Nepa is the main reasons why many business crumble in Nigeria

folyboy2013:
Nepa is the main reasons why many business crumble in Nigeria

I don't think you are right.

Give 24 hourss light to many business and avail a loan to them... they will still crumble. Many people have an idea to start a business but no idea on how to run it. Both are very different thing. Running a business is unlike playing a game. Business is about people and people cannot be predicted. You might wake up and discover that most customers now have different preference and it is smart work of your team that can get the customer back and win other customers. Though it is not a rocket science but it is achievable.

One of the things to clear is what most Nigerian entrepreneurs consider to be a business.

Most Nigerians imagine a business to be a venture where you put money in and get more out of it. Well, the answer to this is YES and NO.
I would say a good business is that venture you put money in when it has a potential to yeild more.

When I started my hospitality business about 2009, I was already into interactive video gaming, Poultry, barbing and hairdressing, retail selling including drinks and foods from 2005 or thereabout.

In all of this, Video gaming wasn't very profitable but I did it with a passion that people admired but I couldn’t grow it into having mature customers over about 15% so the power to improve on pricing was very low. Again this business was very power (electricity) intensive.

I stopped investing in the poultry business because I did not have the time to source for the market for it at the time and suffered some setback in 2005 due to the bird flu scare at the time.

Barbing and hair dressing had to go because what the barbers or hairdressers wanted in order to be dedicated was like a pound of flesh and they were never satisfied. I realized here that businesses that require skilled personnel require a bit of knowledge and just being an investor wasn't enough to sustain the business. You have to be ready to do some hands on and show some know-how.
I set everything down to just a bar and the interactive game business. But still had to put in some money to meet up overheads and it still needed a lot of my own personal skills to solve some real technical issues.

After spending some years working in the oilfield I thought it was time to push things up a bit see if the income could cross over the expenditure line, of course by investing further and giving it more of my time like over 25 times more.

Now its mixed stories, sometimes its good sometimes I just wish I never started in the first place.

With 3 bars, a 24hour kitchen and an 11 room Guest house in a very bad electricity zone, my story as a business man depends on how I want to view it.

When I started, a friend rented a space from me and set up a cyber cafe, he stopped within the first year because of cost and the fact that he wanted the business to make money while he had to mind something else. This is always where most of the concern comes in.

WHO SHOULD TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS?

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iukpe:
One of the things to clear is what most Nigerian entrepreneurs consider to be a business.

Most Nigerians imagine a business to be a venture where you put money in and get more out of it. Well, the answer to this is YES and NO.
I would say a good business is that venture you put money in when it has a potential to yeild more.

When I started my hospitality business about 2009, I was already into interactive video gaming, Poultry, barbing and hairdressing, retail selling including drinks and foods from 2005 or thereabout.

In all of this, Video gaming wasn't very profitable but I did it with a passion that people admired but I couldn’t grow it into having mature customers over about 15% so the power to improve on pricing was very low. Again this business was very power (electricity) intensive.

I stopped investing in the poultry business because I did not have the time to source for the market for it at the time and suffered some setback in 2005 due to the bird flu scare at the time.

Barbing and hair dressing had to go because what the barbers or hairdressers wanted in order to be dedicated was like a pound of flesh and they were never satisfied. I realized here that businesses that require skilled personnel require a bit of knowledge and just being an investor wasn't enough to sustain the business. You have to be ready to do some hands on and show some know-how.
I set everything down to just a bar and the interactive game business. But still had to put in some money to meet up overheads and it still needed a lot of my own personal skills to solve some real technical issues.

After spending some years working in the oilfield I thought it was time to push things up a bit see if the income could cross over the expenditure line, of course by investing further and giving it more of my time like over 25 times more.

Now its mixed stories, sometimes its good sometimes I just wish I never started in the first place.

With 3 bars, a 24hour kitchen and an 11 room Guest house in a very bad electricity zone, my story as a business man depends on how I want to view it.

