BEST SMALL BUSINESS MISTAKES YOU NEED TO AVOID TO GROW

WE ARE STILL TALKING ABOUT WHY GOOD SMALL BUSINESSES FAIL, WHAT YOU CAN DO TO MAKE YOURS WORK.

In our last article, we talked about wrong location as one of the reasons why good businesses fail. I remember mentioning to you that, every business is a good business, even the best business. So what will determine your success in any business is, among other things, location.

Let us assume, that you want to start the business of booking flight ticket for people, I am very sure that you will not site your business center where low income people live. No, you will want to locate it where people who understand and can afford your services live. That is exactly what we are talking about. Give your business the right location. By right location, i mean; the environment that understands and can afford your product and services.

Am sure you still remember what we planned to talk about today. We have some interesting point to consider from our last article.
If you have not read that eye opening article, please, click here to read it.

Let’s look at the first environment we mentioned that day. The environment that has mainly farmers, about 500 of them. There are environments like that in Nigeria, right? So the question we agreed to think about was, what business will grow in this environment? What were you able to come up with? Well, when I was thinking about this question, is ask myself this question; what do farmers need? Why I ask myself that question is because, it is when you solve their need, that you will make money.

Let’s do the thinking together now.

If I start a small business of selling, let’s say wine, that is not a small business anyway, but you can start small. So if I start selling wine in an environment where you have mainly farmers, will they buy? What if we begin to sell cooked food? Will they buy? How about shoes and expensive body cream? Will farmers buy? I will like you to provide answers to those questions please. Ohh! You want to know what I think. I think farmers will not buy these things, you know why I said so? Because these are not their needs. These things are not very important to farmers.

So what is more important to every farmer? Let’s reason together again.

If I decide to start small fertilizer business in this environment, maybe, buy just one bag of fertilizer and then begin to sell in rubbers, will farmers buy? Every farmer wants his crop to do well, and he needs that thing that will make his crop yield well. Will fertilizer care for that need? Am sure your answer is yes. So if am selling fertilizer in that environment, will they buy? Yes is the answer. Did you take note of how we arrived at that conclusion? That is how your reasoning pattern should be like when thinking business.

What if I begin to sell seeds that farmers plant. Like maize, pepper, tomato and okro, will these farmers buy? Because it is what they use, it is what they need, they will buy.

Now, are you gradually beginning to see that you sell what the environment need, not what you feel like selling? This environment needs seeds and fertilizer. If you come and sell wine or expensive shoes and cream, that is not what the environment need, you are selling what you feel like selling, and that, is the beginning of failure. Let me straighten out something please. I am not saying “All farmers don’t drink wine”. No. some farmers drink wine actually. But will the money you will get from this few be enough to pay for your shop rent the following year? If the answer is no, why not think of going for popular demands like fertilizer and seeds? Will that not sell more?

If there are environment like this in your area, why not think of starting this businesses we’ve just mentioned. However small, your level is, you can start something and grow from there.

In our next article, we shall look at the next point.