I always use Saturday afternoons to reflect on my life, Business A.O.B, I call it “NRS- Nothing Really Serious” because i don’t expect action points as i allow my mind to meander through various things.
Today i remembered one very important day in my business life and i felt i should share the experience.
I used to own a Video Library in Wandegeya 6 years ago (How it was mismanaged later by the very person i entrusted to run it is a story for another day)
I remember we hadn’t made money one day, i was supposed to go back to sleep in my rented room in Rubaga.
I hadn’t had supper, transport from wandegeya to Rubaga was 1,500/= UGX.
Well the good/bad news is that i had only 1,000/= Uganda Shs. to cater for all the above and still bring me back to my workplace the following morning,
Trust me the more i thought about how the night would end, the more i got hungry,i had to decide between spending the 1k on food and footing to Rubaga (Approx 16 Kms)
It was about 9:00 Pm with no hope of any customer or even hope of borrowing money from a friend.
I started confirming what my friends had for many times told me, that deciding to become an entrepreneur was the worst decision and a major blunder of my life, that i wouldn’t handle. I was sure i would start working on my CV to start applying for Jobs…(for another day)
Long story short…….
I bought one Doughnut at 200/= shs, packed it and Walked from Wandegeya to Pride Theater (approx 6 Km), i shortened my distance and used 300 Ugx to reach my room. (so you know what i had for supper that night)
While i was walking to pride theater through the dark i wondered why on a whole day we hadn’t gotten any client, Thank God i got the answer, People never knew that my business existed and the quote below confirms my next step.
“For a business not to advertise is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing but no one else does.
– Stuartt H. Britt”
#Marketing my Video Library
I quickly had to discover my target market in this case (Makerere University Students) and launched a marketing strategy which was photocopying the covers and of Dvs and pining them around MUK halls of residence, with a message, “You can find these Movies and more only at D&D Vidoes”
I borrowed 30,000/= made over 400 photocopies and pinned them around Makerere halls.
Trust me from that day, we never looked back and my worry now became how to service the big numbers of customers,
#Conclusion,
1. I didn’t borrow money for supper because i would not pay it back, i instead borrowed it to market my business.
2 .I didnt market in the whole of Kampala, i instead hit my target market.
3. Dont feel sorry for me that i walked a long distance in the night, Nothing comes easy.
3 .It doesn’t matter how small the business is, #Market it. Stop Winking at a girl in the dark.
See you at the Top and God bless you
Feel Free to get a copy of my Book “I I Am Not Sorry For My Mistakes
#Iamnotsorry
You too can share your story or journey. Send it to editor@postdator.com.