When I started, a friend rented a space from me and set up a cyber cafe, he stopped within the first year because of cost and the fact that he wanted the business to make money while he had to mind something else. This is always where most of the concern comes in.

WHO SHOULD TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS?

I am glad you shared you stories and i can vividly tell you that our story is not far different from other stories that I have got in the past.

Most Nigerians don't understand the meaning of owning a business and being an investor. They often think that both are just business. Another factors is that they want to make huge amount of money in less than 6 months.No No.. Thingd don't work like that.during the start of a business, it takes aproximately about 2 years for some business to turn over and start making profits. This is while most business does not last up to 3 years because the owner wants to be like Aliko Dangote in 2 years. Business is not a get rich quick thing. You have to start small and grow with time.

Hospitality business as a real estate business is very lucrative and capital intensive. The main thing you have to conside when venturing in this business is Location as it plays a very significant role on the success of the business. You can build a guest house in local village and expect people to patronize it when they have a lot to fear.

Another thing is that they start many business at the same time without the history of yet running a succesful business. You have to start with one and concentrate fully on it. When it records hude suuccess that you most have build a team that can take care of it at your absent and you can now move to other business. Don't mix vital things together.

About constant power...Well contant power is very important thing but people often forget that when ever that Nigeria begins to have constant power , the electricity tariif will increasy by 400% or more with government tax of about 10% in it. This is directly proportional to the Generator that people are using now to generate electricity and i don't see it as a big issue. There are many ways to generate electricity.

Another factor is that becaue people have in mind that once they start a business, they will start making money immediately....They forget the possible challenges a business can bring and when they are faced with these challenges, they mostly give up. Let me tell you that Even Google face a more challenge and nearly sell off its company for 1 million dollar in 1999 but they later regain strenght and today is the highest searh engine with the same CEO at the head. It takes patient, critical analysia of the problem and actions to move ahead.

In answering your question...Who should take care of your business?

You are the one to take care of your business. You are the one to build the great team that can represent your idea when you are not around. Don't let any one who has not experience take care of your business. Business is not like driving a car where you crash the car and take it to the workshop. Get experience team to work with. Find a mentor to coah you in business.

Learn new things about your business

Educate your self always so that you can come up with innovative ideas.

I hope this helps Sir.


I wait for your commendation.

Kudos to the OP for this great article. Also, I will add impatience, reckless spending and greediness as some of the many other reasons why businesses fail to flourish, crumble and get short-lived within a very short period of time.

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folyboy2013:
Nepa is the main reasons why many business crumble in Nigeria

Not all businesses use power. I am into 3 businesses yet none needs power..

Remember that dwelling on excuses is tantamount to limiting your success. Look inside for the failures and how to overcome them.

REASON WHY NIGERIA IS STILL WHERE WE ARE:

Look at a thread like this, despite being on the front page for a while now, haven't gone past the second page, despite Nairaland users consisting of at least 80% youths

Now compare this with threads that have to do with celebrity gossip or tribal/bigotry rants and we would be at the tenth page in the least now

Zero interest on matters that have to do with hard work and entrepreneurship, but we all want good things to come our way and we'll live like kings, and if GEJ can't make us rich men overnight we 'vote' him out and bring in GMB(messiah/miracle worker), and quote me on this: in four years time when its apparent GMB isn't going to make them rich men overnight, they'll 'vote' him out and bring in another Messiah/miracle worker

Its so embarrassing to the point of excruciating pain, how lazy and unenterprising Nigerian youths are and yet we hope to be a better country in the future?

Thanks op for the article. It's very educative.

valarinz:
REASON WHY NIGERIA IS STILL WHERE WE ARE:

Look at a thread like this, despite being on the front page for a while now, haven't gone past the second page, despite Nairaland users consisting of at least 80% youths

Now compare this with threads that have to do with celebrity gossip or tribal/bigotry rants and we would be at the tenth page in the least now

Zero interest on matters that have to do with hard work and entrepreneurship, but we all want good things to come our way and we'll live like kings, and if GEJ can't make us rich men overnight we 'vote' him out and bring in GMB(messiah/miracle worker), and quote me on this: in four years time when its apparent GMB isn't going to make them rich men overnight, they'll 'vote' him out and bring in another Messiah/miracle worker

Its so embarrassing to the point of excruciating pain, how lazy and unenterprising Nigerian youths are and yet we hope to be a better country in the future?

