From a little beginning as
a retail patent store, Emzor has grown to become a household name in Africa!
Way back in 1977, Emzor was a run-of-the-mill drug store. Nothing
extraordinary! Nothing special!
But what is extraordinary and special about Emzor is the lady
behind Emzor Initiative. The lady is no one than Mrs. Mary Okoli. Mrs. Okoli
set up her patent store as a retail drug store, but she had a big dream of
transforming the little drug store into a large pharmaceutical company.
After about seven years of prudent management of her patent store,
Mrs. Okoli stood up to take the bull by the horn to venture into the
manufacturing of drugs. I say “take the bull by the horn” because as at the
time she took the decision, the pharmaceutical industry was under the
domination of foreign pharmaceutical companies. Think of the likes of May &
Baker, Smithline Beecham, etc, taking the larger chunks in the industry to
themselves, leaving only little for their indigenous counterparts.
Mrs. Okoli’s decision to venture into the manufacturing of drugs,
led her to incorporate Emzor Ltd in 1984. Refusing to be held back by the
dominance of foreign pharmaceutical companies, Mrs. Okoli launched Emzor with
an irrepressible faith that she would engage her foreign competitors and hold
her own against them.
She wanted to start on a sound note. She therefore went from bank
to bank to seek for loan, but no banks believed in Emzor’s dream. The banks
thought that it was difficult for an indigenous pharmaceutical company to
survive or compete with its foreign counterparts.
And you can trust the banks, once they don’t believe in your
dream, they won’t give you a damn (or a dime), as giving you loan is like
throwing away their money. Disappointed but not discouraged, Mrs. Okoli went
ahead to start production with the little she could afford.
With patience, perseverance and an unshakeable faith, she moved
from manufacturing of four lines of products to over fifty lines of products in
the analgesic, anti-malaria, vitamin, multivitamin supplements, antibiotics,
therapeutic, etc.
Today, Emzor is a leader in the pharmaceutical industry and a
household name in Africa. Known for quality, Emzor has won several national and
international awards, among which are:
1.
West African Best Technology
Driven Award;
2.
African Information Technology
Award (for Phamarceutical companies); and
3.
World Quality Commitment
International Star Award.
The story of Emzor is a story of faith, patience and perseverance.
Thanks to the tenacity and boldness of Mrs. Okoli who made her company to stand
out even in the midst of strong foreign competitors here in Nigeria and Africa.
Dear reader, what is your goal? What is your dream? What is it you
wish to accomplish and which you have been vacillating? Have you been giving
excuses for not pursuing your goal?
Then, listen: NO EXCUSE IS REASONABLE ENOUGH TO HOLD YOU BACK FROM
ACHIEVING YOUR HEART’S DESIRES. All you need do to achieve your set goal is to
follow the success principles enumerated below, and as you do so, you will rise
and rise like Emzor until you become a force to reckon with on planet earth!
Now, let us look at these principles:
1. Activate Faith for Business
Growth
It takes faith to transform a small patent store to a big
pharmaceutical company. In the Emzor story read above, all the odds were piled
against her. She had a good number of foreign pharmaceutical companies to
contend with. She did not have enough money to start on a sound footing.
The banks were not willing to offer her loan to enable her start
on a sound footing. These were enough excuses for her to quit, but she still
went ahead to start with the little she could afford.
How would you narrate the success story of Emzor, if you leave
faith out? FAITH is the foundation for the success of Emzor! IT TAKES FAITH TO
START A BUSINESS WITH ENOUGH CAPITAL. IT TAKES EVEN GREATER FAITH TO START A
BUSINESS WITH LITTLE CAPITAL.
Problem of inadequate capital has been responsible for abandonment
of many a would-be great businesses. But Emzor has proved without an iota of
doubt that adequate capital is not a prerequisite for setting up a business.
Emzor has proved that you can launch out with any amount you have
or that you can afford. The next time you want to start a business and you
cannot obtain enough capital, don’t give up your business plan. What you should
do is to cut down your expenses and see how you can use the money you have with
you to start the business.
NEVER BE AFRAID TO START SMALL. LET YOUR FAITH BE BIG ENOUGH TO
START WITH THE LITTLE THAT YOU HAVE.
2. Unleash the Greatness in You
The important thing is not the size of the business you are
starting with. What is important is the quality of greatness in you. It takes a
great person to turn a little, insignificant business into a large business
empire.
