this is 2013. the year of no excuses....and this applies to my readers more than anyone else. over the years, i have joined the throng of people who sing the whole "multiple streams of income" song. the belief is that one cannot ever survive or build a life on his salaried employment. this song is not new and everyone of us probably has an aunty who has done everything from fishery to tailoring in the pst, opening and closing each business venture within a year of launch.
i know that a lot of people think opening a shop and stocking it is all it takes to have a successful business running. that was in the 70s. now, with the extremely aggressive tax regimes in nigeria, coupled with no access to capital, the decayed infrastructure and expensive real estate, a successful small business is magical to say the least. by the time you register your company name, get a photographer or artiste to prepare your logo, talk about print advertisement concepts, get a model, pay the model, get a lawyer to draft basic documents like model release forms and file your returns with government, you will have to re-evaluate the business within a year. and this is how many businesses fail. nobody considers the full picture because all we think is about a 500,000 naira capital and shop in some obscure street stocked with milo and milk. good luck with that.
as part of my value adding series on the blog, i have decided to inspire my blog readers not only by sharing my opinion on the ludicrous, but by actually giving them information they can use. it recently occurred to me that an increasing number of my friends and acquaintances are opening up personal business and investing a lot of time and energy to start something. its not exactly new, but the passion with which they pursue these dreams and the successes they are beginning to record makes it clear to me that the future belongs to those who dare. as much as i scoff about the values of this generation, the obvious truth is that any business that wants to survive must cater to the "mediocre" needs of that same audience. this is also known as giving people what they want, and getting paid for it.
so, look out for my series starting from next week where i will start off by interviewing a young photographer who has taken his world class talents from surulere to the world. i will ask him, not so much about how he started, but about what keeps him going...how he is able to wake up everyday and want to do the same thing. how he spends his profit, and if he finds the environment conducive. i'm hoping he will be forthcoming with his responses and that you will find the value i hope to bring.
see y'all around peeps.
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