Amachukwu Innocent's Blog

The worst part about a failing business is that the entrepreneur is unaware of it happening until it is often too late. It makes sense because if the entrepreneur really knew what he was doing wrong, he might have been able to save the business. Some entrepreneurs live in a land of denial while others are unaware of their mistakes. One thing for sure, a business almost always fails because of the entrepreneur. “It’s not the plan that is important, it’s the planning.” Dr. Graeme Edwards There are thousands of not millions of young person's going into business in Africa. The sad reality is that only about 50% of them survive. What’s worse is that only about one-third survive 10 years or more. The life of an entrepreneur is unforgiving. It is a constant challenge. There are many moving parts. Any one of them could put you out of business. Businesses fail for many reasons. The following list includes some of the most common reasons: 1 – Lack of plan...

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After reading one of my articles sometime ago, this afternoon, I received a call while I was waiting to be attended to at a shoe shop in Main market and he asked: Oga mi, what really makes a good entrepreneur? I told him I write write about in in my next post as telling him over the phone will swallow his airtime. To whom it may concern, Below are the basis of what makes a good entrepreneur. 1. Salesmanship. The ability to sell something is absolutely necessary to knowing how to run a business at any stage. Whether you're starting out on the floor like I did, selling a physical product, or you're the CEO of an agency placing talented employees, you need to know how to make a sale. 2. A chip on your shoulder. This can come in two forms. Either you were born with nothing, zero, and you're just hungrier than the average human. Or, it's the reverse: You born into a lot of wealth and opportunity and you want to prove that you don't need it, and can do it on your ...

In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg was attending Harvard University. It was here that he heard of the website HarvardConnect, founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, that inspired him to create Facebook. Zuckerberg could have easily approached the Winklevosses, given them credit for their idea, and asked to build Facebook together with them. They surely would have accepted, and it would have resulted in less work for Zuckerberg in creating the site. But he didn’t. Instead, he struck out and founded Facebook himself, knowing full well that it might cause problems with the Winklevosses. If he hadn’t done that, he wouldn’t be the figure he is today, with a net worth of greater than $60 billion. In 1994, Jeff Bezos was working at a Wall Street-based investment firm. At the time, Bezos held the position of Senior Vice President. The pay was, by all definitions, exceptional. He could have held this job for years and lived a happy, financially-sound life. But he didn’t....

Years ago after I landed my first job, I almost lost it immediately. The reason was not far fetched. I came into the company with the effrontery and paraphernalia of a first class graduate and assumed a condescending demeanour to the directives of my team lead. I had learnt she graduated with a much lower qualification and I therefore assumed a plethora of things on that basis. I had eloquent and bubbling ideas that I believed should take preeminence in the scheme of things without due consideration to savvy and experience embedded in what I have been delegated to do. However, like a boomerang, this backfired and I was eventually summoned by the owner of the company to answer a query. The owner of the company looked at me intently and muttered these finite words that have been ingrained deep in the embers of my heart for aeons. He said, "It is better you are pruned to grow than be cut to die". These words reverberated in me and gave me a profound sense of self and re-ech...

If you haven’t heard, Facebook announced that it’s working to integrate three major chat platforms — Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp — in order to allow cross-communication for users. This is a huge development. Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014, making this power move possible. The new infrastructure would keep the three applications distinct while simultaneously allowing users to chat with each other, regardless of their platform. The project is under development and has at least another year until the infrastructures are integrated. Today, here are eight things you should know about the Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp Integration and what it means for users, marketers and businesses. 1. Users gain a windfall of convenience through the integration When looking at all of the people who use these apps, Facebook realized that the process could be streamlined, making life more user-friendly. After announcing the new mess...

In my opinion, most of the mistakes done by entrepreneurs who start a new business are connected to sales. No proper lead prioritization, poorly planned sales reps’ vacations, or unrealistic, inflated targets - these are just examples of poorly prepared new business opening. Even the most thorough and detailed sales plan can collapse if you won’t pay attention to a number of essential factors. Obtaining new leads Regardless of the industry you’re in, or the stage of development you’re at, you need a steady inflow of sales leads. When you don't have it, you won’t be able to keep a speed of growth. Even if it sounds obvious, we often forget about this and start reacting only when all the leads have dried up. Do you get most of your clients into the funnel via the website? Maybe you’re active on Facebook and/or Instagram? Remember that drawing leads from a single source is rather risky. Never keep all your eggs in one basket. No lead prioritization D...