2009 Is Not Over Yet!

December 1st, 2009

2009 Business Year Is Not Over Yet!

The year 2009 is not over yet, even though it is natural to feel like given up the dreams you have for your business at the beginning of this year, I want to encourage you to stay in there and do the best you can. Your success as a business person is not determine by the fatness of your bank balances nor your turnover figure, rather is is the  inner satisfaction that you have put in your best as an entrepreneur to achieve the goals you set out to achieve during this year. Since there are still 30days more to go, don’t ever think of giving up. What you were not able to achieve in the past months can still be achieve in these remaining days if only you can belief and persist. Even if that is not feasible, you can at least improve on your present position. 😉

Coping With Adverse Economic Realities in Nigeria

For Nigerian businessmen, especially the small scale entrepreneurs, the year 2009 has been a tough one. There has been several challenges threatening to wipe out businesses. It all started with the global economic crisis which was carried over from last year. Unlike in other developing nations where entrepreneurs were being informed on the effect and likely impact the economic recession will have on their local businesses, Nigerian entrepreneurs were lied to!
Our so called financial experts predicted that the global economic crisis will have zero impact on local businesses. Of course I knew as at then that they were being economical with the truth. How can Nigeria which operates a consumer based economy be dreaming of staying stable while those countries she buys products from are badly affected?
Well, the truth is out now. Nigeria did not only suffer from the global economic crisis, she also was badly affected by home grown economic crisis. The financial institutions in the country gave everyone a bad jolt when it was discovered that their management have been playing with depositors and investors fund. Too bad.

Well all that is stale news now. The important thing is what you do with the situation at hand. While going over my goals for the year at first I was depressed to note that the overall performance has been really poor due to adverse operating environment. But then on a second thought, I realized that I’ve learnt a lot of lessons which I won’t have had the opportunity to learn if things have worked the way I wanted. What I really need to do is to find a way of making those lessons pay dividend as the nations economy recovers!

So while the year 2009 may be reflecting in your statements of accounts as a year of poor turnover, I want you to realize that the hard lessons learnt will eventually pay huge dividend in time to come. Instead of  complaining and getting depressed, look out for opportunities to make some additions to the income you’ve already generated so far.  That is the entrepreneurship spirit. Tell yourself, 2009 is not over yet!

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Posted in Entrepreneur, Nigerian | 2 Comments »

5 Tips For Business Growth

November 4th, 2009

How Can I Achieve Steady Business Growth?

Sustaining business growth in a down economy is not a simple feat to achieve. But believe it or not, that is exactly what some businessmen in Nigeria are doing. While some Nigerian businessmen are busy lamenting the poor manner the government is handling the current economic crisis (they do have a valid point though), some wise entrepreneurs are making steady business progress and getting fantastic returns on their various investment in the different sector sof the economy.

Truly, one man’s misfortune can be another’s fortune. If you doubt ask the undertaker, the more people die as a result of epidemic or natural disaster, the more his business booms. So, it is actually possible to be celebrating while others are lamenting, it simply depends on where you position yourself.

Every entrepreneur desire that his or her business should grow. Nobody wants to have the same turnover at the end of each financial year. However, just like most things in life, it is not about wishing for result, it is about taking the right steps to achieve the desired result. So how can an entrepreneur sustain business growth during an economic crisis? I’ll share with you five proven tips for steady business growth.

5 Proven Tips For Business Growth

1. Keep Your Current Customers Happy – A bird in hand is worth more than 1million that you are dreaming of getting with your marketing gimmicks. Keep your current customers. Do everything feasible to keep them happy and loyal to you. Don’t neglect complains or ignore their suggestion. If you’ve not been doing that, it is time to overhaul your customer care service such that it truly portray that you believe that the customer is king.

Get creative and devise ways to make it seem difficult and uneconomical for your customers to switch to  your competitors. Add value to your products and services at no extra cost to your customers. Some of those addons can actually be done without you eating into your profit. It just require a little brainstorming with your team to bring out ideas you never thought possible.

