God created man with different skills, ideas and knowledge about work and different entrepreneurial activities. Interestingly, humankind must work for survival. Therefore, having a broad knowledge about different entrepreneurial activities available will go a long way to help members to really know what business to do and how to go about it. ]
Experiences have shown that some people are rich in capital, but they cannot make a decisive choice about the business they will do and even how to start. In today’s lesson, we will be learning about the various entrepreneurial activities and the possible risks.
1. Different Entrepreneurial Activities
An entrepreneurial activity encompasses the enterprise of human actions in pursuing the generation of income for the expansion of economic activity. The understanding and the involvement of entrepreneurial activities play a key role in any economy, using the skills and initiatives necessary to anticipate needs, to bring goods and new ideas to the market. Some of the different activities are discussed below.
Manufacturing
This is the creation of goods from raw materials into a finished product for the satisfaction of human wants. Generally, manufacturers sell their finished goods to wholesalers, who in turn sell to retailers. Examples are textile companies, furniture makers, shoe bag making, factories, garri processing and bakery factories, plastic making industries, etc.
Wholesaling
This type of business activity sells merchandise in bulk to retailers whose purpose is to resell it to customers.
Retailing
This type of entrepreneur enables buyers to buy their merchandise in pieces. They are very close to their customers who only buy goods for their personal consumption. Retailers involves small scale businesses such as petty traders.
Service business activities
This is a type of business that requires work to be done, whether skilled or unskilled. Examples of service workers are beauticians, barbers, electricians, plumbers, designers and landscapers.
2. How to Sustain Entrepreneurial Activities
Experiences have shown that many people have gone out of business despite the fact that they had the capital and prayed with conviction to start a particular business. As good as it is to be inclined to set up a business with all necessary cautions, another important aspect is how to sustain it. However, the following is some useful advice for business owners.
Be current with the market price.
Every business owner, whether a retailer or wholesaler, should be current with market prices so that he/she will not run the business at a loss.
Employ a trustworthy prize.
You need to employ trustworthy and dedicated workers who will take up the business. Some people engage the services of a supervisor who manages the business in the absence of the owner. However, this is common in manufacturing and wholesale businesses.
Do not spend your money lavishly.
Some business owners spend their gains extravagantly without caution. They do not pay attention to maintenance, welfare of the workers and the provision of some essential and modern equipment to keep the company going. Those who collected bank loans to start their business are sometimes easily carried away without being mindful that the interest must be paid regularly. If this continues, there is every tendency that the company will fold up.
Diversity
Diversification is the system whereby a business owner expands or invests in different businesses instead of sticking to a particular one. The advantage is that if one is not thriving well, the other can complement it.
Be creative
This is the idea of being resourceful or innovative. From time to time, business owners must be abreast of what is vague and make necessary adjustments in order to remain relevant and make gains.
Relate well with customers.
Relationships are very important in businesses. That is why the business must ensure that it relates to the customers.
Have a good and constant supervisor.
The business owners must not lack good supervision. They leave everything in the hands of the so-called manager, who sometimes mismanages the business.
Treat your workers well.
Employees can make or mar the effort of their employer. However, one thing is certain that if workers are treated fairly well, they will work wholeheartedly for the good of the organisation.
3. Challenges in Entrepreneurial Activities
Many entrepreneurs in Nigeria face numerous challenges that make it difficult for them to succeed. The lack of success to funding, poor infrastructure, corruption, limited access to the markets, increased rate in prices, cost of distribution of goods, low demands of goods, etc. constitute the challenges entrepreneurs are facing in Nigeria.
For some, it may relate to the supply chain, whereby the suppliers of goods or services change the production or output contrary to the entrepreneurs’ expectations. Some other entrepreneurs are finding it difficult to keep up with the changes that occur as a result of new technologies.
Some have the challenge of getting efficient staff for their growing businesses. In business, sometimes we gain, sometimes we lose, but all entrepreneurs must put in conscious effort for their businesses to thrive.
One must not give up because of these challenges; rather, one must take practical steps to restructure one’s business so that it can grow. Any challenge we may encounter as entrepreneurs should not be seen as a hindrance but as an opportunity to learn and do things differently for a better outcome.
4. Eight Challenges Entrepreneurs Face
There are hazards in almost every profession, including businesspeople. They face a lot of challenges in the highly competitive world of business, especially at the very beginning.
Experiences have shown that even though so much emphasis is being made on the development and practice of entrepreneurship in Nigeria, many businesses are folding up as they can no longer cope with the high cost of materials. The list below aissome problems hindering the success of entrepreneurship in Nigeria today.
