Today, I was invited to speak on a panel at my church. The conversation was about business, and the questions asked me to reflect on three things: what stops people from expressing their potential, how to respond when business or life becomes difficult, and how businesses can grow in the present economic situation.
As I prepared, I thought about the person who has carried a business idea for years but is afraid to begin. I thought about the founder who is working hard but cannot understand why the business is struggling. I also thought about the person who has experienced a serious setback and is now questioning their judgment, their ability, or what their future can become.
These are my thoughts for those people, especially those building young businesses.
Because this conversation is taking place in church, I am writing particularly to Christians. My relationship with God is central to how I think about business, responsibility, and growth. I cannot give an honest account of my own journey without talking about that relationship.
I have gone through difficult periods. I have made mistakes and had to return to God for help. I have had to learn things I did not understand and make decisions that were uncomfortable. I also recognise that as I continue building, there will be other challenges requiring more wisdom and capacity.
I want to take the three questions one at a time, because each deserves more than a short motivational answer.
Question One: What are the top three things you have observed that keep people from unleashing their potential?
My answer centres on three things: allowing circumstances to govern our hearts, the fear of failure, and limiting mindsets. They overlap, but each affects our decisions in a different way.
1. Allowing physical circumstances to control what happens within us
1.1. Pay attention to what you allow into your heart
One of the biggest limitations I see is that people are moved by almost everything happening around them. A disappointing conversation changes their outlook. A delayed payment unsettles them completely. A change in the economy becomes a conclusion about what is possible for their business.
Those situations deserve attention. A business owner has responsibilities, and decisions have consequences. But there is something we must watch carefully: the authority we give circumstances over our hearts.
The way I describe it is that anxiety or a fearful thought may enter your head, but you must be careful about allowing it to settle in your heart and become the voice directing your life.
A thought such as “What if we cannot make payroll?” needs a response. You need to examine your cash position, expected receipts, and commitments. But when that concern becomes a permanent inner conviction that everything will collapse, it begins influencing how you speak, how you lead, and which decisions you are willing to consider.
Some people carry that state through a month, then another month, and eventually an entire year. They keep moving, but they remain troubled. They have activity without the peace or understanding they need.
At some point, you must set yourself apart and be still before God. I say “must” because this has been fundamental in my own life. You need room to bring the issue before Him and seek direction rather than allowing pressure to keep producing hurried reactions.
1.2. Make prayer and God’s peace your anchor
Philippians 4:6–7 teaches us to bring our requests to God through prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. It then speaks of the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
That scripture is an anchor for me. I think about the idea of a guarded heart, a heart garrisoned by the peace of God. There may still be a decision to make, a customer to speak with, or a payment to pursue, but I can approach those responsibilities from a place of peace.
I bring the actual issue to God. “Father, this is the situation. This is what I have tried. This is what I am concerned about. What am I missing? What should I do next?”
Wherever you are in your Christian walk, you can begin to depend on the Holy Spirit as your Helper. Jesus spoke about Him guiding us into truth. I want us to recognise that this relationship has implications for the work we do every day.
If I am willing to depend on God concerning my spiritual life, I should also bring Him the decisions that occupy my thoughts throughout the working week.
1.3. Maintain a posture of inquiry
This is a phrase I return to often: maintain a posture of inquiry.
Bring your goals, your uncertainties, and your difficulties before God. If you have tried something and it is not working, go back and ask again. Stay humble enough to consider that your preferred approach may need to change.
Sometimes we have become so attached to a particular plan that we are no longer asking for direction. We are asking for the outcome we want while resisting any instruction that might require a different route.
I want to remain willing to ask, “Should I continue this? Should I change it? Is there something I need to understand first? Is there someone I need to speak with?”
This is particularly important when your ambition is much larger than your current resources. If you want to build a business generating ₦100 million a year, ₦1 billion, ₦10 billion, or $50 million, bring that goal to God. Ask about the goal itself, what it requires, and the part you should begin working on.
The scale of the ambition should deepen your dependence and your willingness to learn.
