There is a better way to do it. Find it

While I will definitely not tell you that everything you read on Hustle or entrepreneurial books will work, I can say without doubt that you can learn something from what you read that you can apply in life. And today, I want to emphasise on the value of patience.

A value that parenting has taught me all too well. My son’s name is Iroma , he turned two last year in September. Initially I was a bit worried that his speech development was a tad too slow. I was comparing him to my niece who is almost two and can eloquently talk the house down.

I wasn’t alone in this, even my wife admitted that she got jealous when she went to events and met kids younger than Iroma expressing themselves better. But then we remembered that our neighbour’s son was quite the same. And now at age three, the boy’s speech is perfect. So we have relaxed about it, even managed to figure out Iroma’s baby talk. And learnt that he is what doctors call a late bloomer.

In the world of business, patience, or rather lack of it, can be the greatest undoing to many young people. One of my friends decided to introduce a new line of products from Turkey into his clothing store. His store was popular in the city for having the latest fashion trends, and thus this new endeavour was bound to succeed.

He was introducing the latest denim apparel and the launch of this particular brand would be the first of its kind in East Africa. But alas, the sales were not quite as projected. And while this was a first for him, he was quick to learn a tough business lesson; that there is no contract between you and the consumer.

If the consumer is pleased with what you have to offer, he will come to your shop. But if he finds a similar product, and doesn’t have to leave his home, he will spend his coins there. My friend later found out that a few stores down his, another store owner had beat him to the imports and had found a quicker and better way of getting the clothing out to the customers. He rudely learnt that there was no binding contract between him and his clients and the consumer only wants the product and if there are easier ways to get it, that will be their top pick.  

That brings me to my other point; delivery service. if you are keen, you will have noticed that everything is moving down to delivery service. In these harsh economic times, the consumer is engrossed with working to make his coins.

That means you have to work extra hard to get his attention and not lose out on business. So what measures have you put in place for your clients’ convenience?  

Recently, in the spirit of being adventurous, I tried out a new chicken joint just to see if it was better than what I had been getting at my usual eatery. This new joint had attractive branding that I really liked and I had gotten reviews from so many people in my circle.

What did they do better than my regular joint to get that many reviews? Whatever it was, translated into my usual eatery missing out on profits from my patronage and they may just have lost a regular client. It all boils down to your patience and dedication to learning how to keep improving your service delivery.

Do not give up when you hit a developmental challenge. Instead, adapt and thrive.

Same lesson my wife and I learnt as parents. We are learning to understand his baby language, and while at it, teaching him new words daily. And his speech has gotten better over time.

Just like the popular business quote ‘it takes time’, your business growth takes time and patience. But what that quote does not emphasise on is that you need to keep working even though it takes time.

Do not sit down and say, ‘let the boat take the waves’, rather, learn to create your own waves.