You want to start a business today? Then read this!

By Chioma Ifeanyi-Eze


I am awake this morning and excited to share my story to bless someone. This time last year, I was still in paid employment but had conquered the fear of setting out to run my own business. I ran Accountinghub over the weekends from a Library. I had only 5 clients. I remember the humble beginnings of Accountinghub -two laptops, one staff, no office (we were using the library in Lekki Phase 1)-thats all. I worked weekdays in full employment and weekends in Accountinghub. The library only cost 10k for 3 months. It was so hard to convince my staff that I had a vision that would work. It took over a month for her to join me.
I finally had to convince her that I still had paid employment and my salary could cover her pay over 10 times. I spent long hours online. My colleagues at work had to learn to speak in low tones coz I was always listening to something online. My greatest investment was in myself. It was enjoyable and it worked. Today, I am looking at Accountinghub 's balance sheet then and now, it could only have been God! My husband is in awe of how business can thrive so well in a recession economy. I feel burdened to speak to someone who is waiting for that all perfect moment to start; someone who says I need capital to start; someone who thinks he needs an office to start; someone who is waiting for the economy get out of recession to start; start Now! This time next year, you will be happy you did. My greatest learning is Start from where you are. Start in your nothingness. The pressure to perform is much less when you haven't raised capital from any source. Start just as you are. You mustn't own all the resources. Has anyone visited Abuja airport and seen those guys who wear orange and white shirts and offering you a cab? It's a business called Viko Car Hire. The young man disrupted the cab business in Abuja airport. He didn't need to buy any cars. He only had to build a platform for all Igbo boys to brings their cars to the airport, sign up under his business and pick rides. His winning strategy was offering a free ride back to the airport on your departure day. I took the cab and had an amazing chat with the driver. This particular driver didn't even own the car, he hired it to work under Viko. Viko earns a daily fee and assures them of 4 to 6 rides daily. it's been a great business for most of them. I know a thousand other people are sitting at home and waiting for 2million to fall from heaven so they buy their own cabs for airport runs. Viko already overtook them. Business requires creativity. If you are sitting and thinking in the same way as others, sorry, no luck. You must think different. I met a young man last week who delivers food for a woman who runs a popular food joint. He says he does over 50 deliveries a day and earns 200 naira per delivery. Guess what he did- he took a bike on hire purchase and instead of running round Lagos streets seeking passengers, he went into an agreement with this woman to help grow her business. Another lady who makes beads only sells to tailors. She enters partnerships with tailors to offer a free neckpiece for every dress. More customers now rush to those tailors. The bead maker is swamped with work. She earns only 1k per piece. The tailors only have to raise their price by 1k and everyone (tailor, beadmaker and customers) are all happy.
Start thinking today. Be creative. Stop seeking to enter business in its normal way. Seek to start just as you are. As long as your head, hands and legs are working well, you can get there! Thereafter, the funds will locate you.