Udobizness of The Week - Diamond Sanitary By Blaise
Featured today is Diamond Sanitary, a business that deals with supply of quality plumbing materials and toilet accessories (taps, WCs, sinks etc.) at affordable prices. It is run by Mr. Chukwuka Victor Chizaram; a man that enjoys simple pleasures of life such as playing video games, cooking and playing basketball. Find him on twitter (@Blaiseking4).
Diamond Sanitary is still relatively new in the entrepreneurial space. Having been opened in mid-2019, Chukwuka described it as currently a small scale venture that he expects to grow with time. He opened up to us about discouragement and lack of support from friends when trying to get started and how he basically had to pray to GOD for peace of mind and to help see past said discouragement. The mood at the time of this interview showed that this situation was obviously behind him and we are glad that this did not bring him down. As we all know, it can be a painful feeling when the people you expect to stand by you offer the exact opposite and try to bring you down. In some cases, it can mess with a person mentally and traumatize them in the process.
Even though Diamond Sanitary is quite new at this point, the owner mentioned not being satisfied with the level said business is. He talked about sales not meeting the expectations he had set (a situation known and experienced by far too many business people if we are being honest) but we know this is a crucial point for any business owner. You have to ask yourself “do I give up or do I go on?” and his attitude was that of someone that definitely wants to keep going on. He mentioned that one of his biggest goals is to take the business to international levels within the next few years so clearly there is no lack of ambition on his part and we look forward to witnessing him strive to achieve this.
Moving on, Chukwuka also talked about the need to constantly improve not just the business but himself as well.
“I do not feel like you can be successful as an entrepreneur if you as an individual should remain stagnant.”
That statement led to a train of thought which lasted for a minute of two. If you think about it, being stagnant can be likened to being stubborn or just being unwilling to learn from experiences. These are traits that can make or break a business depending on what side of the spectrum these traits are exhibited. The statement from Chukwuka was simple but yet had such a deep meaning. Wow!
All is not well as an entrepreneur though; especially when dealing with customers. Asking how he deals with rude and difficult customers, our spotlight owner said that he treats them with respect. According to him, you have to realize that you are dealing with human beings that have their own internal struggles and you cannot judge a book by its cover all the time. Furthermore, he said to treat people the same way you would like them to treat you at all times.
To stay ahead of the competition, Chukwuka said that his wares go through thorough quality checks to ensure full customer satisfaction. He also tries to deliver any orders as speedily as possible, even at the expense of his personal time (it seems we have a hard worker here; how admirable). He mentioned how he basically has set this up to be his main source of income and that acts as a partial motivating factor on his quest to succeed in the industry.
Next, we moved on to more general topics. The first question was one which we ask everyone we engage on this blog, which is; “Do you believe Nigeria is a good place for business growth and development?” which his answer was actually surprising as he said yes. Everyone seems to say no immediately so this was a shock. “But…” he continued, “Only if you know what you’re doing” which we are on the fence about here as there really is no set rule-book for running a successful business in Nigeria. Nowadays in the country, it seems success mostly depends on who you know and not necessarily on what you do. Of course this is not the case all the time as well but just an honest observation.
Like we mentioned before, diamond sanitary is a business big on quality and standards. Chukwuka says this is a thing he believes business owners (both old and new) should focus on because better quality and standards means better customer satisfaction, which in turn increases the chances of referrals and subsequently leads to growth. He also said that aside from this, entrepreneurs should strive to keep employees feeling appreciated at all times as they are basically the face of the business to the public and the body language they exhibit goes a long way. We totally agree with that. A lot of businesses have failed due to amazing employees feeling under-appreciated and then losing morale.
Finally, Chukwuka mentioned his joy at the creation of UdobizNG because according to him, we are giving the little guy (who cannot afford to have websites or advertisement) a way to throw their hats in the ring. We appreciate this and are thrilled that you think this way. Thank you Chukwuka for allowing us the wonderful opportunity to get to know more about your thoughts and challenges as a business owner. You have inspired us to improve ourselves here at Udobiz as well!
You can find Diamond Sanitary on UdobizNG at http://www.myudo.biz/blaise