Give personalized services to each customer making him or her feel that he or she is the most important client you’ve got. Everyone appreciate being treated as a VIP. Give your customers that special touch of royalty. It won’t cost a dime to insist that your staff should treat each customer like a king. Just remind your team that it is the customer that pays the bills.

2. Increase Your Market Share –  There is an adage that the best form of defense is attack. Go after the customers of your competitors. Woo them with better offers and customized packages. Give them sufficient reason to consider ditching your rival and pitching their tent with you.

It is business war out there, so map out strategies on how you will gain more market share at the expense of your competitors. Go brainstorming with your team on how to provide higher quality product/service at the same price or lower than your competitors.

Don’t say it can’t be done. Keep working at it and soon, you and your team will figure a way out. Then you can go full swing into raiding your competitors of their loyal customers. Be tactical though, especially when dealing with competitors that have financial muscle.  If they get wind of your strategy, they may launch a counter-attack that you are not prepared for.

3. Be Proactive, Keep Current on Market Events –  Knowledge is power. It is your business to know what is happening and what is likely to happen soon in the market you belong. You need to keep tap on developments in the market that can affect your position.

Your ability to spot opportunities before competitors will give you an added advantage. Don’t wait until the news is spread on the print or electronic media before taking action. Successful businessmen sniff out information before it is made public. You need to watch industry shifts, changes in buying trends, seasonal changes, technological changes etc. The world is dynamic, what worked yesterday, may be obsolete today, so keep yourself up to date on market trends.

4. Strive to Enter New Markets – Don’t be a local champion in your present market. Look for opportunity to make profitable entry into other markets. Study markets that have potential for your business and plan how you will enter without loosing money to fierce competition in such market. Identify areas where you have an advantage over an existing competitor and ensure you can match the standards of quality and value being provided.

5. Diversify Your Business – Never put all your egg in one basket. Study businesses that are related to yours. Plan on diversifying into some of the simple ones such that you are not tied to a particular channel of income. Dangote Group is a good example of a Nigerian Business that has diversified successfully.

Business Growth don’t just happen. Successful Businessmen set goals, plan and work towards realizing their dream of steady business growth. If you don’t work it out, it won’t happen by accident. So, quit complaining and whining about the poor state of the nation’s economy. It is time to take advantage of the opportunities that have been made available by the economic crises. If you’re determined to experience Business Growth, nobody can stop you, because nobody have a blueprint for stopping you. Cheers 😉

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Posted in Entrepreneur, small business | 11 Comments »

Bulk SMS Resellers in Nigeria

October 12th, 2009

Have you started your own bulk sms reseller business?

Have you started your own bulk SMS reseller business? A guy just asked me that question, and I was wondering what made him ask. He was all excited as he gave me a quick lecture on how I have been missing out in the  new multi-million dollar business of reselling bulk sms to fellow Nigerians.

At first I was a bit confused and I was wondering if anything spectacular had happened within the few days I went offline (I took a break from the virtual world to face some pressing issues). As much as I can recollect, bulk SMS has been available as an online business opportunity for more than two years. Well, it didn’t take quite 2minutes before I recovered from the initial shock from his question. He helped me without by unwittingly mentioning the phrase “multi-million”. Whenever I hear the phrase, “multi-million dollar” or “multi-million naira”, my security antenna gets fine tuned. Such phrase often accompany “get rich quick scheme”. This is naija you know. If you play the “mugu”(fool), you may not even live to  regret your action. Anyway, in this particular case, it wasn’t about 419 or Nigerian Scam as foreigners will term it. It is about an old business that some con artists are parading as a new discovery.

Online sale of bulk SMS is indeed the new business-craze in town. Not that it is new elsewhere, just that Naija brothers and sisters have decided to zero in on bulk SMS reselling as the new online business that will bring in the million fast.  In case you don’t understand, the politicians have made it a taboo to think on anything less than seven digit income.  Everyone talks about making a million (naira or better still dollar) as fast as possible. Gone are the days of working patiently for years to build a fortune.

