The past year and indeed this year has been one of the toughest I can remember for business. Confidence fell off a cliff, and fear and gloom seemed to dominate the financial world.

Now globally except Nigeria, the first signs of confidence are coming back. China, Brazil, India and Australia are growing again and the World's stock markets have bounced back in the main.

Sometimes I'm accused of being too optimistic the natural entrepreneur's enthusiasm often gets the better of me! But at The Thy Global, we have seen some of those signs: People are booking plane; they are reserving for the holidays; customers are upgrading their cable accounts, commodity export business is growing around the world.

So what do I think will happen this year and what opportunities are there for budding entrepreneurs?

Frustratingly for those looking for an easy answer or formula, there isn't one. There is no substitute in business for actually running a business. Throughout my career I have made decisions using my instinct, but I have also worked very hard at making those decisions work. As I look back, a few key patterns keep reemerging.

First, you need to surround yourself with trusted and talented people. Setting up businesses takes an enormous amount of time and energy. It is easier to make the big commitments when you are surrounded by people you trust and like keeping your many good executive officers and field officers happy - and finding new ones to start the next ventures.

Then you need to ensure that your business or idea has a place in the market and a product or service that is different enough to attract customers. At The Thy Global, we stick to a simple checklist. Our businesses need to be innovative, maintain a certain quality, be value for money and have a sense of fun. We also tend to focus on customer service and we like to be the customer's champion, bringing simplicity and transparency to many businesses which we are operating.

Timing is also important. If we could start again, we would set up more businesses during recessions when almost everything costs 50 to 90 per cent less than it's worth during the good times. Often a lot of highly skilled staff are on the market and the competition - existing big businesses - have their eyes focused internally, on their own operations and issues. Such a climate is the perfect time for young, enthusiastic and nimble companies to set themselves up and thrive. This is one of those good times.

During the early recession in Nigeria, we founded and expanded The Thy Global. In the late 2000s we expanded our company, as established rival ones were recovering from recession. Without the legacy issues of a large existing operation and high cost base, The Thy Global Investment Limited was able to esstablish and grow new and more efficient sister companies and open new frontiers.

Read more: http://exportfromnigeria.info/thread/1959/entrepreneur#ixzz4tOQLGA78

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