Many entrepreneurs are jokers! Over 95% of entrepreneurs are JOKERS! How come in the same economy, same industry, same customer demographics, same products and services one business person is excelling and the other one struggling?
This is true for both small and big business. Do you really care about the PURPOSE, why you do business? Doing business without purpose is a major indicator why businesses collapse. If making money is the only motivator, trust me, in 10 years, your business will be dead.
Great businesses focus on building a long-term customer relationship. They work on improving that experience and never at any given time take customers for granted. Why are supermarkets dying in Kenya? One reason is the culture of harvesting without planting. The work culture focused on customer service is lacking. Many employees and business owners take their problems and moods to work. They need to pick a few lessons from Java: etiquette, speed of service and just doing what you know better.
We always blame competition, corruption, high-interest rates and high employee salaries- “Haki yetu (Our right) Business.” Let me shock you. You can only influence your internal operating environment, so well that customers keep coming back. New operators in your external environment, you have no control. Stop dreaming that you can control the external environment. If it were possible to control the external environment, long distance trucking companies would not accept SGR projects. Local supermarkets could not/and they didn’t welcome Carrefour.
Want to survive and thrive in business? Have a business PURPOSE. Next, communicate your vision to your employees and start living it. Lastly, remember you are competing with the world and not your next door neighbour. Ever heard of e-commerce? Jumuia, Alibaba, esoko, and the lists are growing.
If your neighbour is giving you sleepless nights, then you will never sleep when the world comes knocking.