1.4. Stay attentive long enough to discern and obey
I am usually not afraid when I go through difficult periods, although I may experience some anxiety. Sometimes what I recognise is that I need to spend more deliberate time with God, and that is not always convenient for the flesh.
There are things I enjoy doing. I may want to watch a film, see friends, travel, or read something that interests me. Yet there are seasons when I know I need greater attentiveness. I need to be discerning about what I am hearing and what I am doing.
That posture may continue for a month, four months, six months, or longer. I am describing sustained attentiveness while continuing to fulfil my responsibilities.
The length of the season does not mean that God has been unwilling to speak. Sometimes I need to become more discerning. Sometimes I need to recognise the significance of something I have already encountered. Sometimes I need to obey a step I have been postponing.
I cannot keep asking for direction while refusing to act on the part I already understand.
1.5. Recognise that direction may develop through ordinary encounters
God’s help does not always arrive in the dramatic form we imagine. You may be reading a book and encounter an idea that addresses the problem. A customer may complain and reveal a weakness you need to correct. A conversation may introduce you to someone with useful experience.
Even someone who does not like you may say something that draws your attention to the truth.
The question then becomes how you consider what you are hearing. I bring it back to God, reflect on it, test it against Scripture and wise counsel, and ask how it relates to the issue before me.
One question that has helped me is, “Is this the answer, or is this on the way to the answer?”
That distinction gives me room to take a useful step without pretending that I already understand the entire journey. I may need to speak with someone, investigate a market, develop a skill, or test one part of an idea.
For example, suppose you run a food business and ingredient costs are rising. As you pray and examine the situation, a customer mentions that their office struggles to find reliable lunches. That conversation could be worth investigating. You would need to understand the demand, calculate your costs, agree payment and delivery terms, and test whether you can fulfil the orders profitably.
You are walking with God while doing the practical work required to understand the opportunity.
One of the things I tell my friends is that I never want to be in a place where I cannot hear God. Jesus spoke of the advantage of the Helper coming to us. I want to remain conscious of that advantage.
2. The fear of failure
I am Asher Adeniyi, a believer in Christ Jesus as the Son of God and Redeemer of the world. He died and rose again for our justification, so that through Him we can stand before God as if we had never sinned and live a life of peace.
2.1. Consider what remaining where you are is costing you
The second thing I see is the fear of failure. People carry ideas for years, sometimes without taking even a small step, because they are afraid of what might happen.
I sometimes ask myself, “I have not yet reached where I want to be. I know I have more capacity to develop. Why should I allow fear to keep me permanently at this level?”
There is a cost attached to acting, but there can also be a cost attached to never trying. Time passes. Skills remain undeveloped. An idea stays untested, and the person never discovers what could have been learnt.
I recognise that I am naturally a risk taker. Some decisions come more easily to me than they do to other people. That is why I want to offer something practical beyond telling people to be courageous.
2.2. Reduce your fear to data
Define the concern clearly enough to examine it.
What exactly are you afraid of? If this fails, what would happen? How much could you lose? Who else would be affected? What can you do to reduce the exposure? If it does not work, how would you recover?
There is a difference between being afraid of losing money and being afraid of what people will say. There is a difference between lacking a skill and dealing with an unreliable supplier. Each concern needs its own response.
When everything remains inside one large feeling called fear, you may struggle to see a way forward. Once you identify the parts, some become decisions you can investigate.
Suppose you want to start a clothing business, and the thought of renting a shop, employing staff, and purchasing a large stock frightens you. Must your first attempt carry all those commitments?
Could you show samples to twenty prospective customers, secure five paid orders, agree realistic delivery dates, and fulfil those orders well? You would learn something about demand, sourcing, pricing, and delivery before making a larger investment.
You have made the decision smaller and the learning more concrete.
2.3. Give a gigantic goal a practical sequence
A lot of people have ambitious goals without a sequence for working towards them. I believe in gigantic goals, but I also believe in understanding what they require.
If your target is ₦100 million in annual revenue, you need to investigate how that could happen. For illustration, one hundred customers each spending ₦1 million across the year would produce that revenue. Who are those customers? What problem would justify that spending? How would you reach them? What would it cost to serve them?
