How to Create a Strategic Plan for Your Growing Business

How to Create a Strategic Plan for Your Growing Business

by with No Comment Businesssme tipsstartup tips

Businesses without strategic growth plans always die at a standstill. This happens when there isn’t a scale to measure business progress.


According to Abbakin, developing poor product development and citing your business in the wrong location top the list of failed businesses.
Only businesses with the right strategy plan this from the onset. To achieve this level, this step-by-step guide on how to create a strategic plan for your growing business is a must-read.


And to ensure that you don’t confuse strategic plans with business plans, let’s clear this coast first.

What is a Strategic Plan?

A strategic plan focuses on your business’s mid-to-long-term goals. It details the basic strategies for achieving growth. But, a business plan covers only your business’s short or mid-term goals and explains the steps necessary to fulfill them.


To create a strategic plan that will make your business survive and thrive longer, you must adopt a workable framework that is achievable within the time-bound.


Some people believe strategic planning is for large-scale businesses, but it’s not. Growth strategy is a must for every business size as long as they have great benefits to derive from it.


Having known this, ask yourself whether your growing business needs a strategic plan or not. But, the following points will assist you to answer that question.

Do you need a strategic plan for your growing business?

Never can you disregard the importance of a strategic plan in business operations. This is because a strategic plan will help you achieve:

  • Envision your business’ future over the next 3 to 5 years.
  • Define your long-term goal.
  • Study your current environment, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
  • Set timelines and responsibilities to turn your plan into reality.
  • Come up with tactics to tackle any identified problem.
  • Achieve your business’ potential by reducing the risk of flying blind.

Creating a strategic plan for your business doesn’t have to be cumbersome as some people think. All you need is to see who can help you describe how it flows.


Step-by-Step to Create a Strategic Plan for Your Growing Business

Before you can achieve your long-term goal, you need a strategic plan to guide you. Here are the step-by-step ways to create it:

Identify Your Competitive Strength

State the uniqueness of your business over the entirety of the competitors. This makes customers buy your product or service over your competitor’s. It fetched you that competitive edge and profits.
Many businesses make deliberate decisions to stand out from the market pool. They leverage their energy and uniqueness to win over a large market share.
It isn’t out of place if you wish to include your competitive advantage in your mission or vision statement.

State your purpose

Your mission statement is your business’s purpose. It’s the reason why you’re in the market.
Getting this statement right is important. This is because it helps you form a growth framework for the day-to-day operation and guides your decision-making.
Ensure that you craft this statement in such as way that your customers feel that your business you create the business for them.
Make it seem that your business exists to proffer solutions to their problems.

Visualize the future

Here, you form a mental picture of what your business should look like in the future.


It’s called a strategic vision because it leads your business through the direction to locate your desired position in the future.


Before drafting your vision statement, envisage what you want to famous for in the next 5 – 10 years. List your company’s resources human and materials to determine your current level and visualize the future.


Also, study the external challenges, the position of the competitors, sales threats, and a global condition that could harm your business.
These and many others will give you a good direction to tailor your vision statement.

Design Your Customers’ Profile

Your customers are at the center here. The question is how can you serve them better?
Study your customers’ questions and characteristics. Then, create motivations around your services to them. Ensure you improve your performance to grow your customer base.

Draft Your Goals and Objectives

Viable goals and objectives get their development from the SWOT analysis and customer profiling charts.


Build the goals and objectives on your strengths while propping up your weaknesses, focusing on your opportunity, and identifying your threats.
Your goal must be measurable, quantifiable, and supportive of your objectives.


Effective goals must state how much of what kind of performance by when is to be accomplished and by whom.

Assess your resources

After setting up the goals and objectives, assess the financial and human resources at your disposal.
Identify which goals are financial-driven, and check whether you have the manpower to fulfill your plan, then recognize these goals as the key and rank them.

Develop an Action Plan

Your action plans are specific actions you set forth as a guide to implementing your goals and objectives.


This comes easy if you identify what obstacles exist to hinder your goal achievement.


Develop action items against problems and assign responsibilities and timeframe for the implementation.

Keep Track of Your Goal

Once your goals are stated, come up with measurements and targets on a spreadsheet.

Use the framework as a guide to achieving your vision. You can conveniently track your progress using this material.

Make Strategy a Habit

Brace up the plan with people, time, fund, system, and more importantly communication.


A strategic meeting must be held on a monthly or quarterly basis for a progress report and amendment in needed areas.
Ensure you’re flexible to yield towards environmental demands.

Conclusion

Your strategic plan is a roadmap to the success of your business. Conduct a proper self-assessment first, choose an effective team, take relevant data, and devise a working mechanism for adequate monitoring.


Connect your vision and mission to your goals and objectives and make them realistic. Be ready to take corrective action where necessary and ensure you’re managing your available resources; human and capital.

With this strategy, your business will stay longer in the market beyond your imagination.

For more business tips and opportunities, catch up with us on our social media channels.

How to Boost your Online Business without Google Ads

How to Boost your Online Business without Google Ads

by with No Comment BusinessEnugu SME Newssme tipsstartup tips

Your business is as good as non-existent if no one knows that it exists.

You must find every means to get your business to your target clients. There are several ways to achieve this. Leveraging Google is one of the most popular.

According to Jeremiah Owyang, “Google is the new corporate home page”.

What this imply is that it will be difficult for corporate entities, entrepreneurs, and other businesses to sustain their conversions and revenue streams without leveraging Google Ads?

Irrespective of the wide coverage and usage of the Google platform, there are tons of options that can give you your desired business promotion.

Truly, online adverts will generate huge conversions foryour business. It will open your business to the world and help it cut thorough the online noise. 

In this post, I will show you how you can boost your online business without using Google Ads.

Let’s begin.

What is Google Ads?

Also known as Google AdWords, Google’s advertising is the Google platform where advertisers order specific keywords, associated with their business, and done in a such a pattern that their clickable ads appear on Google pages at a search by customers.

