“This Act Kills My Business Quickly” — Didi-Omah Speaks On What Kills His Business As A Start-up

One of the mistakes I made when growing my business as a start-up, early days and from the grassroot foundation. To grow and establish a strong profitable business, you need little cash and relevant skills at the start. 

Most people are seeking for millions to start the business in their minds. They are working and applying for millions, like two to five millions of Naira. To get started. But that is not where the tallness is, it is in the skills and mindset — but I will focus on the primary one, skills. 

Yes, they have the idea, the kind of business to venture. But they don't have the skills enough to sustain and grow the business. Large relevant knowledge and skills is what is needed to grow any business regardless of the field or industry.

I have seen millions poured into businesses from the start, and eventually crash. I have studied them and came to discover that, it is not the capital but the lack of large skills. Yes, you need money to grow your business: capital to operate the business — you need skills to keep the business alive. It is only who that is alive, that grows; so it is in business. 

Little capital and huge skills is what every entrepreneur needs to get started and grow. Not necessarily huge millions to get started. One with the right relevant large knowledge and skills, having little capital — in the process of time, will build a big business empire. 

But he started with huge money and have little or zero skills, will end up out of business, eventually that business will crashed. If it is loaned, he is set to face his lenders, putting him into big debts.

I was focusing on huge starting capital and less skills, this action plays a role to my downfall as Doactalk — I am happy to learnt that error early. Read more books, learn how to control and use artificial intelligence, and how to communicate with people. 

If I am like this younger generation, that is what I will focus on: reading more books, learn how to control and use artificial intelligence, and how to communicate with people. Acquiring more relevant knowledge, large skills, and focus on multiplying small money to increase. 

Never to forget, seek God first before everything and everyone. Be saved in Jesus Christ and come to the knowledge of the truth. Walk with God in obedience and by faith, have faith in God, and help your government.

If you are running a business, one of the most tempting things to do is take profit out of the business, and spend on personal expenses.

If you want your business to grow, don't try it. But if you want your business to remain at the same level for ten years, then you can do that.

Don't eat your business profits, keep your business profits away from your personal needs. Create a business account, set business audit; make your business a person separated from you.

Pay yourself salaries, take dividends from your business for your personal needs; not your business profits. Start small, think like a giant. Begin with what is in your hands, little by little be going, be disciplined and committed — don't forget the big dream you had, keep the faith alive. To keep growing, treat your business as a separate entity and you as a separate person. 

Take a look at an average shop owner. Have you noticed how a shop owner remains the owner of just one shop for ten years? Why is he not growing?

He is not growing because the law of growth for business remains the same, regardless of the business you are running. And the law is simple. Use all your profits to grow your business. Check all the big companies that started small. They obeyed this simple law, and that is why they grew.

And check all the businesses that never grow, remaining at one level for ten or more years. It is because they disobey this simple law. Whether you are a shop owner, an online store owner, an influencer, or a farm owner, if you do not apply this law of growth to your business, then your business cannot grow.

So it is not because you are doing ordinary laundry that your business is not growing. Rather, it is because, you are not using your profits to grow your business. And in other to use your profit to grow your business, you have to start earning a salary from it.

As stupid as that may sound, most top CEOs and Entrepreneurs who founded their own businesses, earn salaries from them. That is so that they can keep the profits either to use it for business growth, or as cash reserves in case anything goes wrong.

And this is another problem most businesses have. They never keep cash reserves. So when a bad market condition hits them, they collapse real quickly. This incident occurred to us as Doactalk in December 2023.

And how do you keep cash reserves? From your business profits. So you can see here that your business profits have a lot of job to do, more than fulfilling your personal needs.

It is those profits that help your business grow, and it is those profits, when kept as cash reserves, that will help your business from crashing when a bad condition hits. So please, pay yourself a salary for your needs, and use your profits to grow your business.

If you look at most big businesses, they don't take out profits, they take out dividends. And the dividends they take out is always less than the profits they make. Why is that? Because dividend is what you can afford to remove from your business after calculating all the things your profit should do.

So all the big entrepreneurs you know do not take out profits, they take out dividends. Maybe you should learn from them, and maybe you shouldn't.

But if you want that business to grow, then you need to learn from them. As simple as the truth shared in this, it is very powerful. Always reinvest your business profits as much as possible for growth, pay yourself dividends or salaries.

© Didi-Omah Augustine Chinazaekpere 

Founder/Chief Executive, doacweb.com, Africa