It was not meant to be this way. But like a good number of things Nigerian, the story is hardly complete without a twist in the tale. And so it has been for at least three years now with the story of the gas car that was supposed to lessen, if not end, Nigerians’ petrol misery.

Sometime in 2020, state oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (now NNPC Limited), launched what it advertised as the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP). The major objective of the programme, according to NNPC Group CEO, Mele Kyari, was to harvest gas for car fuel. This was in addition to expanding its use for domestic cooking.

At the official launch of the programme on December 1, 2020, Kyari said given how important the project was for the government’s pursuit of cleaner, safer and cheaper energy, NNPC would provide the conversion free of charge to car owners and transporters.

“You bring your car to a location,” he said, “and then we fit in the things you need to call the gas and also to receive the gas into your car. All the one million cars that we promised will be done through a structure that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources will put in place to ensure that any Nigerian who has to convert his car will get it done for free.”

Kyari said at the time that outside Abuja, the retrofitting and service centres would be available in 12 other states, adding that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources would bear the burden “until the private sector can come in.”

To demonstrate how serious the government was about the programme, NNPC promised the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) 100 gas-powered buses, out of which I think 50 or so were delivered.

As surely as big money never fails to follow big talk in conspiracies that often end in heart-breaking scandals, the Central Bank offered N250 billion to “support” the NNPC’s gas car value chain. This “support” fund was announced at least four months before the programme was officially launched. 

A statement by the Bank in August 2020 said each beneficiary would get a maximum of N10 billion at between five and nine percent with a one-year/18-month moratorium for 10 years disbursable in the case of small and medium scale enterprises, through the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank.

All of this was nearly three years ago. As you read this piece, no one is sure how many of the estimated 12 million registered cars in Nigeria are gas-powered or how many of the estimated 6.7 million of registered commercial vehicles out of the 12m are on gas. The best guess is on the website of NIPCO, a private limited oil and gas company, with a strong Indian presence.

NIPCO claims that it has converted 5,600 cars to gas, but the data does not say whether this is the total number of cars converted in the last 19 years since NIPCO started LPG delivery. Or just what type of gas conversions took place – whether LPG-type (liquified petroleum gas, more commonly available); or CNG-type (compressed natural gas, with very few plants available in Nigeria). We also don’t know how many of the 13 service and retrofitting stations which Kyari announced three years ago are ready.

Was the CBN’s N250 billion gas value chain support fund disbursed? If so, how much and what is left of it? Who were the beneficiaries and what have they done with the money? I tried in vain to get the answers. Perhaps the bank or the Ministry of Petroleum Resources can help. 

Two years after the NGEP was announced, Businessday published a story entitled, “FG’s autogas policy falls short,” in which the newspaper reported that, “A combination of infrastructure, high cost of gas, lack of proper planning and prevailing harsh economic realities have affected the implementation of the autogas policy.”

It’s on top of this mess that Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, announced last week the establishment of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) “to revolutionise the transportation landscape in the country, targeting over 11,500 new CNG-enabled vehicles and 55,000 CNG conversion kits for existing PMS-dependent vehicles.”

Ngelale sounded like a repurposed version of CBN’s August 2020 memo, with the warmed-over promises of NNPC. But I’ll come to that.

Again, just as it happened when Kyari promised that one million cars will run on gas and that, for a start, over one dozen service stations across the country will be available to provide support, NNPC has promised that in the short run the new gas project would be supported by NIPCO. Kyari did not say how NIPCO’s infrastructure would meet the demand. 

Information on NIPCO’s website as of today claims that Nipcogas – a JV project in which NNPC’s subsidiary Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) owns majority shares – has 15 CNG stations in Benin and is contemplating expansion both in Benin, Edo State; and in Ibafo, Ogun State. But insiders told me that there are only 12 stations in the country as of now, out of which Nipcogas owns 11. How the current infrastructure will convert 11,500 petrol cars to LPG and CNG, much less provide 55,000 conversion kits remains to be seen.