Advertisers pay for this bid for Google to make its revenue which is a charge per click.

For instance, if a user puts up a bid, Google will ex-tray their robust database of ads within a few seconds and come up with appropriate keywords that match the query in an orderly form.

This is possible because Google recognizes every available ad on their database. 

But then you may ask that which ad wins the top page of the searched results. This depends on a series of factors which includes bidding size by the advertisers and the quality of the ad itself. 

Why you should boost your business.

The motive of every business is to grow at a steady pace. This growth is the engine that drives the business to higher revenue streams. 

Apart from paving ways for your in-flow capital, boosting your business will flesh up your income, avail you new opportunities, and convert more customers for your business patronage.

Though expanding your business comes with its risks, understanding the pros and cons of boosting your business is important before you begin to boost your ads.

Boosting your business allows you to leverage economies of scale to increase in your production output and reduce product costs per unit.

It will also provide route to expand your business and influence the market price. With that, you attain independence in your business operation due to external risks reduction. 

Now you will have greater financial viability for your business and many financial institutions will trust your expertise and market strength. 

How to boost your business without Google Ads

As much as the benefits of boosting your business amass, here are ways to produce long-term marketing results for your business without investing a dime in Google ads.

1. Search engine optimization (SEO)

Advertisers reach out to their customers through Google Ads, but it’s most likely that their adverts don’t appear on every search. This could be as a result of the difference in the keywords or competitors bidding higher on that same keywords.

Instead of letting your adverts be conditioned with some factors before reaching your targets, use search engine optimization (SEO) to appear more often over a longer time.

Your site won’t get to the top overnight, however, it has the potential to last longer and fetch you a long-term benefit without advertising charges.

2. Content marketing 

One of the motives of pay per click strategy is to make your site available for your customers. It serves the potential customers that are actively searching for your business.

Creating highly converting content in your website can serve this purpose for you, but ensure your themes come around what your business offers. You can use this to answer some related questions as well.

You can also create visual contents that tie down the customers for you. 

Make your content a source of ideas for other bloggers. Plus, relevant videos and infographics that can be pitched to relevant investors’ sites.

3. Email Marketing

This is a way to be in steady contact with people on your mail list. 

Instead of being particular on how to reach out to the new customers, email marketing will work for you to maintain your past and current customers.

Though the role of advertising in online marketing is crucial, you don’t have 100% assurance that the copy usually gets to your prospects at times. 

But, through email marketing, you reach out to the people on your mail list directly and pave way for a referral.

Instill a sense of belonging in the mind of your customers with frequent follow-up emails after patronizing your sales. Carry them along with details about other products with a reasonable discount that appeals to them. 

You can make it a point of responsibility to offer your customers an incentive for referring other customers to you. The result of this will boost the traffic to your site.  

4. Social media

Social media is the marketplace where formal and informal interactions exist to promote a purpose. You have unlimited potential customers on these platforms whom you can reach without stress. You can as well run a paid advert here too.

Use this platform as a space for your sales promotion. Ensure you’re regular with your post and updates.

Depending on your strategy, you can decide to use a targeting tool to select people based on demography, age, interest, location, and gender, as the case may be. Just be aware you have unlimited prospects here, maximize it to boost your sales.

5. Referral programs

You ask your current customer to refer their friends and family. You can do this by placing a referral form above the fold in your web page for easy notice by the visitors.

Include a link in the referral form at the end of the order acknowledgment page. Also, at the end of every emails you send to your subscribers.

Send introductory notes to the names you collected in the process, sign-up information, and other calls to action. Be frequent in offering special deals, one, if not more of the referrals will take action.

Conclusion.

There’s no doubt that the internet is at the center of the world for markets and sales promotions. It’s a key to boost businesses and convert more customers for entrepreneurs and business owners.

However, this opportunity isn’t limited to Google Ads. By exploiting the above strategies, you can gain new customers and maintain the existing ones without being charged for advertising placement.  

That said, you can always access more tools, trainings, and support for your business.

Stay glued to our social media channels and never miss updates anymore.

How to Place your Business on Google Local Listing

How to Place your Business on Google Local Listing

by with No Comment Businesssme tipsstartup tips

Google is the first platform that anyone goes to when they need information about anything. 

For instance, new moms needing information about infants’ food, or students looking for information about the best college, and customers looking for a particular product head over to Google for the first feel. 

Data published by StatCounter highlighted that Google leads the search engine market share by 92.41%. Bing is rated 2.46%, DuckDuckGo has 0.6%, and Yahoo, 1.48%. 

Do you want your business to be locally viable, i.e to become easily accessible to people in your locality? 

Then, you should explore Google Local Listing.

In this post, you will learn how to place your business on Google Local Listing. 

But before we begin,

What is Google Local Listing

Google Local Listing means listing your business on your locality map so it appears at the top of Google’s first page results when people in your locality search for your business type.

These listings usually respond to the keywords customers search for through Google Maps and it comes with locality, e.g. Enugu Electricians or Plumbers in Enugu.

These local search results have a competitive edge when compared with other results that are based on algorithms and sponsored pay-per-click listings.  

So, why do you need to place your business on Google local listing?

Why Do You Need to Place Your Business on Google Local Listing?

Having your business displayed on the first page of Google listings is good for your business.

Here’s why.

Increase traffic to your website

When people find your business on Google’s first page, your business will experience a huge visit which will result in increased customers and more profits. 

Increase in website traffic will also boost your brand reach due to the map listing contained on your website. 

For instance; a customer searching for grilled chicken in your locality could open Google Maps for a nearby Barbecue spot on the listing. If your business is just a kilometer away from his location, you’ve just scored a new customer without stress.   

Your business enjoys credibility 

When Google recognizes your business on its prime page, visitors tend to trust your product or services without any reservation.

The more your business is frequent on Google Local Listing, the higher the level of your patronage. Even if your store isn’t decorated with modern bricks, people will give you that initial respect. 