So, whenever a naija brother or sister hits a jackpot with a business idea, be rest assured that within a few weeks, many wannabe entreprenuers will abandon whatever they’ve been working on and rush in to make theirs too (even though many business mentor has pointed out that this is not the way to do business, yet, the lure for quick cash won’t let them listen). It amuse me when I see such rush by newbie entreprenurs who fail to find out how the first guy went from raw idea to achive business success! It is not about duplicating a business, it is all about learning how it works and working SMART. Ok, enough of my personal view.

Bulk SMS is the new business idea rocking right now in naija. Online Forex Trading seems to have lost its appeal. At least those who want to be a millionaire overnight are no longer seeing forex trading as the way to get rich overnight. No thanks to those who have exposed the deceit behind those Forex Trading Seminars. David Ajao won’t be forgiven by many of the con artist. I learnt that the sale of automatic forext trading robots to naija newbie forex traders have dropped significantly.

What is bulk SMS by the way?

Ok, so what is Bulk SMS? First, SMS means Short Message Service .  Bulk SMS  is simply a way of sending simple text messages to numerous contacts at once using the internet instead of your cellphone and you need not go through your telecom service provider. Am not quite sure the Nigerian Telecom operators such as MTN, Glo, Celtel, Zain, Etisalat etc love this idea, because it robs them of the abnormal revenue they make from Nigerians for each SMS sent via their networks. The telecom providers charges for SMS is higher than that offered by bulk SMS resellers.

Why use Bulk SMS?

I just told you.

1. It is cheaper. Unlike your service provider who will charge a higher fee for delivering the same text to a contact on a different network, bulk SMS gateways will deliver all SMS messages at the same flat rate irrespective of the destination.

2. It is easier to send to numerous contacts. Actually toyou can send SMS to millions, within a short time, for example, you can send a message to a million contact in less than five minutes. Once you have purchased the required credit, you upload a list of the contacts and write out the SMS message. One click will send to 1 contact or 1million contact, it is simply your choice.

3. You can schedule the delivery. This is another great feature. You can actually write a message now and schedule it to be delivered at a later date.

Bulk SMS Reseller Business

Ok, so how do I make money online from bulk SMS reselling. Simple, get a reseller account, (I won’t provide any link here because I am not promoting any) you can Google for it by typing “Bulk SMS resellers in Nigeria” into any of the popular search engine. Once you get a reseller account, the next step is to get clients. Yes, you need people who will buy smaller packages of the bulk SMS from you . For example, if you buy 5,000 units of SMS at the rate of 3.5naira per message, you can offer to sell each packages of 200units at 800naira. That is far cheaper to the 5naira that Nigerian service providers charge per SMS, so be rest assured you have a ready market. Also, you can design a website and offer to send SMS on behalf of people. Once they pay you, you simply send the SMS on their behalf to the list of contact they provide at the point of sale. This is a cool business for youngsters. You can sell the service to those wanting to announce an event e.g. a wedding ceremony, burial ceremony or a corporate event. I guess you’ve received such an SMS in recent times.

Some bulk SMS gateway provide the facility of inputting the sender’s number, so that you can actually receive reply. However, some charge a fee for such.

Is Bulk SMS reselling for me?

Well, only you can tell wether bulk SMS reselling is for you. I never encourage anyone to engage in a business he or she does not have passion for. It is easier to succeed at a business you are passionate about than one that irritate you. Now you know what Bulk SMS reselling business is all about. It is not a new business, but for Nigerians, it is a new way of making money online.

Will Bulk SMS Reselling Make me a millionaire?

