13/10/2025
Dear younger self, here are the business lessons I wish I had learned twenty years ago.
One: The less a customer pays, the more problems they cause. It's amusing how a customer who pays $20 acts as if they've made you rich, strutting around with entitlement and endless demands, while the one who pays $80 for the same commodity simply leaves good reviews and a generous tip.
There's someone who leaves their house in the morning to go shopping for value. They want a lasting solution to their problem, and they are willing to invest in the proper fix once and for all.
Then there's one who left their house to go shopping for discounts. Those are very different energies, and you must avoid this second character like the plague. They don't appreciate quality or the commodity itself. They're just fixated on the price.
Two: Never compete on prices. If your competitors start a price war, do not join. They will cause disruption in the market for a while as they lure away buyers with unrealistically low prices, but that cannibalism will finish them within a short time.
As for you, never lower prices. Instead, increase value.
Imagine a street full of salons in Lagos or Nairobi. Most salons are competing on price, and they're standing outside, calling out their low rates. They're luring people in and giving them rushed services because their margins are small.
The rooms are stuffy and busy. Machines are overworked and poorly maintained. Employee turnover is high because the pay is also minimal.
The whole setup is chaotic and stressful, even for the customers.
Then, at the corner, there's a different salon. It's bigger in size, and it has a calm ambience. There's no one heckling at the door. There's only an elegant label carrying their brand and a royal invite to a different experience.
Once inside, you don't find a blackboard screaming their menu. Instead, you're invited to a couch and treated to a cup of coffee as you peruse their printed menu.
They don't offer single items like other salons. The blow-dry that others are selling for $5, for example, is not a single item here. It's contained in a package that includes other related services, such as washing and straightening, for $12.
There's a customer care manager who receives you and assigns an attendant once you've selected the package you want.
They also offer parking for their clients, and you can have your car washed in the meantime.
This premium salon prioritises quality above all else. They offer convenience and excellence, not just discounts.
As a result, they can make better business and grow steadily over time. They can hire the best staff and retain them for the longest time.
Elsewhere, competitors are struggling to survive with low prices and small margins. They need high volumes to make a profit, and they're desperate since they're almost going under.
As for you, choose a philosophy early. Don't just choose a business. Choose what you want to offer and who you want to serve.
There's a brand of car tyres called BF Goodrich, which operates under this principle. They don't care to be the cheapest. Instead, they strive to be the last standing.
My friend had to cough up $2000 to fit them in his car. But then he sold the car five years later without ever having a single incident of a tyre burst or even a puncture. The tyres still looked as good as new.
He still felt like he had gotten a good deal for the investment.
We're not saying that you can not sell to the other market niche that wants a cheaper option, or maybe a lower budget. The point here is that you should prioritise value over cheapness.
Put your margins and also charge for convenience. That is, the fact that you don't deceive or dilute quality.
Your prices should neither be too expensive nor too cheap. They should be simply genuine or worthy. Compared to your counterparts, you may seem expensive. But when the results are checked two years later, you'll suddenly emerge as the most economical choice.
You delivered lasting results at a commensurate price.
Three: If you're over-stretched and burning out, you've outgrown that level. You're too affordable for the quality you offer, and it's time you stepped up to higher challenges.
Masters don't do what others can do. They stay at the forefront of complexity and innovation. They solve premium problems, and they're paid premium rates.
The consultant surgeon who handles the most intricate cases will be circulating between different hospitals, appearing on appointments only, and not clocking in from 8 to 5. Of course, they started with 8 to 5, but they grew.
Do you think they earn less or more for working fewer hours? Your guess is as good as mine. They'll be taking home ten times more. Why? Because their work saves lives that no one else could have saved.
And what do they do in between their few appointments? Researching. Studying. Experimenting and attending workshops.
This is how you create wealth as an expert, whether in employment or entrepreneurship: climb to the top of the ladder and offer solutions that only you can offer in that community. You won't need to advertise yourself. The problems themselves will come to you.
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