ChasteCharity Blog - Entrepreneurship is the practice of starting new organisations or revitalising mature organisations, particularly new businesses generally in response to identified opportunities. Entrepreneurship forces creative destruction across markets and industries, simultaneously creating new products and business models. Any individual, who possesses a business, firm, or venture, is known as an entrepreneur. He or she is accountable for its development, the inherent risks and returns associated with it. Entrepreneurship is defined as the practice of beginning a new trade or reviving an existing business, for capitalizing on fresh opportunities. Normally, entrepreneurship is a difficult proposition as many new businesses fail to survive in their initial periods and never take off. The entrepreneurial activities for a particular kind of business depends upon various factors and is quite specific on the kind of business or firm being run. Whatever may be the course of action, entrepreneurship has a lot of benefits both for the entrepreneurs and the society in which these businesses are carried out.

A person who is willing and able to convert an idea or invention into a successful innovation is an Entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is about taking risks. Reflects the behaviour of the kind of person who is willing to put his career and financial security and take the risk on the idea, spent much time and capital on a certain business.

BENEFITS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

1. OPPORTUNITY TO GET CONTROL

Owning a firm or a business endows the entrepreneurs with the independence and opportunity to control their own business. They can aim to achieve targets that are important to them. Entrepreneurship provides entrepreneurs a chance to take decisions according to their own wishes.

2. OFFERS A CHANCE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Some people begin and put a lot of effort just to make a difference in society. This has given rise to the concept of social entrepreneurship, which is a recent phenomenon. Such people search for opportunities to serve a cause that is significant to them and try to find pioneering solutions to some of the most pressing and challenging problems of society.

3. TO REAP HIGH PROFITS

Reaping high profits by being an entrepreneur is one of the most important factors that motivate people to become one and take up all the challenges associated with it. The profits their companies and businesses make play a vital role in any decision made by entrepreneurs. Owning a business or a firm is the best way towards accumulation of wealth.

4. HELPS PEOPLE WORK TO THEIR FULL POTENTIAL

Many entrepreneurs find their work to be extremely enjoyable. They consider their business as an instrument of self-actualization and self-expression. Owning a firm or a business acts as a test for the creativity skills, abilities, and determination of an entrepreneur and is taken up as a challenge towards success.

5. OFFERS A CHANCE TO PURSUE THEIR INTERESTS

Most entrepreneurs don’t believe their work to be actual work. Most of them establish businesses closely associated with their interests. As such, there is no particular age for retirement of entrepreneurs.

Other benefits of Entrepreneurship are:

v  Benefits of personal finance

v  Self-employment, offer a more satisfactory work and the flexibility of the labour force

v   Further development of the industry, especially in rural areas or regions

v  disadvantaged by economic change, for example, because the effects of globalization

v  Processing materials into local goods so for domestic consumption and for export

v  Income and increase economic growth

v  Competition is healthy so that encourage high-quality products

v  More goods and services available

v  Development of new markets

v  Promotion of modern technology in small-scale manufacturing is higher to

v  increase productivity

v  Freedom from dependence on the work offered by other people

Entrepreneurship given the potential to support economic growth and social, it is the goal of various government policies to develop a culture of entrepreneurial thinking. This can be done with a variety of ways: by integrating entrepreneurship into the education system, legislating to encourage risk taking, and the national campaign.

THE CHALLENGES INDIVIDUAL ENTREPRENEURS FACE IN NIGERIA

1. LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE

The first business challenge you will face when doing business in Nigeria is infrastructural challenge. Nigeria lacks the basic infrastructure and logistics to support entrepreneurship. If you are going to run a successful business in Nigeria; then you must have the financial muscle to provide your own infrastructure. Take for instance you want to start a manufacturing firm in Nigeria; you will need to build your own factory, provide your own water supply and other amenities that smoothens business operations. This single factor lengthens the time frame from initial planning to full business operations when compared to developed countries that have the basic infrastructure in place. Infrastructural challenge will directly or indirectly increase your start up overhead cost so you have to properly factor in this challenge in your business plan.

 2. Poor Power Supply

Poor power supply is the next challenge militating against the successful growth of small business start-ups in Nigeria. Successful companies operating in Nigeria has found a way to deal with the challenge of power supply by providing their own power. For instance, Aliko Dangote; the founder of Dangote Group has developed the strategy of situating a mini power plant right next to his factories as an alternative to the erratic power supply in the company. So if you are successfully going to operate in Nigeria; then you must map out a plan to curtail the harsh effect of poor power supply.

3. Inadequate Security

Security is the next challenge one must deal with especially if one is a foreigner wanting to invest in building a business in Nigeria. But it’s worthwhile to add that there has been a massive step up by the government with respect to security and based on this; one can confidently say that the way the government is handling the security of the state is worthy of note.

4. Inconsistent Government Policies

Government inconsistency is really a challenge you will have to tackle if you must succeed in Nigeria as an entrepreneur. Governance is something entrepreneurs have no control over; all entrepreneurs can do is to influence government’s policy with respect to enacting favourable business laws. But you must have political clout and massive resources to be able to influence government laws. Now entrepreneurs may not have the political clout or financial muscle to influence government’s policy so the best strategy in combating the ever changing policy of the government is to keep a keen eye on government laws and swiftly adjust small businesses to align with the policies.

5. Transportation Challenges

The next challenge of doing business in Nigeria is the poor transportation standard. As expected; the dependable source of raw materials may not be situated close to its market. So one has to decide the necessity of locating one’s business close to the raw materials or closer to your market. Either way, transportation of either raw materials or finished goods is involved and this will pose a great challenge if one intends operating in Nigeria. Poor transportation standard and road network is a factor militating against industrialization in Nigeria but it is believed this challenge is being tackled by the government through the upgrading of roads and construction of railway lines.

6. Inability to access funds

Of all the business challenges involved with starting a small business in Nigeria; this one interests entrepreneurs the most. Inability to access funds and banks’ unwillingness to support entrepreneurship and small business is the major barrier to massive entrepreneurship growth in Nigeria. However, this challenge can be surmounted if you are a die hard, creative entrepreneur. Hard core entrepreneurs are not held back by the lack of support from banks; they are not discouraged by the unavailability of start-up capital. Rather than lament over the predicament, they look for creative ways to finance their business plans and ideas. So if one is in this category of entrepreneurs; then it is believed that your plans of doing business in Nigeria will not be thwarted or held back by the challenge of capital. 

7. Lack of Governmental Support

The last but not the least challenge of doing business in Nigeria is government’s insensitivity to the plight of entrepreneurs and small business owners. And the result of these insensitivity surfaces in the form of double taxation, unnecessary levies and duties; and high cost of obtaining business licenses. But Nigeria operates as a free economy; which favours capitalists, so many entrepreneurs will be discouraged by this challenge. A good strategy to balance the excesses of the government is to assemble a strong business team that will strategically position your business to withstand the ever increasing demand of the government.