Five other plagues that are hindering innovation among business owners in Nigeria
We have just considered why we need to "celebrate" our originators: "Embracing Innovation and Great Discovery through Acknowledgement of Originators in Nigeria" Here are other five things you must avoid (like a plague); or they will rob you of your creativity and discovery.
“Jumping out” to start training people
So an idea just popped into your head about how you could make some money (say millions) selling firewood.
The next day, you organise training on "How to become millionaire selling firewood"; you could end up making your millions, but you are moving away from the path of innovation.
Mr. Zuckerberg could've been like that; making money off young Americans on trainings like, "How to make a site like Hi5". He could have made money doing that, but then, he won't be an innovator today.
Innovators stays to nurture an idea long enough, like a hen broods on (to hatch) its eggs. They don't just jump out too start "training" people.
Poverty
So you have that great idea but you can't turn it into a project because of insufficient funds. Will you allow that to stop you?
Stop crying around my dear. Any idea that you lack the social or financial capacity to bankroll isn't an idea worth crying over. You can safely just save such idea for the future, or break it into smaller implement-able units.
How big (or expensive) an idea is, doesn't always determine how great it's discovery would be.
The good thing is: you are not alone, and you will never be alone (in this case). You are not the only one that's incapacitated by unavailability of funds.
The "not-so-good" news is: you will never have enough money to execute every idea that pops into your head. You will be surprised to hear that Mr. Bill Gates also bothers about funding some of his projects (I'm just guessing :)).
Therefore, you need to accept reality and face life for what it is. Money is designed to be a limited resource, never forget that in business.
"Anko" - Uniform Attire
Just like that new fabric you are wearing to the next event, the whole family (or club members) will be wearing the same "new style". That's "anko" in Yoruba language. The closest English phrase is "uniform attire".
In the same way, you will be starting that business (or project) because it's new and it's trending. It's not bad; just that, it's RARELY a path of the innovative.
Innovators think "out-of-the-box". They invest their time and resources on projects for many reasons, other than the "influx" of people into such projects.
Conformity (or uniformity) gives a sense of togetherness; it is however, an enemy of innovation. What do you think innovation means? Isn't it a product of challenging a "status quo"?
Bad Design
So now you've got that innovative idea? Congratulations! Don't be too excited though, your idea is [just] like crude oil. It's not useful to you (or anybody else) until it's refined (or designed), then it becomes a [valuable] product.
Just like an impure (badly refined) gasoline damages the engine, a badly designed product has a damaging effect on your business.
Nigeria lacks the "common sense" to refine its own crude oil. That's not a absolutely shameful thing; at least, she knows where to go, to do the trick.
It's important for you to know how (or where) to properly design your product into what's valuable enough to be marketable.
You should stop going about with that "crude" idea. Look for (or make) a refinery. That's when you have a meaningful [and valuable] innovation.
Selfishness
It’s bad enough to be a selfish businessman. Thinking you are the only selfish person makes you a very miserable person to deal with.
Two important things are absent in a "selfish" businessman's idea:
- FREE (useful) service
- Ways for third-party businesses to also benefit (financially) from the project.
Those two things will bring more business opportunities than your biggest advertisement campaign; especially, in regions where poverty is prevalent.
MTN is the biggest network in Nigeria today. There was a time they were the only network in Nigeria that offered FREE midnight call (other companies pulled out after some time). Many people started using MTN at that time.
GNLD, Trevo and other multi-level marketing businesses are successful in Nigeria because they allowed third-parties to also make money from their business, not because they have a "very good product".
