Topic: My idea on business strategy (Read 370 times)

Every business person should have the minimum tactical acumen to strategize to succeed in the business. I would like to discuss about business in the rural areas.
Let's take a hypothetical case of a poor household that would want to embark on trading in food stuffs either in the semi urban areas or an urban areas. Again this household is made up of father, mother, and five children. In fact, it has seven members.
I would suggest two ways for the household to embark up n for the success of the food stuffs business.
Firstly, the entire family members should constitute themselves into a production unit in the cultivation of cassava, sweet potatoes, yam and plantains farms, with each of the crops occuping 4 acres of land. This pattern of agriculture should be a fairly permanent source of food stocks for family consumption only and not for sale except there are sufficient surpluses. This is done not to temper with the food stuffs that make up the business in the shop. For this is a separate entity of its own. When these are done, the business would survive the test of time.
Secondly, the food stuffs business should not be sited in an environment where almost all the neighbors are relatively poor to the extent that none is capable of paying credit when food stuffs such as garri, a cup of beans, maggi, a cup of rice are bought on credit.

People normally ignore this in business and it's highly important if you want your business to grow. Your customers are the people you are selling your good to, the way you treat them highly determine if they will come back tomorrow.

Ideas plenty dey for plans to achieve a good business, for business to reach to a certain stage, whether na company or personal business, we go  get plan on how we want it to grow reach, for example to do wetin it takes to make the company grow well like to create better and comfortable place for customers to dey come, you know our country sabi like wetin go dey attractive for eye and if e come dey affordable for people, e go sweet wella and e go dey bring more people to your business or company because people sabi like cheap things, so like this now, if you dey do things go dey make people happy, e go really make your business or company grow to the level wey you want.

Perhaps you're very correct with your points that must be considered in order for a business to grow but basically from my perspective there are lots more to put into consideration to achieve success in ones area of business. Just as you mentioned {SIGHT} it's one of the major reasons some business falls, how can one be selling car part in a food market isn't that so improper? I'm considering sight for some people like me who like to go into importation and exportation of cars and its spare parts. if you wish to succeed in such business you must consider a mechanic shop, or it's best situated in a mechanical area because this are the set of people that can patronize you. Etc so it applies to every business.

There are lot more to discuss but it can't be over- exagggerated

I agree with you say location na one important thing to consider before venturing into any business because if you no get better location to run business you fit run shot for the business you dey do. And na village people go carry am.

Yes another problem na over gain too. Most people due to over gain Naim keep them for where dem dey till today and the funny part be say the gain wey dem dey get no fit make dem rich self o. From year to year dem just dey thesame, nothing changed. And that high price go dey chase customer comot.

Another one na laziness and lack of understanding customer. If person too dey lazy, the business no go ft move well because people no go like to dey come your shop. Some people don open shop but them no dey frequently go there atol and people dey alway like a busy place and when dem come you dey always dey shop dem go stop Coming. but some people no go understand this thing. Any body wey dey do business make E dey constant for the shop make people dey see say you dey come and you must dey know wetting your customers need sothat the next market you wan go, you go need buy wetting your customers need.

Business is innovation time changes and trend also changes,as a business person always learn new things about your business and change for the better.cause some person's might be making profit from there business and be contented with were they are,not knowing there's need for innovation.when someone else in that same business comes around with a more trending way it begins to affect there business and people will move to what is new they start having issues in growing or innovating to that standard.

when it comes to most Nigerian small scale  businesses, this is the area most of them end up missing it all aswr.

Most small scale business owners don't know that Thier customers is the number one factor that keeps Thier business running, they are mostly not too concerned about the feedback they get from Thier customers. You go to most shops and it's almost as if you have to beg them to sell you stuff before they will come out to sell stuff for you. And when customers stops coming around the first thing that comes to Thier mind is that a neighbour is using Witch craft on them.