Well, it all depends on you. Several successful entrepreneurs started off with business ideas that didn’t look promising, and yet they became financial giants. If you get yourself equipped with the right knowledge, set a goal for yourself and work persistently on it, this may actually give you an opportunity to make your first million. However, I must warn you that it will not happen overnight.

Warning: Scam Artists use Bulk SMS as a tool

Some will not agree with that it is not possible to make a million from SMS reselling overnight. I understand, such must have been told the story of someone that started Bulk SMS reselling and hit the first million naira within 30days. Yes, that is “possible”. It is done by sending fraudulent messages to unsuspecting people telling them funny stuffs to get them to reveal their bank financial details or part with some cash. I have received several SMS congratulating me that I have just won a million naira from my telecom provider. The sender name reflects the name of my Telecom Service Provider or her code, however, I knew they were fake because my telecom provider will never inform you that you have won a gift via text message. Instead, a phone call will be made and there will be announcement on the electronic or print media. So when next you receive a text message claiming to be from any of the Nigerian Telecom service provider informing you that you have just won a million naira, remember, this post ;-). That is Bulk SMS being used by a con-artist to dupe you. If you’re greedy enough, you would have coughed out some cash before realizing that you’ve been defrauded.

Ok, enough of the gist. I guess it is high time I go get myself a Bulk SMS reseller account. Who doesn’t want to be a millionaire? For future updates to this post Bulk SMS resellers in Nigeria subscribe to my RSS free updates.

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Posted in Entrepreneur, Investing, Nigerian, small business, Tips & Tricks | 147 Comments »

Nigeria at 49!

October 1st, 2009

Today marks the 49th anniversary of Nigeria independence. Millions of Nigerians at home and abroad will pause to consider the journey so far. As usual, the Federal Government has declared today as public holiday. That means, workers can stay at home and spend time with their family members. That is exactly what I’ve planned to do. I will spend the day with my family and then fellowship with others in my local church in the evening.

Naija For Life

Naija For Life

While many feel there is no reason to celebrate, I totally disagree. I choose to pitch my tent with those who belief we have every reason to celebrate. Since there is life, there is hope of a better future. Martin Luther King did not live to see President Obama become the first black president of United States of America, but he foresaw the possibility in his mind when he declared “I have a dream….”

It doesn’t really matter if anyone thinks otherwise, I am personally convinced that Nigeria is going to get better. All the evil vices will surely come to an end. Those who are benefitting from the misfortune of Nigeria will be put to shame in the long run.

I am grateful to God that Nigeria has survived as nation, despite several political, financial and ethnic crisis. It is a sign that God has something great in store for us. If South Africa can get over apatheid, then Nigeria can get over these challenges and become a glorious nation.

To my fellow Nigerians at home and abroad, I say, happy independence day! Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Posted in Nigerian | 6 Comments »

When A Client Goofs, how do you handle it?

September 23rd, 2009

When a client goofs, how do you handle it?

Every successful entrepreneur understand that the phrase “The Client is always right” is a mere political statement to boost the ego of the client. Often times the client is ignorant and dead wrong. But who dare say that to his face. Since the client is the one holding the purse, he has to be praised like one of those monarchs of old and tactically guided to make the right decision. I guess that is why another phrase says the “client is King”. Else, he will get offended and go to the competitor. I’ll share with you a life-story from my friend, Leke who works in a construction company. I believe his story will teach you one or two useful lessons as an entrepreneur on what to do when a client goofs (by the way to goof is to make a silly mistake). Here is an excerpt of what he sent to me, though edited to reduce the length, the gist remains the same.

Yesterday, I had to combat with the mess created by an ignorant client. He earlier requested for a proposal on a project he want my company to execute. We sent a detailed proposal and gave three different options with different cost implications. In his own wisdom, he decided to create an entirely new fourth option by mixing features from two different options. Economically, it sounded like a good idea, but from professional experience we advised that it was too risky and if anything goes wrong, he will end up with a bill higher than any of the three options initially sent to him.