The arithmetic gives you a starting point for questions. You still need evidence that the customers exist and that you can deliver profitably.
Then you can work backwards. Perhaps you need better production, a different route to market, a stronger sales process, or a skill you do not yet have. Identify the requirement and begin working towards it.
If you need equipment, investigate what it does and whether you can access it. If you need expertise, find someone who understands the work. If your opportunity is in another market, learn the standards and practical conditions for serving it.
This gives your ambition a sequence of decisions you can bring before God and act on.
2.4. Understand what you mean when you say you are trusting God for a miracle
This connects to something I believe deserves a fuller explanation. I believe in miracles, and I believe we can grow in our understanding of how to walk with God. I also want us to recognise when we are using the word “miracle” to avoid admitting that we do not understand what we are doing.
Consider the feeding of the five thousand in John 6. Jesus saw the crowd and asked Philip where they could buy bread. John explains that Jesus was testing him because He already knew what He would do.
Philip considered the cost. Andrew identified a boy with five barley loaves and two fish, while questioning their adequacy. Jesus had the people sit down, gave thanks, and distributed the food. The people ate, and the remaining fragments filled twelve baskets.
What first draws my attention is that Jesus knew what He would do. There was understanding before the result became visible.
When I speak about “systemising” how we approach miracles, I am thinking about growing in spiritual understanding: knowing God, recognising His direction, acting in faith, and obeying what He says. I am describing a relationship in which we learn to respond more deliberately, rather than treating every difficult moment as a completely unfamiliar spiritual emergency.
I also see practical actions within that account. The available food was identified. People were seated. Food was distributed. What remained was gathered. Those actions did not explain away the miracle; they formed part of how the people participated in what was happening.
My application to business is that faith should make me attentive and responsive. If I am asking God to help me build, I want to understand the step He is showing me and carry it out.
For a business owner, that step might involve learning a skill, speaking to a particular person, changing an unprofitable arrangement, or preparing for an opportunity. Those actions need consideration in their own right. I cannot assume that copying another person’s actions guarantees the same result, because I need direction concerning my own situation.
There are things we do not yet know. We should be willing to acknowledge them. If I do not understand cash flow, I need to learn. If I do not understand my customers, I need to listen. If I need spiritual direction, I should seek God with humility.
I want my confidence to be grounded in a relationship with my Father and in the understanding I receive from Him. That gives me something firmer to act on than a vague hope that everything will somehow work itself out.
2.5. Take responsibility, and return to God when you make a mistake
One reason I am willing to make decisions is that I am prepared to take responsibility for them. I consider what could happen, how it might affect other people, and what I would need to do if the outcome were difficult.
When I realise I have made a mistake, I go back to God. “Father, I have missed something here. This could be costly. Help me understand what to do.”
I remain in that place of inquiry, receive counsel, and take the corrective steps I understand. I want to walk confidently with the assurance that I am depending on Him, even while dealing honestly with consequences.
That dependence is central to everything I am saying. I do not want to become so confident in my own ability that I lose the habit of returning to my Father.
3. Limiting mindsets, inadequate knowledge, and entitlement
3.1. Examine the beliefs you have accepted about yourself
Some limitations begin as statements we repeat until they become conclusions about our lives.
“I am not good at sales.” “I do not understand numbers.” “People like me cannot build a business that large.”
Have you examined those statements? Are you describing what you can do today, or deciding what you will always be able to do?
Carol Dweck’s book Mindset had a major influence on me. It helped liberate my thinking about learning and capacity. It is one of the reasons I am comfortable setting gigantic goals. I believe I can apply effort, seek feedback, change my method, and develop abilities I do not currently have.
If you say you cannot sell, ask what you have learnt about selling. Have you studied your customers’ problems? Practised explaining your offer? Asked why people decline it? Followed up consistently?
You may have an undeveloped skill rather than a permanent inability.
3.2. Recognise when you need more knowledge
Willingness to work does not automatically give you the knowledge required to run a business. You may need to understand pricing, margins, negotiation, customer acquisition, or delivery.