Though, a sense of steady improvement and consistency in quality delivery will always keep your winning card for you.

Your business is on the legitimate side

If you have a business on Google Local Listing with a physical address, where people can easily locate you, then your business will breathe legitimacy. 

People will be confident in dealings with you because your contact is accessible to the world.

Thinking of how to place your business of Google Local listing? 

Don’t stress, you’re covered. 

Here is the step-by-step guide to lead you through.

3 Steps to Putting your Business on Google Listing

Step 1. Check if you’re already listed

To begin this process first is to search for your business on Google Maps. This is to ensure that your business doesn’t already appear on Google listings. 

If your business doesn’t appear on the list, then, you should move to the next step.

However, you’re to add up your business if it doesn’t show up. See the keyword pointed to by the red arrow, it doesn’t display among the brands in the listing. 

Now, click the box in the arrow direction i.e. add a missing place to Google Maps, as indicated here, it will lead you to the next step.

Step 2. Create  a place if you’re not yet listed

Click the prompt that displays in the search result to add your business as a place.

Then, fill in your name, address, and category. Your category selection is crucial because it allows your business to appear in results for searches other than your branding.

Finding in the category space is a drop-down box with similar categories but, you still have the option to type in your business keywords in the box, as directed with the arrow in the screenshot below. That will make you see the most closely matching categories.

Step 3. Update your Google Local Listing

After your business is added as a place on Google Maps, you still have another attempt to take because that doesn’t mean you’re there already. 

Therefore, for your company to rank for searches relevant to your business and gain new customers, you need to update it.

To validate the above, all your information must be accurate and followed up with necessary updating, if need be. This will earn you the ownership power over your listing.

Now, go through the page below to update your business location on the map.  

Having done this, the next is to hit the send box and have your business placed on Google Local Listing. 

See the indication in the screenshot below:

After all this process, Google confirms your business address via a postcard that would be sent to you.

This postcard comes with a verification PIN, which you will input online to finish the whole process.

Conclusion  

The importance of having your business on Google Local Listing is to ensure that your business is easily located by your potential clients, particularly in your locality.  

This will inturn scale your search volume and boost your business for increased revenue streams. 

Not only that, your business will achieve a legitimate feel that earns it more credibility and trustworthiness in the sight of potential customers. This could automaitcally convert accidental visitors to your satisfied clients.

Now is the time to place your business on Google local listing by following the process. 

To learn more about starting a sustainable business in Enugu, subscribe to the Enugu SME YouTube channel to be the first to get useful business information.

How to Find a Business Idea that's Right for You

How to Find a Business Idea that’s Right for You

by with No Comment Businesssme tipsstartup tips

“Ideas are the beginning point of every fortune”.

As submitted by Napoleon Hill, this assertion will drive an unimaginable inspiration to your mind as an emerging business owner.

Though not all ideas are perfect from the start. Some will take consistent review and tweaks to become a viable business. 

Ideas create pictures for your business structure. 

Thus, wrong ideas, no matter how great, can drag good business proposals into the mud. 

Yes! because ideas are oxygen to your well-drafted business proposal before it blossoms into a successful venture.

This post set out to explore how to find a business idea that is right for your business.

But first,

What are business ideas?

Simply put, business ideas are those concepts formed on a primary purpose of financial gain which is usually based on a product or service that can be offered for money.

Ideas are like soil where business germinates. Because they form landmarks in the process of business set up. Once ideas are conceived, other parts of the business come to being.

Ideas are an integral part of business which are tied to their creators who must have identified the business values and prospects in a bid to set pace for a favorable competition in the market space.   

Benefits of Having Ideas Before Starting a Business

Conceiving a business idea comes up with myriads of benefits especially, when the creator delivers a viable concept. This goes beyond fetching your business a huge turnover, but also links your business to a vibrant network.

Therefore, do consider the following benefits that are derivable from the ideas you have before starting up your business.

a. Creating a Revenue Stream

A well-conceived business idea tends to build a steady cash in-flow in the business. This is because every business is anchored on a working idea as it’s seen as a bedrock for a successful venture.

b. Realizing Active Cum Passive Income

A well-conceived business idea creates a brook of income for you as a business owner either you’re working or sleeping. 

Your active income is paid when you deliver the value proposition to your clients. While the profit that flows in when you’re relaxing, catching fun with your family, or travelling is passive. This can be sales of merchandise, online created courses, or books and other vendible materials.

c. Building a Network

Core activities in idea building for a business are underpinned to two major purposes; determining the competitors and collaborators. 

Identifying the competitors initiates a sense of creating a unique idea among the spectrum of existing ideas. This will secure a marketable space for your business in the market.

Also, finding the collaborators such as relevant associations, media outlets, and industry organisations among others, is a way to build a reliable stand for your business. This network will serve as a guidance and monitoring verve for your business activities.

d. Expansion and Brand Building   

A single idea can spring into a successful brand and this will ultimately cause expansion of the business venture. For instance; a business idea could be initially to repair cell phones. The regular needs of accessories by the clients can initiate the sales of phone parts, and this can eventually transform the business to even the sales of computer and other parts technological devices.

On the above premise, a successful brand is formed and the level of the business expansion is noticeable. Meanwhile, all these are born out of a viable business idea.

How to Source For Business Ideas?

People need inspiration at times to swing into action on certain issues. Now, get inspired through any of this following for your business ideas:

i. Study successful entrepreneurs

It’s usually good if you set your foot on the path of successful ones. Read stories of the business tycoons and make them your models, believing they never attain the top without facing challenges.

ii. Look for a gap

Every business exists to bridge certain gaps around the tripod of the economic, social, and ecological system of a nation. Check where there is a space to fill, different ideas will visit your mind.

iii. Build on ideas

Businesses of different scales and sizes are thriving in the market, while some are facing out already. You can base your interest on a particular idea that isn’t appropriately executed by their owners and build a new one.

iv. Form knowledge through the quest of people

You can form ideas by doing deliberate research on what people need. The Internet and social media can be a good source of information here. Some people identify problems they encounter in using certain products or bidding for a particular service on different platforms, but less they think of solutions. As a business inclined person, you can develop ideas from their grievances to proffer solutions.

