Survival techniques for small business owners

You can make your small business in Uganda survive its first year with a few survival techniques.

Stick to quality for your goods and services
One of the most important ways which can make a small business survive its first anniversary is to maintain quality. One sure way of retaining and winning new customers is to be appreciated for quality of your goods and services. This is one means of leading you to be the market leader in your line of business if people associate you with quality. In whatever unique small business idea you are involved in try.

Separate your business from your personal life
Those in the formal sector appreciate the fact that a business is a separate entity from the owner. However this is lacking for those involved in small businesses. It is essential that business dealings be separated form personal issues for the good of the business. For example prevent unnecessary personal expenditures which are a loss to the business but may not easily be detected by the owner of the business.

Strict credit control
A strong mechanism has to be put in place to control credit within the business. You need to strong guidelines concerning debtors of the business and creditors. For example a strict period of time has to be put in place for payment of business debts in order to remain in good books of the business creditors.

Avoid underemployment of business assets
It is not good to keep assets which you no longer use in the business. If you have an asset you have taken quite sometime without using in the business, it is better to dispose it off. This is because the longer you keep holding it without utilizing it , the more it depreciates. Thus it is better you dispose it off and get some money which you can re-invest in the business.

Take breakfast at home
Endeavour to first have breakfast before you depart for your workplace, this way you will be saving on the amount for buying it at your work place. Breakfast usually costs not less than 2500 depending on where your place of work is. However you can save a sizeable amount if you leave home after taking breakfast.

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Start a movers business

A lot of people do not own their homes, an amazing business idea for Ugandans is to start a a movers business. That means that there is always a big number of people shifting from one place to another. You can reap big from this by providing them with a means of transporting their belongings to another place in a more suitable manner.

People usually shift by loading their belongings on open trucks. This has disadvantages like breakage and soaking in case of a downpour which can come any time in Uganda. Others plan to shift at night for fear of embarrassment because neighbors will notice their property during the day.

However, you can provide a solution to all that by offering to transport people's property in a more comfortable manner. You can do this by use of a body box truck and this can easily be acquired in the numerous car bonds in the country. You just have to begin from your neighborhood and later on expand to other areas when business grow.

In the beginning you can take up the work yourself and one extra person to help you in loading and offloading. One of you has to be with driving skills to drive the van. You can pack some of the clients property in boxes and these you can get them cheaply from merchants after removing their good from them. With time your business will grow and you can decide to use your own branded boxes. Do not forget to brand your truck for marketing your business. Later, you can also offer your services to organisations and offices which are shifting.

In Uganda there is only one international firm doing this king of business called Unimovers. Its a very profitable business and has a high potential for growth and expansion to other areas of the country. A movers business is one of those great business ideas which can reap big profits in Uganda.

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Common problems of small business owners in Kampala

A part form lack of business ideas, Ugandans are bound to face a few problems in the business environment.

Power outbreaks
Business in Kampala is prone to constant power outages either as a normal black out by UMEME or a disconnection due to a default in payment. Some Kampala arcades usually have power disconnections like Majestic Plaza, Energy Center, E.M Plaza. In some arcades, there is power rationing by the landlord. This is a big problem to small business owners since most of them heavily rely on electricity power. For example those dealing in movies, music downloading and uploading, mobile phone repair, secretarial bureaus and computer graphics work. This cost small scale entrepreneurs a lot of money as usually experienced in December.

High rental fees
This is one of the biggest problems encountered while operating any business in Kampala. Landlords charge high rent fees and these are always paid within a given timeframe. Other landlords charge their rent in dollars which is inflated against the shilling. Any failure to beat the rent payment deadline fetches a fine which can be to the tune of 70000 on arcades like Majestic Plaza. Some one can try to cut on the rent cost by sharing a shop with others but some landlords are discouraging this practice.

Unfair tax and licence fees
KCCA makes it mandatory for every trader to pay a trading licence every financial year. However, the business assessment policy to determine the licence is not fair. It is only based on the nature and category of the business not on the amount the business makes. Every retail shop has to pay the same licence regardless of the size which is very unfair to those with little incomes. On top of that a gabbage fee has to be paid for by every shop which is about 9000 shs. Failure to comply with on the licence policy leads to a closure of the business and carries a fine.

Burglary
All arcades have security guards but the security of one’s property is not in the hands of the landlord. One is supposed to vigilant with his property. Many traders lose their valuables to breakages into their shops but the landlord is not liable.

Political unrests
This cannot go unnoticed if one makes a livelihood in Kampala. The city is prone to teargas and running battles between the security organs and opposition politicians. This was remarkable during the infamous Walk-To-Work protests. There fore one has to be steady in case of any outbreak of unrests to close his business premises to avoid loses and injuries.

Competition from foreigners
Some Ugandans endeavor to put into practice their business ideas but are now facing a problem from foreign owned firms. It is now a common sight in Kampala to see locals doing the same business with foreigner regardless of the size. Most notable of this is the dvd selling business in arcades like Zai Plaza where Indians tussle it out with Ugandan youths for business survival. Many Indians, Pakistanis, Eritreans and Chinese among others compete favorably with small scale businesses owned by Ugandans to the chagrin of the locals.

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Become an interpreter

A unique business idea for people in Uganda is to become an interpreter.Do you know more than one language, you can utilise that to make money through becoming an interpreter for others. Uganda has many dialects spoken in the different parts of the country. You can offer to help out people who do not know that specific language an a given fee. Many people like tourists,businessmen, people from different regions of the country and NGOs can make use of your services.

Also if you have good knowledge of an international language, it can be a good asset. Few people in Uganda can speak or write foreign languages like Russian,Latin, French, German, Chinese, Arabic or Japanese. You can offer translation and interpreting services more especially to the growing number of business people from foreign countries coming to Uganda. Just imagine if you were good at Chinese how much you can make from the ever increasing number of people from China in the country and yet they do not know English.

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Start a cleaning service for large organisations

Today's business idea for Ugandans is to offer cleaning services. Schools, colleges, hospitals, and Companies with shops, offices, warehouses are all potential customers. Simple cleaning materials can be used along with industrial vacuum cleaners and floor polishers. Start small, but think big. Expand your business by employing others as more work comes in. It`s a competitive business, but there`s always room for another reliable and professional service who can deliver the goods at the right price.

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