If you sell something for ₦20,000, do you know what remains after all the relevant costs? If customers are buying but cash is always short, do you understand where it is going and when payments are due?
Those are areas you can learn. Ask an experienced operator to review your approach, read relevant materials, take a useful course, and practise applying what you discover.
As you pray, ask God to help you recognise what you do not know and find the right help.
3.3. Replace entitlement with responsibility
Education is valuable, but a degree does not automatically produce a job. A good product still requires customers to understand its value and trust the business offering it.
Government has responsibilities, and we should hold it accountable. At the same time, I must ask what I can take responsibility for within the situation I face.
If you want a role in marketing, can you learn the relevant tools and create sample work that demonstrates your ability? If you want larger business customers, can you study their needs and build evidence that you can serve them?
People who make progress deliberately pursue what they want. They prepare, ask, learn, follow up, and improve.
A question I find useful is, “What would I need to learn, change, or put in place?” It turns a limitation into something I can begin working on.
Question Two: What key advice would you give someone struggling in business or career, or someone who has experienced failure or a major setback?
The first thing I would tell that person is that what they are going through is not peculiar to them. Then I would encourage them to learn the right lessons, remain dependent on God, and become open to the knowledge and changes their next step requires.
1. Understand that you are not the only person who has experienced this
Whether you made a mistake, a policy affected your business, or the environment changed unexpectedly, you are not the first person to encounter a difficult season.
Elon Musk has spoken about Tesla coming within days of bankruptcy in 2008 before financing closed on Christmas Eve. Amazon also went through years of losses before reporting its first full-year net profit in 2003.
Closer to home, the challenges surrounding the Dangote refinery have shown that scale and experience do not remove every difficulty. Regulatory disputes, supply challenges, and other external pressures can affect large businesses too.
It is easy to look at someone else’s established success and compare it with your own most uncertain period. You may not be seeing the decisions, disappointments, and near failures within their journey.
If your business has failed, acknowledge what happened without allowing it to become a permanent definition of who you are. If you made a poor decision, take responsibility without concluding that you can never make a good one again.
You still need an honest assessment of the situation. That assessment should help you decide what to do next.
2. Make sure you learn the right lesson
2.1. A painful experience can produce the wrong conclusion
Learning is one of the most important things we can do after a setback. But the lesson has to be examined.
Someone trusts a partner who disappoints them and decides never to trust anyone again. They may become suspicious of everyone while leaving their actual business arrangements unchanged.
Perhaps what they needed was better due diligence, clear agreements, defined responsibilities, and accountability. Those changes could help them build more wisely in the future.
Someone sells goods on credit and is not paid. The useful lesson may concern deposits, credit limits, payment terms, and collections. If the only conclusion is that customers are wicked, the person may carry bitterness into the next transaction without improving the process.
Ask what actually caused the difficulty, what was within your control, and what would produce a better decision next time.
2.2. Ask God for clarity and remain willing to receive correction
This is where humility matters. Sometimes we want comfort but resist the correction that could help us.
I want to be able to ask, “Father, what did I miss? What advice did I disregard? What did I misunderstand? What was outside my control? What must change?”
Ask Him to lead you to the right people and materials. Someone with relevant experience may help you distinguish between a weak idea, poor execution, bad timing, and a factor you could not control.
Each requires a different response. If you misdiagnose the problem, you may spend months correcting something that was never the main issue.
2.3. Kenneth Hagin’s account: respond differently when you have another opportunity
Kenneth Hagin recounts an experience in Following God’s Plan for Your Life. In 1956, he said, he received a warning about a recession but did not prepare adequately and suffered financially.
He described another warning in 1974. This time, he acted on instructions to withdraw from some outreaches, reduce staffing and expenses, and save ten percent of the ministry’s income. He explained the changes to his employees and implemented them.
His account says they came through the subsequent economic pressure without suffering financially. By 1976, the accumulated savings also helped them purchase property for the ministry’s new location.
What stands out to me is that his response changed after the earlier experience.
The question for us is whether what we have learnt will affect our next decision. If we discovered that our commitments had grown beyond our capacity, will we assess new commitments differently? If we discovered that we had no reserves, will our approach to cash change?
