No single person knows every trick for business success. Why did i start by saying this ? It was not long ago, earlier in the year 2016, that news spread that a basket of tomatoes was selling for N300 in the north. And the richest black man as a visionary businessman who had already observed this trend over the years noting the time of tomato abundance and the produce wastage suffered by tomato farmers in the north owing to total absense of storage facilities and preservation methods, he embarked on the construction of a tomato paste factory.

Suddenly on the completion of his factory, the once abundant food produce dissapeared into thin air and became as scarce as the US dollar in the FX market. Comments started flying up and down as to how he made a business mistake. The truth is if you have never made mistakes in business, you will not have the requisite knowledge to run it successfully.

What am i driving at ? I am trying to put up a template for business success that will guarantee at least a 70% business success rate. Saying 100% may be tantamount to wish wash.

I personally have made several business mistakes that almost led me to tears. But the only route to success is trying every time you fail. My friends in business have also regalled me of tales of their business goofs.

So here we go.

Owkay! I am waiting...

1. Be level headed :. Most successful businessmen i know and admire are level headed. They are agreeable. They are never confrontational even if they do not agree with you, they always have a niceway of passing across their position so they wont appear rude. I have been a failure in this area. Bash. I have lost several repeat customers to this silly attitude. Now when my big customer tells me he needs my goods in large quantity and the PRICE of that commodity has changed, i wont tell him about the price change on phone. He might cancel the purchase. I will quietly go to his office maybe after making the supply and tell him oga, this commodity add price o. Its N50 costlier per unit but i wanted telling you when you are in a good mood. Someone may disagree with this trick but sure i have lost alot of patronage from this particular man due to price sensitivity and this time it worked for me.

2. Avoid controversy :. Some people are just naturally quarrelsome and irritable. They fight with their wives at home, fight with their neighbors at home, fight with their business neighbors and subsequently transfer same to their customers. Some will even impregnate their girlfriend and refuse to marry her. Guy, you are just spoiling your business because nobody will hear such story and come to patronize you. In mycase, they said i too like fine girls. Now i dont chase anything in skirt again. Hallelujah !!!

3. Dream big :. When setting off on a business, guy dream that your corporate headquarters will be located in New York. If e no work, highest you go land for Lagos. Dream of 100 staff, too bad, you will have 10 members of staff. Dream of N100billion monthly turnover. At all at all nah N10m. To sum it up, dream big but start small. This takes us to number 4.

4. Start small :. If you are newbie in business and you have two office spaces you are considering to rent, say one is N20,000 per month, the other is N10,000 per month. If both have good locations, go for the N10,000 office space. Your projections before starting a business are different from reality. Operating costs will soon surface that you didnt take into consideration when you started. And profit is something you cannot determine until you have started. So as your business grows bigger then you can rent a bigger space..

5. Be dependable :. You need to cultivate dependability and reliability to succeed in business. If you have a repeat customer who has done business with you over a long time and you can put your profit on his head say N100k, if he comes to ask for N50k goods on credit, give him. I am referring to repeat customers who have never failed in past payments not anybody. If he can depend on you when he has no money, he will not look elsewhere when he has the money for cash and carry. Also let your YES be yes. Let your No be no. Keep a straight tongue. Don't dupe your customers.

6. Never lose a sale :. Never allow a customer to leave because he is not offering your expected profit margin. Business is not a one off thing. Experience has taught me this painfully. You bought a commodity for N1,000 each and you want to sell it at N1200 per unit. A customer comes in and say she wants to buy 100 pieces for N1,050 each. You are calculating N20,000 projected profit but she is offering only N5,000 projected profit. No just do anyhow allow that customer go. Nah God sent. I don Bleep up in the past like that. Before 3 months, same person is likely to make repeated purchases of up to 1,000 units. Okay..

7. Franchises are becoming stale :. Most cement distributors, Noodles distributors and Recharge card wholse salers will agree with me that doing business today is like wasting time. These manufacturing companieshave rendered distributors into errand boys.. If you are not into any of these businesses i mentioned, you wont understand what i mean. 10 years ago, franchise holders were very rich men but today, manufacturers have limited profit margins made by distributors through price fixing. Go for value adding business or service.

