How to survive and thrive in a complex business environment

Building a business in complex and structured environments takes far more than capital. Entrepreneurs are often thrown into unpredictable markets, cautious customers, weak systems, and constant uncertainty, all while learning on the job and adapting as they go.

Drawing from themes in his new book The Enterprise Jungle, author Joram Mwinamo unpacks these realities and shares practical insights on how to build a business that can survive and grow in such conditions.

Joram says that in environments where trust is low, entrepreneurs need to build confidence in the value they promise to deliver. “When you build a business in this part of the world, you are building more than the business because the environment is less structured compared to the West. You do plenty of planting before you can reap,” he says.

Customers are cautious about new products or services due to past experiences with fraud or ineffective service delivery. As a result, business owners need to prioritise educating people and start with subsidised pricing to demonstrate value before charging full rates.

He admits that it takes time to build credibility, but when customers experience value, they are more willing to pay fairly and recommend the business to others.

Expect markets to be unstructured and learn fast

Joram says that the business environment is not as structured or predictable as people expect when they start, since the economy is still developing.

He observes that some markets lack mature regulations and reliable investors; thus, entrepreneurs deal with delayed payments, contractual illiteracy, investors who do not understand the environment, and people who understand the system better who take advantage of them. These conditions force constant adaptation and fast learning.

He highlights the gap between business theory and practice, sighing that many professionals are trained in their careers but not in running enterprises. “You find a person is well-trained as a doctor but not trained to run a hospital,” he says.

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Therefore, skills such as hiring, managing people, paying taxes, handling finances and managing customers are learned on the job through costly mistakes.

He advises entrepreneurs to accept that mistakes are possible but to minimise the impact by starting on a small scale. Starting small lets business owners test ideas and learn the lessons easily if something goes wrong.

He discourages taking risks that could collapse the business, such as borrowing heavily too early or investing too much into one untested opportunity. Another mistake that people make, he notes, is that they reinvest a hefty amount the third time and incur losses.

“Reinvest gradually and patiently because there are lessons to learn at every level. When you expand fast, it can come with new problems in staffing, systems, taxes, and competition when you don’t have resources or experience,” he says.

He says entrepreneurs must accept that not everything will go according to plan. Businesses can be affected by pandemics, elections, inflation, and global conflicts with little prediction.

He encourages owners to build with flexibility from the beginning. That can mean avoiding permanent employees too early or using co-working spaces instead of expensive offices. Entrepreneurs should always assume problems can arise and prepare accordingly.

One of the biggest causes of pressure, he says, is trying to do too many things at once. Many entrepreneurs run many products or services, or even several businesses, only to discover that their energy and resources are not enough.

“You don’t take too much. It comes with the skill of saying no when you don’t have the capacity to deliver properly,” he advises.

He says giving attention to between one and three strong businesses or one profitable service can produce better returns than dividing attention among several struggling activities.

“I have instructed people to focus on one business, and it has made more than doing everything at once. Select at least three businesses and add as you go along. If you overstretch, you won’t give adequate attention to any of them,” he says.

Make calm decisions under pressure

Financial and operational pressure can lead to bad judgment if entrepreneurs panic. Many bad decisions are made when owners feel overwhelmed.

He advises taking time to identify the real problem and being decisive. Business owners must make decisions within deadlines with the information that they have, even when it is incomplete.

“Seek information from mentors and advisors while knowing that decisions have deadlines. You are better off making a decision when it is a wrong one than spending too much time making one,” he says.

He adds that decisions can be reviewed and adjusted later, but paralysis, which is common in people with perfectionism and imposter syndrome, is more damaging than action.

Build for the long term

Joram says stable businesses invest in processes and structures in revenue reviews, human resources, operations, administration, technology, and boardroom governance.

Long-term business success, he says, also includes creating a good working environment for employees, maintaining quality standards, and listening attentively to customers.

“You need to always be curious about what your market wants and ask questions by doing surveys and understand them better in terms of pricing,” he advises.

Moreover, seek help from mentors and advisors, contribute positively to the community, be humble and resilient, hold employees accountable, be consistent, and learn and adjust through uncertain conditions.