Growing a business from start up to multinational: Steps, challenges and strategies

Many of the highly successful multinational companies in the world were started by individual(s) with little amount of money, but with a strong vision. So, every small business has the potential of becoming a multinational company or public limited company provided the operators have the will to accomplish it.

There are many steps that business owners can take to grow their small businesses into highly successful companies or multinationals. Though it is not so easy, the fact that there are small businesses that have achieved this within the last two decades in Nigeria, where the business terrain is so tough, shows that it is actually possible. Some of these are FTN Cocoa Plc, and Omatek Computers

Florence Seriki, chief executive, Omatek Computers Plc, shares some of these insights at the Annual General Meeting of the women’s business network under the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA). The women’s network called the NECA Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW) was established in 2005 under the NECA to promote women-owned businesses and help nurture them to grow from small firms into highly successful big companies.

To all its network meetings, including its AGMs, NNEW invites Omatek Computers Limited as the first factory to locally assemble computer cases, speakers, keyboards and mouse, other than computer systems and notebooks in the whole of Africa. The assembling of these components in this factory has created a great advantage to other systems builders as well as resellers all over Africa for retailing.

Starting with no money at all but just a passion, young Seriki as a youth corps member began her business. Today, the company, worth billions of naira, is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. She shares some tips on personal ideals the entrepreneur must uphold to become successful:

-Hard work is critical, I had to work extra hard.

-Learn to ask for help, if you do not talk, nobody will answer you.

-Be focused, once you have created what you want, you have to stand by it

-Be organised and thorough. If for instance, a cheque is brought for me to sign, there are some things that must be done before I sign the cheque and this is always the case.

-Be honest and sincere

-Have strong faith in God

-Be rugged and ready to face challenges

-Be humble

-Always do a quality job

-Be innovative and creative

-Employ new technology in all you do

-Be bold

-think outside the box

-Make a difference

She urges women to start small and move from one step to another, saying, “You may get overwhelmed if you attempt to handle too much.”

She urges entrepreneurs to be sincere in all they do and do things thoroughly, so that they can continue being trusted by their clients who would keep coming back to them when they need anything along that line.