That is where learning becomes practical. Write down the change and incorporate it into how the business operates.
3. Keep trusting God while you work through the consequences
3.1. Difficult seasons require steadiness
I speak carefully about challenging periods because I have experienced them. I also recognise that building something larger will expose me to problems I have not yet learnt to handle.
I want to keep growing in my ability to respond. That means remaining teachable, making difficult decisions when necessary, and holding on to my confidence in God.
Isaiah 50:7 speaks of the Lord’s help and setting one’s face like a flint. That is an image I return to: a settled resolve grounded in God’s help.
I want to face the issue clearly. If I need to apologise, I should apologise. If I need to change a plan, I should change it. If I need expert help, I should seek it. My confidence in God should support my willingness to take those steps.
3.2. Abraham’s journey to Egypt: why that account encouraged me
About three or four years ago, while I was reflecting on a difficult situation, God drew my attention to Abraham’s time in Egypt. To understand why that encouraged me, it helps to follow the account.
In Genesis 12, Abram, as he was then called, went to Egypt because there was a severe famine. As they approached, he feared that the Egyptians would kill him because of Sarai’s beauty. He asked her to identify herself as his sister.
Sarai was taken into Pharaoh’s household, and Abram received livestock and servants. The Lord afflicted Pharaoh’s household because of Sarai. Pharaoh confronted Abram, returned his wife, and sent them away with their possessions.
The story then continues in Genesis 13. Abram left Egypt with Sarai and all he had. He is described as wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold. He journeyed back towards Bethel, returned to the place of the altar, and called on the name of the Lord.
What encouraged me was the continuation of the story. There had been fear and a deeply troubling decision, but there was also divine intervention, a way out, and a return to worship.
I have reflected on that in relation to my own mistakes. When I recognise that I have acted poorly, I do not want to assume that the only future available to me is permanent damage.
I can return to God. I can face correction and seek a way forward. The fact that I have entered a difficult situation does not mean that His grace has stopped operating in my life.
I also pay attention to the fact that Abram returned to the altar. For me, that brings the lesson back to relationship. When I have gone through a difficult period, I want to return to that place of dependence, worship, and attentiveness to God.
This is why I say I do not want to assume that I will come out of every difficult season only with scars. There can also be wisdom, renewed direction, restored relationships, resources, and a deeper understanding of how to walk with my Father.
I would never use that confidence to dismiss the pain someone is experiencing. I am describing the expectation I want to bring to my own recovery: God can still help me, and my story can continue beyond the mistake.
3.3. Give recovery practical expression
If you have lost a job, you can acknowledge the disappointment while asking what comes next. Review any useful feedback, study what employers in your field need, update your CV, and prepare evidence of the work you can do.
If your business has suffered, understand the actual position. What commitments remain? Which customers can still be served? What needs to stop? Where do you need advice?
Prayer gives you a place to bring the weight of those questions. Practical assessment helps you identify the decisions you need to make.
I want us to remain dependent on God while doing that work honestly.
4. Open your mind to better methods and wider possibilities
4.1. Examine how the work is being done
Sometimes a person is struggling because the method they are using has become a limitation. They are working hard, but they have not examined how the same result might be achieved more efficiently or reliably.
I encourage businesspeople to think globally. Study how your industry operates elsewhere and ask what you can learn.
If you run a fashion business, look beyond how many sewing machines you have. Study patterns, cutting, sourcing, the movement of work through production, quality checks, and delivery.
If measurements are repeatedly recorded wrongly or materials arrive late, hiring more tailors may leave those problems untouched. You need to understand the whole process.
The same habit applies to other fields. Examine what creates the result, where the delays occur, and how capable operators improve the work.
4.2. Let new tools challenge your assumptions
In our own business, AI is changing how we think about certain kinds of work. We are looking at things we would previously have imagined requiring years and large teams, and asking how smaller teams can approach them in much shorter periods.
That requires us to remain open to learning. We still have to check quality and understand the limits of the tools, but we cannot assume that the way we planned the work previously is the only way available.
Ask what has changed in your field. Which tools could help? What would you need to learn to use them well? Where could you run a small test?