A good customer relation and service can keep a business going smoothly even when the customers aren't all that much. Thier is how you will treat your customers, even if they have an alternative shop to get what you're selling at a cheaper rate, thy will still continue to petronice you

Business is business and we know that there are always competitions no doubts but even with competitions one with a wise choice can sell more then his or her fellow competitors true, which means everyone who's doing a business in an environment whereby there are a lot if competitions, they should make sure to apply wisdom if not their goods will have to remain at their shop and het spoilt.
Been a business owner is not about the profits you are making alone, because you can be making profits but you don't have the ideas to manage a business the business will run dry because you do not know how to manage profits and how to manage loses.
Business are made from ideas, when one is not smart enough to handle a his or her business the business will collapse and not improve.

OP, although what you said is in line but, one of the major factor for unsuccessful business is the inability of individuals to identify the particular business they can handle, laying out strategy to make your business move forward is a good idea too, when their is competition in the market, the smartest among all succeeds and how he or she succeed in this condition, for instance if his profit in each goods is twenty naira and other people are using the same profit line to sale, he can decide to sell with Ten naira so that he can go back to market very fast, if he do this, people will patronize him more and the turn up will be so much and enormous to count, what every business need is consistent selling.

There are many things to think about before opening a business.most people don't know business there going into.you need to have a knowledge about the business.then make good feasibility study on the business and location insight.have a packaging and a commercial goods that has high demands.then check ur competitors price make your affordable for a start the increase in price gradually.and above all be consistent that is also a big role in business that makes you succeed.

OP what causes some businesses to collapse the most is actually greed like they want to make excessive profits before they can sell their markets. I went to the market to buy a shoe from a shoe seller then the seller told me it's #15,000 and I price him #12,000 but he said he can't that he bought the shoe #10,000 that if he sells it at #12,000 that how much would be his gain after he deducts his transportation money and the money he pays for his shop so I asked him if the day he bought the shoe that was it only that single shoe he bought that he wants all his expenses to come out from that single shoe, he was surprised and couldn't say a word i now told him that when they get home they would be telling their families that there is no market when it was actually their greed that made them not to make sales so when you are too greedy in a business then that business might collapse.

Secondly, when we talk about the location of a business it is also very important in establishing a business, I saw a low quality fabrics seller opening a shop close to an estate and i begin to wonder who is going to patronize her there when most people residing in those areas are mostly big and wealthy people that buys all their stuffs in luxury shops and boutique. So it is important to make enquiry if people around the area you want to establish your business actually want what you sell because if you open a business in a place where the demand of what you sell is very low then it would really affect your business.

you have actually make your point to an extent here concerning business strategy, but permit me to buttress it, factors behind been successful, in business, first you carry out a visibility study to know how conducive the environment is, haven thought of that secondly you consider the population of the geographical area, thirdly you consider location wise etc, after all this above mention considerations, you have to be time bound been time conscious in business will help to grow your business, lastly you must be of good manner, good approach is very important too, with all this one will be capable of making a good living through business.     
 

This is absolutely true, before starting up a business you must know or have these 4 things in mind.
1. Where am I starting this business (place )
2. What will I sell or what will I do
3. Is the place or location good for what I want to do or sell
4. Now after considering all these things you now consider the capital
Now some business men and women are actually looking for more gain which at the end leads to the downfall of their businesses when the customers has find out that what is being solid in your chop is higher than what others are selling they will have to choice but to leave another place to buy

OP, Even the scripture go talk say "Wisdom is the principal thing, get that wisdom and in all get understanding". Most people don't know that Business is more like a skill, there are times when we learn how to do such business not by waking up one morning having the capital and just jump into the business maybe due to seeing people living life out of such business. To be that successful we need to have full knowledge about the business like how to stand competition and any slight inflation, this will help in the growth of the business.