You are Right Sir.

true talk

valarinz:
REASON WHY NIGERIA IS STILL WHERE WE ARE:

Look at a thread like this, despite being on the front page for a while now, haven't gone past the second page, despite Nairaland users consisting of at least 80% youths

Now compare this with threads that have to do with celebrity gossip or tribal/bigotry rants and we would be at the tenth page in the least now

Zero interest on matters that have to do with hard work and entrepreneurship, but we all want good things to come our way and we'll live like kings, and if GEJ can't make us rich men overnight we 'vote' him out and bring in GMB(messiah/miracle worker), and quote me on this: in four years time when its apparent GMB isn't going to make them rich men overnight, they'll 'vote' him out and bring in another Messiah/miracle worker

Its so embarrassing to the point of excruciating pain, how lazy and unenterprising Nigerian youths are and yet we hope to be a better country in the future?

You really do have a point. It's quite shocking, I must say.

WHO SHOULD TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS?

Most Nigerian businesses suffer because their owners don’t spend enough time to learn about their business and what the business really needs. Therefore they are not capable of giving the care the business needs.
So they either employ someone who isn’t committed or someone who is, but will eventually leave someday for something else.
Some entrepreneurs are so scared of staffing but not from their experiences but from experiences of others so they get their relatives from home to come and keep watch over their retail store or restaurant or even bigger businesses. This works sometimes if you have a relative who is hard working, enterprising and of course loyal which you can say is having a sense of ownership. Some relatives still do worse than strangers at the end of the day.

The big issues like Wilsonl has mentioned are Accounting, management, marketing, financing etc.
Management embodies so many things. You have to be able to visualize every business daily activity to be sure you are on track. For some businesses this is very obvious but for some you have to deal with daily data collection and analysis in order to decide the specific activity for every new day.

Employee Activity is very important. While working in the oil field for many years with a multinational, I realized that my company focused on ensuring that their employees were actually interested in their work or at least had to be interested. So you attend training courses, do regular assessments and you had something your employer looks at to measure commitment. As much as possible you have to be able to assess the business and the staff.

People lack the ability to measure the work done in the business by employees, no matter how small the business, I have found out that ensuring that your employee works in the business is important as opening for business daily. I mean being able to evaluate your staff’s daily contribution to the business. This means that if you do not engage your employee with duty in the business you will never have something to assess him or her on. To tell whether they did their best that day or not.

Our young people today and many Nigerians are not willing to work, think or apply themselves positively. Mental challenges are killing, people don’t want to read job descriptions, work guidelines, understand pricelists or put down work reports in most cases because they want to come to work sit and just earn a salary at month end. I tell you some graduates also behave and think this way.

You have to set a standard for your employees at every level and ensure that they consider themselves relevant first in the workplace by allowing them take responsibility and make a report of their work, ensuring that they are accountable every little inch. I have seen employees quit because they felt their job would require them handling cash not records which it turned out to be.

valarinz:
REASON WHY NIGERIA IS STILL WHERE WE ARE:

Look at a thread like this, despite being on the front page for a while now, haven't gone past the second page, despite Nairaland users consisting of at least 80% youths

Now compare this with threads that have to do with celebrity gossip or tribal/bigotry rants and we would be at the tenth page in the least now

Zero interest on matters that have to do with hard work and entrepreneurship, but we all want good things to come our way and we'll live like kings, and if GEJ can't make us rich men overnight we 'vote' him out and bring in GMB(messiah/miracle worker), and quote me on this: in four years time when its apparent GMB isn't going to make them rich men overnight, they'll 'vote' him out and bring in another Messiah/miracle worker

Its so embarrassing to the point of excruciating pain, how lazy and unenterprising Nigerian youths are and yet we hope to be a better country in the future?

