Business Questions Answered By Industry Professionals

As a business owner, there are certain questions you often seek answers to. These questions help to provide a better understanding of how to be a better entrepreneur and run your business efficiently. In response to this, we have provided answers to some business questions. These answers have been answered by industry professionals with years and experience running, managing, and growing various businesses.

Question 1: What are the key drivers for business growth?

Olawunmi Olatunji​ (AVP, Business Development. BizNurture Financial Services Limited)

Growing your business can be an exciting challenge. Listed below are 4 key drivers for business growth to accelerate your journey to dominating your industry.   

1. Employees

Your employees determine the success or failure of your business. The way they work influences how customers and partners perceive your organization. It is therefore important that you treat your employees with value.

2. Customers

To become a leading organization, you must put the needs of your customers first. Focus on adding value to your customers by solving their problems.

3. Finance

Your business needs funds to grow. Understanding how to manage cash flow is important for business growth.  The key to driving growth is to determine the best financial approach at every stage of your business and utilize available funds in the most beneficial way.

4. Operations

To accelerate growth in your organization, you need a clear understanding of every aspect of your business. Maintain a highly flexible system that adapts to changes and make the best of business opportunities.

Question 2: Why is a business plan important, and who should write it?

Answer: Opeyemi Obayemi (CIOO BizNurture Financial Service Limited)

A business plan is a document that describes (in detail) a new business (usually) and how the business will achieve its objectives.

An intending business owner should own the process of writing a business plan for his/ her business. This is important because the process of writing the business plan allows the business owner to critically think through different aspects of the proposed venture.

It is important to state that the process of writing a business plan is more important than the result of the process; the business plan. This is because there is no business plan that is executed as written, after coming in contact with reality.

Question 3: What ways can I prepare my business for a crisis or yet another pandemic?

Afolabi Hassan​ (Credit Risk Manager. BizNurture Financial Services Limited)

To prepare your business for a crisis or another pandemic, prepare, and have a business continuity plan in place. This does not require you to concentrate on the risks or the occurrence of another pandemic or crisis, it is concentrating on results and managing risks so that no risk is too great to prevent. 

Some ways you can prepare your business include:

1. Identify and treat the risk of Single Point Of Failure: 

A single point of failure (SPOF) is when the failure of a part or unit leads to the breakdown in the entire workplace or general system. SPOF analysis is the “process of identifying, mitigating, and removing any part of a business process and system whose failure would paralyze the entire process or render it redundant.” To avoid a single point of failure, Carry out a thorough audit of your process, identify any Single Point Of Failure, make extra efforts to mitigate it, and ensure that effective and sustainable plans are put in place to tackle any future occurrences.

2. Diversify your customer base

Try as much as possible to diversify your customer base. You are encouraged as well to diversify your source of income. If there is another pandemic next year, will your business be badly affected? Think of other related businesses/services you can render or offer to both your current and potential clients.

3. Add business/services around essential services to your business line

Question 4: What kind of person makes a successful entrepreneur?  

Ife Ibitokun​ (CEO/Managing Director. BizNurture Financial Services Limited)

Though entrepreneurship is not for everyone, any kind of person makes a successful entrepreneur as long as s/he is ready and willing to put in the work. Below are some qualities of successful entrepreneurs:

1. Driven

Successful entrepreneurs usually have a strong inner drive that helps them succeed. Focused and passionate about a big dream, successful entrepreneurs are highly motivated to see their ideas birth and grow successfully. They have a mindset to succeed, backed with consistency.

2. Embrace ‘failure’

This is always uncomfortable as failure is not something most people want to be associated with, more so, told to embrace! However, as with life, no matter the stage a business is, there are challenges, and they can sometimes seem unending. ‘The floatation of a ship was not discovered by contemplating the sinking of things’, an entrepreneur therefore, needs to be ‘comfortable’ with ‘failing’ as it is in it, s/he learns. Successful entrepreneurs are ready to embrace challenges because they are there to make them grow.

3. Understand and value their network

Entrepreneurs mostly don’t succeed alone. They need people to help in making the big dream a reality. Successful entrepreneurs know how to nurture relationships and surround themselves with contacts – business partners, financial partners, mentors, coaches, board members etc. – who are supportive, that can make them succeed. They also embrace and accept constructive feedback.

4. Invest in personal development

Successful entrepreneurs always reinvent themselves and constantly keep a growth mindset. Because entrepreneurs meet a lot of people – customers, investors, partners – on their journey, investing in learning about themselves helps them become self-aware, and also discover how their personality types work well with others.