MSME DIGEST With Kola Owolabi
BUSINESS WISDOM FROM THE BIBLE — PART TWO
“APOLOGY AND CORRECTION:” In Part One of this series, the Bible quotation used as our anchor was erroneously referenced as Ecclesiastes 4:9 instead of Ecclesiastes 5:9. We sincerely apologise to our readers for this error. The correct reference is Ecclesiastes 5:9, which reads in the King James Version: *“Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.”* We appreciate your understanding as we continue our exploration of timeless business wisdom from the Bible.
Now, let us proceed with Part Two.
There is a fundamental truth every entrepreneur must understand: the market meets the needs of the entrepreneur who diligently meets its needs.
If your need as an entrepreneur is to make profit, then your first responsibility is not to chase money. It is to discover the needs of the market and do everything reasonably possible to satisfy them.
The market is not interested in your personal financial challenges. It does not care how much you borrowed to start your business, how much rent you pay or how desperately you need money to expand. The market wants solutions to its problems at prices it can afford.
When you understand this principle and organise your business around it, profit becomes a natural reward for the value you create.
Consider the business journey of Aliko Dangote across Africa. His success offers an important lesson in identifying large-scale market needs and building businesses around them.
In sugar, cement and other essential commodities, the underlying opportunity has been to serve enormous demand for products that households and industries need. By investing in local production capacity and distribution, his businesses have sought to make essential products more readily available to the markets they serve.
His investments in cement, for instance, have contributed to expanding domestic production capacity in Nigeria, while the Dangote refinery represents an ambitious effort to address the country’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
The petroleum sector illustrates the principle particularly well. Nigeria has historically faced difficulties with domestic refining and fuel supply. A large-scale domestic refinery offers the potential to improve supply security, reduce dependence on imports and support industrial activity. The extent to which these benefits reach consumers depends on pricing, distribution, competition and wider market conditions.
The lesson for us is not that every entrepreneur must build a refinery or establish a multinational corporation. Rather, it is that substantial business opportunities often exist where important market needs remain inadequately satisfied.
Now bring this lesson into your own business.
If you run a restaurant, do not merely sell food. Provide tasty, hygienic meals at prices your target customers can afford, served promptly and courteously.
If you operate a fashion business, understand what your customers want, their purchasing power and the occasions for which they need your products.
If you provide professional services, solve your clients’ problems efficiently, honestly and reliably.
Whatever your business, ask yourself regularly: “What problem am I solving? For whom? How well am I solving it? Can I make the solution more accessible without destroying my profit margin?”
These questions can transform an ordinary business into a growing enterprise.
Remember, the market does not reward every business automatically. Profit still requires cost control, sound management, quality, effective marketing and responsible pricing. But a business that consistently delivers what customers value has a stronger foundation for sustainable profitability.
Serve the market diligently, and give the market a compelling reason to serve you in return.
Your share of the earth’s profit is not secured by wishing, complaining or envying successful entrepreneurs. It is pursued through the value you create and the customers you serve.
Start with your little business. Solve a real problem. Serve your customers well. Keep improving.
The market may then reward your diligence in ways you never imagined.
Kola Owolabi 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)