8. Go for value adding business :. The easiest way to make a fast cash is venturing into a new business that is scarce to find around. I remember one business that time that gave me N7m in one year. Omoh e, i build house under 6 months. What am i saying ? It takes a very sharp eyes to note what commodity is lacking in an area because everyday people are busy buying and selling but if you can just pick that single commodity and flood it in the market, before other competitors come in, bro you go make millions. Even if you aint the manufacturer, just be sure, the commodity is not in that area, by being the sole supplier for just one year, you have added value to that vicinity.

9. You must show passion :. Passion and drive for growth must be a part and parcel of an entrepreneur. Do not make the mistake of feeling at ease because you are now your own boss.. Every single business growth is accompanied by passion for growth. When you were an employee, you were waking 5:30am daily and being at office 7am but now you are running your business, you wake 7am and arrive work 8am. That is a business fallacy..

10. Never argue with your customer :. Some customers are very insulting especially the poor and uncultured ones. Yes its the poor customers who insult business owners but that man insulting you may be a driver or servant to one big oga that just started one big project in town and they are scouting for suppliers. The second time he came to your shop, he starts insulting you. Keep your calm and do not answer back because it may be a million naira business and the devil is just tempting you to lose that business to your competitor. It has happened to me.

11. Small profit, quick returns :. When structuring your business, go for a large scale, big turnover, small profit mindset. If your turnover is high, definitely your profit will become high. Do not start setting a target of making N1,000 a bag when only very few customers can afford the final price, rather make N500 per bag and attract all the customers to yourself. Your business volume will multiply by 100.. You will reuse your capital thrice a month rather than once in 2 months..

12. Never give up :. If anyone tells you that succeeding in business is easy, tell the person its a lie. It is not easy to break even and breakthrough in business. Instead of closing down a business because it is no longer profitable, you may decide to sack your staff, save their pay and slug it out alone. Closing shop means losing all the business goodwill you have built over the years. Modify, Reinvent, Restructure, Rebrand and do things differently. That may bring the breakthrough or just wait for your time.

13.Develop your brand :. Owning a brand is like owning a business personality. People prefer to associate with branded businesses for so many reasons. To customers, a brand is like a cushion against buying a fake product. It is all about perception. If you can control the way people think about you and your product, bro you are a billionaire. This is Dangote's strongest asset in business. A strong brand can break into any market. The brand name just makes a way.

[/b]To succeed in business you should endeavor to do the following:[b]
Define your target market
Do thorough market research
Have a business plan
Be unique
Think like an entrepreneur
Choose the right business
If you can understand these things and apply it, definitely, your chances of success will be higher.

Oya o, as our Nigerian economy keep face like imbecille, kindly discuss what difficulties you are facing in business, lets discuss it.

Thanks op.I learnt so much from your post.by God's grace I am about taking my first step...I am sure you understand

Yes @ ezechueze, i understand. May God guide you.

We entrepreneurs are learning everyday.

My problem is that I work with a man who is not a practical businessman. He has ideas (beautiful ones) that can fetch him money, I mean a lot of money, but for him to release funds to actualize the goals of the business is a big problem. I go through a lot of pain to gather information on our business, make comparisons and try to come up with the most feasible solution on how we ought to go about the business. but this guy does not even care. all he wants is to start with the smallest amount of money (even if it is detrimental to the business growth) and make at least 200% profit instantly. In my heart I call him a dreamer and a novice. but some how i just can't leave the business hanging but I am suffering. I seriously need advice.

@muzok, i dont know ur type of biz but starting on ur own is the best since it seems as if your boss style is frustrating you.

While you are still with him, hope he pays your salary regularly ?

good

400billionman:
@muzok, i dont know ur type of biz but starting on ur own is the best since it seems as if your boss style is frustrating you.

The business is an agro-allied business. We hold seminars on ways of generating good income from agricultural products, develop new products and do researches on advanced methods of preservation of agric products. So I am always on the internet and on the phone seeking and sorting information.

Brilliant points.






NOTE: Dangote's tomato paste factory was constructed since 2014.