You find this attitude on business, technology and other positive/ educational threads. Then they become full of abusive wreck-less comments that don't further the discussion.

You are right guy.

Here are some success tips on how someone can succeed.
www.learnerstools.com/2015/04/what-success-is-all-about.html?m=0

Also here is the secret of success
www.learnerstools.com/2015/03/29-secrets-to-be-billionaire_10.html?m=0

iukpe:
One of the things to clear is what most Nigerian entrepreneurs consider to be a business.

Most Nigerians imagine a business to be a venture where you put money in and get more out of it. Well, the answer to this is YES and NO.
I would say a good business is that venture you put money in when it has a potential to yeild more.

When I started my hospitality business about 2009, I was already into interactive video gaming, Poultry, barbing and hairdressing, retail selling including drinks and foods from 2005 or thereabout.

In all of this, Video gaming wasn't very profitable but I did it with a passion that people admired but I couldn’t grow it into having mature customers over about 15% so the power to improve on pricing was very low. Again this business was very power (electricity) intensive.

I stopped investing in the poultry business because I did not have the time to source for the market for it at the time and suffered some setback in 2005 due to the bird flu scare at the time.

Barbing and hair dressing had to go because what the barbers or hairdressers wanted in order to be dedicated was like a pound of flesh and they were never satisfied. I realized here that businesses that require skilled personnel require a bit of knowledge and just being an investor wasn't enough to sustain the business. You have to be ready to do some hands on and show some know-how.
I set everything down to just a bar and the interactive game business. But still had to put in some money to meet up overheads and it still needed a lot of my own personal skills to solve some real technical issues.

After spending some years working in the oilfield I thought it was time to push things up a bit see if the income could cross over the expenditure line, of course by investing further and giving it more of my time like over 25 times more.

Now its mixed stories, sometimes its good sometimes I just wish I never started in the first place.

With 3 bars, a 24hour kitchen and an 11 room Guest house in a very bad electricity zone, my story as a business man depends on how I want to view it.

When I started, a friend rented a space from me and set up a cyber cafe, he stopped within the first year because of cost and the fact that he wanted the business to make money while he had to mind something else. This is always where most of the concern comes in.

WHO SHOULD TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS?

Most people just shout capital and I laugh. We started big and later started operating small.

It is always better to start small. I started with one business but in a big way with two warehouses and when it went bad, i closed shop completely and veered into another business. After sometime, I went back to the first business but in a small and more profitable arrangement(with experience).

Now I do like 3 or more businesses with 2 being profitable supporting the later two to break even. Business is a very tough process.

Naughtysite:


Most people just shout capital and I laugh. We started big and later started operating small.

It is always better to start small. I started with one business but in a big way with two warehouses and when it went bad, i closed shop completely and veered into another business. After sometime, I went back to the first business but in a small and more profitable arrangement(with experience).

Now I do like 3 or more businesses with 2 being profitable supporting the later two to break even. Business is a very tough process.

You are right bro. You can never tell anyone who wants to do the same thing you are doing just how to go about it all. Experience is the best teacher.

Nice

iukpe:


You find this attitude on business, technology and other positive/ educational threads. Then they become full of abusive wreck-less comments that don't further the discussion.

My brother, its so painful to me that words can't explain how I feel at times, I joined Nairaland as far back as 2008 all in the hope of hooking up with my fellow young minds and sharing information and/or experiences that will bring about positive impact on our lives and hustles(not discounting a little entertainment every now and then), but its been such a disappointment.

And it seems as the years go down, it gets worse and that's where my real worry for this country stems.

valarinz:


My brother, its so painful to me that words can't explain how I feel at times, I joined Nairaland as far back as 2008 all in the hope of hooking up with my fellow young minds and sharing information and/or experiences that will bring about positive impact on our lives and hustles(not discounting a little entertainment every now and then), but its been such a disappointment.