5 Steps to Finding an Impactful Business Idea

To come up with a working business idea, you need to factor in some realities one after the other. Here are the steps for you:

1. Get Inspired

Here, you derive your inspiration from any of the highlighted sources above. But mind you, you must identify the realm of that inspiration. Is it your comfort zone or your biggest frustration?

Check whether it is what you love doing. The things that give you excitement, satisfaction and fulfilment when you do them are in the realm of your comfort zone. It’ll be wise of you if it fetches you money. Develop ideas around it and monetize your passion. 

On the other hand, the greatest business ideas are formed to solve problems. Proffering a solution to your biggest frustration can transform into a business idea. Tons of ideas are secreted within this realm. 

Got it? …Yes! You have secured the first step in your business idea formation. Let’s see the next one.

2. Review the Concept

Either your initial idea is a product of what you like doing or a solution to what you hate, don’t convert it into business immediately.

Of course, you need to measure the viability of the concept beforehand. 

You can do this by aligning it to the result of your study about the successful business moggles. Ask questions; which idea works for them? How does it work? What doesn’t work?

Answers to the above questions will help you review your idea before putting them into use.

3. Invest on your Concept    

Here, bring your idea into life by investing the necessary resources that make it yield. In this stage, you may record several attempts before you will eventually get it right. That is why you need to spend reasonable time in the review stage. Just ensure you have zero fear for risk taking. 

Do know that the money and time you invest on your business idea give it your desired shape. Therefore, be diligent in making needed sacrifice. But make sure you don’t leave your business ideas helpless. That takes us to the last step you need.

4. Monitor your concept

There must be a sense of follow-up in your business ideas. This will tap your consciousness when there’s a need to form a new brand as a result of expansion in your business idea.

Business Ideas and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The SDGs are set to address the most pressing challenges in the global community within the stipulated time. It is important to tailor your business ideas to any of these goals as there are opportunities for business ventures to access global support when they participate in this journey.

Meanwhile, the SDGs alongside the 169 sub-goals can add flesh to business ideas. This is evident in the statement by Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, that;

“The private sector is an indispensable partner for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Businesses can contribute as part of their core business. We, therefore, call on companies around the world to measure the impact of their actions, set ambitious targets and communicate their progress transparently.”  

Measure your Business Idea: Does it work? 

Inspiration to derive viable business ideas may not be the obstacle most times, the ability of the concept to work for what it’s created for takes the leading role. 

Therefore, before your final conclusion, measure your business ideas through certain questions and work on the feedback derived in the process.

Now, establish interface between your business ideas and questions like;

  1. Does it solve a problem?
  2. Will people pay for it?
  3. What’s your price point?
  4. Is there a sizable niche market for it?
  5. Are you passionate enough about it?
  6. Have you tested your idea?
  7. Are you open to advice?
  8. How will you market your business?
  9. Are you being realistic about your goals? 

Conclusion.

To form a viable business idea, conducting a market survey to determine the competition level and professional collaborators is the key.

Any business aiming at success must utilise research as a weapon to determine which ideas work and which one do not. The outcome of such a finding will inform the right ideas that are good for your business.  

And when you get the ideas fleshed up with a process, you can tap into the values provided by the Enugu SME Agency to step up your business.

Don’t take my word for it, watch business owners’ testimonies here:

How to Track, Plan, and Prepare your Small Business Budget

How to Track, Plan, and Prepare your Small Business Budget

by with No Comment Businessfinancesme tipsstartup tips

Running a business is tough. 

This is because, with the ever-growing operational demands, it’s easy to run out of money. Lack of proper financial planning and budgeting, an unprepared business owner can run into debt within split seconds. 

Even in developed countries like the US, 64% of small business owners begin with $10,000 in capital, and reports state that only 40% of these businesses are profitable.

So that begs the question, “Where did the money go?”

Many business owners only keep an eagle eye on their monthly account balance but this doesn’t save their business if they don’t correctly track, plan and budget their business.

In this post, I will show you how to track, plan and prepare your small business budget so that you can steer your business towards success in the coming years.

But before then,

Why Should You Set Budgets And Track Your Small Business    

Setting a budget and tracking the expenses of your small business will help you stay on top of your business numbers. This spreadsheet will open up your current operating costs and sales, that way, you can be sure that you have enough money to keep your business running.

It will also help you to prepare solutions to potential problems. That unexpected information of increased rent or seasonal drop in sales can be daunting, but having your financials right will guide you on where to see the extra cash to cover the loops. 

And because you’re particular about your business growth, setting a budget and tracking it will help you ascertain your business next level and identify the cost of getting there.

How To Track, Plan And Prepare A Budget For Your Business

1. Identify your revenue

Your take-off step in planning your budget is to identify the paths that bring money into your business every month. This will be tagged as your income before other expenses are deducted.

Also, you should record the income flow for six months or more to identify the pattern so that you can at least predict the recurring months. This will guide you to understand your best sales seasons and forecast future turnovers.

2. Deduct your fixed costs

After calculating your monthly income, the next is to find the total of your fixed costs. This fixed cost is any operational cost that you pay every month. It could also be daily, weekly, or yearly. 

For instance, your office rent, fueling generator, salary payment or data subscription.

Now deduct your fixed cost from your income.

3. Identify your variable expenses

Aside from your fixed costs, other costs vary from time to time. These variable expenses are not necessary for your business, but they’re good to have for business success.

Examples could be the cost of employee personal development, the experience of entertaining a premium client, replacing old equipment or travel costs for an urgent business trip. Most times, variable costs are operational costs around utilities.

