Thoughts:
A business shuts down the day cash runs out, even with profit still on the way.
The agent who pays you late is the most expensive agent you have.
The pepper seller counts her cash every night. That’s why she’s still open when the “Online CEOs” close.
Long-time Ecom winners…
I’ve been deep in scaling my businesses; I’ve genuinely missed writing.
I’ve a lot of lessons from building. I hope to keep sharing them with you.
You can make profit on every order and still shut down your business in 3 months.
This happens to brands that SELL every day. Your sheet says you made ₦1.5M or ₦15M profit last month.
Then the 28th comes and salaries are due. You open your bank app… ₦212,000 or ₦2,120,000.
Profit is what your sheet says. Cash is what your bank app says.
When they disagree, the bank app wins.
Your landlord won’t take a spreadsheet as rent.
Your staff won’t take “the agent is still holding it” as salary.
In ecommerce business, profit hides in many places.
It sits with agents who “will send it Friday.”
It leaks through failed deliveries, bank charges, diesel and a restock that costs more than the last one.
Each one takes a small bite. Together, they finish the plate.
A business closes the day cash runs out, even when profit is still coming.
That’s why the pepper seller, with no spreadsheet, outlives the “online CEO” with branded nylons and revenue screenshots.
She counts her cash every night. So ask her question… where is my money right now, and when will it land?
The man holding more of your money than you
One person in your business holds more of your money than you do. You probably like him. He picks your calls on the first ring.
Every week he says, “I’ll send it Friday.” Friday becomes Monday. Monday becomes “network is bad.”
It’s your delivery agent.
Say you sell at ₦25,000 and make ₦10,000 profit per order. You deliver 300 orders.
That’s ₦7.5M collected and ₦3M profit. If agents still hold 40% of collections, ₦3M is stuck. That’s your whole profit.
The fix is boring. Match delivered orders to cash received every day.
List how many days each agent has held your money. Past 7 days? No new stock until he clears.
And pay a bit more for an agent who remits in 48 hours.
The cheap agent who pays after 4 – 7 days is your most expensive agent.
Don’t go to war with every agent. Pay the good ones fast and keep them close.
A few agents doing big volume are safer than ten agents holding small bags of your money.
Even when every agent pays on time, your money still has a place to sleep.
Your stock is cash you can’t spend
Some money in your business can be counted… and still can’t pay one staff.
It sits in cartons in your store and in agent stores you’ve never seen.
Your profit maths can lie too.
Say you bought 500 units at ₦4,000 each. When you restock, the dollar has moved and the same unit costs ₦5,500.
So ₦1,500 from every sale must go back into stock to stay the same size. That’s ₦750,000 of “profit” that was never yours to spend.
Some smart things you can do…
Set prices with your next restock cost in mind.
Count stock with every agent monthly.
Missing units are missing cash.
Discount anything that hasn’t moved in 60 days.
Running out hurts too, because your ads stop.
Hold a few weeks of stock.
Six months of stock is pride sitting in cartons.
The last leak is the most dangerous. It comes dressed as good news.
Growing faster than your cash can carry
Your ad wins and ROAS is sweet. You double the budget and post the dashboard on your status.
Orders and profit double on your sheet. Two weeks later, your card declines.
Fast growth eats cash. You pay Meta today. The order delivers in about 3 days. The agent remits about 7 days later.
For roughly 10 days, your own money funds every sale. At ₦100,000 a day in ads, about ₦1M of your cash always sits in that gap.
Double it and you need ₦2M.
It’s like speeding on Third Mainland Bridge with your fuel indicator almost on empty. The faster you go, the sooner you stop… in the middle of the bridge.
Know your cash cycle in days, from ad spend to money in your account.
Before you scale, check your cash can cover the new gap.
Keep one month of salaries and rent in an account you don’t touch.
When family calls because “business is moving,” you have your reply… “I’m on a budget” or anything you like…
Don’t stop scaling. Scale in steps your cash can carry.
A loan can fill the gap. But when you pay it back, your profit sheet won’t show most of that money leaving. Your bank app will.
You don’t need an accountant to start.
A sheet and 10 minutes each morning will do. If the pepper seller can count her cash every night, so can you.
If you’re making sales and still feel broke, your business may be fine. Your cash is sleeping in the wrong places.
December is close. The sellers who win the ember months will restock in November with cash in their account. “The agent will pay me” won’t clear one container at Apapa.
On a call, we’ll find where your cash is sleeping and how far you can safely scale before December.
Book it here: https://ecomwing.com/call
Need more help after that? You can also join our programs below.
P.S. Open your bank app, then open your sheet. If the gap between them scares you, book the call.
