I was rewatching the first barbershop film made in 2002, and I noticed something. It's not as if I haven't seen the movie before, in fact I have thrice now but missed out on the entrepreneur part all these years.
Calvin's barbershop is run like a shared booth. Ricky, Jimmy, Terri, and Isaac all pay for their booths and get to work independently with their own clients.
Growing up in Nigeria, we don't have that. What we had was a sole proprietorship barbershop with the owner getting interns who graduate after several months.
Source
That has changed now, we now have a replica of Calvin's barbershop in Nigeria. We now have people like Calvin that set up barbershops and rent booths out for individual barbers or stylists. It saves money and stress of getting a shop, paying rent, utilities, furnishing and all.
I looked at this and was wow, Barbershop was in 2002 and it didn't get implemented in Nigeria until 2021 or thereabouts. That's a 19 years gap before it got implemented in Nigeria.
In today’s world, everyone wants to disrupt something. They want to build the next big thing never seen before.
Well, let me burst your bubble, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to build a successful business. You just need to tailor it to your needs.
Innovation demystified
Most great businesses out there are refined existing ideas.
- I didn't invent recycling
- Apple or Samsung didn’t invent mobile phones
- Lenovo or HP didn't invent computers
- Uber or Bolt didn't invent taxis
What they did was refine it and tailor it to their audience. Innovation isn't all about doing something entirely new, it can be doing old things in a smarter way or by simplifying the process.
I didn't invent tweets delete button, I only found a way to delete tweets faster and automate it with my JavaScript Script.
My Own Business Reality
In my business, I didn’t invent recycling. I only had it tailored to my locality. I made it a social enterprise where users are rewarded for bringing their recyclables. I integrated blockchain to it to cater for the Nigerian youths who are interested in digital assets.
That is adaptation there. The system may be different in Sweden, Germany, UK, or Canada and that is due to what works there. Over here, you get better results when you provide incentives and as such, we attached monetary value to each plastic waste.
Adaptation wins in real markets. If I wanted to do things the way it's done in some foreign countries where the producer is responsible for the life cycle of the plastic, I wouldn't have any raw materials to process.
The Execution
I talked about consistency in my last post, and it applies here too.
Many people chase originality and forget that business rewards efficiency. There are many businesses that were first in their field that have packed up.
Customers don’t care if your idea is original, they just want what works.
Wealth and success can be achieved from what exists already, you just have to adapt it to your region.
You don't need a new wheel, you just need to oil the old one and keep it rolling.
Opportunities
Nigeria is a developing country and there are lot of untapped opportunities out there.
Uber came to Nigeria in 2014 which is 4years after launching in America. That's 4years gap that could be filled by any entrepreneur.
I haven't been unable to travel out of the country to see things firsthand, but I believe in the power and diversity of hive. I believe you can tell me something that works in your country that I could replicate here in Nigeria.
We can partner on this to make it a reality in an over 200million population country.
It's like getting to buy bitcoin at $20. Adapting the business to the Nigerian terrain and running it efficiently will make the wheel the next big thing.
Let me know in the comment section.