Skip to main content

💡 HOW I CHOSE FUNMI OVER ANITA — A Short Story on Commitment and Growth

 


Before you think this story is about marriage, it’s not 😊. It’s about choosing the right person to help rebuild a struggling business.

When Kevin (not his real name) engaged me to evaluate his small retail business, things were in decline. My first instinct was to sack everyone, hire new people, train them, and restart the process. It’s a radical approach, but one that works, I’ve used it before. My philosophy has always been: when something becomes stagnant, replace it with something new. It’s a law of growth, though I’ve also learned how much pain it can cause when applied without wisdom.

I asked for six months and suggested installing cameras in all three store locations. Kevin agreed, and ordered the cameras from Jewel Multiservices 😊.

I began visiting the stores daily, sometimes twice a day. I’d come early to check punctuality, then return before closing to ask two simple questions:
“How much sales did we make today?” and “What did you do to achieve it?”

By the second week, I already saw the pattern. Some staff came early but left after I did. Others stayed the whole day complaining about poor sales, bad location, or lack of customers. On one of those frustrating days, I said, “Maybe we should pay salaries based on actual sales.” I knew it shook them, but truthfully, people who won’t act to change their current situation rarely act to change their own lives.

After about five weeks of trying everything, advising, motivating, even counselling, with no real improvement, I decided something had to change. I recommended letting go of two sales staff from one location. My intention was to keep one, but both had grown so close that they behaved exactly the same.

When I broke the news, Anita picked her bag and left quietly. Funmi fell to her knees crying and begging to stay. The neighbours gathered, thinking I was being cruel. Out of compassion, I reversed her termination and asked her to resume the next day.

That night, Funmi sent heartfelt messages on WhatsApp. She promised to improve, to fix her weaknesses, and even offered to be paid based on her performance. That alone showed me she wanted it more.

From that moment, Funmi stayed.
We’re still working towards bigger goals, but the number of zero-sales days has dropped significantly.

A few days later, I saw Anita visit on the camera feed. Let’s just say her face told a story words couldn’t.

Like King Solomon in the story of the two mothers who claimed one baby, I realised the power of choosing the person who wants it more.

Because if you truly want something, you’ll do everything to get it, even if it means crying for it.

So, how much do you want it?


 Shalom.

Do well to share this story, so others can learn and grow with us.





Labels:
Location: Lagos, Nigeria

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DEBT IS A VERY BAD THING

  You may not know me personally, but take this from me: DEBT COULD BE A TERRIBLE THING. As long as you owe someone, you remain their servant, no matter how talented or respected you are. Yesterday, while driving to work and enjoying my heavenly sandwich, I spotted Emeka in traffic and nearly lost my appetite. Why? I remembered how badly I suffered in his hands after I was duped of the money I had borrowed from him to fund a certain business opportunity. Let me gist you. When I went back to Emeka to explain what had happened, he empathised with me and even offered a payment plan since it was clear I couldn't return the money all at once. Sometime after, we were both invited to serve as panellists at a supply chain management event. I was the first to share my thoughts on a topic, which Emeka later disagreed with. But my take must have sounded more compelling, because I was asked to expand further. Crazy me (forgetting that my oga at the top was seated beside me), I took a whiteboar...
Post a Comment
Read more

DO NOT LET ANYONE LOOK DOWN ON YOUR BUSINESS

DO NOT LET ANYONE LOOK DOWN ON YOUR BUSINESS A few years ago, at my friend's grocery shop, I witnessed a heated altercation between him and one of his sales staff. The scene was unpleasant, with harsh words flying back and forth. When I inquired, I discovered that he had audited the shop's accounts and deducted the cost of missing items from the staff member's salary, per their prior agreement. Upset by this, the staff member decided to resign, demanding a refund of the deductions. My friend responded, "We'll need to inform your guarantor about the missing items before I can process a refund." This remark caused the staff member to angrily exclaim, "This small, nonsense shop is asking for a guarantor—how much is the entire business even worth?" I noticed those words hit my friend hard. He felt his business wasn’t being respected because it was seen as “too small” to deserve proper structure. To every business owner out there, running a business is a ...
Post a Comment
Read more

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER PRISON ?

A few years ago, I listened to a message by Bishop T.D. Jakes where he spoke about the high likelihood of ex-convicts returning to prison. This, he said, was largely due to the difficulty they face reintegrating into society. One major challenge is public acceptance. Many employers don’t want individuals with criminal records associated with their brand. Others fear that the ex-convict might relapse into old behaviours, potentially causing harm or bringing trouble to their organisation. While these concerns are understandable, Bishop Jakes advocated for meaningful reform during incarceration. He suggested that churches, manufacturers, and other businesses should create training programmes for inmates—equipping them with skills that will help them survive once they are released. The goal? To reduce the temptation to return to crime. A few days ago, while scrolling through social media, I came across a photo with a caption that caught my attention: President Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina F...
Post a Comment
Read more