Thoughts:
“The moment you build systems, your business starts breathing on its own.”
“Delegation isn’t a luxury. It’s your escape from burnout.”
“The most dangerous phrase in business: ‘I’m the only one who can do it.’”
“You’re not building a hustle. You’re building a machine. Treat it like one.”
At one point in my business, I was the customer care rep…
the supplier negotiator…
the stock checker…
the delivery tracker…
the ad guy…
…AND the person worrying at 2AM because one supplier switched prices last minute without telling me.
There was this day I was juggling like 6 WhatsApp chats with different suppliers.
One was saying the carton of product had changed.
Another one was telling me, “I’ll confirm and get back to you,” like we were in a long-distance relationship.
Then one customer placed an order for a product that – guess what – had just gone out of stock.
I had no SOP.
No updated stock sheet.
No assistant.
Just vibes, and prayers that nothing would go wrong.
And guess what?
Everything went wrong.
The customer insulted me. I refunded her.
And I had to do damage control for a mess I could’ve avoided with just one system and one trained person.
That was the last time I let supplier wahala distract me from growing my business.
The Real Enemy Is Not The Supplier – It’s You Doing Everything Alone
Let’s be real.
Most of us think we’re being “hardworking” by doing everything ourselves.
But what we’re really doing is choking the business.
Supplier chats… delivery follow-ups… price tracking… warehouse confirmations…
You can’t grow when your head is full of all that noise.
Here’s the hard truth:
Micromanagement is not discipline. It’s self-sabotage.
The real smart move is this:
👉 Build systems.
👉 Delegate processes.
👉 Focus your brainpower on growth.
How To Grow Your Business Faster
1. The “One-Script, One-Staff” Rule That Changed My Life
I created a simple rule:
If a task happens more than twice, it must have a script or SOP – and someone else must be able to do it.
So now when it comes to supplier chats, I don’t type from scratch.
My staff uses a Google Sheet with daily / weekly prompts:
- “Do you have X in stock?”
- “What’s the current price for 100pcs?”
- “Can we lock the price till Friday?”
- “Please send a photo of the latest packaging.”
And they record all answers in a shared sheet.
Simple. Consistent. Stress-free.
Now, whether I’m sleeping, out chilling, or doing a training, suppliers are being followed up like clockwork.
And if one leaves, we plug in a new person without starting from scratch.
2. Make Your Staff Think Like You Without You Being There
This is where SOPs come in.
An SOP is not just “write what you do.”
It’s “turn your brain into a playbook.”
So for supplier communication, my SOP includes:
- What to say
- When to say it
- What info to collect
- How to record it
- When to escalate issues to me
Imagine having 3–4 staff chatting with 5+ suppliers daily without needing to disturb you for every little thing.
That’s not a fantasy. That’s a real business.
Do you have an SOP?
3. Why Most People Don’t Delegate And Why It’s Dangerous
I know the excuse:
“I don’t trust anybody to do it like me.”
“Nobody can do it like me.”
Cool. But here’s the reality:
If you feel sick today, the business gets sick with you.
And you didn’t build it just to remain a prisoner inside it.
The longer you keep doing everything yourself, the longer you’ll stay stuck doing ₦3M months and burning out.
True growth starts the moment you say,
“I don’t have to do this. I just need to teach it once.”
What People Often Forget About Suppliers
Suppliers are not magicians.
They can forget things. Delay things. Even mess you up.
That’s why YOU need to:
- Have structured follow-up.
- Confirm stock daily.
- Build backup suppliers.
- Lock price in writing.
- Keep a log of all conversations.
When you systematize supplier management, your ads, sales, and delivery all become more stable.
Because everything depends on stock.
And if you don’t manage that right, your business will crash from the root.
Now what if you didn’t have to build all these SOPs from scratch… and you had ready-made templates, done-for-you scripts, and staff training frameworks?
Inside Ecommerce Success Launchpad (ESL), we give you the exact systems and scripts to take supplier communication off your head — without losing control.
No more scattered WhatsApp chats.
No more supplier drama.
No more “I forgot to confirm stock” excuses.
Join Ecommerce Success Launchpad today and start running your Ecommerce business like a system not a scattered side hustle.
Because the longer you micromanage… The longer your business stays small.
And I know you didn’t come this far just to stay in one spot.
