So I've been MIA for a couple of weeks. Seems like years since the last time I blogged. I have been busy with the business side of things. If you recall, my last Train of Thought asked what the major problems facing women entrepreneurs were? Well...I'm living it right now!!
First observation - when you are trying to build a business or get the word out you don't need friends....you need clients!
Now, I don't mean you should become a hermit (that would be business and personal suicide!), but I mean that it's all nice and dandy for friends to ooh and aah over your products... but the punch line people....is when they pay for it!!! That's the only time you can quantify your revenue.....money in the atmosphere or somewhere in transit is not yours! If it hasn't been paid for, you cannot record that as a sale. It's a basic principle in accounting but we always have a way of totally ignoring it. Women are blessed with intuition - we should use it a bit more. You'll most likely notice a specific spending pattern of 'friends' or acquaintances. Errr.....it's not going to change because he/she is your friend. In some cases being 'friends' can spell doom for the business before it even sees the light of day.
Some friends will be genuinely interested in seeing you grow. They may not buy your products (because they genuinely don't need them or are not in your target market), but they would go around town drumming the benefits to everyone with ears! So you do need your friends to either become your clients or refer you to potential clients. In this regard, they are more useful in helping you spread the word accurately and enthusiastically.
Moral of the story...bottom line is cash, profits, kudi, ego, owo, mulah, benjamins!!! That's what businesses run on....goodwill is jara. If it doesn't make money, it’s not a business, it’s a charity. I am still struggling with this believe it or not but na small small.
Image courtesy http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1757