The demons are, however, in plain sight. The same demons that haunted Kyari’s grandiose plan to convert one million cars to autogas, and also turned the CBN’s N250 billion to pork barrel, will return to haunt the “PCNGI revolutionary initiative” enthusiastically announced by Ngelale.

It’s not hard to see why. The things Businessday cited as impediments to the execution of NGEP after its launch have not changed – not the system or the people behind it. If anything, thanks to corruption, they have metastasized, with concerns that at least N90 billion of the N250 billion set aside by the CBN to “support” the gas value chain may have been diverted.  

It is also surprising that the government will prioritise CNG over LPG when the latter is not only more readily available, but is also relatively cheaper to convert and maintain. Can we even talk about conversion without data of car owners’ attitude and readiness?

And then there’s the supply problem. A viable gas car service without steady gas supply is a pipedream.  

Africaoilgasreport.com reported on August 18 that in spite of huge oil and gas assets owned 100 percent by NNPC, which could significantly improve its oil and gas production and evacuation potential, the company prefers to play “the politics of financial engineering.” NNPC has become the successor of the Central Bank in the business of everything.  

Also, while the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) said it was still producing in spite of declaring a force majeure in October last year as a result of flooding in the Niger Delta, the company has not vacated the force majeure, raising serious concerns about viable supply. 

And why, in any case, does CNG have to become a “presidential initiative?” Are we going to have a presidential initiative on LPG, a presidential initiative on LNG and perhaps a presidential initiative on presidential initiative? The system is broken not because of an absence of a presidential initiative, but because NNPC, its subsidiary NGC, and the refineries that should lead the gas pathway have failed. 

If in nearly 50 years of NNPC only about 10.5 percent or roughly four million Nigerian households use cooking gas, how can the government prioritise car gas over households through a presidential initiative salvation army, a purely ad hoc arrangement? 

Which serious investors will put down their money in an arrangement that completely ignores the history of past failures and present concerns about mind boggling corruption? And how, by the way, can key institutions such as the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) be left out in any sustainable plan for autogas?

Tinubu has enough problems on his plate. Hugging a special purpose initiative to nowhere will not do him much good. If the government is really keen on gas cars, then he must return to where the rain started beating us.

** Ishiekwene is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP

For all the risks, for all that was riding on a successful landing, the descent to the moon’s surface was remarkably uneventful, if not exactly stress-free. The Vikram lander, part of India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, dropped steadily on its thrusters to the rock below, slowed to a hover as it approached the ground, and finally came to a rest on the dusty terrain.

When confirmation came that the lander was down, anxiety in the control room gave way to cheers and applause. With the soft touchdown, Indiabecomes the first country to land a probe at the moon’s south pole, a rugged region where deep craters lie in permanent shadow and where ice could provide water, oxygen and fuel for future missions. The first will be on the moon itself, and in lunar orbit, but they could also supply trips to Mars, with the benefit that the materials do not need to be lifted off the Earth’s surface at great cost. It is a region of key scientific interest.

It may be half a century since the last Apollo mission, but landing on the moon remains a huge technical feat. India is only the fourth country to pull off a controlled landing on the surface, after the US, China and the former Soviet Union. That India chose one of the moon’s poles as its destination – a tougher prospect than landing near the equator – makes the success that much sweeter.

“Knowing that it can be done doesn’t make it easy,” said Prof Martin Barstow, director of strategic partnerships at Space Park Leicester. “Landing at the poles is much more difficult than landing at the equator. You’ve got to get into a polar orbit to release the lander and nobody has done that before. The US hasn’t landed anything at the poles on the moon.”

There is more to the achievement than the technical feat. The landing boosts the prestige of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) less than a week after a Russian probe spun out of control and crashed into the moon’s surface. The ill-fated Luna-25 mission was Russia’s first attempt to land on the moon in 47 years.

“This is an exciting moment for Indian space exploration,” said Prof Andrew Coates at UCL’s Mullard space science laboratory. “Following their earlier successful orbiters to the moon and Mars, this cements their position as one of the key spacefaring nations and is an impressive scientific and engineering achievement.”