Did he listen? No, he argued and claimed that he was better off with his idea and we should go ahead because he was certain that it will work out fine. From his argument, it was obvious that he was more interested in the cost reduction being offered by his new option. He totally discounted the risk factor that ought to be built into the new option. After a long time of trying to persuade him to change his mind, we consented to his wish but requested that he put the decision in writing to be signed by all. That was done and there was warm hand-shake after the deal was sealed. However, I was very uncomfortable and I told my boss so.

Twenty four hours after the deal was sealed, the project started and everyone were busy working towards delivery on schedule. However, just about 60% into project completion, there was a hitch. A firm handling a particular aspect of the project has suddenly pulled out, claiming they cannot meet up with their promise due to some technical fault in their equipment (they never mobilized to site). That was a stupid thing to say after receiving mobilization fees, and of course they were part of the project design and planning. I will like you to note that in our initial proposal, we ensured that all parties involved in the project were capable firms and they were having enough stake in the project to warrant full commitment.

Unfortunately, the new option the client created introduced a new firm who we didn’t know much about (a competent firm was removed with the excuse that their charges was too high). During the negotiation meeting I pointed out the risk of using a firm that is not known, but the client was vouching for the new firm’s competency (that to me was a dumb thing to do). Well, the firm’s failure was at a critical moment, the entire project was getting messed up. A colossal loss was staring the client in the face and my company’s corporate reputation was at stake too.

I was summoned by my boss and asked to give a quick review of the project. Was I furious? You could actually feel the heat emanating from my face. After narrating the whole incidence all over again and showing evidences that the client was warned but he refused to take my advice, I expected my boss to write a stinker to the client telling him to go clean up his mess. My boss did otherwise.

He reminded me that the client remains one of our major clients even though he has made a stupid decision that resulted in loss of fund and time. So, I shouldn’t be upset and rub the blame deep on the client. Instead, I should note that it is at such a critical time like this that a business relationship with the client can be further strengthened. He told me plainly that I have no fault whatsoever and my team has acted in line with our company policy, however, I’ve got to clean up the mess created by the client. He told me to go back to the drawing board with the assumption that the mistake was mine since that is the only way my creative mind will agree to bring forth a solution. I didn’t like it, but I knew he was right, so I went back to my team and we started brainstorming on how to salvage the situation with as little fund as possible.

Kudo’s to my team member for their cooperation. We came up with ideas I never thought of before and the whole mess was cleared up. Then came another shocker. I wanted to pass the bill for the repair to the client, but my boss stopped me and instructed that it should be shared 50:50. So, the client was not only saved from a colossal loss, but was actually getting free consultancy from my company while paying only half of the cost of repair. It took some time before my brain could accept that, I was really upset and wanted to tell my boss it wasn’t fair and I personally consider it stupid. Even if the client is important, must we be held accountable for his mess?

Well, it was a good thing I held my tongue. I would have needed to apologize later to my boss. Today, we receive a thank you note from the client and a fresh request for a quote for an entirely new project. The client followed that up with a telephone call promising to always adhere by our professional advice. Looking back now, I understand why my boss, took the decisions he took. Maybe that is why he is the boss and I still report to him. I just wanted to share this with you.

Please extend my warm greetings to…………

I believe the story said it all. Even if your client goofed, it is not wise to rub the mess on his nose. Here are the lessons I got from the story.

• That the client is considered a king is no assurance that he will act wisely.

• When the client goofs, you need to handle the mess created carefully.

• Relationship is more important than short-term profit.

• Never show your anger to a client else you lose them to the competitors.

That’s it. When next you feel like boxing a client for goofing, remember that he holds the purse, so you must treat him like a king even when he is acting plain stupid. I’ll love to know how you handle difficult clients especially after they have created a mess by ignoring your professional advice. Please share your story in the comment section. You can get future updates to this post When the client goofs by subscribing to my RSS feed. Cheers.

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Posted in Entrepreneur, small business | 2 Comments »

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