How successful women grow their businesses

Many people start a business thinking they will start making money immediately they open their doors – only to find that making money in a business is much more difficult than they thought. Some women entrepreneurs who have been in business share basic steps that led to success in their businesses. Having been in business […]

Many people start a business thinking they will start making money immediately they open their doors – only to find that making money in a business is much more difficult than they thought. Some women entrepreneurs who have been in business share basic steps that led to success in their businesses.
Having been in business for the past 30 years, Mrs Angela Ajala, National President, Business and Professional Women and Executive Director Ladela Schools in Nigeria explains how women can grow successful businesses.
“Businesses do better when women are in charge. Women are organisers. To succeed in business you must be organised; organisation will help you complete tasks and stay on top of things to be done. A good way to do this is to create a to-do list each day – as you complete each item, check it off your list. This will ensure that you do not forget anything, that you complete all the tasks that are essential to the survival of your business,” Ajala explains.
Endurance
Amina Ibrahim Yusuf, the Managing Director, Dija Travels and Tours speaks about how she has been able to grow a successful business.
“One has to endure and one has to believe in God. If you believe in God and you endure, no matter how difficult the situation is, you will overcome.  As a business, we have gone through our ups and downs, and that has made us stronger. I have gotten to the level I want to get to in the travel agency business. And my dream is to own an airline. I have started working on that. This is my passion. This is what I like to do,” Yusuf explains.
Hard work and good time management is key
Haowa Bello, CEO Madame Coquette, a handbag manufacturing company spoke about how she is growing her business.
“Over the past eight years, my experiences in business have been key lessons. I’ve always considered myself a hard worker. I put everything I have in my work. For a long time, I was working hard. It wasn’t until I started working smart did I see real growth in my business,” she explains.
Similarly, she says time management is key to growing a successful business. “In the past, I didn’t always use my time wisely. Time management is the bedrock of efficiency and productivity in business,” Bello also said. 
Again, as a business owner, Bello said “you must learn to be resourceful. This is especially important to small business owners. You have to learn to get the maximum use of whatever resources you have available,” she adds.
Be original and authentic
For Mrs Dayo Benjamins-Laniyi, Managing Director Doxa Digital Printing Press, the way to becoming successful is being original.
“Be original and authentic! People who copy other peoples work are not entrepreneurs, they are hustlers. When you do that, you never come out with the ‘x-factor’ distinctive! Be innovative, be creative. Even if you will copy someone, creatively do it with your talent, she explains.
She also says, integrity is a vital tool if any entrepreneur most succeed. “Integrity, a good name is better than all the silver and gold in the world, it’s a major key to success,” she explains.