The prime minister, Narendra Modi, followed the landing from the Brics summit in South Africa and appeared on the Indian space agency’s live stream with a message for the world. “India is on the moon,” he said, adding that all countries, including those from the global south, were capable of such missions. “The sky is not the limit.”

The landing raises India’s profile as a spacefaring nation at a crucial time. Like other countries, India has privatised its rocket launches. Through foreign investment, India plans to expand its share of the global launch market fivefold over the next decade. That ambition will be helped by India being seen as a low-cost provider of space launch services.

There will certainly be demand. The global space launch market is expected to grow from $9bn (£7bn) this year to more than $20bn in 2030. Beyond satellite launches, big space agencies including Nasa, the European Space Agency, Russia and China are gearing up for a return to the moon, a long-term commitment that involves building a moon-orbiting space station and lunar habitats for astronauts to live in. “There’s so much that needs to be done that no one country can do it all,” said Barstow. “There will be a place for many countries in going back to the moon.”

The Guardian, UK

When it comes to managing staff, there are lots of tips and tricks out there to help you be a good manager and leader.

But at the end of the day, it really comes down to a few simple tips and tricks that not only help guide your team to success, but really frees up everyone's time to focus on the things that really matter.

So today, I wanted to share with you the two most important tips to managing your staff and team.

Tip 1: Assign the Right Task to The Right Person 

When you have a task or project that comes up- how do you decide who to delegate that task to? Do you choose someone that is reliable and quick to respond?

Do you ask the first person you see in the hallway? Or do you choose the right person for the task at hand?

If you spent a moment thinking about the task and the core competencies and responsibilities of your team, the answer should be clear. Here are a few questions to get you started:

• What are they truly on the payroll to produce?
• What are the results that they are most responsible for?
• What do they own in their area?
• How do know they're doing great work?
• How can they measure their own success in an area or ongoing functional responsibility?
• How does the company know that they're doing a great job?

Once you have this figured out for everyone on your team, then the delegation should come naturally and your team members should expect to see tasks of similar nature land on their plate on a regular basis. 

Tip 2: Do Quarterly Check-Ins

The second tip for managing your staff effectively has to do with having regular check-ins.  And this is done with a quarterly plan which is a simple one-page document that lays out the priorities for each team member for this quarter to help them decide where to spend their most time and effort.

Every month you want to sit down together with your direct reports and decide what the top three focus areas are this quarter and the criteria of success surrounding each focus area. It should be very clear at the end of this meeting what is expected of each team member and how success will be measured.

And then you are going to check in weekly to see where they stand on those items in their quarterly report.  Or at the very least, biweekly, so that it allows you to hold them accountable, to support them and to celebrate the progress that they're making and to really get an idea on where they stand on the items of priority.

And since it's just one page of action items, this can easily be done at 1-on-1 meetings or together as a group.

By focusing on assigning the right tasks and projects to the right individual and then doing regular check-ins together as a team you can ensure that more of the important work gets done in the time allotted and you can then focus on growing and developing your business even faster.

Inc

Central Bank of Nigeria has stepped up its scrutiny of lenders and foreign-exchange bureaus, marking the latest effort to ease a dollar shortage that has sapped the naira.

CBN ordered Wema Bank Plc to stop foreign currency-secured naira loans – a practice it said drains dollar liquidity – according to instructions seen by Bloomberg. It gave the lender until Sept. 7 to comply.

A spokeswoman for Wema Bank didn’t immediately respond to calls seeking comment.

It has been trying to find ways to stem volatility in the naira, which has lost 40% in value since President Bola Tinubu announced currency reforms shortly after taking office on May 29.

Last week it capped the rate at which forex bureaus can transact in the currency at plus-or-minus 2.5% of the official market-weighted average from the previous day. It warned those who fail to obey its instructions will lose their licenses.

