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Starting and building a successful business in a country like Nigeria is a journey that only the brave and committed undertakes. Several statistics have it that many small businesses in Nigeria never see their third to fifth birthdays. Choked by insurmountable pressures, they die and new ones spring up from their ashes.
On Saturday, 7 April, 2018, Organic Lagos, a non-profit organisation organised the maiden edition of its startup workshop aimed at equipping small businesses with the tools for entrepreneurial success. The workshop themed ‘Let’s Talk About Starting Up and building Successes’, was also an avenue to train start-ups on accessing funding.
Muyi Olaitan, founder of Organic Lagos said the goal of the workshop was to expose start-ups in Nigeria to new trends and innovations to scale their businesses in a difficult environment.
The various facilitators at the workshop shared from their experiences in business and dealing with start-ups – whether in the tech ecosystem or SMEs segment. Below are some of the takeaways from the workshop:
Passion is everything
Kola Kuddus Yusuf, chief executive officer of Kola Kuddus Couture, an African inspired fashion brand, said starting out as an entrepreneur will require passion and commitment.
Recalling the early days of his brand, Kola told the audience that he was largely driven by the passion to make his client look unique always.
Social media is not all it seems.
People are always pretending on social media platforms, hence small business owners have to be careful about the ideas they get from there, according to Shade Ladipo, executive director of WEConnect.
While it is important to use social media to drive business, entrepreneurs should equally be on the look-out for ideas that will only help their businesses to grow.
“Don’t start a business because of what you on social media, especially Instagram. Many times they are “washing” you. Your motivation cannot be money,” Ladipo said.
Integrity breeds trust
Businesses built on dishonesty will not last long. Customers would always be loyal to a brand they can bank their words, says Precious Ubah, assistant manager of Robert Taylor Limited.
“Your focus should not be to build a business for the now, but one that can be transferred when you are gone. You have to put in the work and be part of something great,” she said.
Funding only meets planning
Funding is one of the issues many start-ups are always complaining about, however only a few actually are ready to access it. To be ready, Adeola Olowe, partner at The Anavo Institute, said start-ups need to know their numbers off their finger tips.
For instance, what will the venture cost? What is projected cost for the next project the startup is embarking on?
Knowing these numbers and being able to articulate them comes very handy in an elevator pitch situation.
Investors love structure
Investors are often attracted to start-ups with proper business structures in place. A critical part of that structure should be the position of the accountant. With an accountant in place, it is easier for a startup to address tax structure, expenses and revenue.
Alternative sources of funding include crowdfunding, mezzanine financing, equity funding (self-financing or personal savings; bootstrapping; friends and relatives; venture capital; and Angel Investors).
