Life is fair, life is not fair. These are the two statements i hear often and i can't really tell which is correct. While a teenager, i thought that becoming successful in life is the key to living a problem free life. But from my personal experience, it seems like the more successful you become, the bigger your headache.

I don't know if this life pattern is only occurrent in my life or it's just d same with everybody. Dangote once said that he goes to bed by 2am and wakes up by 4am, i initially doubted it but now i'm begining to see the reality. I once had a dream to become a successful entrepreneur and be free but now, i don't know if i'll ever be free since i am now responsible for the welfare of my employees.

Everyday my customers scream for more better services and my relatives suddenly became angels and i can't really tell if they love me or my money. I'm suddenly the new Mecca, where relatives flock to for financial salvation. My girlfriend complains that i spend less time with her and I'm now scared to reveal my true financial status to my girlfriend, least it ruin our relationship. And to cut the long story short, i have now realized that success is not what it is painted to be. If you doubt me, ask the celebrities.

I now know why the rich suffer and die from ailments such as cancer, heart attack, liver kidney failure. After all, Bill Gates said he regrets been the richest man in the world. This leaves me asking: is becoming rich or successful worth the stress and surrounding travails? I would like to hear your views.

222Martins:

Life is fair, life is not fair. These are the two statements i hear often and i can't really tell which is correct. While a teenager, i thought that becoming successful in life is the key to living a problem free life. But from my personal experience, it seems like the more successful you become, the bigger your headache. I don't know if this life pattern is only occurrent in my life or it's just d same with everybody. Dangote once said that he goes to bed by 2am and wakes up by 4am, i initially doubted it but now i'm begining to see the reality. I once had a dream to become a successful entrepreneur and be free but now, i don't know if i'll ever be free since i am now responsible for the welfare of my employees. Everyday my customers scream for more better services and my relatives suddenly became angels and i can't really tell if they love me or my money. I'm suddenly the new Mecca, where relatives flock to for financial salvation. My girlfriend complains that i spend less time with her and I'm now scared to reveal my true financial status to my girlfriend, least it ruin our relationship. And to cut the long story short, i have now realized that success is not what it is painted to be. If you doubt me, ask the celebrities. I now know why the rich suffer and die from ailments such as cancer, heart attack, liver kidney failure. After all, Bill Gates said he regrets been the richest man in the world. This leaves me asking: is becoming rich or successful worth the stress and surrounding travails? I would like to hear your views.

Interesting post.

I would say, first off, are you sure you are successful already? Turnover and profit ain't the same bro. You might be getting lots of customers, but without a strategy to keep growing your profits you might be running at a loss, and not know it.

Secondly, are you a recent entrepreneur? If not, you should have learnt how to be disciplined by now. As they say, with great power comes great responsibility. Wealth must be managed, or it will be lost. If you are successful at what you do, you need to manage that success. And how do you do that? By cutting distractions away, and living a sober lifestyle. If you are involving relatives in your business, for example, they will know how well you are doing, and will try to take advantage. Same goes for your employees. You must have a strategy to manage them and ensure business continuity. If you cannot manage your relatives, your employees, or even your girlfriend, then you may not be able to manage a business for long.

How do you 'manage' them? Keep personal relationships separate from business. Put yourself on an income, and don't assume responsibility for your company's finances, else you will have a problem when you need financing from a bank or other financial institutions. You'll also erroneously think that you can solve all the financial problems of everyone around you. Even those you are responsible for (parents, wife, children, etc) must be on a budget. There is no other way to it. If I was your relative, and i know you have access to funds, I will keep coming to you, it's human nature.

Lastly, forget all that Dangote's sleeping at 2am and waking at 4am. You're not there yet, so no need to bother. Put your energy into organizing your business very efficiently, and put discipline into your operations. If your work day is 12 hours, put everything into that 12 hours. Make an effort to automate some of your business processes, and you may need less people to work for you. Outsource your business wherever you can, and focus on the core of the service you are providing, because that is the way you can make it better and compete with other similar businesses. Don't get bogged down by lack of details, everything you do must be documented and legally protected. Those are the issues with small business in Nigeria.

Lest i forget, the girlfriend thing is always the most difficult. You need to find her something to do to keep her busy. If she had a job of her own, or study, she won't put too much pressure on your time. Does she have a lot of time on her hands?

@Poster,

friend, evrything has its own good & bad side, but after all said & done, being one's own Boss is d best thing ever. You are in absolute control & determine things at you own pace.

As Ajanlekoko advised, just be try to be more organized, delegate duties (u can't do it all); outsource & contract out if need be. All these will help ease the pressure on your young shoulders. My best advice is "Keep it Simple". Handle loved ones with wisdom also.

By the way, wat are you into? My dream is to start up my firm soon. I'd appreciate if you could share some advice & experiences. You could e-mail if u dnt mind - [email]ed_ose@yahoo.com[/email]. thnx

@AjalenKoko,
Nice post bro. . .Cheers!

