in the investment world, we often see investors trip and stumble as the urge to flee takes over. A race for the exits can be costly, and with the benefit of hindsight, is often the wrong reaction.

When the market gets scary what other option can one employ rather than fleeing the scene? People new to investing in stocks associate it with intense feelings of fear and stress. Investing in anything, especially the stock market, when you don’t know anything can be scary and incomprehensible. Learning how to invest and understanding what you are investing in will give you the confidence you need over time to start putting your money into the stock market.

When a car is overheating for example, and suddenly goes up in flames, there is a natural instinct of fear and flight for safety and self-preservation, but not all unsettling situations require flight. If we immediately run from every loud or unfamiliar noise, we would probably be on the run all day long.

Imagine waking up on a Saturday morning and the first headline you read in the dailies is ‘’ Largest investment bomb, profits vanish’’, that would scare any investor and prompt irrational action. However, the thoughtful investor puts these scary events into perspective and processes the facts, before taking action.

There are a few tips you can use to eliminate fear, and subsequently become a successful investor in Nigeria and around the world. The first tip is to educate yourself. Having knowledge is an essential asset to becoming successful. When you are educated on the market, and learn what to watch for, you will gain an understanding of when to buy and sell and feel more comfortable making decisions.

You need to set reasonable goals. Ask yourself this question: Where do you see yourself in five years? Setting goals allows you to overpower fear with determination. Once your desired outcome is set, you put yourself in a compelling and motivational place to achieve those goals. You must also have an investment strategy to work with. When you have a plan, your strategy must be comprehensible enough to enable you execute it. Here, we equip you with tools and resources that will help you achieve your goals.

Sometimes not everything goes as planned, so don’t feel discouraged. There is always room for improvement and as long as you do not let fear cripple you, you become like the heroes in Justice League who didn’t allow fear cripple them. They fought back and retrieved the mother boxes which brought back hope and unity to their community. Kick against your fears for beyond them lies greatness!

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