Smart business owners try to lower these variable costs as much as they can during low-profit months so that they don’t over-eat into their profits. However, in buoyant months, they take advantage of it to create a stronger impression.

4. Set aside miscellaneous fund

Miscellaneous costs mostly arise when you least expect. So as much as you can, ensure that you prevent these unexpected costs when budgeting for your business by ensuring that you have extra cash at hand to sort them. 

You can put aside an emergency fund to take care of this anytime it’s needed. This will put you on your toes so when an emergency happens say an equipment breakdown or replace faulty furniture. 

That said, you run your business by this maxim: If your budget for a problem, the emergency never arises. And if the emergency does show up? Well, you’ve budgeted for it. It’s not an emergency then, is it?

5. Create your profit & loss statement

Having been abreast of all the above information, next is to determine your profit and loss statement, or profit and loss.

Just talking about profit and loss can bring up feelings of anxiety. 

But never mind, because you’ve already done all the work. All you need is the principle of addition and subtraction: Sum up your income for the month, add the expenses for the same month, and subtract the cash flow-out from cash flow-in to actualise your net worth for the period.

Should you record a surplus after this calculation, then you’re at the top of your business. However, it’s a deficit if the expenditure outweighs the income. Though, small businesses aren’t profitable every month, let alone every year, your strategy as a business owner speaks for the growth of your business. A starter can have it a bit eventful, anyway.

Since the cash flow is the oxygen of all businesses, you need to run this exercise on a fixed regular basis e.g, weekly, monthly or annually, depending on your growing interest in the business.   

6. Outline your forward-looking business budget

Whether you’re a beginner or you’ve been doing this a while, projecting what will happen to your business in the future is educated guesswork. Supposing you’ve been in business for a while, that’ll certainly help the accuracy of those guesses (as you might, well, guess). A starter with business orientation can as well be in form here. 

With your profit and loss statement, you have been equipped with an historical document that reveals the past of your business. Upcoming is to bring your budget to life. Mind you, this is a forward-thinking and future-focused document.

For this step, your profit and loss document will serve as a reference that guides your understanding of the seasonal ups and downs of your business. Hence, you note which investments in your business are worth repeating, what needs adjustment, and what you should avoid completely in the future.

Also, You might leverage the favourable information and decide to hire more staff and extend your hours during certain times of the year, making your business even more profitable in the months that demand is highest.

Conclusion

Once you’re able to track, plan and excellently prepare your small business budget, chances are you’ll effortlessly grow that business into a conglomerate. 

As a business owner, you should first, understand that you need support to grow your business. Secondly, you need continuous knowledge as it is the best way to equip you for potential success.

Follow these social media accounts to update yourself with essential business knowledge.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Why Separating Business and Personal Finances is Good for Business

Why Separating Business and Personal Finances is Good for Business

by with No Comment Businessfinancesme tipsstartup tips

As a business owner, it is important you don’t take your finances lightly. Most business owners make the mistake of mixing up their business and personal finances thereby unable to differentiate their business and personal expenditures. 

A study by the U.S Bank as highlighted by the Hartford Small Biz Ahead stated that 82% of businesses fail due to cash flow mismanagement.

If you’re the type that combines your business and personal cash flow, your business is fast heading to early bankruptcy. To save your business from this doom, the best approach is to separate your finances.

In this article, I will share the reasons why separating your business and personal finances is good for your business.

But first, let’s dig from the basics.

What Is The Difference Between Business Finance And Personal Finance?

Business finance is the fund you used in the strategic and operational running of your business. It’s the amount you’re raising and managing in the areas of planning, control operations, and your financial structure while personal finance covers managing your money, savings and investment. It also comprises your budgeting, banking, insurance, etc.

That said, it is also important you consider your business as an entity that is capable of surviving on its own. In a way that it has, its own accounts, investment, budgeting, etc.  

Excerpt: Understanding Financial Literacy with Money Africa

Why You Should Separate Your Business and Personal Finances

Separating your business and personal finances is important in many ways, here are 7 of them;

1.  It helps save time and money

It is important you let your business account to sort your business expenditures and your personal account does the same. 

This will help you to better track your business expenses and help you or your accountant to record your cash flow in an organized form. This act is necessary for accessible fund analysis and management. 

When you have your accounts all organized, you’ll save time and money for sorting your finances, and when your business grows to the stage that you hire an accountant, the job will be less stressful for him.

Saving time and money will mean that you are able to invest your energy in other business-productive activities.

2.  It helps achieve financial stability

Having a business comes with its own risk. You can’t be sure about when you’ll attain the break-even point despite investing diligent works. You only keep your hopes high while being consistent with the process.

So when your business downtime hits, separating your business and personal finances will help you spot the tsunami and immediately adjust your expenditures.  This difference will guide you whether to reinforce your business with your personal finances or let the business help itself. 

And when you seek funding or financial support, only a business account can stand in for you, else every investor will believe you’re using the money for something else. 

3.  It makes auditing easy

Every government utilizes business audits to evaluate the viability of a business and its likely economic benefits. They do this because it is important to ascertain that the business complies with the standard of doing business in the state. 

If your business and personal accounts are jumbled together, your business expenses will be difficult to scan through. And that will create a wrong perception of you as a business owner. 

However, when you have your finances as well as supporting documents are intact, your auditing process becomes easier and your tax returns and financial reports are well examined.

4.  It reduces your business tax rate

Having clean and easy-to-understand financial records could help you reduce your tax rate. This is possible because your auditing process will be simpler and the auditor will be able to spot your financial model.

That way, your business won’t mistakenly pay for what your personal maintenance which may include rents, transportations, and other business expenses.

5.  Ease the borrowing process of business credit

Many businesses survive on loans and credits. They access these when they need to execute a project or want to stay afloat during hard times. 

But obtaining business credit isn’t child’s play. Your financials must be solid and well-articulated, if not, the bank will disregard your proposal.