Yes, practical knowledge precisely, most people open business without knowledge on its modulus operandi, they act on assumption leading to unfavorable decisions making. opening a business without practical knowledge is as good as not opening the business because the possibility of folding up is high.
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Profitability in business is a testament of good business etiquette, experience, consistency, positivity and dedication. If you poses the above, unit success rate is high. Profitability is the dividend of good business engagement, and if a business owner's involvement in business is just for the profits alone, he has neglected the things that will bring the profits across like building a good customer relationship, being hospitable, having a good sense of humor, having credit & debit book for documentation purposes and  stocks taking to make informed decisions.
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The first thing that killed them is lack of good customer relationship. If your customer relationship is good and the staffs are hospitable, the customers are good teachers as they enlighten you on what needs to be improved upon especially when you request honest feedback from them. I do that a lot in my job and when I ask for these feedbacks, my findings always blow my mind and I see from others point of view what I should upgrade upon to serve them better. They should also be learnable, humans are the best default AI, because they learn  and adapt to demands easily, this things customers regularly demands that you're yet to get should be penned down and purchased at your next orders to keep those customers committed to your organization, and you in business.

Absolutely correct, is important before one start a business you should first study the environment and ask yourself and provide answers to the following questions:
1.What does people need in such environment that is lacking or that is not properly taken care of?
Knowing exactly what people need that is lacking in an area is very import for planning a business. Doing different business from others will help you to have minor competition at the initial stage of the business as well as building business network.

2.Did I have enough knowledge for this business?
Before you venture in any business you should try and have basic knowledge of the business. Never you do business because you saw people doing the business and making profit. You can start the same business that you saw people making profit and loss all your money if you don't have the basic knowledge of the business. knowing the nitty-gritty of the business a key to a successful business.


3. Did I have enough capital to start this business?
Some people are waiting for others to bring business ideas for them. Once you start a business that has potential with small capital you will end up bringing business ideas for others. Your business can never withstand competition because you will see some people using big capital to start the same business you are doing in the same areas. once your customers come today you don't have what they need and tomorrow the same story you will end up losing almost all your customers to your competitors.

Lastly always ensure you do your business with a touch of excellent because the success of every business is customers. A touch of excellent will ensure you are transparent not doing your business with fake life, not being rude to your customers.  This reminded me to a day I went to buy eggs from a Shope and there were mixture of both small and big eggs in the eggs crate and the woman was selecting small one all through for me and I told her instead that she should mixed them and she reply if I select the big one who will then buy the small one with a hashed voice and I left and went to another place to buy.  

It is good that before you start up any business, you should understand the business and the risk attached to that business, either by consulting a professional in that business field to learn from, or you go and work with someone in that business field for some period of time, so that you can learn the business and know a lot of itby asking questions and also gaining knowledge.

Mismanagement is the another factor that has made so many business to fail. Lack of taking proper record of cash inflow and cash outflow, using business money to take care of some needs when the business is trying to stand.

Price is also an important factor to be considered. If the price of your goods are expensive, and you have competitors in that your business location, you will hardly grow in your business. This is because people will also run away from your shop and buy in another place that is cheaper. For example, if everyone is selling a tin of milk for #1000 because they bought it #900, if you sell yours at #950, you will always sell many tins of milk, while they will sell few.

Sight and greed is not the only factor that affects business. Sometimes the following listed below can cause it. Which includes.

1. Attitude: some businessmen and women don't have good attitude towards customers. And that can chase people away, except you control change your attitude.
2. Mismanagement: when you lack the managerial skil to handle financial issues can Leed to toal shutdown of business and. Because of lack of fund to continue with.
3. Lack of marketing strategies: when you don't lean business before venturing into that business, you will not last long. Because you lack the basics skill to run a shop.
4. Lack of customer relation: when you don know what your customer needs the most and also knowing there expression if you are satisfying them or not.
5. Spiritual problem; it is believed that the spiritual controls the physical, so most cases are more of spiritual than physical. but ignorant and lack of believe will keep a man stagnant for life Thinking nothing of such exist.

