Are we cut out for business?

[N.O.R.F]

As of late, whenever I’ve met with friends, relatives and kinsmen, I have been getting business proposals/ideas thrust in my face. From sending oil to SL to purchasing medical supplies and sending it home to building bridges in Yemen!

 

Each and everytime I force myself to do a quick feasibility study (very inconvenient when all you want to do is relax and catch up) by way of question and answer and use of the phone calculator. Maybe I’m just too cautious but I’m beginning to believe that we are not cut out for the business world.

 

Take Cabdi for example. His idea was for us to buy tonnes of diesel to send home for a profit. He told me such and such people are also involved and he has good links. When we worked things out, over a hamour fish supper, it became apparent that there were 6 or 7 different stages to the whole process with minimal profit (less than 5%) after a lengthy period of time (approx 1 month from purchase to sale).

 

Then there is Maxamuud who has been in contact with an Arab who says he has contacts with a Malaysian Pharmaceuticals firm and can get cheap medicine for him to sell on. My question to him was not about the deal itself but rather why he thinks I would get involved.

 

Ahmed however sounds like he on the ball. Through his contacts in Yemen he tells me there is scope for designing and consulting on the construction of bridges. This I was actually interested in but again there is the ‘he says he knows such and such who can get this from him who will then approve that etc’.

 

All in all, why are we so quick to take things at face value? After years in qurbaha we still believe business is conducted on hearsay and who know who. One example is the sale of apartments to Somalis by Somalis in Ajman. Look how that turned out.

[Jacpher]

That has always been the case for us and I think our culture plays a role in that. A word of mouse by someone you know or someone who knows someone you know has more weight than that piece of paper. Most of business partners rely heavily on the trust and the diin of the other person. Most of them have verbal contracts. These verbal contracts are not even written down on paper let alone a legally binding document. Hagbad works that way too. At the end of month, all you got is hebel and heblaayo vs hebel or heblaayo.

 

These guys know kuus inaad heysid and that's why they're approaching you, unless they're looking you as their next business partner. I know of a guy who turned down every offer and to his surprise he was badmouthed and became a demon in the eyes of the same people he turned down.

 

But sometimes you need to take a calculated risk if you wish your money to grow. Go with someone who has more to lose than you. They're less likely to gamble than someone whose sole interest is to make a buck or two at your expense.

[Tuujiye]

^^^ your right on point sxb. shockingly you sound like someone I know...

 

The best way of doing business is doing your own research and creating your own connects..

 

NorfSky, I think you need to be around people that have more than you do and some experience under their belt. In that case bro you could only gain whether is wealth or experience...

 

 

Wareer Badanaa!!!

[Som@li]

I remember this Somali dude who sued another Somali guy cuz he said he claimed that he adviced a business deal 10 years ago, and the other guy made a lot of money, He was asked, if he had a written contract?

 

I think the under lying problem is poverty, People will always do anything to better themselves,even if it is hard to believe.

[Tuujiye]

Thats true sxb I agree...

 

 

Wareer Badanaa!!!