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Back to business
Running a small business can be fun and exciting, but it can be trenches and ghetto too. The journey to running the perfect profitable business is never short of crazy detours and experiences. We had a chat with three online business owners about some of the wildest experiences in their business lives and how they moved past them with their heads held high. You too can learn a thing or two from Zat of Zeeb Collection, Aamir of Grismall, and Wuraola the small-time baker.
Running up and down for financing
As a new business owner, starting from an idea and banking on it is a learning experience for many entrepreneurs. For many small business owners, the process of gathering money to finance their business, and how difficult it may have been for them is something many relate to.
You shouldn’t even be surprised that many people have funny stories about their ordeal.
This business owner Zat of Zeeb collection, “raising money to buy stock was hard!! I was a student back then so I had to save money from my allowance—I had to bank on running my small student business with all my savings; I didn’t have time for enjoyment or jaiye jaiye anymore”.
Having your business finances in order is necessary to raise money, it helps you know how much your business is making and spending, and is a must-have when you need external financing. Kippa makes this super easy.
Responding to customers anytime anywhere, even if it is a weird place or time
If your customer has ever called you, and you were in the toilet, kitchen, driving, or even a weirder place, raise your hand!
No doubt running a small business takes out your fun and free time, you have to be mobile and ready to respond to any customer's messages; especially when your business is new and you want to satisfy your customer's needs.
Aamir Abdulfattah that runs a perfume business Grismall has had times where he feels the need to take time off in running his business, but he can’t because customers come first. “There are times when I want to take time off social media or messaging platforms, but I can’t because customers can hit me up at any time so there’s no day/time off”.
The madness of getting noticed—marketing and promotions
Running a small business itself na wahala, now add marketing on top double wahala.
Often that is nought, in marketing you have to resort to weird styles and means to get your business noticed.
Wuraola the small-time baker,” When I started trying to promote my business, I baked a large batch of cakes to give out as samples.
I walked about two blocks of 3 floors of my hostel and knocked on at least 60 doors, to advertise what I sold. It was a struggle, but it paid off because many of them now patronise me”.
Taslemat Yusuf of Beauty by Tas is known for its luxurious beauty products and packaging, for example; they sell lip glosses infused with rose essence and petals, and they send their products to you with tiny cute notes and free samples.
Pricing- are you charging what you’re worth?
This aspect is another struggle for many small business owners, how much is my service or product worth, how much is charging too much etc- these are questions that run through their minds.
Aamir Abdulfattah that runs a perfume business Grismall, also struggles with finding the perfect balance in pricing his products, “There was a time I felt my prices were too high because I found people selling at a lower price than me but I chose to keep the prices because I have a locked-in relationship with most of my customers and those perfumes were not high-end perfumes. Those people were just selling good copies/fake of those perfumes”.
Realizing that it’s time to fire yourself and get a new staff
Firing an employee is hard, except the person has been messing up so much that you’re just like, “Oya be going, it has do”.
What would you do if it’s you that is now messing up no? Sometimes running your business on your own would become overwhelming, this is the stage where you have to get up and say maybe it’s time to get help from other people and not do all this on your own.
Finally,
A crucial part of what the Kippa app does for your business is analyzing financial reports to help you make better business decisions; help you understand cash flow. And overall, it gives you insights that reveal the bigger picture of how your business progresses.
All the tools you need to start/run/ grow your business, your go-to bookkeeping, accounting and business bank app like Kippa give your business a way to measure your overall performance. It also provides information to make decisions related to your business, and it helps you ascertain your revenue and income. Therefore, spending extra time and money maintaining proper financial records is essential.
We hope this made you laugh and reminisce about how you started your business and whatnot.
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