“I REJECT failure in the name of Jesus. The elder told me you have anointing for small businesses. Why then are you trying to curse me?” The woman’s face turned blue. The scowl on her face was as if a murderer had put her back to the wall. She picked her Louis Vuitton designer bag and stood up with hands akimbo.
“Madam I can never curse you. God forbid.” I reassured her as I rocked on my leather seat.
“Young man, if you don’t know, let me tell you today. Failure is a curse. It means not prospering.” The woman’s eyes emitted fire. She struggled to control her voice to mask the thunder that was about to strike through her vocal cord.
“Madam, I am not interested in the failure of your business. My interest is to see that you achieve productivity…”
“Productivity my…” She swallowed hard. “That is all I have heard all day. What has productivity got to do with dedicating my new shop?” If you are not interested let me know. There are a million Pastors who will jump at the opportunity of dedicating a shop located in a highbrow area.” She could no longer hold her anger.
“It is easy to pray, madam. Anybody, including you can dedicate a shop. However what I am interested in is to ensure that we do not pray amiss. It is not every prayer that God answers. He expects us to play our part before he honours our faith. This is why productivity matters.” I was able to calm her down.
“So this productivity issue will guarantee answered prayers?” The woman returned to her seat. She placed her designer bag on the table again.
“Madam, I love your bag. Are you going to be selling bags too?” I tried to court her again.
“My brother, I thank you for having eyes for good things. It’s a designer bag. The original one goes for N250,000.00K only.” She noticed that I cringed. “Em…em.. but I bought this one for just N185,000K. It is a copy version of the real designer product.”
“I see.” I took a deep breath, restraining myself from saying anything.
“I am not yet sure of what I want to sell in the shop.” The woman replied to my question. Like I told you before, it depends on the amount I am able to raise. At least I have to follow your principles of productivity now.” The window of her red painted lips opened to reveal her sparkling white teeth.
“That is okay madam. I’m however afraid that we ought to have done this before paying for the shop…”
“Is that the meaning of your productivity?” She cut in.
“No madam. Productivity means maximising your results with available resources within a given period. It guides you to make the best use of your money, time and opportunities as they come.” I explained.
“Is that not what I am discussing with you now? I already have a shop that I want to maximise.” The woman’s voice was on the starting block again, ready to rise.
“Okay madam. You see, most women owned businesses often fall into this trap. ‘They first locate and pay for a big shop in a highbrow area before determining what to sell there.’ This seems to be the business philosophy of most female business women.
“Don’t tell me that you are also a male chauvinist. Women have been known to be better business owners. Look at Mrs Ibukun Awosika, the former Chairman of First Bank Plc, Mrs Stella Okoli, the founder of Emzor Pharmaceuticals Plc and Hajia Bola Shagaya of Bolmus Group International.” She picked her word with a clenched fist.
“I agree with you madam. These are first class businesswomen. But you can almost count women like them on your finger tips. Besides, I am sure they do not run businesses based on emotions. They are not likely to fly with your idea of getting a shop before knowing what you will sell there. To run a good business requires adequate planning. You must carry out a feasibility study and determine your business objectives. You also need to design your business strategy and business model. You may have a plan “B” and a plan “C”. That is a modern way to start a business. Really, you need a feasibility study to determine what, where and how to sell. Most small businesses, including those owned by men fail because they do not have a business plan.” I tried bringing her back to the table.
“Why must I have a business plan when I am not running a billion naira company?” My madam was now calm.
“Every business that is in the billion naira league today probably started on a shoestring budget. Tantalizers Plc was started in Nigeria by Mrs Bose Ayeni who used to sell wares from the boot of her vehicle 25 years ago. Today it is quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Small businesses fail because their owners do not have a big picture from the beginning. You should have known the business you want to run before looking for the location from which you will operate the business.” I counseled her.
“Hm. Na wah o.” The woman was sober.
“Another reason why small businesses fail is that too much money, if not all the money available, is spent on acquiring a shop or an office from the onset. The challenge here is that more than six months rent would have gone before the business finally takes off. Then…”
“That is the problem I have found myself in too.” She agreed with me.
“Then, the amount invested directly on the goods to be sold is often too infinitesimally small compared to the high cost of rent and other pre-operating expenses. For example, a business that deploys only N500,000.00K on goods to be sold in a business premises that cost over N4,000,000.00K to set up may be doomed ab initio. If the turnover is not very high and the profit margin is less than a hundred percent, then there will be challenges of covering total cost within the first two years before the rent expires.” I elaborated.
“My brother, you are making sense. It’s like you have been following my business.” The woman stopped a call that came through her GSM phone. She switched it off and dropped the phone on the table.
I was excited that I now had her attention. I went ahead to tell her the mathematics of running a shop that is rented for four million naira in two years.
(To be continued).
