YOU CAN TAKE A BREAK FROM YOUR BUSINESS.

getting your business structure right

I look forward to a time when I can take leave from work and business is still going fine. I am currently about 40% there and still putting in the work.

Presently, we are developing a marketing and sales system for Mapemond that wouldn’t be halted if I go on a vacation to enjoy life. It’s part of our 2022 plans.

Can you take leave from your business?
Or do you look forward to such a time?

A business where nothing happens unless you are actively involved with daily operations is a trap and you should be working your way out of it over time.

Yes, in the days you are still trying to figure out things and getting a good footing, you have to be readily available and actively involved, but that is different from being obsessed with yourself in the business.

Imagine those who own multiple branches of their business, how do they keep them running without being present in all?

Systems, my friend. Systems.

The elderly woman who sells foodstuff in my neighbourhood now spends more time resting because, after the first few years of starting the business and teaching her children the ropes, they now have the competence to handle most things themselves. Her suppliers now also bring the goods to her shops.

Your employees are not your children, loyalty and long-term service is something they choose to give, it’s not something you force. They could leave at any time and you would have to replace them. How do you minimize the effect of people exiting and people coming onboard?

Systems, my friend. Systems.

Many of the primary and secondary schools that those who are 35years and above attended are struggling to survive mainly because they were centred around the founders who are now ageing and their children have their own career paths to pursue. What could they have done differently?

Systems. As the years went by, they could have kept revamping their business structure to enthrone a system that can provide better sustainability.

If you intend to do your current business for long, you will come to this same realization and it’s my hope that these lessons I freely share would enable you to navigate things better.

If this strikes a chord in you, then you are my Co-Traveler in business and it’s your kind that Mapemond is looking at working with, that’s if you are willing and open-minded. Let’s start the conversation early enough, reach out via inbox or send an email to wecare@mapemond.com

It’s our desire to see reputable brands and sustainable businesses emerge from Africa.

#DoBusinessBetter

Captain,
Maple

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HAVE YOU REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT THIS?

board of directors

In all honesty, do you run a one-man business?

If yes, how do you intend to mitigate key man risk?

You can have a hundred employees and still be a one-man business.
Can critical decisions be taken without you?

Can business move on without you?

Over the weekend we had a virtual meeting with two investors abroad on behalf of a business venture here in Nigeria.

They sought to know what happens to their investment should anything happen to the business owner.

When the business is a sole proprietorship and the investment sum is small, it is easier to take the risk, but not when the investment sum isn’t a small amount.

Typically, we say “God forbid. I cannot die. Nothing will happen to me”. It is okay to have faith, but the preservation of people’s investments shouldn’t be on the basis of your faith.

You need to have a clear plan on how to mitigate key man risk (a concern for most investors), especially if your business is incorporated.

What should you do?

1. Find an IDEAL co-founder or partner, IF YOU CAN and give some powers to the person.

The next one is more important in the context of this discourse.

2. SET UP A BOARD.

Set up a functional board of directors. I don’t mean an advisory board, but a board of directors that is listed with the corporate affairs commission.

A board of directors can take crucial decisions. The board can even hire a new CEO to continue with the business.

You don’t have to consider death to think about these things. Government can create a regulation tomorrow that says the CEO of a company shouldn’t serve for more than a period of time.

You may decide to establish another company that requires your attention while someone takes over as CEO to run the other company.

So when an investor throws that question at you someday, tell them you have a functional board of directors that will take decisions in the best interest of the company and stakeholders should anything happen to you.

This issue is one major reason why we are not building trans-generational companies in Nigeria. Our sense of control and power limits the potential of the company and our vision doesn’t develop deep roots for sustained growth.

If you have registered a limited liability company, what is keeping you from setting up a proper board of directors?

You know that the listed directors you have on your CAC documents were just to meet the criteria for registration.

When do you intend to do the right thing? Are you even considering it?

If you really want to go big and build a sustainable company, think about these things and ACT.

#DoBusinessBetter

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LOCAL TO GLOBAL: PRACTICAL TIPS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