This is one key factor that affects most new business owners. Imagine you are locating a charging point in a place where there electricity is highly stable, locating a POS shop when there are several banks around or rearing a pig in a Muslim environment. The location of your business most be customer's friendly. Considering the high rate of transportation in Nigeria, proximity to market is another factor to consider. As taken your product to market may incur extra charges if your products are far from its consumers

When one is planing a business it is very good to draft out a good plan to make sure that the business is successful.  One of the things we need to out very well when starting a business is the environment. The environment needs to be considered if it will be good fir the kind if business one have in mind for. If the environment is not good for the business it will be impossible for the business to grow and this will result to lose of capital when their is no growth in business.

Concerning greed, I observed something like this in my area last year and if customers tag or see you as a greedy person then you're finished. Have you observe something like; Mr A sells bag of rice for 35,000 and Mr B sells his rice for 30,000 same quality and brand, everyone in that area will go for Mr B and Mr B will make 10× profit of what Mr A is looking for with that price.
Honestly speaking business is not for everyone cause some are not smart enough to withstand customers choice and interest cause of greed, there's nothing bad wanting profit but it should not be too obvious, some people don't really understand that market has to do with competition.
Concerning site, this one is very common cause you can't open a pos shop in an area that has over 7 pos shops, you will not make any profit besides you're just starting new with no customers yet, when ever you want to open a business find what's not common and study the business strategy first before opening a business.

Watin the OP talk na correct thing, greediness no dey carry person go anywhere, if person dey greedy na e sef e dey do because things way e suppose to get e no dey get am.
Free hand matters a lot because you no know who go help you tomorrow, as e dey so some business people no sabi watin this OP just talk, them no get the scope na make them busi8 no dey flow well.
Just think am say person dey dey free with them costumers to dey wey when e be say the person fit buy something from your store and keep the change for you, although say no he everybody dey do that kind of things as e be say the country wen we all dey so done dey very hard to the way for people to survive.
Like playing like playing, watin person no sabi big pass am, like some people no go check well the kind of place when them dey go open them business and know the kind of things when go sell well for the area. Some way no sabi go sell pepper for place when Onions go sell well then how the peppers won dey profit you better things wen e be say customers no dey buy am? Moreover the location nai matter pass the product, but all of them dey included.

This are the main fact why some people failed in their business today, most especially the greedy, nothing greediness no dey couse for this, greediness na another way of bringing a failures way to a successful things, and na that thing be our main problem for naija business people, them go know say na bad stuff for shop and them go continue sell am, I dey remember last week wey I go buy trouser me and my friend, that is the first time of buying things with the man, so as we pick a trouser and we check am very well so we praise reach 15k and he said 17k last we paid the man I left, after wearing the trouser and about to wash it the trouser just dey tear like something wey Don suffer and Don tired, I regret going to the place and I go back and explain to the man, the man they plead say no be their fault, from where they are bringing it, since that day wey my friends know about nobody wants to buy anything from him again, as a business owner you have to know how to sell quality thing's even if they are expensive people will know that you have the quality products.

You have mentioned the strategies that will determine if a business will be successful or not, which are location and greed for selling goods at a high cost, which are very correct. But I would like to share a strategy that will also help to make someone successful in their business. Before you start a business, you should learn about it to gain knowledge about it and know how to sell your goods when you finally start the business, so that you will not lose money because you are selling your goods at a lower rate. For instance, you start a business without knowing anything about it, but you believe you will be successful in that business. When it is time to determine the price to use and sell your goods, you start guessing that you bought Nivea men's cream for 3500 naira a few days ago and you want to sell yours at that same price without knowing that the purchasing price from the manufacturers has increased due to the fall of naira against the dollar. And this will prevent you from getting the maximum profit that will take your business to the next level.

