The business risk I shouldn't have taken

Ever since I started my own business I have always been open to risk taking. I have taken countless risks, some were fruitful while some didn't pay off. But I will like to talk about the ones that didn't pay off, why it didn't pay off? I don't really know but I still feel it was a case of fraud, I don't really know what else to call it.

So this happened last year, a month after I gave birth to be precise. Since I am not used to staying at home and my tradition says I can't go out until my child is three months old, I didn't want to be an Idol so I started an online business.

I got a dealer through one customer who had posted nice designs of Ankara and the wholesale price was quite reasonable. Because I knew my customers well enough to have trusted her source. I decided to patronize the Dealer. I started the business on a pre-order basis, customers would see what they like, pay for it and receive it within 4 days to 7 days, I knew it was a big risk and if it went south it is either I issue a refund or watch my reputation get tarnished but since the order were coming in gradually I was willing to take the risk.

Like I said earlier when I started I was getting few orders, and the dealer was delivering perfectly. I had no issues at all and my customers got exactly what they paid for. But they were complaining about the delivery fee being too high and I knew it was because my order was just few and the cost of delivery affects the price of the Ankara. I never wanted to invest my money in it, I was gaining so much profit.

So I thought of how to get more visibility in order to get more orders, then I came across a lady that does advertisements. I paid 4000 for the advert and I got a lot of orders from customers. In fact some buy to sell and some also do so based on order as a third party.

These order I got was huge it worth over #567,000 have never bought that much, my instinct was telling me to share it in batches but I wasn't paying attention. I ignored my instinct and then sent the dealer everything believing it would come back successfully.

It normally takes three days for the items to arrive but it took longer this time. I reached out to him to know why it was delayed and he told me he already sent it and I should be patient. Because I kept calling, the dealer stopped picking up my calls. Meanwhile, my customers kept calling me, some insulted me, some threatened me while some were asking for a refund. I was falling into depression, sometimes I would cry my eyes out. I begged them to be patient with me but it was hard for the majority of them to listen to me because it was their first time patronising me.

After thirteen days, the goods arrived but it wasn't all of it. He delivered 45 Ankara wrappers instead of 135 that I paid for. I called him to confirm what he had sent and he confirmed it. He apologised and then promised to complete the rest. This wasn't okay to me because I already assured my customers, but asking them to be patient was like adding fuel into a burning fire.

Still, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I accepted and asked him when I could expect the rest. He said at least 3 to 4 days, I was happy to hear that. So, I made a video of the ones that arrived and then posted it on my WhatsApp status with a message that is so convincing.

But four days turned into a week, he breached our agreement again, I was tired of the whole process, so I demanded a refund but guess what? He refused. Telling me to still be patient. Later on, his no stopped going through till this very moment neither I nor the lady that gave me his contact has been able to reach him.

I had to refund everyone that didn't receive their goods. I made a refund of 378000 in total, it was a huge risk I took and it cost me my entire savings.

All images are mine.

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