What I learned from my friend about business.

I used to think that business and entrepreneurship were the same thing, but I have come to realize that they are far different things. This post is made to share my understanding about how people run businesses and how you can improve your own as well.

Are you a business owner, small or big shop? Are you making a profit? How are you managing your business?Okay, now, like I said, I want to share with you a strategy my friend used in his business. But before that, let me give you a little introduction for what I'm about to say. At the end of the day, I want you to sit down and think of how you can improve your business if you need to do so. I will begin with the business environment.

My friend Ezekiel is a talented young person at the age of 27. He runs his own business or his own store. He has worked in different companies as a distributor, salesman, and so on, so he has different ideas about a successful business. Now, before he opens his store in the area. There were other competitors who sold the same product he wanted to start. This place is within an estate. That's to say he must know how to deal with his competitors.Of course he did. How?

Even though there are about 10 different shops selling the same product, none of them sells more than him. In fact, he's now the person that makes them sell more markets. Don't worry, I will give an instance. None of them collected transfers as payment, neither POS, but when Ezekiel began to do online transactions, they began to see that he was moving very fast from them, and they started using it as well.Another strategy Ezekiel uses is free cash.

If anybody needs cash or wants to use POS, he will not charge them anything. From the money he sold, he will use it to do withdrawals for customers without charges. Through this method many people have known him, I mean loyal customers. Even if he has not opened shop, they will wait. Unlike others that charge even if you buy something from them, Ezekiel knows how to draw more customers to his business.

Making sense, right?I move to another strategy; I hope you're following me because I don't want anyone left behind. Punctuality...oh yes. What time does your business open and close? When it comes to punctuality, Ezekiel is no. 1. Of all the shops in the estate, Ezekiel will be the first person to open in the morning, thereby selling to the early morning market. He resumes as early as 7am and closes about 11pm. What? What are you saying? You shouldn't close your business at 11? TOO LATE, RIGHT? That's what he does. Everyone in the estate already knows that he will be there at a certain time, and he doesn't miss sales. What time do you open shop? You know, sometimes when there are no sales, it's likely we've missed the sales, maybe in the morning or evening.

Take note: Focus on profitable products.

Ezekiel focuses mainly on goods with high profits. How did he manage to do it? I called it "market trends." What do people buy most in your area? What do people also ask for? Think about it....do you remember? Ezekiel knows what people buy faster, and he focuses on those products. For example, he used to sell cartons of biscuits with a profit of N200.

But later he changed the trend, investing in buying perfume, which gave him 10x profits within a week. So it's not just about being a business owner. What do you sell faster? Which product is so profitable? Think about it. Don't sell because your competitors are selling the same thing; rise and stand out—that's the way to move forward.Affordable prices. Most times, even outside the estate, people will be saying he's the only person that sells cheaper than anybody else.

Does that mean he's not making a profit? I was so curious about these strategies. For example, a carton of Indomitable can be ten thousand naira (10,000 × 40 pieces). Retailers or people around him will be selling it for 350, making a sum of fourteen thousand (14000) (350 × 40 = 4000), while he sells 300, making just two thousand (2000) (300 × 40 = 2000). Now the person that is earning 4000 will be thinking he made more profit than him, but what they don't know is that he sells faster than them. For example, in one week he can sell up to 15 cartons of Indomie, while they hardly sell 10 in 2 weeks.So what am I trying to say?

The more you make your price affordable, the more sales you make. One thing about customers is that if you treat them well, they'll surely come back and bring more customers as referrals. Personally, if I know that someone is selling cheaper than what I used to buy, there's no way I would not go there. I myself like cheap things. 😂

The last part I want to talk about is the way you interact with people. Ezekiel is a social being; in fact, if he were a woman, I would have married her. He knows how to interact with everyone, making you feel excited when you buy something from him. He has a good sense of humor, something I wish I could possess. He respects everyone, both young and old. Most times he will entertain you in a way you wouldn't believe. How do you interact with your neighbor and people around you? Remember how we treat our customers will make them keep patronizing us. Do you understand my point?

I have shared with you what you can learn from my friend from being punctual, selling at affordable prices, focusing on profitable products, social interaction, and so on. I promise you that if you work on these few strategies I mentioned, you'll see your business booming. If you want any more questions asked, please do.

Next in line: The challenge Ezekiel faces with his strategies.