ENTREPRENEURS DO NOT SUGARCOAT THINGS

I had a very interesting session with a lady yesterday whose cousin lives in Australia 🇦🇺. He paid for her session.

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I had a very interesting session with a lady yesterday whose cousin lives in Australia 🇦🇺. He paid for her session. She works in a manufacturing plant in Lagos but plans to start “a side gig”. When I asked her what type of business she wants to start. She said “FMCG”. I then asked her if her business model would be MIDDLE MAN or STOCK AND SELL. She said “Stock and Sell”.

I asked her “is this up or intending?” She said “I am not a business person but I want to try.”

I then opened her eyes to some FACTS about FAST MOVING CONSUMER GOODS (FMCG). They include:

  1. Little margins, high capital
  2. High risk to theft and sabotage
  3. High risk to burglary and natural disasters
  4. High cost of shop rentals and warehousing
  5. Salaries and petty personnel costs
  6. Multiple taxation and levies from the multiple Lagos government agencies
  7. Huge stock expense to fill up the shop
  8. Etc.

I asked her “How many people doing this business have you interviewed?” She said around 3. I asked her “what’s the overall take they shared?” She said “most of them sounded discouraging and I don’t like it”

I told her: THERE IS NO ENTREPRENEUR WHO HAS RUN BUSINESS ABOVE 3 YEARS THAT WILL SUGARCOAT THE FACTS OF BUSINESS TO YOU. In fact, the longer they have been in business, the “blunt-er” they’d be with you 🙈

And that’s on PERIODTTTTT. 😉

I recall many years ago, Kola Aina of Ventures Platform told me “Entrepreneurship is transparency, vulnerability and accountability.” It didn’t sink then … now, I know better.

DEM NO DEY TELL PERSON.

This is why I strongly recommend Executive and Business Coaching. Many times, we believe “it’s my vision” and without a doubt, it is … but like the Holy Bible says “In the multitude of counsel, THERE IS SAFETY”

I discharged her with 2 tasks: a 1-week deliverable and a 90-day deliverable. After that, we will reconvene to know whether she should just sit this out for now or develop the stamina for the long road.

I LOVE BUSINESS. And I LOVE ENABLING BUSINESSES.

How may I enable yours THIS WEEK?

PS: have you bought your copy of INCUBATING YOUR BUYER BASE FOR TEN YEARS? Don’t waste time. Go to https://selar.com/incubatebuyerbase

m a k t u b !!!

Sam Obafemi
The Octopus 🐙

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