Having a business that is still yet to fully stand has really got me thinking lately. To be candid, being an entrepreneur can be incredibly frustrating, and the mental toll is rarely spoken about.
This heavy feeling made me look back at the struggles I faced when I first started out. I can vividly remember late 2022, right towards the end of my NYSC year. Hmmm. I sat myself down one day, deeply worried about how I was going to survive after my service year. To be honest, I hadn’t saved up much. You know how overwhelming it is when you have to shoulder every single financial responsibility by yourself.
My very last month's allowance, popularly known as "alawee," including the little bonus the state government paid, was the entirety of my life savings. You can imagine just how small that capital was.
**The Birth of a Little Perfume Business **
That was the exact moment desperation birthed an idea,I was going to become a perfume vendor.
One thing is having a grand idea,another thing entirely is execution. Out of fear and perfectionism, I delayed for almost a month just searching for the perfect name for my little perfume business.
When you are starting small, you often mistakenly assume that people will naturally help you climb. There was a lady I knew who was already established in the fragrance industry. She claimed she sold at wholesale prices, but in the long run, she took advantage of my naivety and sold to me at an inflated rate. But as God would have it, I refused to let that capital go to waste. I took to the streets and sold it all by hawking it. Funny, right? 😁 A whole graduate hawking perfume, but survival knows no pride.
At that same time, I was also working as a hairstylist at a salon. I know people might look at me and say I should have just focused on the hairstyling, but the reality on the ground was harsh customers simply weren't coming in, and an empty salon doesn't pay the bills.
**My First Major Mistake **
Mind you, my first major entrepreneurial mistake was financial indiscipline. I failed to separate my business capital from my personal spending money. At some point, I looked into my account and realized there was absolutely no money left to restock. Just like that, the business crumbled.
Fast forward to the next year, I gathered myself and started again.
Some of the scents from my collection
Through this journey, I've realized that when motivational speakers say "consistency is the key," they are selling a dangerous halftruth.
Consistency without operational capital is complete rubbish.You can have all the grit, passion, and consistency in the world, but if the finances aren't there to sustain the business engine, it will grind to a halt. It really made me question myself. How do I actually become the successful person I envision?
This phase of my life has taught me the invaluable worth of guidance. It is so crucial to have mentors people who are already thriving in your line of business to guide you, pull you up, and help you avoid the pitfalls they already fell into. Navigating entrepreneurship blindly is exhausting. I know I might not be where I am supposed to be yet, but with the right alignment and knowledge, I know I will surely get there.
Because at the end of the day, like they popular phrase goes, "na who give up lose."
The Behind the Scenes Secrets of Entrepreneurship
This journey has brought me to a very raw conclusion about what business owners are silently enduring behind closed doors.
*People are borrowing money at ridiculous interest rates just to keep a dying business on life support.
*The constant, gripping anxiety of complete business collapse.
Sleepless nights, dealing with entitled customer complaints, and facing dry seasons of low patronage.
Navigating staff theft, unstable electricity costs, and clients delaying payments indefinitely and a lot more.
And through all of this chaos, you are expected to put on a smiling face and pretend that everything is thriving, especially in this current, unforgiving economy.
Yet, so many are pretending that everything is good.
I’m done pretending. It is tough, and rebuilding capital from scratch is hard work. But I am still here, analyzing my mistakes and getting ready for the next restart. To anyone else grinding through the dark side of business right now, I see you.
Have you ever had to watch your hard work crash, burn, and force yourself to start all over again from scratch?
