My Entrepreneurial Observation in Nigeria

I have looked around and observed two categories of people who do well in entrepreneurship, especially in Nigeria. I’m talking about the kind of business that we can truly call successful. No be hand-to-mouth business that is worse than most paid employment.

1. You are from a rich home. Success or failure does not matter to your papa. You fail and ring up your mama, and she says, “Go to 21, Saka Jojo, Victoria Island, and tell their MD I sent you.” Or tell your brother, and he says, “Bruh, what’s wrong with you? Let’s run this family business together na.” The one that your uncle will hear that you failed and he will be, “Mustapha, if you want to try again, I have one N15 million I’m not using for now.” That kind of peace of mind is helpful for the seeds of a successful business to germinate.
2. You work in a place with excellent (or at least a comfortable) salary. Your business becomes an investment. Your business is not feeding you. You will be fine without your business. So, you take from your job and give to your business every month, and slowly build. You build till the income from your business replaces your salary. Talk about income substitution. You are not ruined if your business fails because it just means you will stay longer at your job until you have the emotional strength to try again.

Those are the two ways most success stories come from. You see all those ‘I can’t find a job. Tosin, what business should I start with 50k?’ businesses? Success is difficult. I’m not saying it’s impossible to succeed or success will elude you. I’m just saying success is more difficult.

The reason is because you are under pressure to ‘eat your work’. You cannot keep building the much-needed cashflow while being hungry. It’s the kind of business you build where you still need to send funds to your parents or send your siblings to school.

It’s like rearing rabbits. Instead of feeding and feeding and feeding them for a long time till they can mate and multiply beyond your dreams, you are hungry and one by one you have to slaughter them as ‘obstacles’ for your meals.

No one can build a successful rabbitry this way.

It is rare to build a successful business without allowing it to breathe.

There are not more successful businesses in Nigeria not because Nigerians are not innovative and full of ideas…

…but because poverty is a bastard.