Hello fellow entrepreneur, it's been a while I have shared a post on this community. Life has been hard on me lately, However, I give God thanks that I am still breathing.
Life has a way of throwing curveballs when you least expect them. I have faced many challenges as an entrepreneur but nothing prepared me for what I am going through now. It’s been almost 2 months since my family and I moved to a new city for a mission transfer. This move forced me to close my business at our old location and we’re now without a steady income.
Since we settled into our new home the financial strain has been real. The only money coming in was the occasional Hive earnings. But let’s be real, as a family of 6, relying on blogging income is like trying to fill a bathtub with a spoon. It’s just not enough to cover our basic needs especially when it comes to putting food on the table.
Our situation was so dire I had to make a tough decision. I had to tap into the business capital I had set aside to start over. This money was supposed to be my lifeline, the foundation for rebuilding my business in our new location. But as days turned into weeks and weeks into months I had no choice.
The economy in Nigeria is not helping. Inflation is soaring and the cost of basic things, especially food is through the roof. It’s like watching your money disappear before your eyes. So I had no other option. I had to start using my business capital to cover some of our daily expenses.
It’s been a month now and I still haven’t found a place to start my business again. It’s a daily struggle between keeping my entrepreneurial dreams alive and not starving my family. Every time I have to take money out of that capital I feel like I’m breaking my future.
Now some might say borrow money to start a business and preserve capital. But I’ve been down that road before and I’m not willing to go down that road again. The pressure of paying off a business loan with its crazy interest rates is something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. The last time I borrowed money for a start-up business it almost killed me. The stress of meeting repayment deadlines while trying to get the business off the ground was too much. That experience left a scar on my heart I will never forget.
So here I am between a rock and a hard place. I’ve already used about 5% of my business capital to support my family. Not ideal but what choice do I have? I can’t sit back and watch my family starve while I hold on to business money. After all, when there’s life there’s hope.
My family comes first. They must be alive and healthy because that is the true measure of a man’s success. A family in chaos can break your entrepreneurial spirit faster than any market crash. It can send you into emotional depths where thinking and decision making becomes impossible. And when you are in that state, mistakes and misfortunes become almost inevitable.
I’m not saying it’s easy watching my trading capital dwindle. Every naira spent on groceries or bills feels like it’s being taken from my future success. But I have to believe this is just a temporary setback. I’m holding on to hope that before the end of the month I’ll find the perfect place to start again.
In the meantime I’m stretching our resources. We’re cutting back where we can, finding ways to make food last longer and pushing myself to increase my online output. Every little penny helps right now.
This has taught me the importance of having multiple sources of income. Relying on just one business or source of income can leave you exposed when life throws you a curveball. It’s also made me appreciate the emergency fund which I’ll definitely prioritize when we get back on our feet.
It’s tough but I see this as a test of resilience. Every entrepreneur faces setbacks and how we handle those moments define us. I want to come out stronger with a thriving business and a healthy and happy family.
For now I’ll keep looking for the perfect business location and balance our immediate needs with our long term goals. It’s a tightrope walk but I’ll get to the other side. After all, entrepreneurship isn’t just about business acumen, it’s about perseverance in the face of adversity. And if I have anything going for me, it’s perseverance.