How Entrepreneurs Burn Out Before They Break Even: The Nigeria example

Entrepreneurship is often mistaken for instant wealth and freedom in Nigeria. That is far from the truth and that comes from someone who runs a recycling business.
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Most Nigerians when they relocate to European countries often see that their entrepreneurial spirit reduces. This is simply because most entrepreneurs in Nigeria do it to survive. Most unemployed do it as a source of income while the employed use it as a hedge against the rising cost of living.

This is why when they move to a stable economy and get a decent job, they tend to hustle less.

Hustle Trap

Being an entrepreneur in Nigeria is not a child’s play. There is zero infrastructure, zero support, high loan interest, poor economic stability, and you still have to juggle roles to keep things running.

In my recycling business, logistics takes 13.8% of the total cost of production of one kilogram of plastic waste and electricity takes 4%. Those values could go lower if we had an efficient cargo transport system or stable electricity. Instead of spending around $1,000 on diesel monthly, the business might be using less than $400 of electricity.

Most Nigerian entrepreneurs aren’t building a business, we ae fighting daily problems because the average Nigerian entrepreneur is in survival mode from day one.

Funding Pressure and Fake Growth

When I browse Techcabal and read about companies that have raised funds and folded up, I just smile.

BTW Techcabal is a website focused on Africa technology space.

Many Nigerian founders chase investors because things are getting hard, working capital is draining, not that they are ready to scale.

That is when you see them start doing PR and rebranding but in reality, they are a sinking ship. This made me remember the days of wonder banks in Nigeria and how the almost 90 banks in Nigeria reduced to 25. This was due to a reform in 2005 that raised the capital base from $15million to $200million. Many banks folded while some merged with lot of court cases on fund mismanagement.

The truth here is that growth not backed by real numbers only leads to burnout. Numbers don’t lie.

The funny thing is companies with the real numbers often get overlooked by investors. My recycling company is an example. Despite having around $200,000 in annual revenues, you still see investors leaving us to get burnt by business with no MVP out there but just to lavish the investment.

Exhaustion and Isolation

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Bootstrapping a business is exhausting. I bootstrapped my recycling business with over $20,000 and sometimes I just smile on what could have been due to the exhaustion and isolation.

Starting a business here means

• People automatically believe you are rich
• The black tax because you are now a CEO
• You suffer emotional pressure and stay lonely

Meanwhile, you are neck deep in legacy debts and pretend to stay positive, so it doesn’t rub off on the staff or business. You are exhausted and isolated from the world. You have probably only your wife to share things with.

The pressure most entrepreneurs face is more than the actual business challenges.

The Cost of Doing Everything Yourself

Entrepreneurs don’t burn out because they are lazy, they do because the system is not favorable for emerging business.

You are the team in Nigeria because you are simply micromanaging everything yourself. If you aren’t dealing with unreliable staff, you are sending invoice reminders, tracking new clients, fixing broken generators, or calling bank for a reversal.

You can’t just catch a breath.

Lack of Boundaries

I was guilty of this when I started my recycling company. I carried my business on my head and never set a boundary. 5am in the morning, I am all about my business, 11pm at night it is still the same thing.

I am not saying it’s something bad, but you should have boundaries. It will enable you to be creative and get good at decision making.

I ensure my Sundays are work free and have deadlines for receiving work-related calls. I need a me-time to reflect and relax.

A time to calm my nerves and make good decisions.

Break-Even Mirage

In a business plan, you often see the break-even year being 2nd or 3rd year as the case may be. Most people see this as the finish line or should I say the beginning of a new race in the voice Lil Wayne in I’m into you by Jennifer Lopez.
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Most entrepreneurs are drained before they break-even not to talk about starting a new race. They don’t have energy left to grow and push on.

That is most story about entrepreneurship in Nigeria.

Changes that can be made

We should see entrepreneurship in a sustainable way and that means taking things slowly as they come. Entrepreneurship should help a country grow if most entrepreneurs do it for passion and not survival. This means governments should get involved and offer transparent single digit loans, support, grants, and financial lessons to emerging business owners.

This is why I love Hive. Hive allows people like me a chance to grow in a transparent way within a real community. Hive shows that you don’t have to fake success to belong. I can document every process and get rewarded.

Most Nigerian entrepreneurs need a platform like Hive that rewards honesty and not just hype or PR.

Let me know your thoughts in the comment section. Do you like what I do in my recycling company and would love to be a part of it?

Posted Using INLEO