I am sharing the story of how I managed to keep my small business afloat for over 5 years. I did a quick google search before I started writing and realized that in the USA, fifty percent of small businesses do not make it to year five. I am sure Nigeria has worse numbers.

In 2015, I started a small business from my home. The business was printing and selling artworks to clients. This was a side business, and I didn’t intend it to be the main source of my income. However, I saw potential in the business, and I decided to invest in it. While doing this business, I have made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot.

First Mistake

Investing in a large format printer. This was not only an expensive purchase, but this was also equipment that needed complex maintenance. The initial thought was since I was going to be selling canvas prints, I should be able to produce them myself.

Second Mistake

I underestimated how much persuasion I needed to do. Artwork is a luxury product, a lot of people might appreciate it, but only a tiny percentage will purchase it. Never underestimate the level of sales and marketing that is required for a business to survive.

In order for the business to survive, I had to restrategize. Looking closely at the structure of the business, I noticed that I spent a lot of time worrying about my printer. There was too much energy spent on that machine, and that had to change.

Restructuring.

My realization was that I should have focused mainly on sales. I had no business trying to produce the artworks myself as it was tying up too much of my time and resources. Please, guys, outsource production whenever possible.

The new strategy was to completely outsource the production of canvas prints.  I found a company in China that would print my artwork. All I had to send them was a softcopy via email. The company produced my canvas prints and shipped them to me. This process took about 2 weeks. I would then frame the artwork and sell it.

I kept operational costs low since I didn’t have to deal with machine maintenance again. My main cost was on marketing. This was done with the distribution of flyers. At that time, social media marketing was not as robust as it is now. I also got a lot of business via referrals

My canvas printing business is still ongoing today, although we face new challenges such as the depreciation of the Naira, business is all about figuring out a way to get by.