“What the central bank is trying to do is close as many opportunities for speculation and hoarding as possible, so people will bring out their dollars to the market,” said Ayodeji Dawodu, head of Africa sovereign and corporate credit research at BancTrust & Co. in London. “However, what they need to tackle is the reason why people are hoarding and speculating, and that’s because of lack of confidence in the central bank’s ability to support the naira with reserves,” he said.

The naira has suffered persistent volatility since Africa’s most populous nation eased foreign-exchange controls as it sought to simplify its exchange-rate regime and kick-start dollar flows.

In addition, the central bank’s financial statements released this month showed that effective foreign-exchange reserves at its disposal were much lower than previously disclosed.

The local unit traded at 770.72 per dollar at the official market on Tuesday, according to Lagos-based FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, which oversees the trading. At that level, it is 15% weaker compared to the exchange rate of 906 a dollar at the parallel market, which is where most residents access the greenback because of shortage at banks.

“If you don’t have reserves and you’re going to boost confidence, it’s not going to work,” Dawodu said. “We know the central bank doesn’t have enough to satisfy the market.”

Bloomberg

A case of procurement fraud against suspended and detained central bank governor Godwin Emefiele stalled on Wednesday and no new date was fixed for the hearing.

Emefiele was meant to enter a plea on Wednesday. But he did not appear in court and his case was not listed on the court's cause-list.

The suspended CBN governor faces a 20-count charge of unlawful procurement and conferring unlawful advantage to a central bank employee.

Several newspapers on Wednesday reported that Emefiele was exploring a plea bargain to settle the matter out of court.

Emefiele was suspended by President Bola Tinubu in June and later detained by state police.

Reuters

Between July 2022 and June 2023, 3,620 people were abducted in over 582 kidnapping incidents in the country, with a reported ransom demand of at least N5 billion and an actual ransom payment of over N302million, a figure that could be higher due to underreporting.

An SB Morgan intelligence report released on August 23, 2023, entitled, “The Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry: Follow the Money,” disclosed these figures.

Nigeria Police Force and the military high command – the Defence Headquarters, however, have gone silent over the heart-wrenching situation, while security experts called on the Office of the National Security Adviser currently headed by the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, to declare a state of emergency to curb the disturbing situation.

As Nigeria faces security crises across the six geopolitical zones, Boko Haram, Islamic States of West Africa, Ansar terrorists, bandits, sea pirates, and armed separatist agitators – the Independent People of Biafra, and all other violent groups, take part in kidnapping for ransom, even with the country’s struggling economy, rising inflation, and high unemployment rates.

Civilians bear the brunt of this horrifying trend, accounting for 430 fatalities. Security agents and kidnappers themselves suffered 19 and 121 deaths, respectively. Inability of security agencies to effectively curb this menace is evident, as even the killing of kidnappers has not deterred potential abductors.

The SB Morgan intelligence report delves into the harrowing statistics, motivations, and complexities of the growing epidemic. The report unveils a striking correlation between Nigeria’s struggling economy, rising inflation, and soaring unemployment rates and the exponential growth of the kidnap-for-ransom industry.

“Between July 2022 and June 2023, 3,620 people were abducted in 582 kidnap-related incidents in the country, with a reported ransom demand of at least N5 billion and actual ransom payments of N302 million. However, this figure could be higher due to underreporting.

“Kidnap dynamics differ between individual and community cases, with less secrecy in larger-scale abductions. In some instances, kidnappers opt for non-monetary ransom, like foodstuff. Notably, the Northwest and Northcentral regions exhibit higher in-kind cases of ransom demands, correlating with Nigeria’s widespread poverty. Additionally, these regions have seen a surge in demands for motorcycles as part of ransom payments,” the report said in part.

It further noted that Catholic priests, previously targeted for their ransom value, suffered 21 abductions during this period.

