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How to test new business ideas before you start

The most common thing people say about starting a business is that it is risky.  I am not convinced paid employment is a safer way to earn a living than starting a business.  You can get sacked! Just follow the business section of any news report to know how easily this can happen.  You might also be forced to take a salary cut with all the attendant frustrations.  There is a lot that can go wrong there.  Being employed has its own risks and they are just as daunting as the risks associated with starting your own business.

The nice thing about starting a business is that we now know nearly all the reasons why they fail and what to do to avoid that failure.  Here are eight ideas for testing you new business idea, before you start.  “Be bold but, look before you leap.”

1.       Conduct a random survey. Stop people at a convenient and safe place and ask them what they think about your idea.  Be very polite and gentle about this please.

2.       Ask consumers of the product or service you want to offer what they think. Ask them what improvements they would like to see.  Ask them why they buy and pay so much.  It will help if you show them mock-ups or prototypes.

3.       Convene a small group discussion.  Gather a few people together preferably people that do not know each other but all have a good head on their shoulders.  Tell them about your idea and then ask them to give you feedback.  You might have to pay for lunch or dinner.

4.       Ask friends and other people around you that you can trust to tell you what they think, honestly.  Make sure the people you ask can be blunt and can explain why they take a certain position.  People who just endorse or criticize your idea without any explanation are not really helpful.  The explanations will help you decide what improvements to make, how to manage risks, etc.

5.       Find out who has tried what you are about to start and go talk to them.  You can almost bet that someone somewhere has gone ahead of you.  Please go learn from their mistakes if they will let you.

6.       Talk to advertising, marketing and branding experts.  These professionals spend their lives think out ways to sell new products and services.  The good ones will tell you what might sell and what might not sell, almost on the spot.

7.       Blog you idea.  Invite feedback on the internet.  Do not be too afraid someone will steal your idea and start it.  This fear is usually unfounded but very incapacitating.

8.       Publish your idea in a trade journal or other publication that consumers read and invite comments from readers.  If your idea newsworthy, editors might publish it without charge.

END.

Staffing problems and ideas for solving them

Most small businesses have major staffing challenges that can actually be managed with careful planning and action.  These challenges arise from weaknesses that are inherent in the typical small business.

First, they cannot afford to compete with the larger companies for the most qualified employees.  While a multinational company can afford to offer a fresh graduate an annual compensation package ranging anywhere from N3m to N7m, most small businesses will struggle to offer half of the figure at the lower end.  This is not because small business operators are mean people.  They simply cannot afford to pay much more.  To complicate matters, small businesses may not be able to invest a lot of money in the training and personal development of their employees, compared to the larger companies.  Thirdly, they are not able to offer long term job security because the future is too uncertain and the failure rate too high for that. 

These are the three main reasons why most qualified job seekers will accept an offer from a multinational, even if it is for a lower position.  The end result of this unfair contest for talent is that entrepreneurs often have to find their employees from a pool of less qualified, less competent or poorly trained job seekers because the preferred ones won’t even bother to submit an application.

My conclusion is that when it comes to staffing issues, the right question for small business owners and operators to ask is “why should anybody want to work for me?”  It is not, “why can’t I find competent and committed employees?”  The shortfalls are obvious and job seekers can see them. 

Here are seven ideas that may help the small business owner or operator overcome the staffing challenges.

1.       Develop a practical and employee focused value proposition that makes it clear to your staff what and how they will benefit (besides the take home pay) by working for your small business.

2.       Consider offering profit sharing arrangements or even partnership or co-ownership of the business as a way of rewarding excellent performance.

3.       Have a policy of treating staff with dignity and respect.  This must include processes and procedures for employees to air grievances and to have them adequately addressed.

4.       Include something that is important to your employees (not necessarily money) as part of your reward package.

5.       Keep your management and leadership style as “impersonal” as possible, especially in your communication.  Talk more about what the business needs and requires staff to do rather than what you as an individual want them to do or not do.

6.       As much as possible ensure they get paid on time.  Communicate as soon as you know there will be a delay in payment of salaries.

7.       Ensure everyone has a job description and a clear career progression path.

END.

2011 - A Promising Year for Nigerian Entrepreneurs



A Small Holder Organic Tropical Banana Farm in Lagos, Nigeria



The Year 2011 promises to be an excellent one for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) operators and entrepreneurs.  It appears particularly promising for those whose visions and growth plans had been discouraged in the recent past by the lack of access to credit or finance.  The President Goodluck Jonathan Administration and Mallam Sanusi led Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) appear very determined to offer them practical solutions to the problem.  Their public pronouncements on the issue lead me to believe that this is a “must win battle” for these two leaders.  Perhaps this is one field in which they wish to leave their footprints in the sands of time.  

