MSME DIGEST With Kola Owolabi
The Big Breaks Have Probably Come and Gone
Many entrepreneurs spend years waiting for the big break.
They sit in their businesses expecting that one day Aliko Dangote will walk through the door and say, “I want everything you have on your shelves.”Or perhaps the Governor of their state will suddenly send for them and place an order for one million units of whatever they are selling.
They imagine that day as the moment their business will finally take off. But here is an uncomfortable question: What if the big break has already come and you did not recognize it?
Perhaps it came in the form of a telephone call from someone making an enquiry about your product. Perhaps it came as an order for just one unit. Perhaps it was a customer who walked into your shop and asked whether you could supply something slightly different from what you normally sell. Perhaps it was a person who complained about your service.
You dismissed these events because they looked too small to matter. But big businesses are rarely built in one giant leap.
Big = Small + Small + Small.
The large order is often the result of many small orders. The major customer is often the result of many ordinary customers. The powerful recommendation is often the result of one customer who was treated exceptionally well.
Imagine a customer walks into your shop and buys just one item. You serve that customer with unusual attention. You answer every question. You make the buying experience pleasant. You follow up afterwards.
Unknown to you, that customer happens to be a relative, friend or associate of a senior government official. The customer tells someone about the excellent service received from your business. That conversation leads to another enquiry. That enquiry leads to a meeting. The meeting leads to a trial order. The trial order leads to a larger order. And suddenly, people from Government House are calling to ask what you can supply.
Where did the big break begin? It began with the seemingly insignificant customer who bought one unit. That is why the wise entrepreneur does not despise small opportunities. Every enquiry deserves attention. Every customer deserves respect. Every order deserves excellent execution. Every complaint deserves intelligent handling. Every referral deserves appreciation. Every small transaction could be opening a door that you cannot yet see.
The problem is that many entrepreneurs are so obsessed with the spectacular opportunity that they overlook the ordinary opportunities appearing every day. They want the Governor. They ignore the civil servant. They want the multinational corporation. They ignore the small business owner. They want the million-unit order. They neglect the customer buying one unit today.
They want the big investor. They ignore the person who has just shown interest in their business. But the path to the extraordinary often runs through the ordinary. Stop waiting for your big break. Start maximizing the small breaks already coming your way. That enquiry may be the beginning. That one customer may be the beginning. That one order may be the beginning. That complaint may be the beginning. That referral may be the beginning. Your responsibility is to handle each opportunity so well that it has a chance to produce another opportunity.
Do not leave money on the table because an opportunity looks too small. The big break you are praying for may already have arrived disguised as something insignificant. Pick it up. Work on it. Grow it.
Next edition, we shall examine how Bill Gates capitalized on a seemingly insignificant opportunity as a young entrepreneur after starting Microsoft and how that opportunity helped Microsoft gain control of a crucial part of the computer-software market.
*To be continued in Part Three.*
Kola Owolabi0, 08023203198, is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria. He is the CEO of David Solomon Consulting, a foremost business plan preparation and business consulting firm, which operates out of Igbesa, near Crawford University, Ogun State. He can be reached on 08023203198 ( WhatsApp line)