getting foreign clients
We recently got our second international client and decided not to hesitate in sharing tips for those who desire to do business globally. If you are hopeful to do business at a global level someday, get your act together and be prepared for your opportunity.
Here are some tips:
1. All your arguments for not paying taxes and having clean records with the government will come back to hunt you.
Foreign organizations want to verify your legitimacy and assess your level of corporate integrity and one of the ways they do so is by requesting necessary documents endorsed by the government.
2. Get a professional website with a global outlook. A new Canadian acquaintance said to me that Mapemond seems like a top-notch firm. I asked why he said so and his answer was that the impression he got from our website.
We are at the last stage of discussions with another foreign client and our website impression convinced them to initiate talks with us.
3. Work on your Google visibility. It’s a big deal for your company to appear on Google search pages with solid content and references. Mapemond worked intensely on the Google search engine from 2019 to 2020 and the results are now coming. Create a context for your company. We weaved everything we did around brand development, brand strategy, brand marketing, etc.
4. Position as a company, not a one-man hustle. Foreign corporations are mostly B2B (business to business) oriented. You can be just two persons, but you can position yourself as a company without being deceitful or misleading.
5. Stay honest. Multinational organisations are very process-oriented and not hasty. If you lie, chances are high that you would have to tell more lies to cover previous lies and it will go on until you are busted.
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DOING BUSINESS WITH PARTNERS

business partners and cofounders
If you come together with someone or some persons to start a business venture either as partners or co-founders, please make sure that the duties and responsibilities of each person are clearly highlighted.
That’s a brainer and everyone knows, yes, but document it with all parties having their copies of it.
However, there is something very important to consider. Agree and state clearly from the ONSET what will happen if any partner fails to meet up with their own duties and responsibilities.
Too many brands are suffering because, the workload and burden of building are left on a particular partner(s) while the other(s) carries on with the tag of partner, co-founder, director, etc and expects full rights and privileges.
Keep friendship and whatever aside and spell things out clearly.
If necessary, go solo until you find (if you must) the right and suitable partner to roll up sleeves with you.
Your Co-Traveler,
Mister Maple
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WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU CAN’T AFFORD HIGH SALARIES

small business branding
Salaries aren’t determined by what the employee desires, it’s ultimately hinged on what the business can afford to pay.
Where the affordable amount is poor, the employer should make room for some level of flexibility to get good productivity.
Create shifts, reduce work hours, give off days, allow remote work if and when possible/necessary. Make room for extra bucks and bonuses.
Your business may be struggling, but you cannot build a great business with a team of people constantly grumbling and edgy.
A lot of people don’t mind low pay but to give their best, they need to be sure you care about their own welfare and growth.
Another way to deal with the issue is to reduce the number of employees to the barest minimum, so you can pay the few better for the much work they do.
Our HR strategies and models need to adapt to changing realities, and not just principles gotten from textbooks and classrooms. Streetwise also matters.
In the Igbo apprenticeship system, people even work for free for years, but in exchange, they are fed, trained in the trade and set up to run theirs in a few years.
Take better care of people if you want people to take better care of your business. Simple but not easy to grasp.
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THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS.

business revamp and rebranding
It’s a hotel.
Or maybe was.
In a prime location. Precisely at the business district of a well-developed city. I was in town to do some work for another client and was taken on a tour to the hotel.
It’s limping. The rooms are vacant most times. Even the decent conference rooms are hardly booked. The staff have all become laid-back due to inactivity.
An associate of the owner tapped me on what we (Mapemond) could do to revamp it before it dies because it is already moribund.
As I had a steam bath in my hotel, another hotel, the ideas came rushing down like fresh spring waters. I wrapped myself in the clean white towels as I stepped out of the bathroom, the cool air from the air conditioner was having a romantic play with the water dripping down my body, but I was taken by the mellifluous allure of Julio Iglesias’ voice that was playing from the portable room speaker.
I sat on the work desk, inhaled the steam from the green tea I had just made, and the thoughts flowed from my head through my fingers to my special notepad.
In about two hours plus, I had developed a complete blueprint of all that needed to be done to rebrand and rebuild the hotel into a profitable venture that stands out in the hospitality industry as a whole.
I dressed up and went down to the restaurant to replenish the virtue I had just poured out on paper. Afterwards, I returned to the room and updated the associate accordingly and a meeting was fixed with the billionaire owner of the hotel.
The meeting was postponed several times for months until I got the update that the owner was indecisive. It wasn’t a surprise, it’s familiar terrain. Business strategy and brand development come naturally to me across every sector and I also know how to assemble specialists to handle specific areas. The work I do is a fine blend of gift, skill, sound business acumen, and experience.
I got the insight and inspiration that all I had penned down were secondary, the primary thing was the mindset of the owner. Until there is a mental shift with the owner, the venture won’t experience a sustainable turnaround.
I have come to see this as true for business owners in general, including those who may have made a lot of money one way or the other, there is a level of growth we will never attain until we change our thinking and broaden our mind in line with the big visions we want to actualise.
I am hearing that the hotel has shut down. Such huge potential, stifled by one man’s thinking. Perhaps when contract money stops flowing, the mindset shift will happen, if it isn’t too late then.
Every day that you wake to work on your business, never forget to keep renewing your thinking.
It is the gateway of progress and the most important factor for business success.
Your Co-Traveler,
Mister Maple
Chief Consultant
Mapemond Limited
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THE LOOP, SOLVING THE CAPITAL CHALLENGE

raising fund

We have resolved all kinds of challenges for the various businesses and organizations that we have worked with, but one challenge that always defeated us was raising capital for our clients who needed it to execute our awesome strategies.

