Top 5 Challenges of an entrepreneur

 

The journey to become a successful entrepreneur in Nigeria seems very difficult. It’s a journey for only those who are ready to see light at the end of the tunnel despite all odds. It is definitely the journey for the strong. It is the journey for those who have the burning desire to solve other peoples problem, for those who are ready to make impact to the world.

There are many challenges associated with being an entrepreneur. Some of them are minor and easily overcome, while others you may just have to endure.

Despite all effort of the government over the years to curb unemployment, there have been no evidence to prove that their effort was been fertile, not until the final solution to the problem of unemployment was discovered which is called entrepreneurship which has saved many nations from been in a cry state and was seen to be the only saviour for the Nigerian economy.

Now, people are beginning to look into owning their own business than just sitting idle or waiting for white-collar job that may never come. In the light of this, here are the top 5 challenges an entrepreneur will encounter while on their way to achieve success in their business and they include as follows.

CAPITAL:

This i will say is the biggest challenge an entrepreneur do encounter especially at the beginning. So many people with loads of ideas have been in dog-chains for donkey years unable to unleash what his embeded in them due to the lack of funds. No matter what business idea you have or how wonderful it is, you still need money to get your business running. It is very evident that it is more difficult for an entrepreneur who seems to be a beginner to get fund to kick-start his/her business unlike those who already have an existing business and have make a brand of their own.

The best way to raise money for your business start-up is using your personal savings or goodwill from family/friends. While this is difficult, it just require an implementation of a common sense logic. If you have no financial commitment to your own business nobody would be willing to commit their money to your care.

POOR INFRASTRUCTURE:

The state of infrastructure in Nigeria is just deplorable. Take electricity for instance. Most businesses require constant power supply but with the epileptic nature of electricity in Nigeria, most entrepreneurs will have to spend a lot of their money in buying and fuelling their generators. In fact, many businesses have closed down or moved from Nigeria to other countries due to electricity issues.

Another infrastructure lacking in Nigeria is the effective means of transportation. The poor state of the roads and railways are a big challenge that Nigerian entrepreneurs contend with, making it difficult and expensive to move raw materials and finished product to their respective destination.

This is one of those challenges entrepreneurs have to endure or at least work around. While we wait for the government to do their bit because business has to keep going no matter what.

GOVERNMENT BOTTLENECKS:

This is one of the challenges been faced by entrepreneur and has made many of them to move from one state or country to another because of the unfavourable conditions of the government policies.

Entrepreneurs sometimes have to wait 30 days to register their new business with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). How about registering with NAFDAC, or accessing funding from the Bank of Industry (BOI)?

Some of these regulations and the way they are implemented just don’t make any sense. The government needs to take steps to encourage new businesses. With proper implementation of technology, business registration could be done in 48 hours.

MARKETING:

This challenge is mostly caused by the economic state of the country. Things are becoming very expensive and most Nigerians are trying desperately hard to save money, thereby cutting down their expenses and spend on things that are very important to them.

One solution to this challenge is to conduct effective market research and produce only what’s in demand. Here are some all time high-in-demand commodities you may want to start from.

Advertising can also help, but the greatest marketing strategy is the quality of the products or services you provide. If you provide high quality, word of mouth will spread and people will look for you.

CASH FLOW MANAGEMENT:

This is one of the major problems been faced by an entrepreneur. Many entrepreneurs, especially the inexperienced ones, do not manage their finances properly. This is one of the reasons why some businesses start running successfully for a while and eventually pack up with nothing to show.

Giving out too many credits to costumers will definitely affect your fund. Using fund from your business capital to pay personal bills is a poor management practice that spells doom for any business.

The challenges that are associated with being an entrepreneur in Nigeria are many. With determination and perseverance you can scale through them and achieve unimaginable heights of wealth.

Are you an entrepreneur? Share your experience with us. What are the challenges you face? Post your comments to let us know.