A one man business as Nigerians like to call it is a business or a company owned and controlled by a single individual. They can range from a business in a small shop to a very big business with hundreds of employees.
A One Man Business can easily be recognized by the share control exerted by a single individual who can either be the CEO and/or Chairman of the company.
Despite being the foundation of most economies including Nigeria one man businesses are viewed with disdain by a lot of Nigerians. The reasons are many and diverse but we list the most common reasons why a lot of employees dislike them.
Power to Hire and Fire – One man businesses are often synonymous with high staff turnovers. Owners of these businesses can hire or fire at will and without recourse to anyone. They often breach employment contracts forgoing an employees right to compensation. This is one of the major reasons why employees hate them.
Frequent interference in daily operations – A friend was complaining recently about a radio station where the owner of the business personally selects the song that will be played by his DJ’s. One Man Business owners are often guilty of meddling with business operations in such a way as to infer that they don’t have much trust in their employees.
Lack of a structure – One Man businesses mostly lack formal organisational structures common with multinationals or publicly quoted companies. Even when structures exist, they are often not adhered to resulting in business owners flouting the same order they hoped to instill with the strictures.
Poor remuneration structure – Someone once complained to us about not being paid for months by his employer. What surprises him the was that the owner of the business still takes whatever cash is left in the business to fund the construction of a mansion he is building in Banana Island. He also flies business class for not just himself but for his kids yet he can’t pay staff salaries. One Man Businesses are quite guilty of this behaviour and is another major reason why they are hated.
Over reliance on one person – A one man business that sells furniture and fittings recently collapsed after the CEO passed on. This is often the case for most one man businesses and a huge concern for its employees. They see it as a threat to job security and business continuity.
Financial recklessness – Owners of one man businesses are often reckless with their spending refusing to accept advice or purposely shielding themselves of being advised. Their Financial recklessness is the main catalysts for the failure of these businesses. Employees identify this as a major threat to their job security
Successors are always Family members – Most one man businesses in a bid to keep the business within the family often appoint their kith and Kin as successors even though there are more competent hands. The impact this has on the career of an employee is one major reason why they quit
Lack of standard operating processes – They also lack basic operational guidelines that can be found in most structured organisations. For example a CEO can decide to spend money from the company bank account without following the right process of allowing ghetto accountant to raise a payment voucher.
In addition to why employees hate sole proprietorship, these are the reasons why the growth of such businesses is limited.
MOST OF THE POINTS RAISED BY THE WRITER ARE TRUE. THE LACK OF TRUST AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT PROGRESSION IN DEVELOPING THE BUSINESS IS WHAT MOST ONE MAN BUSINESS CHIEF EXECUTIVE LACKS. A GROWTH BUSINESS WITH BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF MANAGING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS IS WHAT IT TAKES TO GROW A ONE MAN BUSINESS. THE FEELINGS OF SELF SUFFICIENCY IN WEALTH IS ANOTHER AREA THAT MUST BE IMPROVED UPON. IF YOUR ONE ONE BUSINESS GROWS SUBSTANTIALLY, IT IS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE MOSTLY AS THE WEALTH INHERENT IN THE BUSINESS IS BROUGHT BACK INTO THE BUSINESS FOR GROWTH. A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE IS ALHAJI ALIKO DANGOTE BUSINESSES WHICH TODAY HAVE GROWN PROPORTIONATELY TO BILLION OF DOLLARS! HE STARTED MOST OF HIS BUSINESSES AS A ONE MAN BUSINESS. LACK OF FOCUS AND SELFISHNESS ARE MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS AS TO WHY OWNERS OF ONE MAN BUSINESS REF– USE TO GROW. MODERN TECHNOLOGISTS HAVE BROUGHT ABOUT INNOVATIONS AND GREAT IDEAS THAT WILL HELP GROW YOUR BUSINESS WITHOUT FEAR OF LOOSING POWER TO CONTROL THE BUSINESS.
It limits every aspect of growth and they cause poor competition and promote poor product.