We have deferred that challenge for a long time but finally decided to take the bull by the horn.

About one month ago, we silently created a network of investors called THE LOOP, which currently has sixteen members. The group was set up as a strategic crowdfunding model called “closed-loop capital” where investors pull funds together to finance viable small businesses and startups. Mapemond takes on the responsibility of preliminary due diligence and brokerage.

Within the last three weeks after the quiet launch, the group has already raised the sum of fifteen million naira for a farm startup, a restaurant, and a limestone quarry. At Mapemond, we believe that the end goal of brand development is to improve bottomline and that is why capital is a major component of growth.

We shall be working to grow THE LOOP into a full-scale investment management arm of our mission to build reputable, profitable, and sustainable brands.

You can reach us through our email or phone number below if you have any inquiries.

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UNDERSTANDING BUSINESS STRUCTURE

business structure

On structuring your business, there are a number of things to consider, but we will present just an overview.

Structure is one of the fundamental differences between being self-employed and owning a business.

In self-employment, the business is totally dependent on you. The business needs your constant presence to function. Decisions cannot be taken without you. Procurement can’t happen without you. Business is just a hustle.

In being a business owner, you create a system around the business so that it can keep running even in your absence. You can even resign or move on to other things and the business will keep running so long as there is good management in place.

So how is a structure set up?

First, you have to outline all that needs to be happening in the business for it to run effectively and profitably.

That then leads to the need for people who will get the outlined things done in an effective manner. The higher the quality of people you employ the better.

These people won’t be moving in various directions or doing what they want, they have to be aligned to what you want for the business.

Therefore, there should be clear instructions for each person (job description), performance appraisal (key performance indicators), and penalties (policies et al).

There also has to be clear reporting lines for each officer with you at the helm of affairs CEO.

However, even you need to report to someone and be put in check. Hence the need for a board of directors (for limited liability company) or an advisory board (for business name or yet to be registered business).

You will have to someday leave the position of CEO for someone else to take over, but you can move on to be the Board Chairman if you like or just a founding director.

Note that for each position you create, you also have to vest the needed power into that position without micro-managing. The business account will need other signatories. There should be other decision-makers at different levels and so on. There should be a succession plan for each officer that exits the business.

There are many more things in between but we hope that this gives us a good perspective on what structuring a business is really about.

#DoBusinessBetter

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WHEN WILL YOUR SMALL BUSINESS STOP BEING SMALL?

Some businesses began as a means of survival.
Some began as a means of attaining a comfortable life.
Some as an alternative source of income.
And some as a vision to create a sustainable company.
 
The way you approach your business is often an indicator of how and why the business was started.
However, you have to be sensitive to know when it’s time to make the transition from where and why you started to the next level.
 
Too many people stay stuck at the survival and comfort stage under the guise of small business.
I would like you to think about this and find answers yourself.
 
Do you look forward to seeing your business exit the small business stage?
What needs to happen for your business to stop being a small business?
Can you handle your business becoming a company?
 
Being a CEO isn’t simply by founding a business.
Being a CEO implies there are other executive officers and you are the Chief of them all.
 
Look at your business, do you really have other executive officers?
 
My intent here is to stretch your mind to the fact that at some point you have to make the transition to building a proper company either by upgrading your present business or starting another one.
 
However, if a small business is all you sincerely wanted to build, that’s fine as well. Just ensure you make it a brand that stands out.
 
This conversation shall continue…
 
 
Written by Maple Dappa
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ONE CRITICAL SKILL FOR YOUR BRAND IN 2021!

selling your business
As an entrepreneur, it is not enough to have a brilliant idea neither is it good to rush into execution because you think your idea can fetch you lots of money. One question you must sincerely ask yourself is how will I get clients?
Ideas and dreams are exciting.
Doing the groundwork could be fun.
Until it is time to sell yourself, product, or service, and cold feet will show up.

Selling is a skill every entrepreneur must possess if you desire to build a great brand because the money required to keep your brand afloat can only come through selling your products and services.
Selling is a must-have skill for you because your dreams won’t come true if you don’t confront the challenge of selling.
Yes, you may be selling at your own level but you need to upgrade and scale-up for that your desired increase in revenue to happen.
The most successful people in the world are not necessarily those who are the best at what they do, but those who sold themselves, products, and services better. However, even selling itself requires strategy.
If you want better results in 2021, learn to sell better!
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