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. No business plan:. When you are starting a business without any comprehensive business plan, its more like embarking on a journey to a city without map and description. Such business is likely to be dead on arrival.
2.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.
3.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.
4. 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 afford it”. 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 founder of facebook, he still advertise his business on AdSense despite his huge database.
5. 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 Jonathan leaves aso rock..
6. 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.
7. 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 baboon, he started business last year and folded up this year” forgetting the fact that they contributed to your downfall.
8. 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.
9. 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. Na their “2face” and the “Idibia” formatted your brain.
10. 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 interms 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.
11. 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 go to 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 belief in..