“Persistence, key to business success.” Mr Chimezie Ibegbulem.
2 min read
The Chief Executive Officer of a UK based retail shop, Mr Chimezie Ibegbulem has described persistence in business dealings as key to achieving success in variety of businesses concerns across the world. Mr Ibegbulem who is an Akalite from Ibele and the son of the late Honourabe Ferdinand Ibegbulem, a.k.a 1212, is the CEO 1212 Afro-Caribbean food shop and 1212 Hairspression, a hair and body care shop disclosed this in a recent interview he had with the Umuaka Times correspondent in the United Kingdom.
According to the young CEO, the failure of any investor to develop the shock absorbers for his business signifies the failure of the business. “There are several ups and downs in the management of any business venture in any part of the world. All you need to do is to remain focused and explore more opportunities and forge ahead.”
Talking about his own business concerns, Mr Ibegbulem who hopes to build his business across UK and Nigeria, admitted that he too had had crises in his own businesses over the years. From what he disclosed to Umuaka Times, his business was established in March 2017 and the business, like many others was not a bed of roses especially during the time he started it. “We had our tough times and we eventually overcame. Today we have 5 employees. Two are on full time employment while three are on part time.”
Chief Ibegbulem used the opportunity to look into the business atmosphere in Nigeria and admittedly emphasized that the government had failed in several aspects to empower small and medium scale enterprises in the country. “You see, the business atmosphere in Nigeria is perhaps the most difficult in the whole of Third World; you have to virtually provide almost everything, pay heavy taxes and it will be very hard for you to access loans on a favourable interest rate.”
On how effective 1212 Afro-Caribbean food shop and 1212 Hairspression business are, Umuaka Times gathered that the two firms use the services of one of the best delivery firms in the United Kingdom to deliver groceries to their numerous clients.
After establishing the success of the two businesses, Mr Ibegbulem hopes to open the third shop very soon in the UK and eventually diversify into the Nigerian market. He recently paid a visit to Nigeria where he explored the Abuja business atmosphere in view of establishing a branch of the business down here in Nigeria.
“We are working on a third shop. The two we have are doing well as an online shopping mall and we give God the glory.”
Before Mr Ibegbulem wrapped up the discussion with Umuaka Times correspondents in the United Kingdom, he appealed to Nigerian businessmen and women from the organized private sector to find ways to unite fully and strengthen the business environment in the country.