Location and knowledge are both good things you mentioned but their is one missing which complete the equation which is public relations. To me a business cannot flourish if you don't relate well with your customer, a customer need to feel welcome and appreciated, when you don't treat your customers right, they will definitely seek for an alternative, so your relationship with your customer is very important just as location and knowledge.

sorting for the right location of s business is as important as starting the business itself. If you make wrong decision as it regards the place you are situating your business, you might end of locating business in an area that isn't viable for the kind of device you are rendering. But before considering the location of your business, I feel that the most important thing is to look out for your primary customers. Your primary customers could be those individual that you're certain will patronize you in the chosen location based on their unmet need. It would be foolish to start up a printing press in an environment that is not close to an institution or in an area where he demand of printed material is in high demand so for me, the inability to first of all study the need of an environment is the root course of business failure.

Another major factor is the lack of consistency. People usually treat their customers well during those time the business just started but after a while they start doing I don't care with their customers. One had to understand that what keeps a business running for long is those customers that will always come back to your business for any of their intended purchase and as long as you loose them out because of overfamiliarity wit them, you business will start going down if care is not taken

The more you keep on waiting patiently while strategizing a way to start a business, the more other business enthusiasm will start and conquer that business before you do.

We are not the only ones with a particular business idea. So many people have similar business ideas to the one we have. Which means there is not time to start doing much planning and organisation. You can reach out business consulting or expertise; they will help you grow the idea faster, or find a personal manager to help you manage that business all you just need to do is to pay them. Starting and maintaining a succesful business is not that easy. This is why there are professionals who help business owners to grow their business without any stress.

The only thing i consider to be what may delay someone from starting a business is finance. If there are enough funds, don't hesitate to start somewhere, and with time you will see how far you have gone.

As a matter of fact, business cannot be run smoothly by any kind of individual who doesn't have good knowledge or ideas about business.

If I get you right, the two reasons why you think a business may not excel are bad location and greed to get too much profit, thereby heightening the price of the goods.

Yes, those are two reasons, but another thing that contributes to the lifeline of a business is how knowledgeable and visionary the entrepreneur is. Note that not every person has an entrepreneurial spirit. Some people usually go into a particular business, probably because they see that their friends are into it and they are making a profit, so they just decide to go into the same business to make a profit like their friends.

Although location can also be a good drive for a very successful business, sometimes there are people in a good location but their competitors are selling more than they do because they don't have the ability to maintain good customer relationships or they don't have the ability to spark customer loyalty.

There was one grocery shop in my location that was just newly opened towards the end of last year, which is a very good location, but since the start of this year, they have not opened the shop up to date. When I saw the shop, I actually concluded that's how it would happen. I am an entrepreneur, so I usually access new businesses, and when I do, I can determine if the business will fold or survive. This grocery shop I am talking about rented a very big shop for a huge amount of money in a very good location, but they only stock the shop with a few goods, there is not enough space for customers cars to be parked, and they have an iron protector in the shop entrance that prevents customers from freely coming into the shop. Again, they don't have humble staff. I am sure they did not have good sales last year, and they might have already relocated.

This analysis is just a simple truth of many failure in busines. Lack of planning and strategies mostly this over gain and poor location. A good business man must have a target population and as well study the environment know what is needed before venturing into such business, it should be able to publicize his product not just within the location of the business but outside the domain or location of the business, reduce it high gain knowing that others competitors are there beside if it's too expensive customers may look for close substitute which may render the product not moving market and it will lead to expiration, which is loss. Any business without proper planning and strategies can't get good result at the end that is why Bible said seeing a man deligent in his business he will eat before Kings and not mean men that is to say planning and strategies lead to eating with Kings.

It is very important as a business person to strategize your business perfectly before taking action, today so many people have failed to become successful business men and women not because the business is not a good one or it does not give you profit but their are some little factors that can hinder a business..
SIGHT: Some people have a nice business but they don't sell out any of their goods months in months out what they have still remains with them most times they will tell you that somebody is manipulating them Omo nothing Is wrong check your location if it's not good change it.

Greed: Many people are very greedy when it comes to business they look for over gain this factor can hinder a business some people would have this goods that are getting bad for consumption but still keep it to be sold till it gets bad and at last it will be thrown away,who lost.

Every business person should learn how to strategize so well before going to set up a business.