Nigerian Entrepreneurs are known for their resilience and determination but despite the possession of these two fine qualities, many start-ups fail.
A business starts and ends with the owner because he or she determines the direction of the business and not everyone has the guts to be an entrepreneur especially in an emerging economy like Nigeria.
That is why there are so many ‘How to become an entrepreneur,’ motivational books and messages flying around.
Businesses are far more likely to succeed when their founders understand, admit and compensate for their personal limitations.
Here are 7 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs fail in Nigeria
1. Arrogance
Successful entrepreneurs are always overconfident and that’s a good thing. Without overconfidence, nobody would ever face the odds to start their own business.
Often, overconfidence turns into arrogance. When you’re so sure of the wonderfulness of your ideas that you don’t bother to take the pulse of the market. Arrogance causes startups to fail through
No Market Need
Product Mis-Timed
Need or Lack of Business Model
Not Using Network/Advisors
Solution: Temper your overconfidence with the humility to accept criticism without becoming defensive and research, know what the consumer wants.
2. Shortsightedness
Startups can’t afford “paralysis by analysis” and its simple good sense to realize that you can’t anticipate everything in an undertaking that inherently involves the unknown.
They say “failing to plan is planning to fail.” Shortsightedness causes startups to fail through:
Running Out of Cash
Pricing/Cost Issues
No Financing/Investor Interest
Solution: Maintain some reserves to ensure that you don’t crash and burn the first time you hit a speed bump.
3. Hubris
All too many entrepreneurs believe that once you set up the business, that is all, profit would automatically flow from heaven. That’s classic engineering hubris that results in treating sales and marketing as if they were of secondary importance.
Sadly, though, the history of business is full of excellent products have failed due to weak marketing or poorly-planned sales efforts. Hubris causes startups to fail through:
Getting Outcompeted
Poor Marketing
Ignoring Customers
Solution: Pay attention to marketing and sales, they are the driving force of the business.
4. Egotism
Startups require talented, experienced and energized employees who have specialized knowledge.
However, building a business is always a team effort and all it takes is one bad teamplayer for a team to fall flat on its collective face. Egotism causes startups to fail through:
Not the Right Team
Disharmony on Team/Investors
Solution: Ensure that everyone on your team is a team player and they see and believe in the vision.
5. Sloppiness
When big companies do a slipshod job, they can float on their brand reputation or throw money at the problem.
Entrepreneurs must be meticulous and make certain that nothing falls through the cracks. Remember: “genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains.” Sloppiness causes startups to fail through:
Poor Product
Bad Location
Legal Challenges
Solution: If you tend to be a “big picture” person, partner with somebody who’s detail-oriented or better still, become detail-oriented.
6. Imbalance
Thousands of articles and books have been published about the lack of work/life balance creates stress and leads to bad decisions. And yet many startups try to operate 24 hours a day. Imbalance causes startups to fail through:
Loss of Focus
Lack of Passion
Burning Out
Solution: Exercise every day, turn your phone off when you go to bed, eat right, etc. Live healthy, no one might continue the business when you are gone.
7. Inflexibility
The most important advantage that a startup has over an established firm is freedom to be nimble.
However, there’s a natural human tendency to continue to pursue a course of action after it’s been proven unworkable. Inflexibility causes startups to fail through:
Pivot gone bad
Failure to Pivot
Solution: Plan from the start that you’ll need, at some point, to radically change direction. Welcome rather than resist the inevitable change when it comes.
Culled from www.inc.com
For a more in-depth analysis, you can read this insightful article here