AjanleKoko:

Interesting post.

I would say, first off, are you sure you are successful already? Turnover and profit ain't the same bro. You might be getting lots of customers, but without a strategy to keep growing your profits you might be running at a loss, and not know it.

Secondly, are you a recent entrepreneur? If not, you should have learnt how to be disciplined by now. As they say, with great power comes great responsibility. Wealth must be managed, or it will be lost. If you are successful at what you do, you need to manage that success. And how do you do that? By cutting distractions away, and living a sober lifestyle. If you are involving relatives in your business, for example, they will know how well you are doing, and will try to take advantage. Same goes for your employees. You must have a strategy to manage them and ensure business continuity. If you cannot manage your relatives, your employees, or even your girlfriend, then you may not be able to manage a business for long.

How do you 'manage' them? Keep personal relationships separate from business. Put yourself on an income, and don't assume responsibility for your company's finances, else you will have a problem when you need financing from a bank or other financial institutions. You'll also erroneously think that you can solve all the financial problems of everyone around you. Even those you are responsible for (parents, wife, children, etc) must be on a budget. There is no other way to it. If I was your relative, and i know you have access to funds, I will keep coming to you, it's human nature.

Lastly, forget all that Dangote's sleeping at 2am and waking at 4am. You're not there yet, so no need to bother. Put your energy into organizing your business very efficiently, and put discipline into your operations. If your work day is 12 hours, put everything into that 12 hours. Make an effort to automate some of your business processes, and you may need less people to work for you. Outsource your business wherever you can, and focus on the core of the service you are providing, because that is the way you can make it better and compete with other similar businesses. Don't get bogged down by lack of details, everything you do must be documented and legally protected. Those are the issues with small business in Nigeria.

Lest i forget, the girlfriend thing is always the most difficult. You need to find her something to do to keep her busy. If she had a job of her own, or study, she won't put too much pressure on your time. Does she have a lot of time on her hands?

Quite educative.

dear martins, that how it is when u are in biz bt ur soo much headache might be that ur biz isnt yet systemized

i suggest u read this book by brian sheer how to make money out of thin air. u will be glad u did.cheers

Very educative--------------- I am enjoying every bit of it

222Martins:

Life is fair, life is not fair. These are the two statements i hear often and i can't really tell which is correct. While a teenager, i thought that becoming successful in life is the key to living a problem free life. But from my personal experience, it seems like the more successful you become, the bigger your headache. I don't know if this life pattern is only occurrent in my life or it's just d same with everybody. Dangote once said that he goes to bed by 2am and wakes up by 4am, i initially doubted it but now i'm begining to see the reality. I once had a dream to become a successful entrepreneur and be free but now, i don't know if i'll ever be free since i am now responsible for the welfare of my employees. Everyday my customers scream for more better services and my relatives suddenly became angels and i can't really tell if they love me or my money. I'm suddenly the new Mecca, where relatives flock to for financial salvation. My girlfriend complains that i spend less time with her and I'm now scared to reveal my true financial status to my girlfriend, least it ruin our relationship. And to cut the long story short, i have now realized that success is not what it is painted to be. If you doubt me, ask the celebrities. I now know why the rich suffer and die from ailments such as cancer, heart attack, liver kidney failure. After all, Bill Gates said he regrets been the richest man in the world. This leaves me asking: is becoming rich or successful worth the stress and surrounding travails? I would like to hear your views.

The challenges you are facing are typical of the average Nigerian business man. It's been said that if the average Nigerian businessman ever stayed away from his business for a week, he could lose his business. Because our businesses are built around the entrepreneur himself so it takes his/her physical presence for things to work right. For the entrepreneur to have time for himself and other meaningful obligations, he/she needs build the business around systems and structure that enable the business to run almost independently of the entrepreneur. That way you can function in and out of the business. Saves you all the time and trouble. So find a consultant and ask for help in this regard.

@op it's worth it! If you were a poor man you would have all the same problems.


Just without the money.

any biz that u are in that need u to run all d time cant grow much and are unsellable.try to delegate things,Get focused

I find it difficult to advice without knowing the details of your business. Just tell us the actual facts!

I thank you all for your advice. But i want to add a few things. I'm am not a new entrepreneur and my business is systemized. As an entrepreneur in nigeria i want you know that you can't leave your business. The more successful in business you become, the bigger your business challenges gets. My business is incorporated so it's not a sole prop'r. I want to also add that you can't hide success, i've tried. And most importantly, it's not that i can't leave my business and go on a vacation. In fact, i can take a six months vacation and my business will still be intact. But i need to keep building momentum and no employee of mine will oversee my business more passionately than myself. I decided to share these thoughts because i know i am not alone. This is the typical pattern of most entrepreneurs.

@Seun, i'm diversified. I'm into publishing, rice distribution, a business service firm, etc. And i'm currently working with my team on breaking into palm oil distribution, education and catfish or snail farming. My business stronghold is in food supply (the most important basic need of man).