Memoirs of a Lagos City Hustler (LCH) - Part 5 #LCH

There are Laws governing this universe: Law of gravity, Laws of physics, Law of Karma,international Laws, Human right Laws etc whatever law it is, its meant to put us in check, enlighten us on the consequences of breaking the laws and give us reason not to break it(one of the perks of dating a Lawyer), once in a while; extraordinary events, technology, persistence and sheer stupidity break these laws. A Buddhist Priest might levitate over the himalayas, Moses might part a red sea, A politician might steal and get away with it, a genocide might go unnoticed etc but these are rare cases(except for the nigerian politician example of course *takes off*).

There are three main Laws of an entrepreneur, the first is MAXIMISE YOUR PROFIT. The main reason we quit our day jobs, hustle across the streets, call clients to wish them a happy new week and or stay awake all night is to make profit. There is a huge difference between making profit and maximising profit. A tin of milk costs 80 naira at tin can island and you travel across town from Ikorodu to get a carton and spend 1000 naira on transport only to be able to sell each tin at 130, that's profitable but unwise, a real and conscious business minded person would either get the number of the dealer or meet up a driver at the park(well the issue of trust never ceases to come to light in a nigerian business environment) give him the money and he gets it for you...you might not pay more than 250 on transportation and still sell each tin at 130; whatever business you are into, always look to maximise your profit(without cheating anybody).

The second is MINIMISE YOUR COST, the above example applies perfectly to this law too. Every kind of cost should be minimised as much as possible even overhead and opportunity costs. Doesn't mean you should underpay workers or shortchange clients. Seek to use incentives and leverages whenever you can, deliver multiple orders together, go shopping at once, learn to use online tools for your business as all these save your cost considerably and significantly. I cannot but overemphasize the use of social media as a business tool, its an almost free and borderless way of minimising cost and expanding the reach of your business(I'd expanciate this in subsequent posts).

The third which is the most ignored is OPTIMISE YOUR RESOURCES, think of ways to 'manage'  your resources effectively because it speaks directly(or indirectly) on your costs and profit. A tailor would recycle the extras on each fabric to make a patch, a shop owner would resell the cartons, a fruit seller would discount older fruits, a carpenter would make stools from leftover wood, an ibadan polygamist trader would put his wives at the different shop branches(and even make them compete for monthly sales) etc. Resources though an asset, if not properly managed can quickly turn to liabilities(ask those stocking for december sales in january *haha!! I can so relate with this*).

I hope with these few words of mine,I've been able to convince you and not confuse you(laughs intensely)......what?!.....I can be serious sometimes and when these streets need me to show my educational prowess, I do...I'm about to catch a train to yaba(minimising cost and optimising resources), its december afterall, we all need that extra hustle and cash.

Till the next time......God bless our hustle

Did I mention that I am also a farmer? If you haven't seen the light, you need to read my article for businessaim here;

Agribusiness one of the most lucrative businesses in third world countries