What is your business?

When asked what was the most important business question ever, management guru Peter Drucker answered;

“What is our business?”

Defining your business is the most important task all entrepreneurs need to do in order to succeed in their venture.

Your business is not the product/service you offer. Your business is not the industry you are in.

That you sell dogs, is not your business; so do many others like you. That you make clothes, is not your business; so do many others like you. That you manage events, is not your business; so do many others like you.

Your business is the difference your company sets out to make in the world!

Your business is the difference your dogs make in the life of the customer. Your business is the difference your clothes make in the life of the customer. Your business is the difference made in the life of the customer as a result of your managing their event.

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Kristin (L) Shannon (R)

Profiting from purpose by changing the world isn’t an impossible dream as many tend to think of it, but a realistic one as many unusual entrepreneurs have extraordinarily proven. It is my life mission to understand the unusual qualities of such unusual entrepreneurs and inspire as many others to profit from purpose by changing the world.

This is the purpose of naijapreneur and the essence of this new category of information tagged “Unusual Entrepreneur Interviews”. In these interviews, I’ll be profiling several unusual entrepreneurs who are changing the world and profiting from purpose. The interviews are divided into 3 parts;

• Part 1: ENTREPRENEURSHIP – these are questions that focus on how these unusual entrepreneurs awakened the Spirit of business within.

• Part 2: STRATEGY – these are questions that focus on the unusual execution of business best practices adopted by these unusual entrepreneurs.

• Part 3: MISCELLANEOUS – these are resourceful recommendations, tools, books, and ideas necessary for unusual entrepreneurs.

If you’re just joining us here and is not yet familiar with our philosophy of unusual entrepreneurs, kindly download our free ebook: The Entrepreneur’s Journey. This is the official manifesto for anyone who wants to change the world and profit from purpose.

This is the very first edition of the Unusual Entrepreneur Interviews. In this edition, I present to you 2 women [Kristin and Shannon] who are profiting from purpose by changing the world through clothing.

Since this is an interview and not an article, I leave these two unusual women entrepreneurs to speak for themselves.

Let’s begin!

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What kind of business should Entrepreneurs go into?

This is yet another unusual article under the “Business Mastery Series“, a collection of unusual articles that focuses on helping entrepreneurs answer highly fundamental questions on how to successfully manage both themselves and the businesses they run profitably.

If you are new to naijapreneur or probably haven’t been following this series, I really wouldn’t want you to miss out on any of the unusual articles previously published. So, below are the links to them, the smart thing to do, if I were you would be to read them first, before coming back to finish reading this.

Business Mastery: The Unusual Qualities Of Highly Successful Entrepreneurs

Business Mastery: How should entrepreneurs be spending their time?

Business DNA: Why Your Company’s Success Desperately Depends On It!

Business Mastery: How Should Entrepreneurs Be Profitably Marketing Their Business?

Business Mastery: 4 Smart Ways Of Getting More Profitable Customers Always

How to be your own boss

As the day goes by, more people are realizing that the allure of a secure employment is just a fantasy; one that is often short lived. The search for the next alternative which in most cases is entrepreneurship is growing rapidly. Never a time in human history has there been such a massive quest by many to be their own boss.

Recognizing this growing global trend is what inspired me to create this unusual article to help as many out there who want to embark on this unusual journey of entrepreneurship. It’s important I make this clarification; these are not all the possible FAQs on starting up a new business, there are many more. However, based on my consulting experience with clients, the ones covered here are quite fundamental and will serve as a guide to answer other likely questions you would most certainly need to answer as you progress on the entrepreneur’s journey.

 FAQs About  Starting up A New Business

First here are the questions at a glance on how to be your own boss;

1. What kind of business should I go into?
2. How Should I start; small or big?
3. How Should I fund my business; use my own money or get external funding?
4. How do I choose a name for my business?
5. How do I differentiate my company from other competitions?
6. What do I need for marketing my new business?
7. Do I need to have a business plan or not?
8. Do I need to have an office space or not?
9. Do I need to hire employees or not?
10. How do I price my products/services?

Let’s begin!

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Lately, I have been observing the search queries [keywords] used by people to get to naijapreneur! One of the top phrases used by searchers to get to this site is this; “why become an entrepreneur?” or “why should one become an entrepreneur?”

This is an obvious indication that there are a lot of folks out there who are in search of valid reasons for becoming an entrepreneur. Luckily for them, I have written on this issue on naijapreneur precisely these two unusual articles;

Why did you become an entrepreneur?

9 ways how NOT to start a business

However, the answers in these posts were written for entrepreneurs who were already in business and was intended to correct their erroneous perception of entrepreneurship as a money making venture only rather than a what it really is – a problem solving or value adding venture.

I didn’t write for those who were currently employees and were in search of answers whether to quit their jobs and take the leap of faith or remain stuck on the rat race. This is the essence of this unusual article, to talk about entrepreneurship from the employees’ perspective and to further encourage you who have already taken the leap of faith that you didn’t make the wrong choice.

A little word of caution, this is a long one, so brace up yourself for a long read –over 3000 words! But I assure, the patient dog will eat the fattest bone on this one. You will never regret reading it to the end and you will mostly like want to share it with a lot of people.

Let’s begin!

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This is the second article of a new series, I have tagged it “Business Mastery Series”. Throughout this series, I will be

How should you market your business?

addressing some key issues that are pertinent to your success in business as an entrepreneur.

If you missed out on the first article, you can read it here;

BUSINESS MASTERY: how should entrepreneurs be spending their time?

Marketing is a core business function; to a large extent the success of your business is dependent on it. But from personal observations, not many entrepreneurs go about their marketing as they ought to. If at all they do, they don’t approach it holistically and so end up leaving so many stones unturned.

They tend to focus more on the selling part of marketing and overlook the other vital parts that naturally make selling unnecessary. The truth is this, if you approach marketing holistically, you will find out that you don’t need to ‘sell’; your products/services will naturally sell themselves.

There is an unusual way to marketing –the holistic way.

To attain the significant level of success you desire in your business, marketing must be seen as one whole concept involving several key activities that must be carried out by everyone in your business beginning with you the entrepreneur. In other words, when it comes to marketing, no one is to be exempted!

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What should entrepreneurs be doing with their time?

Of all the resources available to mankind, time is the only resource that is given to all equally. We all have been allotted the same number of hours in a day –24hours; everything else rests entirely on how we choose to use it. What I choose to do with my time will determine the outcome of my life. If my life turns out well, it means I used my time well. Your time and your life are inextricably linked, what you do with one will be the direct outcome of the other.

As entrepreneurs, we are not excluded from the burden of time; rather, we bear more of this burden. As people who take on risk in order to make change happen, entrepreneurs are held more accountable for the use of their time. Because humanity relies on entrepreneurs for the provision of goods and services that can improve the quality of life, the burden of time is heavier on the shoulders of entrepreneurs. We cannot afford to be lazy as entrepreneurs with the use of our time!

So here’s the million dollar question; how should entrepreneurs be spending their time?

In this unusual article, I will be sharing 5 high impact activities that successful entrepreneurs spend their time on. I call them the 5C’s of effective time management for entrepreneurs. Don’t just read this and keep it to yourself, help someone else out there by sharing this article on twitter, facebook, linkedin and google+.

Let’s begin!

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