Toyosi Etim-Effiong is a TV producer and presenter and a food entrepreneur. She launched her business, That Good Tapioca on the 17th of February, 2018.
In an Instagram live video, Toyosi said she started her business after noticing a gap for it in the market. She got inspired to do flavored tapioca as well as adding toppings.
It’s been six months of running her business so she shared six things she has learnt within that time.
Be honest
You will be tempted to lie but I think that it helps to stay because if you tell a lie, you need another lie to cover it up. Moreover, if you tell a lie, people cannot help you. One of the first gigs that I did was like an outdoor event and people were buying but I didn’t sell out. We didn’t even make great sales that day.
I remember a very good acquaintance reached out to me the following week and said, “How was the fair?” I didn’t know why I lied but I said “it was great, sales were amazing bla bla bla” and she was like “hmm, because I was at that fair last year and sales were not really great, it was slow.”
“So, you must have done something really different” and I was like yeah and then I told myself that I didn’t have to lie. This is someone who has been in business and can help me. Days later, I sent her a message telling her I lied. In honesty I realize, you can find help.
Family and friends
Family and friends are very important, use them wisely. You need a board of advisors even as a small business. Use your circle well.
Look on the outside
Your friends and family alone cannot build your business. So don’t expect them to build the entire business. Don’t expect all your sales to go to them. Don’t put too much pressure on them. If they don’t want to buy your products, look on the outside.
The core of the business is in the numbers
The core of the business is not the passion that you have, it’s about the numbers. For the first two and a half months, I didn’t know the number of cups of tapioca that I’ve sold. I was just excited to be doing what I was doing.
Then I realized that, that is not the business. The business is the number. What are the investors going to look at? When people that want to support your business come, they are going to ask for numbers and not how many people liked tapioca.
They are going to say how much have you sold and how much does it cost? I know it’s like common sense but a lot of young and budding entrepreneurs are just excited to be doing what they like doing.
Keep your costs low
When I started, I wanted to be in all the stores and all the supermarkets. I wanted to be everywhere and that is expensive. Expectations are great but don’t be afraid to start small. Keep your costs low.
Before I knew it, I had spent over 1million naira of my personal money and I wasn’t even keeping my books. I didn’t even know how much I was making. Keep your expectations high but let costs be low.
Business account
Separate your finances as early as possible. Separate your business account from your personal account once you register your business.
GOSSIP ABOUT JAIYEORIE TO THE NEXT PERSON Tell A Friend about Jaiyeorie FOLLOW Instagram - Jaiyeorie Facebook - jaiyeorie Weddings - jaiyeorieweddings Advertise/ send gist to us - jaiyenews@gmail.com ... spill TEA Easy on Shade #jaiyeorie
In an Instagram live video, Toyosi said she started her business after noticing a gap for it in the market. She got inspired to do flavored tapioca as well as adding toppings.
It’s been six months of running her business so she shared six things she has learnt within that time.
Be honest
You will be tempted to lie but I think that it helps to stay because if you tell a lie, you need another lie to cover it up. Moreover, if you tell a lie, people cannot help you. One of the first gigs that I did was like an outdoor event and people were buying but I didn’t sell out. We didn’t even make great sales that day.
I remember a very good acquaintance reached out to me the following week and said, “How was the fair?” I didn’t know why I lied but I said “it was great, sales were amazing bla bla bla” and she was like “hmm, because I was at that fair last year and sales were not really great, it was slow.”
“So, you must have done something really different” and I was like yeah and then I told myself that I didn’t have to lie. This is someone who has been in business and can help me. Days later, I sent her a message telling her I lied. In honesty I realize, you can find help.
Family and friends
Family and friends are very important, use them wisely. You need a board of advisors even as a small business. Use your circle well.
Look on the outside
Your friends and family alone cannot build your business. So don’t expect them to build the entire business. Don’t expect all your sales to go to them. Don’t put too much pressure on them. If they don’t want to buy your products, look on the outside.
The core of the business is in the numbers
The core of the business is not the passion that you have, it’s about the numbers. For the first two and a half months, I didn’t know the number of cups of tapioca that I’ve sold. I was just excited to be doing what I was doing.
Then I realized that, that is not the business. The business is the number. What are the investors going to look at? When people that want to support your business come, they are going to ask for numbers and not how many people liked tapioca.
They are going to say how much have you sold and how much does it cost? I know it’s like common sense but a lot of young and budding entrepreneurs are just excited to be doing what they like doing.
Keep your costs low
When I started, I wanted to be in all the stores and all the supermarkets. I wanted to be everywhere and that is expensive. Expectations are great but don’t be afraid to start small. Keep your costs low.
Before I knew it, I had spent over 1million naira of my personal money and I wasn’t even keeping my books. I didn’t even know how much I was making. Keep your expectations high but let costs be low.
Business account
Separate your finances as early as possible. Separate your business account from your personal account once you register your business.
GOSSIP ABOUT JAIYEORIE TO THE NEXT PERSON Tell A Friend about Jaiyeorie FOLLOW Instagram - Jaiyeorie Facebook - jaiyeorie Weddings - jaiyeorieweddings Advertise/ send gist to us - jaiyenews@gmail.com ... spill TEA Easy on Shade #jaiyeorie
No comments:
Post a Comment