4.3. Deliberately expose yourself, then apply the learning
Talk to experienced people. Read. Attend relevant exhibitions. Visit businesses that operate well. If you can travel, give the trip a learning purpose.
Go with questions about the problems you are trying to solve. Ask how people maintain quality, organise production, manage payment delays, or reach customers.
You can begin before you can afford an international trip. There may be an excellent operator in your city or elsewhere in Nigeria. There are demonstrations and industry conversations you can study. There are mentors who can help you examine your approach.
When you finish the book, leave the conversation, or return from the trip, identify what you will do differently. Choose an improvement you can test and give it a date.
Exposure becomes useful when it changes your judgment or your actions.
Question Three: How can businesses navigate the present economic situation and still scale up?
My instinct is to challenge the assumption that the economic situation makes growth impossible. I recognise that people and businesses are under pressure. But as a businessperson, I still have to investigate where value can be created and how to build a business capable of delivering it.
1. Maintain a positive approach to finding opportunities
When I say that my approach to the economy is positive, I mean I remain willing to look for a useful response.
If I have already decided that nothing can work, I may stop asking the questions that could reveal an opportunity. A customer says things are difficult, and the conversation ends there.
I want to ask what exactly has become difficult. Are they losing money? Are they struggling with unreliable delivery? Do they need a more affordable package? Are they spending too much time on work someone could help them do better?
The answers can help you understand what people are prioritising.
Suppose you sell food and orders have become less frequent. Customer conversations might reveal that office workers still need lunch but want predictable prices and reliable delivery. A weekly package with advance orders could be worth testing.
You would need to calculate the costs and assess demand. The point is that you have moved from a general complaint to a specific business question.
2. Offer something substantially valuable and make the value clear
2.1. Know why a customer should keep paying you
You cannot build sustained growth around people liking your face or wanting to support your effort. Customers need a reason to keep buying.
What problem are you solving? How important is it? What changes for them when they use your product or service?
You need to understand the answer well enough to explain and deliver it. Sometimes we talk extensively about our features or how much effort went into the product, while the customer is still wondering what it will do for them.
If you sell software to a school, connect it to a real outcome your product can produce. Does it improve record accuracy, reduce administrative work, or help the school follow up on unpaid fees? Demonstrate the relevant benefit.
2.2. The school subscription conversation: investigate the objection
I remember a conversation with someone on my team about a school. The explanation was that the school could not pay our subscription fee.
My immediate reaction was to question that conclusion. Were we sure they lacked the ability to pay, or had we not demonstrated enough value for them to prioritise paying us?
Those are different situations, and we need to understand which one we are dealing with.
A customer may genuinely lack the funds. Another may have money available but consider something else more important. If we know they have spent comparable amounts before, that should encourage more investigation.
Do they understand the product? Are they using it? Is the person approving the payment aware of its benefits? Does it solve a problem they currently consider important?
For illustration, suppose a school subscription costs ₦30,000 a month. If the product genuinely helps the school collect substantially more in fees or saves meaningful administrative time, show that evidence.
If we cannot identify a useful outcome, we should examine the product, the offer, and the customer fit. We need to be willing to discover that something on our side requires improvement.
2.3. Position the business where the value matters most
Who has the problem you solve, considers it urgent, and has the ability to pay? Can you reach those people and serve them profitably?
A valuable solution still needs suitable customers. Trying to sell to everybody can consume time without producing enough results.
You may need to adjust the package, delivery method, or payment schedule. Some customers may need a smaller service. Others may value a more complete offer at a higher price.
For example, a cleaning business with unpredictable household bookings might investigate recurring contracts with offices, clinics, or residential estates. That would require understanding their standards, staffing needs, supply costs, and payment cycles.
Positioning begins with understanding where your capabilities and the customer’s needs fit together.
3. Reduce costs intelligently and use AI where it improves the work
3.1. Understand what is consuming your resources
Cost reduction should begin with understanding.
Where are materials wasted? Where are people repeating work because of errors? Which subscriptions are unused? Which activities consume time without enough value?
