7 Business Lessons To Learn From Ants 8 Understanding the Times and Seasons

Ants understand times and seasons, and they know what to do. Remember the instruction my mentor gave me? Take a lesson from the ants, you lazy fellow. Learn from their ways and be wise! Though they have no king (or boss) to make them work, yet they labour hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. Ants know very well that every day is not always 'Christmas'; there is summer, and there is winter. They anticipate, prepare, and take advantage of each season. Hence, they are not taken unaware by any change in season or time. To them, environmental scanning and adaptation is not just a cliché, it is a business practice.

As an entrepreneur, you must be ready to adapt to changes in your business environment. Know that business will not always be the same, and you must be sensitive so you won't be thrown off balance when the tune of the music changes. There will be some boom and loom seasons, especially when you are just starting.

Employees may not be very loyal, as expected; sales may not come in fast, as projected in your business plan, or sales may come quickly at the beginning, then suddenly, it stops growing. You don't need to faint at heart; you may need to look at your marketing plan again if there is need to re-strategise or you just need some patience because seasons come and go. This is even more important if your business is into seasonal goods and/or services.

Customers' demands and tastes will change with time; you must be ready to meet their needs because you are in business first to meet their needs then the goal of making money. Without customers, you have no business. I guess that was one of the reasons, Zig Ziglar (one of the world's leading motivational speaker, though now late) said, "You can get anything you want in life, if only you can help other people get what they want in life." And that is the essence of business; meeting needs, and getting paid for it.

Also, note that customers will always come and go. Some will leave because their tastes have changed, and your products or services can no longer meet their 'class'; some will relocate from your business environment, while others may leave because of a mistake you made in your service delivery or because of your poor customer service (at times, presumed). Any ways, try finding out why they are leaving, and see whatever you can do, if possible, to win them back. This way, your business will continue to grow.

I am sure that is why the American Marketing guru, and author of the book, Getting Everything You Can Out Of Everything You've Got, Jay Abraham said, "there are only three ways to grow your business: increase the number of customers; increase the average size of each sale you make to each customer; and increase the number of times customers come back and buy again."11 There is a strategy to achieve this; you need to find it out.

Again, some customers will be courteous, others could be saucy. You must still treat all of them as your boss. Does that sound strange to you? Let me reiterate, your customers are your boss, and you must treat them with the utmost respect they deserve. This is because; they can fire you anytime, out of business if you are not sensitive to their needs and demands, and to respond appropriately.

To buttress this, Sam Walton (founder of Wal-Mart- the No.1 retail chain in the world) adds, "there is only one boss, the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman down, simply by spending his money somewhere else."

Still on customers. Pardon me, I can write a whole book on the impact of customers on the growth of any business; I have seen its impact on my business growth, and I am sure you have seen its impact on some big brands. If you don't understand what I am saying, let me ask you, where is Maclean tooth paste today? There was a time in Nigeria when tooth paste was synonymous to Maclean tooth paste; just the same way noodle is synonymous to the Indomie noodle today.

Seasons come and go. The days of selling what you feel the customers needed are over; know exactly what they want, and give it to them at a good price.

Before I end this chapter, let me emphasise the need for you to adapt to the information technology 'wave' that is moving like wild fire across the business terrain all over the world today. Gone are the days when we used to define market as, a place where two or more people come together to exchange goods and services for money.
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The music tune has changed, so also your dance steps must change. Successful businesses are no more limited to physical space; they now operate in the cyber space. I mean on the internet. Transactions are now done via the computers, smart phones, and other electronic devices that are internet enabled.

Therefore, to succeed in the business world of today, irrespective of what you are selling, you must embrace the information technology. Put your business online, and be internet savvy. Don't wait for your customers to come to your business premises before doing business with you. Communicate with them through the social media, and other platforms. If you don't put your business online, you may soon be out of business. Understand the times and seasons surrounding your business environment, and act promptly.

Ants understand that there is a season called summer, and there is a season called winter. And they know how to prepare and adapt to each season. Let's learn from them, and be wise.

Chapter end