Part 1: Reasons Why Your Business Will Probably Fail in Nigeria

1. You are not passionate about anything
You will need genuine passion and commitment when the business is not performing, if you are going in for quick cash, prepare to rush out the same door you have entered through. 

2. Your business model is not appropriate for the Nigerian market
Most of the books that teach how to write business plans are developed for the western world. You need a good understanding of the Nigerian business climate for you to have any chance of success

3. You believe your product is good enough to attract your target market
As an entrepreneur, it is important to believe in the value that your product will offer, but please note, if this value is not well packaged, your potential customers will not be attracted to it. Everyone knows perception sells in Nigeria.

4. You think marketing is all about printing fliers and creating a website
Most people who start up businesses are skilled in a field, but lack the in-depth knowledge of marketing, remember this, if you the owner of the business cannot sell the product, your marketers who are less passionate won’t close those sales.

5. You have start-up capital, but don’t have running cost
Most times, people have capital to startup businesses and develop a plan that once clients start paying, the money will be used as running cost. Well, research has shown that SME’s in Nigeria fold up because they run out of cash

To your success!

Felix Smith Aigbonohan.

A Business Development Consultant & Facilitator

The CEO, Xterics Resources® | Razor Edge Coaching

How do you start a business

How do you start a business

In starting up a business depending on the country you are, there are some basic requirements from government agencies, like registering the business with corporate affairs commission if you are from Nigeria and the most important of all is the starting up processes which does not involve capital alone but other prerequisite that is most essential to your business success.

I will start from the basis and list what you have to do in order to start and run a successful business.

     

         You got to have an idea or business you want to do in mind; this is the starting point for any business. All things are created twice, first in our mind or imagination and then in reality. You must have seen something you would love to do, a product you will love to manufacture or distribute, a service you would love to render or a skill you would love to market etc. You might have more than one option which is very much okay, when you go through the business development process, one might emerge as the ultimate for you.

            You have to check if you have the traits of an entrepreneur; this would have been my first point, but because you are reading this post I have taken it that you have the drive and passion to have your own business, but as I will let you know that passion is not enough. There are traits that an entrepreneur should have for you to know that this person can be successful at running his/her own business. I will like to ask you as basic question which is; what is the reason you want to start your own business?

-          Want to be your own boss.

-          Have a terrific idea

-          Want to express your true self.

-          Lost your job.

-          Looked for job and no job

-          Personal circumstances have changed.

-          Want to work from home.

-          Want flexible hours.

-          Looking for a better balance between work and family.

-          You ever wanted to run your own business

Whatever reason you might have will not disqualify you to start up a business but you must know that there are some traits you should have to be successful. Some are; Taking personal initiative, Learning from mistakes and responding positively to all challenges, having great perseverance etc.

3.      Run a market research: As a matter of fact, most people that start their own business fail in less than five years of start off, almost 70% of new businesses do not get to survive. Market research will actually tell you that this business you are about to start is suitable for you, the environment or demographic, political climate, social relevance etc. You have to look for the people already running such business and see how they are fairing, the size of the market, customers needs, what are the basic challenges of the business and to run a SWOT(Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and threats) analysis based on your findings. There are two basic methods of conduction a market research which are’ Primary and secondary research. Primary research is you going to the field with a designed questionnaire, recorder or note to find out information from business owners and customers alike, while secondary research can be done online and from books. Nigeria does not have very good business data online.

    

    Financial consideration: After you must have done the points above, then you have to consider your financial strength and weaknesses. Where are you going to get the money from?, will you have someone to invest in the business as a joint venture partnership, will you take a loan facility from bank, or do you have the money from savings to start your business? These are all important questions you have to answer.

   

     You need a business plan; I have seen countless numbers of people in my business coaching profession who would want to start a business and will say there is no need for a business plan. It is like someone having money and knows he want to build a house and tell the engineer to build a house for him and he should not worry about drawing a plan. The way it sounds stupid to you now, that is the way it is when you think you do not need a business plan to run a successful business. People run away from it because they think it is a complex thing to do, yes some might be complex, like the plan of a building, depending on what you want to build that determine the complexity of the plan. To start a small business, you don’t need a complex plan but just a simple one.

In conclusion, there are many other things that need to be done but I cannot write all in one article. But I have prepared a detailed handbook on how to start a business from scratch and grow it to become successful.  Exploring Self Employment Opportunities- a Guild to business Development.  To download a preview of the copy of the book click.  FREE PREVIEW

To order, send a mail to info@maximumperformancecoach.com or sms (+234 8062 998 606) and you will receive a reply.

The handbook will take you practically through the entire step you need in order to succeed, with lots of exercise. This is a compilation of my years of experience working with entrepreneurs and business owners as a business coach.

To your success!

Felix Smith Aigbonohan

Business & Personal Development coach 

Xterics Resources® | Razor Edge Coaching

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