I came from a polygamous home. After my sister and I were born, my father’s family decided advised him to get another woman who will bore him a male child. He succumbed to pressure. He married another wife who gave birth to his first son. Hell was let loose in our home. 

When my parents got married, my mother resigned from her teaching job and went into her matrimonial home as a full house wife. Shortly after my father married another wife, things got tough at home.  

My mother dusted her Teacher’s college certificate and went back to work. Education is important. She got a teaching appointment in a private school and eventually in a government school. She tried to upgrade her certificate by enrolling for her degree course and paid for our tuition at the same time. By then, my youngest sibling – a brother had been born. 

Her income wasn’t enough. The expenses were higher than what she earned as a primary school teacher back then. She needed additional sources of income. She tried her hand on quite a number of businesses when I was growing up. She sold everything you could remember in the late eighties to nineties:  Detergent, Lotion and Creams, Iced-water (those ones you tied in nylon and put inside the freezer), Groundnut etc. 

She took some products with her to sell to her colleagues in school while we usually helped her to hawk when we returned from school in the afternoon or late afternoon but none of these businesses lasted for long. I was much older by the time I realised the reason none of these businesses ever worked out. 

It is so easy to jump into a business you knew nothing about when you are in desperate need of finance. As if I would learn from my childhood experience, I made the exact mistake when I lost my job few years back. I gathered all the finance I had and plunged straight into food business. By the time I realised my mistake, it was already too late and my capital had gone down the drain. 

Many people are making the same mistake in this covid-19 pandemic period. Most have just a source of income and it was their salary. They have no alternative source of income neither were they planning to get one. They have planned their lives around this single source of income. When Covid-19 started, disaster struck. Companies downsized and many people lost their job. What next? 

It became necessary to brain storm and get another source of income as soon as possible. However, it is important to consider lots of things before jumping into a business. Otherwise, you will find yourself back to square one sooner than later. 

1. Don’t just join the band-wagon. Don’t start a business simply because lots of people are doing it or it is the business in vogue. That is a recipe for disaster and financial ruin. 

2. Are you looking for a Temporary business that will ease the present hardship or one that will last? Will your business stand the test of time? Please consider these questions carefully before launching into a new business. 

3. Have a passion for what you are doing. Starting a business is tough. You are going to work long hours, make difficult decisions without vacation or any visible achievements for what you are doing. If you don’t have natural flare for what you are doing, you will give up easily. 

4. Consult other business owner who are in the same line of business. You are going to make lots of mistakes as it is. Why not learn from someone who has been there before to minimise your mistakes? Your mentor will also help smoothens the rough road of starting up a bit. 

5. Start your business with your personal funds. Don’t borrow or apply for loan to start a business because success is not guaranteed. Loans should be used for business expansion. 

6. What Customer problem are you solving that Customers are willing to pay for? This will determine how successful your business will be and how long it will last. 

7. Who are your customers? What is their spending habit? Where can you find them? When you know the answer to these questions, then you are ready to start your business. 

No one knows how long Covid-19 pandemic will last but it definitely won’t be around forever. This mean it is just a phase, no matter how long it is. Don’t just go into any business for the sake of it. Try and engage in the kind of business that will still be around long after the Covid-19 pandemic become history. 

I will appreciate your contribution in the comment box.