28/09/2026
Let me tell you about Ada.
Ada opened a small food business in January. By March, she was selling out almost every day. Customers loved her. Her Instagram was popping.
But by June, she was crying.
Not because business was bad. Because she had no money, and she didn’t know why.
She made ₦850,000 in sales that month. That sounded like a lot. So where did it go?
I sat with her and asked one simple question:
"Do you track every business expense?"
She laughed. "I track the big ones. Rent, stock. The small ones don't matter."
So we did an experiment. For 7 days, she wrote down everything.
Day 1: Transport to market - ₦2,500
Day 2: Pure water for shop - ₦1,200, Extra nylon - ₦800
Day 3: "Urgent" airtime for business - ₦2,000, Snacks while waiting for supplier - ₦1,500
Day 4: Gave her cousin ₦5,000 "from the shop money, I'll return it"
By Day 7, the "small ones that don't matter" were ₦38,700.
In a month, that was over ₦150,000 leaking quietly.
That was Ada’s profit walking out the back door.
Here’s the lesson she learned the hard way:
1. Small leaks sink big ships.
It’s never the rent that kills you.
It’s the ₦800 here, ₦2,000 there that you forget.
2. If it’s not tracked, it didn’t happen — but you still paid for it.
Your brain will forget. A notebook or app won’t.
3. Separate is sacred.
The day she opened a separate business account/wallet and stopped borrowing from "shop money," her profit appeared like magic.
Three months after she started tracking every naira, Ada didn’t increase her sales. But her profit went up by 42%.
Same business. Same customers. Different eyes.
So, I’ll ask you again — not as a judge, but as someone who’s seen this story too many times:
Do you track every business expense?
If not, start today. Not tomorrow. Get a small notebook or use your phone notes. Write date, item, amount. Every single one.
Your future self will thank you.