It further delves into the geographic nuances of kidnapping, identifying Edo State as a state with high ransom demands but minimal returns. Taraba State, however, stands out for high ransom payments, though these numbers stem largely from a single incident. Zamfara, Kaduna, and Niger states were identified as hotspots for kidnapping, often involving mass community abductions. In contrast, Borno recorded minimal deaths, likely due to the sophistication of Boko Haram’s tactics.

It added, “Kaduna was the most dangerous state for priests, who were often kidnapped during services. Abductors demanded around N50 million in the past, but the Church now refrains from disclosing ransom negotiations possibly to avoid encouraging further attacks. Statewise, Edo kidnappers sought high ransoms but received little. On the other hand, Taraba paid the most, primarily due to a single case.

“The Northcentral saw higher ransom amounts demanded, notably in Nasarawa, where targeted abductions yielded maximum ransom with minimal resistance. The South-South’s low ransom payments may indicate efficient police intervention or victim silence. The past year showed a higher likelihood of being kidnapped in Kaduna, Niger, or Zamfara, the three states recording the highest per capita abduction rates and deaths during kidnap attempts. Civilians bore the brunt of kidnap attempts around the country, with 430 casualties, while security agents and kidnappers accounted for 19 and 121 deaths, respectively.”

When contacted, the Force Public Relations Officer, and the Director, Defence Information, CSP Olumiyiwa Adejobi, and Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, respectively, did not respond to phone calls, SMS and WhatsApp messages by our correspondent on Wednesday night.

Punch

Lagos State Police Command has expressed worry over the fabrication of various types of firearms, which include local and foreign pistols, AK-47 and other assault rifles in Lagos.

This was disclosed by the command boss, Idowu Owohunwa, during the acting Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun’s tour of duty to Lagos, yesterday.

Owohunwa, who noted that Lagos State presented distinctive security challenges on account of its demography and socio-economic interplays, said its internal security space in recent times had been laced with the threats of cultism, armed robbery, kidnapping, murder and sexual and gender-based violence.

He said the command was also confronted with the challenge of dissecting and dealing with the thin line between the civil and criminal dynamics of land disputes, which are also prevalent in the state.

Crime profile of the state, according to him, “is further accentuated by the prevalence of illegal firearms proliferation, and illicit drug abuse and trafficking.

“Hardly does a day passes by without the ever vigilant operatives of the command recovering weapons and illicit drugs of various descriptions at stop and search points, raids of black spots, and other operational engagements with all such recoveries linked to the perfection of crimes across the State.

“Most worrisome in all these is a noticeable trend that indicates an increasing local expertise in the fabrication of various types of firearms including replicas of foreign made pistols, AK47 and other assault rifles.

“This trend, coupled with the threat of cultism, projects a potent danger to the security space of Lagos State.”

“Also of routine concern is the traffic gridlock and the attendant occasional traffic robberies, which are compounded by on-going road projects across the state including, in particular, the Lagos-Ibadan highway.”

He hinted that in cognizance of the situation, the command was planning to organise a conference soon, with the intent to mainstream the discourse on cultism and violent crimes in Lagos, as well as to galvanise all strategic stakeholders and the different levels of governance in the state to the evolving threat.

Vanguard

An Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet, believed to have carried Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin to his death on Wednesday, showed no sign of problem until a precipitous drop in its final 30 seconds, according to flight-tracking data.

Rosaviatsia, Russia's aviation agency said Prigozhin, who led an aborted mutiny in June, was one of 10 people on board the downed plane. It was traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg when it crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino in the Tver Region, Russia's emergency situations ministry said.

At 3:19 p.m. GMT, the aircraft made a “sudden downward vertical,” said Ian Petchenik of Flightradar24. Within about 30 seconds, the aircraft had plummeted more than 8,000 feet from its cruising altitude of 28,000 feet.

“Whatever happened, happened quickly,” Petchenik said.

“They may have been wrestling (with the aircraft) after whatever happened," Petchenik said. But prior to its dramatic drop, there was "no indication that there was anything wrong with this aircraft.”

Video showed the plane descending rapidly with its nose pointing almost straight downward and a plume of smoke or vapor behind it.