Some of the common reasons why MSMEs operators and entrepreneurs are not able to secure finance or gain access to credit include:

1.       A pervasive perception that it takes a “miracle” to access credit from a Nigerian bank.

2.       The enduring poor credit standing or rating of MSMEs in general by lending institutions.

3.       The inability of most MSMEs to provide collateral and credit guarantees.

4.       Weak business plan documents and proposals.

5.       The high cost of MSMEs credit administration and management.

I find a lot of hope in the on-going efforts of CBN, Bank of Industry (BOI) and their partner organizations to address these issues using a multi-pronged approach.  I believe the solutions to these problems are nothing like rocket science.  The bigger part is “political will” and the present crop of leaders seems to have that in good measure. The MSME operators and entrepreneurs must also play their roles in this regard because it is simply not enough to remove the supply-side obstacles.  The demand-side challenges also need to be overcome and this has to be done by the MSMEs operators and entrepreneurs themselves.  Sources of finance and credit to MSMEs that should be seriously and carefully considered in 2011 include:

1.       The Small and Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEIS)

2.       The National Automotive Development Fund

3.       N100 Billion Cotton, Textile and Garment Industry Revival Scheme

4.       CBN N500 Billion Intervention Fund

5.       USD 200 Million Fund for the Entertainment Industry

6.       N200 Billion Re-financing and Restructuring of Banks’ Loans to the Manufacturing Sector.

7.       N200 Billion Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMECGS) for Promoting Access to Credit by SMEs in Nigeria.

Let me conclude by warning fellow entrepreneurs that a key consideration in choosing a source of business finance or credit is to strike a balance between equity and debt in order to ensure that the funding structure is appropriate for your particular business.  There are no one size fits all in this regard.  Please remember that Mallam Sanusi (CBN Governor) is a professional risk manager!  The overall objective in raising finance is to ensure that the financial risks carried by your MSME are maintained at an optimal level.

Uzo Nduka

Lagos, Nigeria

What does the failure of any one entrepreneur represent to a nation?

The failure of one entrepreneur represents a great loss to the nation and society.  A loss of opportunities to create wealth. A loss of opportunities to create new jobs. A loss of opportunities to improve GDP and also to improve the quality of life of some citizens if not all.

"The failure of one entrepreneur is a national tragedy."

Uzo Nduka
Lagos, Nigeria


    An entrepreneur's fish pond at lunch time.

Innovation: The Spirit of Entrepreneurship

There is no arguing that innovation is the spirit and soul of entrepreneurship. 

My intention in this short piece is to highlight four fail-proof opportunities for the serious minded entrepreneur to innovate, and be successful.

1. Production technologies and processes that are very efficient: These are sure winners, especially when supported with robust management and marketing systems.  It means that the entrepreneur can beat other players in the market place in terms of production volume and price - you can deliver more and cheaper too. The entrepreneur that has innovated this type of technology may consider selling the patent rights if they do not wish to live with the hassle of day-to-day management of the enterprise.
2. Personal charisma or persona: It might surprise some people to learn just how many entrepreneurs succeed and become fabulously wealthy, simply because of one individual's charisma or persona. It is particularly important for entrepreneurs in the entertainment, hospitality and specialty products or services industries to explore opportunities and to innovate a "strongly emotive and unique selling point" for their business in this area.  Be careful though! You must have the right "face" and "personality" to pull this off.
3. Quality that surpasses customer expectations:  The entrepreneur that can innovate and create products or services that surpass customer expectations will most certainly do well in the market place.  Customers are bound to become your self-appointed sales representatives and will market your products or services to their friends and contacts, at no direct cost to you.  Please bear in mind that customer expectations are dynamic and that you have just signed up for a marathon race that has no finish-line, if you elect this pathway to entrepreneurial success.
4. Making luxury goods affordable to the masses: A determined entrepreneur should always scan the market to identify various luxury goods and services that he or she can make put within the reach of the masses through innovative production, packaging and marketing.  You are not likely to miss target if you go this route, and the masses will thank you for it, after all you are letting them enjoy some product or service that had been exclusively for the rich.

With best wishes.

Vision for SMEs in Nigeria



A quick means of moving farm produce to the markets

 You might be bemused by these images. I am certainly not.

What I see are multi billion Naira Industries. Industries that are in their infancy.

Bear with me and consider the following facts:

1. Population ~ 150,000,000
2. Land mass ~ 900,000km2
3. Urban:Rural population ~ 30%:70%
4. % of population living below the poverty line ~ 65
5. % of population over 15years of age that is engaged in primary agriculture > 50.

   

   Cottage cassava processing factory in rural village, Delta State, Nigeria

   

I envision a Nigerian nation where one of every ten persons you meet is an active and productive entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship is one endeavour at which Nigerians can compete and beat the world. I do not know one Nigerian adult that is not thinking seriously about starting a business.  Our entrepreneurial spirit is just Supreme.

My dream and my mission is to help make this a reality.