There’s this woman who owns a shop here in my area. For as long as I’ve lived here, she has always had a shop here. Back when she was a newlywed, and even before she had her first son. It was a booming business. Back then, her shop was the go-to for provisions. It was always fully stocked, and nothing you wanted to buy couldn’t be found in that shop. As a matter of fact, if for some reason she didn’t have something you wanted, you could be sure that the next time you returned, she’d have it.
But then, for some reason, she didn’t keep up that momentum. Later on, when you go to ask for something, she’d tell you she didn’t have it. The next time you went, you’d get the same thing. And then, the ones she did have were being sold so expensively that you’d have no choice but to find somewhere else to buy.
And that was what many people began to do. For me, one thing I don’t like is wanting basic things and not finding them. It’s why when I go to supermarkets, I get angry when their shelves are empty or they don’t have the basic requirements. Like, how can a supermarket not have toothpaste? Or even the popular soft drinks? Well, I’m getting off track.
The thing is, people in my area got tired of her not having things, and even worse, other shops began to open up all around her. There are now at least four other shops in the same vicinity that sell the same thing, and they’re always fully stocked. These are traders who go to the market every single day to restock, and if they don’t have something in the morning, you can be sure they’ll have it by evening. That’s how serious it is.
With so many options available, many people didn’t see the need to go back to the woman. Hell, even before I gained admission years ago, I could tell that her business was dropping off. And when I returned to Lagos last year, it was even worse. She didn’t have a lot of goods on display, and even if she did, how many people would patronize her? Now that the market has gotten way too competitive.
So yesterday, I walked past her shop on my way home, and I noticed something… it wasn’t there! She had locked up and left. Now, the shop is currently for sale! And just like that, she’s gone. Probably to start up in a new place, build a new reputation, and find her feet. But I can assure you that this place wasn't doing it for her anymore.
So, what am I talking about? It’s just a candid reminder of how brutal the world can be. Whether you choose to be in a race or not, you’re already on the tracks. And if you don’t run, you’d be knocked down. People will overtake you, and things that should be yours will go to others. You can’t afford to slack, even for one minute, because then you’d lose precious ground. That’s just too expensive.
Sadly though, this is not just with the world of business. It happens even in the corporate world; it’s even in this content creation that I’m venturing into. You just have to always be out there, always active. Because the more time you lose, the more ground you lose. But can we really keep it up? What about time to rest? What about time to relax and just breathe? We can’t be active all the time, can we?
It’s not easy, but getting to the top will always require a lot. Staying there will also require a lot. It is what it is, and it’s especially sad that not everyone will want to keep putting themselves through the torture and stress of constantly showing up. It could be that the woman just chose not to focus too much on her business because she had something else to do. Or it could just be another unfortunate thing to happen to a small business in Nigeria. I don’t know for sure.
Either way, let’s keep doing our best and make sure that no matter what, we still look out for ourselves as well.
Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below, I would love to know what you’re thinking. Till we meet in the next post.
N.B: All images used in this post are mine. The thumbnail was designed using Canva.