The agency or bank needs to be sure that your business can survive without your money. So having a separate account makes it easier for the agencies to give you loans. They can easily visualize your business sustainability and how you’ve managed money in the past years.

That trust currency will enable you to access the actual capital to grow your business.

6.  It enhances your professional identity

Customers and investors do not want to conduct business with companies that are treated as hobbies. They want to work with you when you take your business seriously. They want to see how professional you are and they want a clear belief that you and your business operate as different entities.

If you don’t have separate accounts for your business and personal expenses, it will tell on your business. The investors will see the business as mainly a play, and they won’t toy their money with it.

Besides establishing your professional identity, it positions your business as a respected entity that clients and investors can work and associate with.

7.  It prevents your business from bankruptcy

Ultimately, separating your business and personal finances prevents your business from bankruptcy. You will enjoy the ease of accessing funds, and business support. 

Aside from that, it also guides the way you dip your hands into the business account. This is true because you’ll clearly identify when you’re crossing the business-personal account line. And save you from likely debt. 

Conclusion 

Now that you understand the importance of separating business and personal accounts, you should test your financial literacy, and have a good way to earn legal protection. 

Even your employees will respect the money flow, as all money transfers will be made according to specific protocols, including salary, dividends, and other distributions, rather than in an arbitrary fashion.

The Enugu SME Agency has created some videos on financial literacy for business owners that you can access here and here.

Subscribe to the Enugu SME Agency YouTube channel to get instant notification when the new videos are updated.

Lagos State Government

Key To SME Growth In Lagos State

by with No Comment Businesssme tipsstartup tips

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) are generally regarded as the engine of economic growth in any developing economy. Similarly, a large concentration of SMEs including Micro and Nano businesses are easily noticeable in Lagos State, the economic hub of Nigeria. The State enjoys a high presence of SMEs, Micro and Nano businesses more than any State in Nigeria. Why is that? The simple metric to this is that Lagos State has a population size of about 15 million, according to United Nations (UN) projections and it appears like a country within a country considering the strength of economic activity and populace. 

READ ALSO: P&G Nigeria Partners FG, BoI to Start SME Academy

In fact, without a doubt, Lagos State has a population estimate that is higher than some West African countries namely Guinea (13,132,795), Benin (12,123,200), and Togo (8,278,724), Sierra Leone (7,976,983). Even the population of the State is higher than that of some developed countries such as Finland (5,540,720), Belgium (11,589,623), Sweden (10,099,265), Denmark (5,792,202), and Ireland (4,937,786). Supportably, the population is even higher than the combined population of Liberia (5,057,681), Mauritania (4,649,658), Gambia (2,416,668), Guinea-Bissau (1,968,001) as at 27th February 2021. However, the painful reality is that over 60% of the residents of Lagos State are poor and live in various high density and informal settlements scattered across the State. These residents lack proper sanitation, power, and other basic services, and most of them eke a living from small businesses which includes Nano and Micro businesses most importantly. A visible reference usually includes the operators of kiosks, commercial tricycles, motorcycles and many other informal business operations in the State. 

The estimated figure of micro-businesses in Lagos State is 3,224,324 and to add to this, over 11, 663 SME operates in the State, according to a recent statement from the Lagos Ministry for Commerce, Industry, and Cooperatives. In my opinion, these data are underreported and do not reflect the large informal economy that exists. From reliable data the informal economy employs about 5.5 million people in Lagos State if not more. So, a reliable data base is necessary for adequate planning in the State. 

The small business economic activities in Lagos State can contribute largely to the growth of non-oil sector, employment generation, and the creation of sustainable entrepreneurship. These can largely be driven by businesses in the formal and informal sector in the State. Arguably small business represents over 90 percent of private businesses in the State and contribute to more than 50 percent of employment in the State. Yet the State government has not duly recognised the significance of this sector in the economic development of the State. For instance, the popular computer village in Ikeja, Ladipo spare part market in Oshodi and Balogun market in Lagos Island all consist of clusters of mostly micro-businesses with huge economic engagements but the government of Lagos state is yet to facilitate their formality and capacity building with the required policy and incentive considerations. 

The novel Coronavirus (COVID19) and the harsh economic climate currently with us, has made many of these businesses struggle and some have shut down due to these challenges which includes the perennial issues. That is, from infrastructure deficits (power, road, technology, and so on) to inconsistent government policies, security problems, multiple taxations, regulatory burdens, stiff competition from large companies, entrepreneurial attitude of operators, huge financial and funding problems, lack of meaningful structure, longevity and succession plan among others. SME operators and entrepreneurs strive with different strategies and tactics to absolve many of these challenges and shocks to make any meaningful balance with little or no external support. However, the government needs to realise and recognise that small businesses are crucial to job creation, economic diversification, innovation, poverty reduction, wealth creation, and income redistribution in their policy-making activities. If this sector is well harnessed in Lagos State it can be a huge catalyst in transforming the State economically. 

The vivid truth is that a well-functioning SME sector would add more value to the economic fortunes of the State, sustain livelihoods, reduce poverty by creating more job opportunities in the economy than any other sector. Therefore, proper monitoring and evaluation of this sector are crucial for the economic development of Lagos State. When businesses survive, there will be a reduction in market failures and the more businesses are without survival threats the government can equally benefit from their growth and development. It can increase tax receipts and accelerate the growth of industrialisation in the State. Therefore, the Lagos State government should focus more on policies and programmes to widen the SMEs’ involvement in the formal sector particularly the Micro and Nano businesses. The State government through the appropriate Ministry can implement policies that will enhance ease of doing business in the State to attract operators from the huge unregulated informal sector to the formal sector. The informal sector in Nigeria refers to economic activities in all sectors of the economy that are operated outside the purview of government regulation. Therefore, policies to attract business formality should be considered and formulated, and also the capacity and sustainability of these SMEs, Micro and Nano businesses should be enhanced. Because if all these are set in place it will encourage the development of the formal posture of the SME sector in the State. 

