I want to grow my small business in Nigeria – If you are a business owner and you want to grow your business, then you will find this article relevant.
This article is about the likely challenges small business owners will face when they want to grow their businesses in Nigeria.
Small business owners face some or all of these challenges at the early stages of their business development, as they try to grow their businesses.
Challenges Nigerian small business owners face when they want to expand their business
I want to grow my small business in Nigeria but there is no demand for my product
A challenge a new business owner might encounter, which can prevent business growth is the lack of demand for the products or services.
Most of the time, this challenge is due to not carrying out the necessary market research before starting the business.
Right from the beginning, a business owner must understand what customers value, and be able to adapt to changing customer needs.
Many businesses fail to grow because, they ignore the changing demands of their customers.
I want to grow my small business in Nigeria but there is poor access to customers
The problem of poor access to customers means that a business owner finds it difficult to obtain customers and establish a customer base, and this is often due to lack of sales ability.
The inability to access customers could wreck even an established business. Every business needs to add new customers, even those that don’t want to grow, if only to replace those who will inevitably leave.
Competition will not allow me to grow my small business in Nigeria
It might be more difficult to grow your small business in Nigeria if your competitors are already offering a comparable product or service.
You will only be able to grow your business if your business idea is distinctly better or more competitive.
If your business is in a very competitive niche, one of the things you can do to be different is, to put a new twist to your product or service.
Lack of skilled staff does not allow me to grow my small business in Nigeria
Being able to acquire skilled, talented, and motivated employees is a challenge for many small businesses.
Not many skilled people are willing to work for a small business especially, for a long term, and this affects their ability to grow.
Without a skilled and loyal workforce, a small business will be unable to delight its customers.
Small business owners need to be able to engage and motivate their employees, so that they want to work with the business for the long term.
I cannot grow my small business in Nigeria due to lack of finance/capital
Money is needed to sustain a business; many small business owners do not have working capital needed to manage and expand their businesses.
A profitable small business may not grow due to the inability to properly manage its cash flow.
Such a business may be profitable in the books in terms of inventory, receivables and assets but may be unable to pay staff salaries or meet customers’ orders due to lack of cash needed for the day-to-day operation of the business.
This can limit business growth and when such small business owners are looking for capital to expand their businesses, capital providers may not be convinced that they are capable of properly executing their business expansion ideas/plans.
I lack adequate business and technical skills needed to grow my small business in Nigeria
Many small business owners lack the business and technical skills required to manage and grow a small business in Nigeria.
It is a great idea to do a self-evaluation, to know where your strengths and weaknesses lie.
In the business skills where you are the weakest, you should seek adequate
training, and employ staff with the required technical skills.
If the needed skills are not already available on staff, then you need to seek assistance from external experts.
Stress is affecting my ability to grow my small business in Nigeria
Work related health problems and stress affect small business growth in Nigeria.
Running a small business can be daunting because the business owner tends to want to do everything and needs to be everywhere.
However, adequate planning and establishing of routines might be helpful. Business owners need to know when to delegate, make use technology (where possible), and outsource,
Remember to take time out, your business cannot grow if your health is not great and there are constant interruptions in your business.