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Nigeria is a country with many human and economic resources. Like many other nations, Nigeria should have a means of reaching out to the wider world. The Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), however, was officially commissioned as the nation’s telecommunication carrier. This company was the only telecommunication network that serves both the people and the government, and that made it too difficult for people to have or make use of telephone in their homes and offices. But sometime, around the year 2003 something strange happened. The Federal Government of Nigeria granted licenses to GSM operators and their entrance to Nigeria kicked NITEL hard, and down, it fell.
One thing I know that remains as it were apart from God and His Word is Change. Change is constant, and it’s here to stay. Life as we all know has two faces – the good side and the bad side. The changes that have come into the business world like holocaust today are quite exciting to me as it is heart-mending. These changes have pushed us to our limits that we now bend on our knees for prayers. When you remember the number of people that died because there was change that forced them to lose what they had; the list of workers that lost their jobs because there was change in positions of authority, etc., we cannot wait but pray. God has been at work shaking the nations, warning the people and we all felt the tremors.
As a result, many entrepreneurs have been cracking their heads trying their hands on new formats; marking out strategies to always be in control of the market world; building convictions and putting up infrastructures that facilitate growth. Without the occurrence of change, a lot of people will be idle, no inventions would have been made, and there would have been no development. Change can be initiated by crisis, lack, harsh economy, bad economic policies, etc. In such periods, the potentially blessed individuals plan to bring about solution. The moment you fail to break even in marketing your ideas, you always try to strategize plans to reshape your channels. Also, in trying to put almost everything in your company under management control, you issue out some mandates and control measures that may seem unconducive to your workers. The sharp challenge you receive from this, puts you up quickly on the negative impact of the change on your staff. All these are nothing but products of change.
When change occurs, a lot of people weep, whereas many, even a greater majority, wear cheerful faces. When it was time for GSM operators to break into the virgin land of Nigeria, NITEL stood before them, mounting a road block to their entrance. But when it was time for change, these GSM operators and their customers were thrown into the uncertain and exhilarating waters of “freedom”.
NITEL crumbled. Workers cried. Salaries were not paid. Telephoned lines were not working. Many people abandoned them for the new GSM services. The company became broke, workers were retrenched and sacked. The unemployment rate was pushed up. This, however, forced a lot of people to take any kind of job they could find, whether the job is worth the payment or not. But another kind of change took place. These GSM operators started to build up business shops and offices in many states and their localities, providing jobs to millions of jobless people, thereby pushing the government to a slow, but steady growth and economic strength. Change does not stop, it continues. It remains as someone puts it, “the present and the future”.
Every entrepreneur that really wants to make it in business must always look and think straight, putting into consideration, while planning ahead of his business, the main reason why he is in business and the people he has come to serve. Lack of vision impairs knowledge and smooth movement. And this occurs when business owners and their agents lack a real understanding of their customers and what they provide to them. This was the real problem of NITEL. Never allow change to take place before you try to buckle up. Be an initiator of change yourself, and as the change takes place, be part of it. This creates stability and confidence. Your customers will always trust and stand by you, even in the face of an unconducive change; they will hardly leave you to swap to another, no matter the juicy carrots your competitors may dangle before them.
Entrepreneurs are by far product-oriented; they predominantly work on marketing the packaging. In doing so, always try to work on your customers’ need, and be versatile. Being versatile entails that you don’t get yourself bound up by the traditional ways of business management. The virtual world has offered new possibilities for every entrepreneur to explore. Take advantage of the opportunity and see what other people in your line of business are doing. You’ll always arrive late, whenever you try to stay out of it. Widen your product marketing horizons with blogs, sites, e-books, audio-books, multi-media, virtual communities, etc.
However, your approach to the real needs and concerns of your target market helps a lot in building up your self-confidence. Change brings us closer to reality. In the time of change, we all tend to run to God for help. Apart from drawing us closer to God, change helps us to know the One who knows the future, and that He brings change – transformation – into all our lives to bring us clearer to Him. What do you normally do in the time of change? Do you just fold your arms watching events taking place? You must be among those that create change and make things happen. Change is never a burden or a curse, it is a blessing! Change tells us to prepare to act, and that we (you and I) must do without fail!
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Source by Vitus Ejiogu