Fear of the unknown
Sometimes, it is simply the fear of an unspecified challenge. Having spent money to start a business, recruit experienced and committed personnel, market and advertise your goods and services, only to experience bankruptcy.
It is a major challenge that business people usually face, especially at the point of beginning. Little wonder somebody said, “Doubt and lack of self-confidence are huge dream killers and they go hand in hand.” This is why it is important for disciples of Jesus to seek God’s face about the choice of business and be ready to trust God for success rather than being afraid.
Having little or no support
Having emotional and financial support while you work towards your goals is very important in the business world. The reality for many entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs is that they hardly get support and encouragement, particularly at the beginning. However, disciples should know that there are unlimited options for getting support to start a business.
Lack of good planning
Some businesspersons have the capital, adequate support and the choice of their business but they lack good planning/coordination. It can become disadvantageous to business success if it is not corrected. Every business aspect should be properly planned for maximum profits.
Corruption
Corruption is an act of dishonest or illegal behaviour, like giving bribes, mobilisation of funds, and lack of transparency, to gain favour. Unfortunately, corruption has become a social evil that is rampant in our society, and it has hindered and paralysed the growth of many businesses.
It is a challenge for budding entrepreneurs. As disciples of Jesus, there must be a collective effort to curb this social evil. Relatively, the introduction of e-business through the media/internet is gradually reducing the rate of corruption.
Poor/lack of infrastructure
Lack of infrastructure such as water, transportation, electricity and accessible roads usually hinders the success of entrepreneurship. These facilities are capital projects of the three tiers of government left undone. The outcome of these problems has increased the population cost, which brings about high pricing.
Cash flow management
The steady cash flow is an important aspect of business survival. The difficulty in getting loans, and higher interest rates or huge collateral being demanded by financial institutions, are major challenges.
Many entrepreneurs have folded up because of their inability to get extra funds to take care of difficult periods. The admonition is that business people should maintain a well-prepared business plan and strategise a steady stream of revenue they can use to fund their new businesses.
Inconsistent government policy
No business can operate in isolation; incessant changes in government policies have been responsible for the unexpected closure of some businesses. The government needs to create policies and an enabling environment that will give more freedom and possibilities for entrepreneurs to survive.
Decision making
Decision-making has been the most difficult time for entrepreneurship. Even the simplest of business ideas, to continue growing, requires more than just you. Disciples should therefore trust God in choosing team members who will remain in business.
5. The Importance of Having a Clear Vision as an Entrepreneur
Therefore, there is a common saying, “Ideas rule the world.” This is true in the business world because without ideas/visions, the business may not be sustained. There are some other questions you need to provide answers to before the commencement of any business. For instance:
- What type of business do you want to do? (manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, service business activity, etc.)
- You may want to consider the number of staff you will need for a start, and probably how to create awareness of what you do (advertisement).
- What is your current role in business, and what will your future role be?
- Who are your targeted/ideal customers?
- How do you get the take-off capital?
- How will it happen, and who will be doing what?
- Will you involve your family members or engage other individuals to run the business?
- If you are in the manufacturing business, have you made provision for customers?
Conclusion
It is very interesting to know that entrepreneurial activities can be rewarding. However, it is more important to be reminded that much work is needed for sustainability. Many business people have experienced bankruptcy in the past because they were careless about some of the ways to sustain their businesses.
Whether or not we believe it, entrepreneurs face so many challenges, especially in our contemporary time. These challenges have made some businesspeople quit and opt for something else because of frustration.
However, businesspeople should endeavour to make adequate plans as discussed above before they set up any business to avoid bankruptcy. They should also acknowledge the fact that though they may not make a profit immediately, they should not relent in their effort to succeed through good decisions, identifying their goals and pursuing them with all vigour.
Roadmap to Entrepreneurs
Whether we like it or not, entrepreneurship has come to stay in Nigeria, and this is the reason for the continuous emphasis. Young school leavers, undergraduates, and other people are encouraged to venture into any of the entrepreneurial activities of their choice so that they will not continue to seek white-collar jobs that are not available.
Salary earners are not exempted. They can also engage in entrepreneurship aactivitiesthat can fetch them additional money, provided it does not affect their commitment to their official assignment. Such can be done on weekends, after the day’s work, during one’s annual leave or any free day during the week.
You should not be discouraged by the situation in our country to the point of not trying something apart from their official jobs. What is important is to seek the face of God and wait patiently for divine direction. The gains of having additional sources of income are more than the pains of depending on one’s salary, which is so meagre and sometimes not regular. You can read further here.
Editors
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