ADESOLA IKULAJOLU reports on a session by a business expert, Dr Dipo Awojide popularly known as Ogbeni Dipo on starting a small business.
Having a business idea might seems easy. In fact, several people have ideas on how to own their own business, either small scale or large. But the problem is how to start, survive and sustain the business as well as managing it well.
At a recent insightful Instagram session with a business expert, Dr Awojide ‘Dipo popularly known as Ogbeni Dipo, noted that “starting a business on your own and managing it is your sole responsibility.”
Ogbeni Dipo who is a senior lecturer in strategy and founder of Being There Done That (BDTD), spoke at the session on Starting a small business on June 1, 2020.
He noted that several companies, organizations, financial institutions and media companies are laying off staff due to the effect of the COVID19 pandemic, thus the need for people to start their own business.
He maintained that there is nothing bad in benefitting from one’s idea, initiative and business, but noted that it entails putting in the best to get good results.
“Business is war and in war, the goal is to win. Every business venture is driven towards making profits and creating value for the customers. If you have a business, your utmost pursuit must be on how to create value which will, in turn, translates to making profits,” he stated.
While sharing his experiences, Ogbeni Dipo highlighted some of the factors that worked for him while starting off BTDT in 2015 and how the business grew into employing about 40 staff; some of who are working offline, online and even on a freelance basis.
In starting your business, there are factors you must consider. The factors are what builds up your business and make it distinct from what others are doing.
One of the factors according to him, is that you must “Clarify And Identify Your Business.” This means you must “Know Your WHY”. When you come up with a business idea, you must know your WHY. You should be able to ascertain why you decided to start that business. You must ask yourself why you are in business. In doing this, you should know your value proposition, how do you intend to create value and what value are you creating. This is important because people are interested in patronizing value. There are several people in business and you can’t afford to perform below expectation.
Another crucial factor is “You Must Know Your Customers”. You must be able to identify your customers. Different people are selling different things which is more reason you must sell a product people want to pay for. In achieving this, the facilitator stated that you must understand your customer segmentation. One of the ways to do this is to start with customer profiling; understand what category a particular customer falls into and identify their needs. You should be able to get a good understanding of your customers both present and future. This is what will position your business in the right direction.
Also, you can’t also take away the part of Market Segmentation which enables you to identify customers who have similar needs. In segmenting your market, you will catch a glimpse of customers that might have similar patterns and this provides the needed knowledge of what to venture into. “You should identify specific groups of customers who respond to competitive strategies differently from other groups.”
Ogbeni Dipo noted that it is necessary to identify market segments, then you evaluate the segments. This will prepare you to identify attractive, possibly unoccupied segments as well as providing you with the opportunity to select appropriate segments which helps you to determine how many segments to serve.
In starting a business idea, you must “Study Your Competitors.” It is needful to do a competitors’ analysis or better put, competitors’ profiling. This entails that you master the SWOT analysis- understand their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. You should not be in the dark of what your competitors are doing, you can leverage some of the things they bring to the table and capitalise on it to better your own business.
The facilitator cited examples of mobile companies- comparing Samsung, Nokia, iPhone and host of others. This profiling of your competitors helps you to create value for your customers and also afford you the knowledge of what healthy rivalry can bring to your market.
However, while drawing out analysis from your Competitors, you should identify the direct ones because you can’t handle all competitors. Be mindful not to dwell too much on your competitors, the analysis is to get the basics that can place you ahead of others.
Another factor according to him is “Understanding The Industry” He said several businesses started off without the owners understanding what the industry looks like. Some business owner do not even have a clear mission of what will happen in the industry, which is more reason why some businesses will fold up.
Ogbeni Dipo who is also a development coach explained how several small businesses always fold up for lack of the understanding of the industry they are going into is a major one. He highlighted some stages in business which an entrepreneur should note before launching an.
The stages move from Introduction which deals with industry that is totally new from what used to be, then to Growth Stage which deals with industry that is just growing, to Maturity Stage which deals with industry that is already matured and then to Decline Stage which deals with industry that is going down or going out of extinction.
Another important factor is “Marketing, Advertising and Branding Strategy”. When you want to start off your business, you should consider how you will reach your audience and how you can be easily identified. There are several businesses on Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and others, which is why you must learn the use of Social Media.
You must brand yourself, brand your business and think about your brand look. People should be able to identify your brand which is why you must be consistent. In sharing his experience, Ogbeni Dipo revealed how he consistently used similar patterns, colours and style of delivery for his business which makes it stand out. “For every design, you will see a touch of blue. Our flyers, souvenirs and all,” he said. This is to say that colour also matters in branding.
You should be able to market your business to the right audience. You are selling to a target audience and not everybody, hence, you must know your audience, connect with them and be consistent.
As a business owner, either new or existing, you must aim to gain competitive advantage.
The facilitator noted that there are two types of advantages to be conscious of. The first is Competitive Advantage- This is where your business should aim at delivering superior performance- the quest to be ahead and deliver better values is high. The second is Sustainable Advantage- This is where businesses engage in sustainable competition- the quest to maintain the status quo is high.
He also stated that there is a first-mover advantage which is where you are the first to be in the industry, you are the first to bring the idea. And there is a second-mover advantage which is where businesses capitalizes on mistakes of others to build their own business.
On the last factor in starting your business, you must understand the “Reason For Product And Business Failure” and how to avoid them. To avoid failure in business, you must understand customers’ need and poor branding strategy. You must also avoid poor pricing- if you undercharge, it makes you look unserious; if you overcharge, it makes people run away from you. You must learn how to balance your pricing. Lack of capital is another factor that can make your business fail. It doesn’t mean you need millions to start a business, you can check out for businesses you can start with little capital and you will succeed at it.
Take home from the session:
-Start something on your own no matter how small- don’t wait for the government
-Understand the vision of your business
-Set clear Goals for your business
-The need for excellence- you must create an excellent value
-Encourage creativity – as much as you demand creativity, you must also be creative
ADESOLA IKULAJOLU is an award-winning student journalist, he is presently the President of Mass Communication, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko Ondo State.
He can be reached via ikulajoluadesola@gmail.com. Follow him @oloyenaija1