Russian investigators opened a criminal probe to determine what happened. Some unnamed sources told Russian media they believed the plane had been shot down by one or more surface-to-air missiles. Reuters could not confirm that.

Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA said it had not been providing any service or support in recent years to the plane, which seats around 13.

The company said in a statement it has complied with international sanctions imposed against Russia. The luxury jet was identified on Flightradar24 with registration RA-02795, the same as the plane that carried Prigozhin to Belarus after the mutiny, an industry source familiar with the matter said.

Online flight tracker Flightradar24 last recorded the position of the aircraft at 3:11 p.m. GMT, before the crash. Jamming or interference in the area probably slowed the collection of further location data.

Other data continued for nine minutes. Flightradar24 said the jet went thorough a series of ascents and descents of a few thousand feet each over 30 seconds before its final, disastrous plunge. Flightradar24 received its final data on the jet at 3:20 p.m.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says Russia lost two bombers in attacks on airfields

Ukraine's intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said recent attacks on Russian airfields had destroyed two TU-22 bombers and damaged two more bombers.

"Two were destroyed, two were damaged. Two can not be repaired," Budanov said in a TV interview on Wednesday night for the Ukrainian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

He said a fifth Russian aircarft could have been hit.

Russian officials reported drone attacks on military airfields Soltsy in the Novgorod region on Saturday and Shaykovka in the Kaluga region on Monday and said that one warplane was damaged during the first attack.

On Tuesday, British military intelligence said that Russia was likely to have lost a nuclear-capable TU-22M3 supersonic long-range bomber in the attack on Soltsy.

Budanov said that his intelligence agency was in direct contact with people who attacked the airfields.

"These were people who carried out certain tasks from the Russian territory," he said.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian intelligence said this week that the agency coordinated the attack on the Shaykovka airfield.

** EU military chief casts doubt on Ukraine regaining territory

The European Union's military leadership has expressed doubts that Ukraine will regain any territory lost in the war with Russia, according to German newspaper Die Welt.

"It remains questionable whether Ukraine's full sovereignty can be restored with the resources available," said Robert Brieger, chairman of the European Union Military Committee (EUMC), the highest military body in the EU which is composed of the 27 member states.

Regarding the Ukraine's counter-offensive, which has been ongoing since June, Brieger said he would be "cautious to expect a breakthrough of the Ukrainian forces through the Russian defence lines."

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine crisis caused by Western attempts to preserve hegemony – Putin

Attempts by the West to maintain its hegemony are the main cause of the conflict in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed. He added that members of the BRICS group of nations unanimously reject the idea of exceptionalism.

“We are against any hegemony, the notion of exceptionalism promoted by some nations, and the policy of neocolonialism derived from that claim,” the Russian leader said on Wednesday during a speech via video link to a summit of BRICS leaders in South Africa.

The BRICS group, which includes Brazil, China, India, Russia, and South Africa, firmly believes in “the formation of a multipolar world order, truly just and based on international law,” Putin stated.

Explaining the origins of the Ukraine crisis, Putin accused Western powers of facilitating the “anti-constitutional coup” in Kiev in 2014. After seizing power, the new Ukrainian authorities “unleashed a war” against those who rejected them, Putin said.

“Our actions in Ukraine have but one motive: to put an end to this war that the West and its satellites in Ukraine started against the people living in Donbass,” the president stressed.

He conveyed Moscow’s gratitude to BRICS members, which he said are working to resolve the situation “in a fair way through peaceful means.”

Russia deployed troops against Ukraine in February 2022, stating that its goals were to stop Kiev’s attacks on Donbass, ensure Ukrainian military neutrality, and eliminate radical nationalist forces. The US and its allies have claimed that Moscow’s military action was “unprovoked,” and have pledged to arm and fund Kiev for “as long as it takes” to defeat Russia.

Moscow has identified NATO’s expansion in Eastern Europe and particularly its increasing influence in Ukraine as a major threat to Russian national security. In 2021, the Russian government sought to negotiate with the West to address those concerns, but its efforts were rejected.