That said, key stakeholders such as the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (SMEDAN), Nigerian Association of Small & Medium Enterprises. (NASME), Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN), The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Manufacturer Association of Nigeria (MAN), The financial technology (FINTECH) associations, and groups in the Organised Private Sector (OPS) advocate for ways government can create innovative measures to improve business formality, enable secured environment, improve on rule of law, encourage public-private initiatives, invest in infrastructure, and consider policies as the needed. Corruption has also remained a very serious problem that needs to be genuinely addressed because it can threaten any development policies and programmes of the State. 

The support of these teeming Small, Micro, SME and Nano businesses is also imperative and strategies to sustain their business operations should be key in the decision-making process of the government of Lagos State. The national bureau of statistics suggested many of the Nigerian youth are unemployed, majority of them can be meaningfully absorbed into this sector through self-employment, startups, and financial technology (FINTECH), if the SME sector is made viable with adequate enabling environment. 

READ FULL ARTICLE

Investing During Recession

Investing During a Recession

by with No Comment BusinessOpinionssme tips

Recession has in the last few years become something of a buzz word in Nigeria to describe the harsh economic conditions in the country and its resultant effect on the income, spending power and businesses of the people.

However, by definition, a recession happens when a country’s GDP falls in two consecutive quarters, while the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) simply means the measure of goods and services produced in a country over a period of time.

READ ALSO: Traders happy as movement of food trucks begins…

Last year, the economy contracted by 3.62 percent in the third quarter of 2020, indicating that two consecutive quarters of negative growth had been recorded in 2020 following the previous decline by 6.1 percent in the second quarter.

Officially, this meant that Nigeria’s economy slipped into recession and for the second time in four years as oil prices plunged in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recessions are usually characterized by falling incomes, weakened sales and production as well as a drop in the confidence levels of investors. Consequently, this leads to an aversion for risk and often a tendency to err on the side of safety.

The interesting fact, however, remains that recessions often give way to recoveries soon after. In the light of this, with the right strategy, a recession might not necessarily be a bad time to invest.

These few tips will be useful in helping you create your personal investment strategy.

Avoid Panic One big mistake investors make in times of recession is to make panic-induced decisions and follow an inclination to liquidate investments in favour of cash. This could, however, mean that you box yourself into a “corner” which could eventually produce hefty losses once the economy begins to recover. This is especially for people who have a stock-based investment portfolio.

Also, patiently wait to get dividends for your existing investments and resist the urge to sell in panic. Carefully Inject Funds into Investments When a market is fraught with volatility and investor fear, it can be extremely difficult to time trades perfectly and properly predict when prices are likely to rise or fall.

The way to work around this is to find a personal saving pattern that works for you and then carefully identify investments that appear worthwhile to inject your saved resources into.

This can help you save money and also, significantly increases your purchasing power as prices are usually low at these times.

It may also be a good time to take advantage of low prices and get bargain deals especially in industries that have been hard hit by the recession but have clear potential to bounce back strongly.

Take a Peek In taking on new investments in this period, especially with direct investment like shares, always take a peek into the financial records as well as the business and operational models of the companies you are considering for investment.

Industries and companies that cater to basic human survival needs are a good bet in this regard because they can often expect to experience minimal upheavals even in a recession.

There is Nothing Wrong with Being Safe Investing in safety nets such as bonds and mineral resources such as gold can be a great way to store up value, as their performance is often unaffected by market forces.

This can help you diversify your portfolio properly and ensure you are not entirely reliant on how the stock market pans out. I leave you with the words of the American businessman, MichealNesmith “Behind every dark cloud, there is usually rain”.

SOURCE: VANGUARD

SME growth Lagos

Key to SME growth in Lagos state

by with No Comment Businesssme tips

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are generally regarded as the engine of economic growth in any developing economies. Similarly, a large concentration of SMEs including micro and nano businesses are easily noticeable in Lagos state, the economic hub of Nigeria. The state enjoys a high presence of SMEs, micro and nano businesses more than any state in Nigeria. Why is that? The simple metric to this is that Lagos has a population size of about 15 million, according to United Nations (UN) projections and it appears like a country within a country considering the strength of economic activity and populace.

READ ALSO: FG Mulls Policy to Earmark Procurement Contracts for Women

In fact, without a doubt, Lagos has a population estimate that is higher than some West African countries, namely Guinea (13,132,795), Benin (12,123,200), and Togo (8,278,724), Sierra Leone (7,976,983). Even the population of the state is higher than that of some developed countries such as Finland (5,540,720),Belgium(11,589,623),Sweden(10,099,265), Denmark(5,792,202), and Ireland (4,937,786). Supportably, the population is even higher than the combined population of Liberia (5,057,681), Mauritania (4,649,658), Gambia (2,416,668), Guinea-Bissau (1,968,001) as of February 27, 2021. However, the painful reality is that over 60 percent of the residents of Lagos are poor and live in various high-density and informal settlements scattered across the state. These residents lack proper sanitation, power, and other basic services, and most of them eke a living from small businesses, which includes nano and micro businesses. A visible reference usually includes the operators of kiosks, commercial tricycles, motorcycles and many other informal business operations in the state.

The estimated figure of micro-businesses in Lagos is 3,224,324 and to add to this, over 11, 663 SMEs operate in the state, according to a recent statement from the Lagos ministry for commerce, industry, and cooperatives. In my opinion, this data is underreported and does not reflect the large informal economy that exists in the State particularly the nan businesses. From reliable data, the informal economy employs about 5.5 million people in Lagos, if not more. So, a reliable database is necessary for adequate planning in the state.

