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Unsung Heroes

March 16th, 2009

I grew up in a relatively small town in the Eastern part of Nigeria and I remember how idyllic and normal things were at the time. We derived so much joy from the simplest things, be it riding our bikes round the quiet streets, visiting the sports club or going with my mum to the washer man’s. Washing machines were not common then and so we had this lovely man whom we entrusted our ‘heavy duty’ washing to.

I remember so well the street where he lived and still lives and the big basins of clothes soaking in ‘omo’, with the rows and rows of colourful attires drying in the sun. You carried your clothes into his office which was also his home and the clothes were counted and the reciept handed over with a collection date. All the clothes were hand washed and ironed without any appliance as we know them today other than a coal iron for when ‘NEPA’ took the light and the regular electirc iron. This same room was converted into a bedroom at night for his wife and children.

Why am I remembering Mr. ‘Washerman’ today, more than 20 years later? Because my mum came to visit recently and she carried with her the trademark washerman package of a neatly ironed outfit wrapped in ‘waterproof’ and I was amazed to find that he was still very much around and still washing clothes. Even more impressive is that his kids are grown and are almost all out of University raised on that income brought in from washing clothes. Long Live the small business owner!!

I couldn’t help but wonder what his plans for ensuring that the business continues when he is too old to continue? My mum was happy to inform me that those children who have graduated were working in various corporate organisations and were certainly not going to be washing clothes for a living. I wondered about this and I realised that this is the story of so many small businesses. They work so hard for years on end and at the end of the day they have nothing tangible to show for it as the business fades into oblivion once the owner is incapacitated or dead.

What is wrong with washing clothes for a living? After all my Mr. Washerman raised 4 or 5 children on his business. He built a customer base who have remained loyal to him for over 30 years and he has made a name for himself in a small town. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that this is exactly what I am trying to do with SME’s.. get them to see the potential in their business.

Picture this…..

Imagine if Mr. Washerman had seen this business as a little more than, something to pay the bills with? Imagine if he had seen the potential inherent in the opportunities presented to him over the years and had taken advantage of them? He could have rented a small place, bought one washing machine and increased the capacity of his washes. He could have charged more for handwashed clothes and less for machine washed ones.

As the business grew he could have bought more machines, opened new branches in different parts of town and perhaps invested in one or two vans to pick up and drop washing from homes and offices. He could have even included dry cleaning sevices. Perhaps if he had done that his son, instead of pounding the streets looking for work, would have taken over as Managing Director and Mr. Washerman would have retired secure in the fact that he had built a business that would outlive him.

Unfortunately this was not meant to be, maybe because he did not have anyone to show him the possibilities or because he had no time to sit and think when school fees and unpaid bills were staring him in the face or maybe he just wanted his business to remain the way it has always been. I dont know….what I do know is that a number of us get opportunities like this and we never even realise what we have.

We go into business, because we want to pay the bills, or we are bored and need something to keep us busy, or we have a talent or hobby we use as a time filler and we do not realise that we are sitting on a potentially huge thing. We even pray and plead that God should show us the way to make ‘mega bucks’ and we fail to see that he has answered our prayers but we just have not realised it.

Have you given any thought to what will happen to your business when you are too old to work or in the event that you are incapacitated and can’t work? What happens then? You need structures if your business will outlive you, and, if you are running a business where everything stops when you are away, then my friend you need our help.

For all those who actually know what they want and have no clue how to go about it or how to move to the next level, you are in the right place. Let’s talk.

In the mean time, lets hear it for my dear Mr. Washerman, the unsung hero, who through hardwork, determination and sheer will to survive ran a small business for 30 odd years and raised 4 or 5 children without any help from anyone. I can bet that his bank manager never gave him 10 kobo neither did NEPA or the water corporation do him any favours.

To all the other ‘washer men’ and ‘women’, small business owners, scattered all over this great nation of ours who through hardwork, perseverance and the will to survive consistently defy the odds and miraculously live to tell the story, here’s to you.

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