Quit Being Mediocre in Your Business! It Doesn't Pay

Quit Being Mediocre in Your Business! It Doesn't Pay

By Darlinton Omeh

Mediocre is someone who is moderate to inferior in quality and action, one who isn't good enough in his trade, someone who is below per and lack innovation. A Mediocre is always contented with the way he is and never think of moving beyond his current status. Mediocre business man or woman usually have the opportunities to improve in their business but will never take them.

The consequence of mediocrity is always failure, sometimes at long last. A friend, whom I used to be closed with in those days, started a foodstuff trading after he was settled by his master. He was doing very well as at that stage that most of us considered him a big boy. One day, I suggested to him the need to open another shop to expand his business, but the response I got really shocked me to the bone - He says "Lai lai, I will never own more than one shop in my life".

I was dumbfounded and didn't make further comment due to how emphatic he sounded but knew something is going to be wrong somehow. Few years later, the area got developed more and better business men moved in, set up better and bigger shops and market him out of the business. He ended up becoming a commercial bus driver in Lagos.

What The Mediocre Always Failed to See

The Mediocre always fail to understand that changes are inevitable, they feel comfortable with the way they are until changes struck and sweep them aside. If that my foodstuff friend really believed there is going to be changes, probably he would have made better preparation and expands before others comes in, he probably knew but mediocrity in him didn't allow him see reasons.

If he where good in his business, he would have conquered the territory long before others arrrived, thereby giving the competitors little or no chance to succeed,  but he was just moderate and inferior thinking that his small ill equipped shop is all there is...

They always think that life is stagnant, they fail to see the dynamism in life and ultimately failed to do things the better way. He thought that the little money he was making was good enough for him, he didn't realize that prices are going to increase, that fuel is going to get scarce, and that cost of rent will increase with time.

A Mediocre will think that his obsolete ways of doing business will always be the acceptable  way. Innovation is never in their vocabulary -- even when they try hard, their best is never going be good enough! 

Mediocre Always Get Angry When Others Does it Better 

The Mediocre assumes others will be like him and do things in their own term, so that even when competitor comes in, instead of standing up to competition and use their previous experience to their advantage, they will simply get angry and fizzle out.

I know the very first man (or at least among the first set) that started Football viewing center in Lagos, when others came into the business, he got angry and folded up - That's the typical behavior of the Mediocre. You know what... ? The viewing center was even in his living room! He failed to upgrade despite the money he has made and when the changes comes, anger was what he was able to come up with.

Mediocre Always Believes They Knows it All

Give advice to Mediocre and he will never take it. Surround him with examples and he will never learn from them. When Mediocre renders services to you, you must not complain either good or bad - If you do, he will tell you how many years he has been in the business, how he has been doing it to others and they like it, that you complains too much.

The Mediocre will be quick to point out to you how long he has been in business (doesn't matter if he got nothing to show for all the years) forgetting that years in business doing the same thing in the same way is not creativity and does not translate to being successful.

The Mediocre will belief that doing it the way others are doing it, the old way is the best way. No, because the man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The man who walks alone, is likely to find himself in places, no one has ever been before.

You have two choices: you can dissolve into the mainstream or you can be distinct. To be distinct you must be different. To be different, you must strive to be what no one else but you can be - this is where mediocre fails.

Businesses Have Failed Due To Mediocrity 

We all know how many websites that used be into Job search and Job related contents in Nigeria prior to the coming of Jobberman. Some of them have been in business years before Jobberman even conceived the Idea, then Jobberman came with greater innovation and are going places.

I haven't really seen any of the websites who have been in job business long before they come, who are strongly standing up to challenge Jobberman. Instead, most of them are fizzling out into oblivion because mediocrity no longer pays in Internet Job search market.

Films and music video distribution used to be 100% offline in a conventional way - When you mention film distribution, your mind goes to 48 Iweka Road, Onitsha and Nnamdi Azikiwe Street, Idumota. These guys have been in business for years but none of them thought of advancing in their mode of distribution, believing that mediocrity will always be the norm.

Now, the Iroko Guys are in town, they've taken film distribution online and are raking millions of dollars monthly both in distribution and advertising revenue, they are currently one of the biggest Google ads publisher in Nigeria and Africa, that's aside from distribution revenue. Will the Iweka Rd guys step up their game? I haven't see that yet.

What Qualify One as Mediocre in Business?

Mediocrity in business is not defined by how you started but how you are continuing in your business. Most successful businesses started on a mediocre outlook but, constantly innovate to become the world class they are today. Therefore, you are a mediocre when you fail to improve in your business and quality of services you render. You are a mediocre when you think you're at your best.

Mediocrity is always blind to the latest trends in business. The Mediocre trader will see shops in Ikeja City mall as a waste of money and time, Oshodi is his ideal business place where life and business goes on as usual, he will never make effort to step up his game.

Breaking Free From Mediocrity

Once you've found that your dream business, stick to it and put consistent effort to always be on top of your game. Do not assume that you know it all, what is excellent today could be obsolete tomorrow - The fact that you started well doesn't mean you'll always be on top, give way to innovation and creativity.

Seek for business advice from a person of sound mind, look beyond where you are and try to imagine life in a better place. Be inspired by people who are doing well in their trade and try to be even better than them.

Be different in your business approach, predicting trends and working towards it long before it become a norm. When people praises you, try to gain more praise by improving on what you did that earned you the positive remark.

If 99.9% of your customers are happy with your services and 1% are not, pay more attention on those 1% because there in, is the next breakthrough in your business. Do these and progress will be yours!

Edited by: Lawyer Asad