Build business that suits your lifestyle in 2016

A Hellofood restaurant employee makes a delivery to a customer. In order to build a business that suits your lifestyle, you must be passionate about what you do. File photo 

In Summary

There are trade-offs that some people are willing to make because of the rewards they bring. Gillian Nantume picks tips from two business entrepreneurs, Grace Nanyonga and Catherine Nakitende, on how to build a business that will suit your lifestyle in 2016.

Around this time, people make fanciful New Year resolutions for their businesses. They forget that resolutions without actions to back them are likely to fail.
As a businessperson or someone who intends to start up a business in 2016, what kind of life are you expecting to lead?
A successful one, many will say, filled with business growth and an increase in the number of customers.
Nevertheless, whether you lead an extravagant or frugal life, some standard things can help you build a successful business.

Have a passion for your business
It goes without saying that if you do not love what you do, then there is no way this business will suit the life you want to lead. Your passion is reflected in the way you treat your customers.
If you love cooking, and decide to set up a small restaurant, you will cook good meals and give good service to ensure that the customers praise your food.
Grace Nanyonga, CEO, Grana Fish Supplies Limited, a company that sells spiced and smoked fish, says you have no business starting something in which you are not seriously interested.

“Fish has a distinctive smell, but that smell never bothers me because this is my livelihood. If you want to start a saloon but cannot stand the smell of hair chemicals then you will fail,” she says.
You might say that other people will run the business for you, but time will come when you must supervise it. This is when your passion comes in.
“Passion will ensure that you go the extra mile of giving customers information about your product and how to use it, and in turn, they will recommend you to new customers,” Nanyonga adds.

Make a business plan
This plan is your roadmap to success, giving you indicators on what you are supposed to be doing, with clear timelines.
Nanyonga advises business owners not to hire experts to plan for them.
“Much as the bank may ask for a professionally written plan, you have to make one that you can understand. If you must hire an expert, then be a part of the writing process,” Nanyonga advises.

The business plan should be on your fingertips. It does not make sense to call up your employees every time you want to know what the plan says.

Make it a point to grow
Businesses do not grow automatically or by some stroke of luck. Unless you have invented something new, business growth is hard work.
Catherine Nakitende, CEO, Kingfire Energy Solutions, a briquette-making factory, says one must position themselves for opportunities.

She says: “Have the necessary requirements at hand so that when the opportunity and resources come, you are ready. For instance, a few months after starting this charcoal business, I carried out extensive research about the market that took me as far as Kabale.”
From her research, Nakitende discovered new methods of making her briquettes last longer. Today, she supplies more than 350 customers as compared to two years ago, when she was only supplying family and friends.

Keep on learning
No one knows everything about anything, so open your mind to more information this year.
“I have been in this business for 10 years, from selling fish on the roadside in Seeta to owning a company,” says Nanyonga, adding: “I made it my business to learn new ways of preparing fish to accommodate more customers.”
Read widely, ask about the challenges others in your line of business face, and work towards making it better this year.

Expect challenges
It would be reckless to expect that everything will run smoothly. There are bound to be setbacks, from rent and tax payments to an initial lack of customers.
Make sure that the challenges do not frustrate you. Have a ‘now is the time’ attitude. There will never be just the right amount of money to start with.
“I began my business with a capital of Shs1.000 only,” Nakitende says. “I bought a kilo of cassava flour. I got the rest of the ingredients (matooke peels and maize cobs) from the rubbish heap.”

Trade-offs
Of course, to make your business suit the successful life you envision in 2016, there are compromises you have to make.
“Do not eat up all the profits,” Nanyonga advises, adding that: “They have to be reinvested into the business.”
Some people imagine that if you return the capital into the business, you can spend the profits on luxuries.

However, Nanyonga advises that every month, one should have a percentage of the profits that they set aside for business growth.
Another compromise that people should make is to network with the right people.
“If you do not like making new friends, then the business world is not for you,” Nakitende advises. “Networking means connecting with people who need your services.”
Attend free business workshops and seminars, and make new friends.
Another compromise you need is to treat your customers well. Good customer care is rare in this town, so clients tend to go back to those who serve them well.

“If a client asks me to deliver fish at 2pm, I make sure I am at the appointed place by 1.30p.m,” Nanyonga says.
The businesswoman adds that the customer should be given good products. Do not be tempted to serve expired goods just because you do not want to make a loss.
As you start the year, tailor your business growth around your personal goals of success.

The rewards
“In the beginning, people wondered why I attended so many workshops instead of being at the factory,” Nakitende says. “Now they wonder how I get so many delivery orders. I made lasting connections at those workshops.”
The businesswoman adds that the most lasting reward comes from collaborating with your competitors.
“They are the competition but they are not the enemy. You can never make it on your own. When I am overwhelmed with orders, I buy stock from my competitors or ask them to join me so that we can supply the larger orders.”
Collaborating with the competition ensures that they will inform you of good business opportunities they know of.