Some costs come from poor coordination. Orders are missed, work is redone, customers complain, and the team spends time resolving problems that could have been prevented.
Improving the process can reduce those costs while making the service more reliable.
You also need judgment about what to protect. If customers pay for dependable delivery, a change that causes missed deadlines may cost more than it saves. Understand the effect before removing something that supports the value they buy.
3.2. Give AI a defined job and assess the result
Look at the actual tasks in your business. Where could a tool help someone prepare a first draft, organise information, or reduce repetitive work?
A retailer might use verified product details to draft descriptions. A service business might prepare a first version of a proposal from an approved brief. A team might organise feedback it is authorised to use.
Give clear instructions and have a capable person review the output. Check the facts, prices, promises, and suitability before using it.
Then assess the result. Did it save time? Did it improve consistency? Did it create extra correction work? Those answers tell you whether the change is useful.
Start with something you can evaluate, learn from it, and build on what works.
4. Build a team capable of multiplying your effort
4.1. Match your expectations with the capability you have employed
Your business is highly dependent on the quality of your people. There is no magic that makes a poorly equipped or inexperienced team consistently perform the work of experienced professionals.
Sometimes I see business owners pay very little and expect the employee to perform miracles. They want the person to improve sales, manage operations, develop processes, and solve difficult problems, but have not considered what those responsibilities require.
We have to be honest about that expectation.
People need the relevant capability, clear direction, useful tools, and support. Compensation also affects the experience you can attract and retain.
4.2. As the business grows, deepen the expertise around you
Every business has a stage. At the beginning, you may need to do many things yourself, work with a small team, and develop people.
But as the business grows, your approach to the team should grow too. Ask who can increase sales, strengthen financial discipline, improve the product, or make delivery more reliable.
If you are running a billion-naira business, can you identify at least two people whose expertise you rate very highly in areas critical to the company?
I use that question to challenge the depth of capability around the founder. Can you point to someone whose judgment makes the business stronger? Are there people who understand important areas better than you do and can take responsibility for improving them?
A larger business needs more than an increase in workload. It needs the capacity to handle that work well.
4.3. Hire against a clear need and define what improvement means
Before hiring, understand the problem you need the person to solve.
If stockouts and unreliable deliveries are costing you customers, inventory and distribution expertise may be important. If sales depend entirely on the founder, you may need someone who can build a more consistent sales process.
Define the results you expect and give the person the tools and authority required.
I want professionals who can multiply effort: people who bring judgment, improve how the business works, and help the team deliver better results. That is a different level of contribution from simply taking tasks off the founder’s list.
What I keep returning to
Across these three questions, I keep returning to dependence on God and a willingness to take responsibility.
When I am anxious, I want to bring the actual issue before Him. When I am afraid, I want to understand what I am afraid of and consider a responsible next step. When I make a mistake, I want to receive correction and learn the right lesson.
When the business needs to grow, I want to understand the customer, improve the offer, use resources wisely, and develop the people around me.
These are things I must keep practising. I do not want familiarity with business to make me careless about hearing God, and I do not want spiritual language to become a substitute for doing the work.
If you are building a young business, take the concern you have been carrying and give it proper attention. Set aside time to pray. Write down the issue. Identify what you know, what you do not know, and whose help you may need.
Then remain attentive to the next step. It may be smaller than the outcome you are asking for, but it can still move you towards the understanding you need.
Thank you for spending your precious time reading my thoughts. I would love to hear what you have learnt about walking with God through business challenges. What helped you find direction after a setback, and what did you change as a result? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
References
● Scripture: Philippians 4:6–7; John 16:7, 13; John 6:1–13; Isaiah 50:7; Genesis 12:10–20 and Genesis 13:1–4.
● Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
● Kenneth E. Hagin, Following God’s Plan for Your Life, pp. 75–76 of the linked electronic edition: Recession warnings and his response.
● Amazon’s 2003 financial results, published 27 January 2004.
● Elon Musk, Stanford interview, “Overcoming Setbacks and Saving Tesla.”
● Reuters: Dangote refinery’s regulatory and crude supply challenges, 22 July 2024.
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