Don’t go into business if you can’t withstand the pain, loss

Jaluum Herberts Luwizza

Shortly before Covid-19 became an issue, a television station called me to talk about business and what the young people should know before they get into it.

I think I was excessively honest during the show that the TV never aired the programme.

I could see the interviewer looking sacred during the interview.

Yes, business is a war and any one who gets into it unprepared is going to end up dead (business-wise I mean).

Hope your not already scared, too.

It’s like a swimming pool which you don’t dive into if you can’t swim because you’ll drown.

Then they asked that popular interview question.

They say Uganda’s the most entrepreneurial country but 80% of the businesses don’t make it to their first birthday.

‘Why do you think this is so?’

For starters, what parameters were used to say Uganda is the most entrepreneurial country?

If the businesses end up dying, how’s that entrepreneurial success hahaha.

Maybe they should have said Uganda is the country with the biggest number of people starting up businesses.

Entrepreneurship is not about only the start but also most importantly how you finish.

It’s a marathon and those who make the 25 laps are the ones who get counted not the ones who drop off after two laps.

Truth is many people don’t start businesses because they are passionate about business.

They start businesses because they can’t find jobs and need to survive and if the business that’s meant to provide them with survival doesn’t do so as quickly as it can, then they will walk away from it to something else they think will.

If you gave most people two options, business or a job, 90% will take a job.

I recall a client who came to us and wanted to start a bakery about two years ago. They even paid for the feasibility studies and formalisation process.

In the middle of the process they called and said hold everything I’ve gotten a job let me first go make the ka money.

One of the many applications they had been sending had yielded something.

So to most, business becomes an option when a job isn’t because people have to survive.

Very few people get into business out of sheer passion and that’s why very few businesses go the whole nine yards to start with.

So getting into business is circumstantial for most reason they don’t fully prepare when getting in.

I will go back to the swimming pool analogy.

When you get pushed into a pool, three things will happen. You will either swim your way out because you can swim.

You will scramble out drinking lots of water in the process because of the drive to survive despite not knowing how to swim and if the two don’t happen you will drown.

That’s what happen when people get pushed into business.

Business is a game of passion and you need lots of it because it’s the only thing that will drive you on as you wait for things to fall in place and trust me they can take forever to do so.

You’ll need knowledge and understanding of what your getting into to be prepared to face it.

You’ll need the skills to be able to profit from it and unfortunately most people get into business lacking all of those.

The end result is the same, failure. When they fail they quit instead of using the acquired knowledge to try again and that’s how their ideas end up dead and buried for good.

So yes know tax is part of business, understand how it works.

Managing money is part of business teach yourself how to handle money. Managing people is part of doing business improve your people skills.

Selling is part of business, put aside your emotions and f**king learn how to sell.

Sacrifice, commitment and delayed self gratification are key so prepare yourself emotionally, mentally and financially to tow the line. If you can do that you have a high chance of succeeding.

So yes business isn’t easy it’s hard but it’s very doable. It’s not impossible and in the end when you get everything right it’s more than worth it.Bbelieve me.

Jaluum Herberts Luwizza is a Speaker,Writer, Columnist with the C.E.O Magazine and Contributor with the Nile Post.He is also a Business Consultant with YOUNG TREP East Africa’s No.1 Business Management and Consultancy firm that helps people start and grow profitable businesses.

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