The small business economic activities in Lagos can contribute largely to the growth of the non-oil sector, employment generation, and the creation of sustainable entrepreneurship. These can largely be driven by businesses in the formal and informal sector in the state. Arguably, small business represents over 90 percent of private businesses in the state and contributes to more than 50 percent of employment. Yet the state government has not duly recognised the significance of this sector in the economic development of the state. For instance, the popular computer village in Ikeja, Ladipo spare part market in Oshodi and Balogun market in Lagos Island all consist of clusters of mostly micro-businesses with huge economic engagements but the government of Lagos state is yet to facilitate their formality and capacity building with the required policy and incentive considerations.

The novel Coronavirus (COVID19) and the harsh economic climate currently with us have made many of these businesses struggle and some have shut down due to these challenges which include perennial issues. That is, from infrastructure deficits (power, road, technology, and so on) to inconsistent government policies, security problems, multiple taxations, regulatory burdens, stiff competition from large companies, the entrepreneurial attitude of operators, huge financial and funding problems, lack of meaningful structure, longevity and succession plan among others. SME operators and entrepreneurs strive with different strategies and tactics to absolve many of these challenges and shocks to make any meaningful balance with little or no external support. However, the government needs to realise and recognise that small businesses are crucial to job creation, economic diversification, innovation, poverty reduction, wealth creation, and income redistribution in their policy-making activities. If this sector is well harnessed in Lagos state, it can be a huge catalyst in transforming the state economically.

The vivid truth is that a well-functioning SME sector would add more value to the economic fortunes of the state, sustain livelihoods, reduce poverty by creating more job opportunities in the economy than any other sector. Therefore, proper monitoring and evaluation of this sector are crucial for the economic development of Lagos state. When businesses survive, there will be a reduction in market failures and the more businesses are without survival threats the government can equally benefit from their growth and development. It can increase tax receipts and accelerate the growth of industrialisation in the state.

Therefore, the Lagos state government should focus more on policies and programs to widen the SMEs’ involvement in the formal sector particularly the micro and nano businesses. The state government, through the appropriate ministry, can implement policies that will enhance ease of doing business in the state to attract operators from the huge unregulated informal sector to the formal sector. The informal sector in Nigeria refers to economic activities in all sectors of the economy that are operated outside the purview of government regulation. Therefore, policies to attract business formality should be considered and formulated, and also the capacity and sustainability of these SMEs, micro and nano businesses should be enhanced. Because if all these are set in place it will encourage the development of the formal sector of the SME sector in the state.

That said, key stakeholders such as the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (SMEDAN), Nigerian Association of Small & Medium Enterprises. (NASME), Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN), The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Manufacturer Association of Nigeria (MAN), financial technology (FINTECH) associations, and groups in the organised private sector (OPS) advocate for ways government can create innovative measures to improve business formality, enable secured environment, improve on rule of law, encourage public-private initiatives, invest in infrastructure, and consider policies as the needed. Corruption has also remained a very serious problem that needs to be genuinely addressed because it can threaten any development policies and programs of the state.

The support of these teeming small, micro and nano businesses is also imperative and strategies to sustain their business operations should be key in the decision-making process of the government of Lagos. The National Bureau of Statistics suggested many Nigerian youths are unemployed, the majority of them can be meaningfully absorbed into this sector through self-employment, startups, and financial technology (FINTECH) if the SME sector is made viable with an adequate enabling environment.

In conclusion, the Lagos government should get more involved in the growth, development, and sustainability of SMEs within the state. More so, the state government needs to ensure the development and patronage of locally produced goods and content while putting in place adequate infrastructures. Besides corroboration with experts and consultants in the provision of external advice to government and these teeming small businesses on a range of topics such as strategy, having a business and organisational structure for business continuity, financial literacy, technology, and role of innovation to increase their output is equally significant. Concisely, going forward policies and programs of the government in the state should be rooted in deep rule of law, accountability, creation of a database on small business and uphold strict fiscal discipline. Good luck!

SOURCE: The Cable

Benefit SME

Osinbajo Highlights Benefits of SMEs

by with No Comment Businesssme tips

Vice President Yemi Osibajo has restated the belief of the federal government in the capacity of small and medium scale enterprises to stimulate economic activities and provide jobs.

READ ALSO: Raising stake in SMEs financing, growth in Nigeria

He made the remark as the keynote speaker at the 2021 P&G – BoI SME Academy, where the consumer goods company, Procter & Gamble, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment (FMITI) and the Bank of Industry (BoI) provided access to training for over 700 SMEs during.

According to the Vice President, “The federal government believes wholeheartedly that SMEs are the bedrock of the economy and we are constantly aiming to support innovations that can help SMEs grow and in turn groom the economy and provide job opportunities.

“The government has been working diligently and creatively on engaging the most vulnerable businesses especially during this current crisis.”

The plenary session at the academy with the theme: ‘SME Development and Growth as a Precursor to Nation Building,’ brought senior government and private sector leaders to discuss proven strategies that could be leveraged to drive the growth and development of local SMEs as the bedrock of Nigeria’s economic development.

Also, the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Adeniyi Adebayo reiterated the need to create a favorable business environment for SMEs in Nigeria.

He said: “The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment is committed to providing SMEs the required support and trainings needed to consistently project their businesses in an upward trajectory.

“We achieve this through information-driven support vital in building a better playing field for commerce in the entire nation.

We are grateful to organisations like Procter & Gamble for their continuous efforts towards transforming their communities of operations through proactive projects like the SME Academy.”

In his remarks, the Managing Director, P&G Nigeria, Mr. Adil Farhat highlighted the need to continuously support SMEs in Nigeria, saying they have the potential to out rightly transform the country.

Farhat added that, “in line with the focus of Nigeria’s economic recovery and growth plan to drive industrialisation and economic growth through globally competitive SMEs, P&G in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Trade, industry and investment and the Bank of Industry launched the SME Academy to improve their standard, ensure longevity, and facilitate integration into global value chains.

“For over 27 years in Nigeria, P&G has consistently partnered with the Nigerian government to promote strong investor policies and practices that drive inclusive growth, jobs, and welfare of Nigerian citizens”.

SOURCE: THISDAY