And it seems as the years go down, it gets worse and that's where my real worry for this country stems.

I guess the socio-psychological revolution will require that we use what we have to correct the trend. Since more and more people are going online today. Nairaland has become a huge chat room, sort-of.
Most Nigerian youngsters have no idea that things can be done better organized and with them in mind. Its a Jungle out here for all from their view. They have never seen things done differently and cant see anyone really trying to do it anyway, so...what do you expect. There is a great impact on our minds from what we see especially for youths still learning to live life from what they see on the streets, on the school campuses, on TV and the use of language. Using the same forum like Nairaland might be a way to send the message and try to change the orientation.

internetpo:
@ Osasboy. After so many years of hearing it, I have not really understood how this 'outsourcing accounting' really works and for me I love my privacy O. Dont like the idea of a 3rd party poking into my accounts or privy to my books.

Outsourcing is an alternative way of getting expertise to work for you when you do not have the qualified hands in your firm.
Well,i will tell you if you are a true entrepreneur that wants to grow you don't need to worry about privacy of your book because you must get an Accountant to manage your books.
This is how it works...instead of going through the stress of hiring an Accountant that may not be productive,you may decide to get an experienced Accountant (with track record) and engage him on a contract basis to provide the Accounting duties.
Some of the benefits are as ff

1. You will be able to concentrate on the core business operation .
2. The outsourcee carries out professional job based on experience
3. He advises you professional advise on area outsourced.
4. It eliminate employment error
5. Affordable

iukpe:

You are right bro. You can never tell anyone who wants to do the same thing you are doing just how to go about it all. Experience is the best teacher.

That is the spirit of a true entrepreneur
You had the determination to succeed and must have learned from you initial mistakes,thus the reason you came back small.
There is no biz without challenges, but you must critically examine the challenges and fix them and trust me biz will be good again

iukpe:


I guess the socio-psychological revolution will require that we use what we have to correct the trend. Since more and more people are going online today. Nairaland has become a huge chat room, sort-of.
Most Nigerian youngsters have no idea that things can be done better organized and with them in mind. Its a Jungle out here for all from their view. They have never seen things done differently and cant see anyone really trying to do it anyway, so...what do you expect. There is a great impact on our minds from what we see especially for youths still learning to live life from what they see on the streets, on the school campuses, on TV and the use of language. Using the same forum like Nairaland might be a way to send the message and try to change the orientation.

So true, we can try, and even this thread and discourse gives me joy and hope, at least to find out that there are still people out there who have what it takes to try to make our society a better one

Just one thread which I've bumped into on Nairaland on my quest for knowledge when I wanted to open a poultry farm have lived up to my expectations,
https://www.nairaland.com/640716/starting-poultry-farm-blog

the thread has been a reservoir of experiences and information, its a daily contribution of poultry farmers' experiences and possible solutions proffered by anyone knowledgeable enough

More of this type of thread is what I expect to dominate Nairaland but the reverse seems to be the case, the mods seems to also fuel the sour trend(of promoting tribal/bigotry and celebrity gossip) cos it seems to drive the needed traffic for their gains, imagine always logging in to Nairaland on a daily basis to be greeted with topics about what tonto dikeh wore in her bathroom

iukpe:


I guess the socio-psychological revolution will require that we use what we have to correct the trend. Since more and more people are going online today. Nairaland has become a huge chat room, sort-of.
Most Nigerian youngsters have no idea that things can be done better organized and with them in mind. Its a Jungle out here for all from their view. They have never seen things done differently and cant see anyone really trying to do it anyway, so...what do you expect. There is a great impact on our minds from what we see especially for youths still learning to live life from what they see on the streets, on the school campuses, on TV and the use of language. Using the same forum like Nairaland might be a way to send the message and try to change the orientation.

