Should You Take A Big Leap?

Back in 2009 when I decided I wanted to transition my hair back to its natural state, I looked at my relaxed hair in the mirror and I was scared. I did not want to have short hair. This meant doing the "Big Chop", in natural hair parlance, was out of the question. Instead, slowly over time, I snipped out the relaxed bits of my hair. I hid the whole process by sticking to a regiment of braids and weaves. Eventually, I got to a point where I felt my natural hair was long enough and I cut off the remaining chemically-processed hair in one trim.

Get Your Wallet Ready For A Start-Up

There are many factors that will undermine your foray into entrepreneurial land. Just be careful not to let your personal finance be one of the hurdles you can not overcome. As a business owner in Nigeria, one of the things that is certain is the uncertainty. No matter how well you think your business is going to be, you have to be ready for your income to be irregular. In cases where you were in a paid position prior to takin the 'big' leap, you are likely to find yourself taking a pay cut as well. This scenario should not be the reason why you decide not to start your business. There are certain things that can be done to buffer your wallet against the financial dilemma of entrepreneurship. Some of the steps you take now will help you when you become an entrepreneur.

Things to do

1. Get in the habit of tracking your day-to-day spending. Most likely than not, you are using a smartphone so it will be easy for you to take notes of your spending. When you track your spending, you are able to see how your spending is divided into the needs and wants categories. It is important that if you are spending heavily on wants, that you rein in this behaviour. Also, are you spending impulsively? This another behaviour that needs to be checked. 

NdaniTV interviews Lisa Folawiyo of JBL

I admire Lisa Folawiyo, the founder and creative director of Jewel By Lisa. As an entrepreneur who has dabbled in the fashion industry in Nigeria, I respect her. I respect her because I understand the amount of work it takes to take your vision from your head to a drawing on a piece of paper to something executed in fabric. This last sentence cannot express the sheer amount of hardwork it takes to produce clothes. Fashion as an industry demands passion, tenacity and the ability to keep pushing. I respect Lisa Folawiyo's success because it means that she is doing the hardwork she needs to do to keep her company growing.

One of the things that struck me in this presentation is that her business was born out of her passion. In entrepreneurship, with the amount of challenges one faces, it is important to be passionate. On the worst day in business, a business owner still needs to be able to see some token of goodness.

Watch and let me know what you think in the comments section below.

The Power of Small

One of the biggest hurdles that entrepreneurs face when it comes to taking that step is the realisation that they do not have the capability to get to the great big dream. This is especially true in Nigeria where there are a whole universe of systemic issues that make entrepreneurship ever more difficult. I mean the World Bank ranks Nigeria at number 131 out of 185 economies for ease of doing business. Nigeria is ranked number 119 for the ease of starting business. (Click here for their data chart) Against the many different hurdles, it is still possible to be an entrepreneur. One just has to be really strategic about the choices one makes as a potential/new business owner.

SWOT Your Business!

One of the steps in writing the traditional business plan is the SWOT analysis. Taught as a part of many business course, the SWOT analysis is a great tool to begin exploring the viability of your business idea. SWOT stands for :

S-Strength

This refers to the advantages you will potentially have internally within your organization. This is the time to figure out if you perhaps known a genius that will give you technological leverage over competitor. Or do you have the ultimate networker in your family that can introduce you to people? Or are you a persuasive genius that is the next big thing?

QOTD: On Obstacles

I should have died many times, but I didn't. I always thought that somewhere around the corner was another road, and I would find it. It's just that right now there's a big mountain in front of me and I can't see it.

-Ping Fu

Co-founder, Geomagic

Read  more on this amazing woman here