The size of the business you are starting with is not so much
important as the quality of greatness in you. WHAT IS LITTLE AND DETESTABLE TO
OTHERS IS A GREAT POTENTIAL IN THE EYES OF A GREAT MAN. Sydney N. Bremer was
right when he said: “A GREAT MAN WILL MAKE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES OUT OF THE
COMMONEST SITUATIONS.”
There is quality of greatness in you. This quality of greatness
will however remain dormant, if you allow fear and doubt to dominate your life.
The only thing that will stop you from unleashing the quality of greatness in
you is doubt and unbelief. It is doubt and fear that made some of the children
of Israel not to enter the Promised Land.
But when you start seeing your enemies/competitors as giants and
yourself as a grasshopper, you are finished. You are to establish it in your
mind that you are not a grasshopper, but a giant killer. YOU KILL GIANTS NOT BY
POWER OR BY MIGHT, BUT BY SIMPLE FAITH!
The existence of bigger businesses should not scare you, because
all you need to take your business from relative obscurity to limelight is
within you. You have the potentialities for greatness. You don’t have to do a
great thing to be great. You can do a common thing in an uncommon way and you
will be great. So, YOUR FOCUS SHOULD BE HOW YOU CAN DO A COMMON THING IN AN
UNCOMMON WAY.
3. Dream Big
You may start small, but never remain small. One way of not
remaining small is to dream big. The bigger your dream, the greater the level
of your achievement. The world is ruled by dreamers. Dreamers are those who
look beyond the present and see far into the future.
They see afar off a great business enterprise far bigger than
their present business and they work towards achieving it. It takes a big
dreamer to translate a little retail patent store to a multi-million naira drug
manufacturing company. It takes a big dreamer to start small and gradually build
his business bigger.
THE SECRET OF GROWING A SMALL BUSINESS INTO A GREAT ONE IS TO
DREAM BIG. YOU HAVE TO KEEP LOOKING BEYOND THE PRESENT SIZE OF YOUR BUSINESS
AND KEEP DOING THE BEST YOU CAN TO TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO GREATER HEIGHT.
4. Stand Out in the Face of
Competition
Like the star that shines in its own socket, there is a place for
you on this globe. Nobody can take your place. Never be afraid of competitors.
IF YOU THINK SOMEONE CAN TAKE YOUR PLACE, IT IS PROBABLY BECAUSE YOU ARE OUT OF
YOUR PLACE.
Seek to define your own territory and make sure you plant yourself
there. What will make you to hold your head high and thrive in your own place
of destiny is EXCELLENCE! Excellence should be your watchword. If you deal with
the production or supply of products, make sure your products are of high
quality. If you are a service provider, make sure you deliver high quality
service. EXCELLENCE IS WHAT WILL DISTINGUSH YOU IN THE WORLD OF COMPETITION! NO
MATTER HOW FIERCE THE COMPETITION MAY BE IN YOUR INDUSTRY, IF YOU MAKE A
COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE, YOU WILL NEVER BE AN UNDERDOG. EXCELLENCE WILL
ELEVATE YOU.
People are looking for quality. Unfortunately, quality
products/services are scarce and when you find them, they are expensive. Henry
Ford, Founder of Ford Motors, said: “The market is never saturated with quality
products, but it is soon saturated with bad products.”
Are you looking for an edge over your competitors? Then, don’t
compete; create. Never compete with your competitors; only create and keep creating
quality products. Always focus on creating quality. A good product, they say,
sells itself.
Emzor was never intimidated by the big names in the pharmaceutical
industry in Nigeria. If she were intimidated, she would not have stepped out to
be incorporated as a limited liability
company. Instead of being
intimidated, she focused on manufacturing high quality drugs. This was at a
time when indigenous products were not so fancied by Nigerians. EMZOR STORY IS
A BIG TESTIMONY TO THE FACT THAT WHEN YOU ARE COMMITTED TO PRODUCING AND
DELIVERING QUALITY, YOU WILL ENJOY HIGH PATRONAGE, EVEN IN THE FACE OF FIERCE
COMPETITION.
Now, the quickest way to fail in business is to sell poor quality
products/services. You will become a prey to the “sharks” in your industry, if
you refuse to focus on creating and delivering quality. But you will be a force
to reckon with, if you focus on quality.
Like Emzor, nobody can take your place. All you need do to achieve
outstanding success is to locate your place in your industry and plant yourself
there. Keep producing and delivering high quality products/services.
Your competitors will have no choice than respect you, acknowledge
your presence in the industry and give way for you to pass. The key to overcoming competitors and holding
your own ground is QUALITY! Let quality be your watchword and, like Emzor,
you will rise from obscurity to stardom!
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