So true, we can try, and even this thread and discourse gives me joy and hope, at least to find out that there are still people out there who have what it takes to try to make our society a better one

Just one thread which I've bumped into on Nairaland on my quest for knowledge when I wanted to open a poultry farm have lived up to my expectations,
https://www.nairaland.com/640716/starting-poultry-farm-blog

the thread has been a reservoir of experiences and information, its a daily contribution of poultry farmers' experiences and possible solutions proffered by anyone knowledgeable enough

More of this type of thread is what I expect to dominate Nairaland but the reverse seems to be the case, the mods seems to also fuel the sour trend(of promoting tribal/bigotry and celebrity gossip) cos it seems to drive the needed traffic for their gains, imagine always logging in to Nairaland on a daily basis to be greeted with topics about what tonto dikeh wore in her bathroom

In my opinion, there are reason(s) i think ANY business will fail anywhere especially in Nigeria


PASSION - You need to be passionate about why you are in a line of business. Most people simply go in to make money. I am not saying that you should lose money in your business, but if you are passionate about what you do, it carries you that much further in it.

When it was the craze to own a poultry, most people only listen to presentations on how much return the eggs can bring. They fail to realize the amount of work that goes behind the scene. However, the zeal you have for the job will make you persevere during lean and troubled times.

GROWTH - All business requires growth and nurture. If you are new into a field, it always good to start small and go from there. Starting small does not say you stay small. It will give you a good knowledge of the business before you expand. You can raise 2,000 birds for 2 years before expanding to 100,000 birds. That will have given you enough hands on knowledge. A 1 week workshop cannot prepare you for challenges 100,000 birds will bring.
There is a guy trying to get into car hire business and looking to take a loan/hire purchase for Camry muscle worth almost N2.2m. Factor in the loan rate etc, by the end of payment he will have paid about N4m
Somebody like that can get a super clean pencil/orobo and develop his customers. If you have your good customers, you can then get a nicer car and will be able to pay the loan faster.

SUPPORT - Our culture respect and support foreign owned business that a Nigerian owned business. It amazes me how our boys will work to death for Indian/Chinese companies without missing a day and always on time. If they are hired by a Nigeria company they will always have excuse why they are late or cannot come to work. Banks are also more willing to grant loan to foreign business as opposed to local ones.

The business climate is same for everybody, why does the Chinese make it and we don't? No light for them too. They run generator as everybody. Yet they make it.

I will add more as i remember more

Persistence:
Sometimes the difference between a business that succeeds and one that fails is the ability to keep going when the going gets tough.

StevensJojo:
Persistence:
Sometimes the difference between a business that succeeds and one that fails is the ability to keep going when the going gets tough.

You are right.

MKO4ever:
Seconded

Nice one

Naughtysite:
Experience is better than Capital.

There is no substitute for field experience.

both are very important and vital 2 d growth of any business....its like our body parts...no one is less important Dan d other...all are essential!

openmine:

both are very important and vital 2 d growth of any business....its like our body parts...no one is less important Dan d other...all are essential!

You can always find your way around lack of capital. You can be creative. If you are good in what u do, people will not mind in depositing upfront, hence solving your capital issue.

If you dont know what u are doing or s*ck at it, no amount of money can save you. Otherwise banks wont be failing. They at least have the money but lack good mode of operation.

USAutoBuy:


You can always find your way around lack of capital. You can be creative. If you are good in what u do, people will not mind in depositing upfront, hence solving your capital issue.

If you dont know what u are doing or s*ck at it, no amount of money can save you. Otherwise banks wont be failing. They at least have the money but lack good mode of operation.

Neva underestimate d power of capital 4 a growing business...it will take u 2 ur el Dorado faster...Dats y its important... and u must know dat dere r businesses dat require capitals...just as dere r businesses dat require little or no capital 2 start up...hence capital is very important!

I am not saying capital is not important. but if i have to chose one, i will take experience. with experience YOU can still grow if you are creative with capital sourcing. Its still going to be capital but not YOUR own

But growing is IMPOSSIBLE with no experience to do good job and attract more clients