SME CLINIC With Kola Owolabi
As we try to round off this series on research, we shall attempt to examine the fundamentals of the subject and see how best a business person could use it for the benefit of achieving fast growth and profitability.
First, we need to know that research is the combination of two words; ‘search’ and ‘re’. We all know the meaning of search. We embark on a search to make a discovery of what is lost or what has been hidden. In the case of what is lost, it means that we had possession of that thing before, but, it is either we lost possession due to an attention break and we forgot where we put that thing. We may have lost it through carelessness. We therefore go on a search to recover that thing. This is often the case of existing business people, who have lost relevance in business either through loss of customers or loss of ability to produce or continue the business. Some have lost profitability and are losing money very fast. It is in such a case that the business person will embark on a search to find out what caused the issue of concern and start looking for the solution to the problem. That person will be searching all over the place for an answer and will continue the search until he gets the answer. That is where the root word ‘re’ comes from. It is the shortened form of repeat. It means that you should repeat your search and continue to repeat it until you discover what caused the problem and the solution to be applied to help you to solve the problem.
So research is “seeking until you find”. That is repeat your search and continue with your search until you are able to discover the solution and end up with a favourable outcome, either restoration of demand for your products and services or restoration of profitability or in case of a business that is suffering from consistent loss of staff, how you can get your staff to stay.
There is also the research that is necessary for those who are going into something for the first time. Here we are looking at start-ups and those still trying to discover the idea that they want to use to enter into business. These folks want to discover the best way to approach implementation of their business ideas or find out the idea to go for and which has the highest degree of probability of success. They are probably faced with statistics of high failure rate of business in the type of business they want to go into or within the environment where they plan to set up the business. They may not want to risk total loss of their capital or their labour going into a business destined to fail. A prospective entrepreneur’s resolve to find this kind of answer made him to come to us, to request for a feasibility study to be done to guide him on how viable the business he wanted to go into was. A feasibility study is a primary market survey. It is a research effort to unearth how people who are doing that business are faring. I was in charge of that consulting organization at the time. The feasibility study came up with the prescription that he should be careful about going into the business based on our findings about the business. That client was not happy at the outcome of the feasibility. He was concerned about the money he paid for the exercise. Our report had incorporated our advice on how to succeed in the same business, if he eventually decided to go into the business.
Although, research is to provide you a guide on how to navigate your way into business successfully, it should not stop you from going into business altogether, because the best test of any business “as I often say” is the market itself. Your research will serve you the same way research serves people in academics. A student who ended up with a first class probably did extensive research to add to stuff he was given in the classroom. Most of the time, the first class has become a tool for him to be ahead of his peers all through life. Your extra ‘search’ and ‘re’ ‘search’ will always help to give you competitive advantage in business.
Kola Owolabi:- (FIMC) Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants, 08023203198, is the CEO of David Richard Associates based in Igbesa, a surburb of greater Lagos, in the vicinity of Crawford University. The organization has had the opportunity to execute landmark business development and rmarket research briefs for organizations both within and outside Nigeria.