** Two Ukrainian drones shot down above Russia’s Bryansk Region — defense ministry

The Kiev government has sent two drones to attack facilities in Russia, but Russian air defenses shot them down above the western Russia’s Bryansk Region late on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters.

"An attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out terrorist attacks using fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles was foiled at around 10:00 p.m. Moscow time [on Wednesday]," the ministry said.

"Two Ukrainian UAVs were detected and destroyed by air defense systems over the territory of the Bryansk Region," it said.

Reuters/RT/Tass

In the aftermath of the recent pandemic, which caused many businesses to close, a new raft of business workers and entrepreneurs are deciding to pursue their own dreams of being a new business owner, and controlling their own destiny. 

The cost of entry has never been lower, with new tools to create your own website, and free social media to get your message out everywhere.

Of course, starting and running your own business comes with financial and personal risks, so I always recommend that you do your homework first, and follow some tried and proven strategies to improve your odds of success. 

Based on my own experience as a mentor and angel investor, I find that as many as 90 percent of startups fail in the first five years, despite their best efforts.

To keep you out of this statistic, I recommend the following steps to all aspiring business owners as they step into this new and exciting world of managing your own business.

1. Solidify your funding plan before you start spending

By far, the majority of new businesses I know are self-funding (bootstrapped) from the founder's own savings and prior assets. The rest use outside funding, including crowdfunding, friends and family, banks, and investors. Explore multiple sources based on your level of need and risk.

The key is not to expect any magic or entitlement here. We all see reports of venture capitalists who invest millions in new businesses, but be assured that these investments come only after you have a proven base business, and have a case for scaling it quickly.

2. Pick a name, location, and marketing strategy early 

Names and taglines are critical to success. Make sure the name and trademarks you want are available, as well as the website address, social media tags, and any other intellectual property. These are necessary to attract customers, and investors, and give you a line of defense against competitors.

I can't emphasize enough how important a name can be. Some of us can still remember notable costly mistakes, like the Chevy Nova, many years ago from GM. Pundits in Latino countries quickly pointed out that the Spanish phrase no va means 'does not go' in English.

3. Do a written business plan to validate your thinking

Even if your plan seems simple and intuitively obvious to you, writing it down and having it reviewed by experienced friends will moderate your passion and assure you that all key elements are addressed. Scribbled notes on the back of a napkin and talking louder won't reduce the risk.

4. Test your plan to get feedback from real customers

Use social media or reward target customers to volunteer for a feedback session. If an innovative solution is involved, prepare a minimum viable product or a video to demonstrate functionality and usability. It's much easier to pivot before full production and much money has been spent.

5. Establish a visible and positive public image and brand

Use social media, industry shows, expert contacts, and social media influencers to establish a memorable brand even before you roll out your business. It helps to advertise your new presence with a grand opening, viral video, and traditional advertising to highlight entry into the arena.

6. Network extensively for partners, investors, and suppliers

These days, you can't start and run a business alone. Utilize all the avenues for networking, including industry conferences, investor meetings, peer gatherings, and local civic organizations, to make your presence and value known. Giving is the best way to get the support you need.

7. Build a capable team of skilled business professionals

Successful business teams today extend beyond face-to-face employees, to include freelancers and remote jobs. Do some real recruiting, excluding friends and family, to find the right players. Don't forget online recruiting tools, as well as local colleges for applicants with the right skills for you.

8. Define key metrics to measure progress and success 

Set milestones and targets for revenue, profitability, and market share, and use these to manage the business, as opposed to hours worked and gut instinct. Take advantage of inexpensive tools to gather data and provide analytics. Use comparable metrics for managing team member results.

In my experience as a business adviser, I still see too many businesses started in the heat of the moment over career frustration or passion for a specific solution Be aware that running your own business can be equally frustrating, and failure consequences can be drastic. 

But if you do it right, the joys and satisfaction, as well as financial returns, of your success can't be beaten. 

Inc