In our last article we talk about martins the fried yam seller, how successful he became. Just one idea he got from listening to peoples complain, made him a financially successful young man. The last question I ask that day was if you noticed that his customers came not only from his hostel where the complaint was heard, but from every corner of the school. From lecturers to students. Does that remind you of anything?
Remember, I did mention that if someone is complaining about x problem here, some people somewhere are also complaining about x problem there. So, solve x problem here and you get people with x problem from another area. So the main point from that article is that, you get good business idea, idea that will bring you money, if you cultivate the habit of listening to people.
If you have not read that article, please click here to read it. There you will see great business ideas. or one best business to start.
In our today’s article, you will see again, how very
necessary and important it is that you listen to what people complain about. Am
talking about when the complaint has to do with products and services. The
experience of Mandy will make things clearer.
Mandy has been in the University for 2years, but has never noticed, in the real sense of the word notice, that she has been buying her sanitary pad from a store that was 10minutes walk from the school gate. “From my hostel to the school gate and from school gate to the store will take nothing less than 25minutes” says Mandy. To her, it was not a problem, she did not even notice, even though she is been doing it for 2years. But was it a problem to other ladies? Let’s see.
“One day, a lady in my hostel complained about that distance,
and that made a new meaning to me. I saw it as a small business opportunity or a small business idea. After 1 week, I ran to the bank, got my
savings, ran to the market and bought sanitary pads. I started talking to every
lady on campus”, said Mandy. How was the response like? “The response was
great. People drastically responded”. She was nick named sanitary pad at some
point. “That didn’t border me at all, that even advertised me more. And of
course, I was making my good profit”.
Mandy left university 5years ago. She has a shop now, where
she supply sanitary pad from. She still has that school as her territory. She
didn’t plan to become a business lady, but today, that’s what she’s into and she’s
loving it. Who wouldn’t? Especially if money is coming.
She converted a complain into money making venture. She
heard the complaint from just one person, but later realizes that others, even
though were not complaining, were having the same problem.
She solved a problem. Did she make money? Yes. Is she still
making money? She’s making more money now than when she was in school.
Did you notice that she started small? Yes, and grew from
that small to big.
If you are in school right now, can you start this business?
Start small and grow big. Let me tell you something about starting small.
Starting small is always the best way to start a business.
You know why? The reason is; every business has its own peculiar challenges.
When you start small, the challenges are small, not beyond your ability to
handle. As the business continues to grow, so is your ability to handle its
challenges will grow. Some persons in the past started in a big way, and of
course, it will come with BIG
challenges. And because they couldn’t handle the big challenges, what happen?
The business crashed. So starting small has always been the best. As you start
and continue, you’ll keep seeing opportunity in it to expand or grow.
Almost all, if not all the multinational companies you know,
started small. Kentucky fried chicken has over 2,600 outlets in Europe alone.
Where did they start from? From a dining table. Today, it has over 2,600 branches
selling fried chicken. Think about coca cola. Their products are everywhere,
from first world countries to interior villages you see coca cola. How did they
start? From a very small mixture in a chemist shop to a multinational company.
Those of you who have read the book “Think big and grow rich” knows what am
saying. Think about Facebook. Is it a company? Well, I think it is. I said that
because it is putting money in Marks pocket. But our concern for now is how it
all started. It started from a university campus to the entire world.
So don’t be afraid to start small. Nobody will laugh at you.
Even if they do, never mind.
Am very sure that somebody will complain about something in
your area this week, this month, this year. If it is a problem you can solve
and solve very well, don’t be afraid to nail it. If you do, I promise you, that
you will receive and keep receiving money as your reward.
Very soon, we shall be coming up with Best Business To Start.
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