Diversification : Making hay, come rain or sunshine

OF late, the rains have been pounding without relenting. It looks the prophets of doom have been proved wrong this time around.

They had foretold a catastrophic dry spell. On the contrary, crops and livestock are thriving. Everyone is happy.

Admire Musarurwa is happy, too, when he sees the grass growing – though not because he keeps any livestock.

Admire was born in the small town of Marondera in 1993. He is the elder of two siblings. During weekends, when he would not be at school, he would always enjoy the company of his father – mowing grass in the low-density suburbs of Marondera. Pushing and pulling the electric lawn mower was always more fun than work.

He so much fell into a romance with the machine, he decided to make a living out of it. Today, he has literally taken over from his father, who is having less and less energy and zeal for the job.
Admire has not only inherited the old Honda lawn mower but his father’s business cell phone line as well. And he has added two petrol-driven grass trimmers to the small family business’ machinery and equipment asset inventory.

On average, he does five medium-sized lawns a day, and charges a modest $5 for each job. A well-manicured lawn and a well maintained rockery is no longer the preserve of the low-density suburb home owner. The high-density home owner has since developed an appetite for such aesthetics as well.

As is always the case with a well-run business, operations are shaped by the dynamics in the environment. The worsening power outages have virtually made the electric lawn mower redundant. Admire now relies more and more on the portable, petrol-powered grass trimmer.

Grass does not grow quickly throughout the year, and Admire did well to realise this early enough. Since he has gone full-time into this business, he had to ensure a steady cash inflow. He found an answer to this in diversification. Specifically called “related diversification” in business parlance. This is where you do different but related business activities. The advantage is you will be tapping into the same broad expertise base.

Admire decided to widen the scope of his business into what is termed landscaping. His business portfolios now include establishing lawns, rockeries and shrubberies. He has since started a nursery for ornamental shrubs, including duranta for hedges. He plans to add a variety of fruit trees to the fold.

It is interesting to note that the additional portfolios are activities which run throughout the year, unlike grass cutting, which is seasonal. That way, he has reduced the air-locks in the business cash stream.

Talking of “related diversification”, there is one other businessperson who has appreciated the efficacy of the strategy. This is my good friend, Nomsa Dube of Bride’s World in Bulawayo. She initially started off dealing exclusively in bridal wear. But, on seeing weddings were a seasonal activity, she cast her net wider to include not only the apparel for other functions such as nursery school graduations but their organisation as well.

“Whatever your business, it is always possible to diversify. If your business gives you only one line, then you have not thought about it well enough. It is never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket. With diversification you are making hay throughout the year,’ quips Nomsa.

Admire is a firm believer in good customer care. It may so happen that the customer may want to have his lawn mowed but they do not have ready cash. In order not to forego a much-needed business opportunity and at the same time not to disappoint a customer, Admire extends credit to his customer – but of course only to the creditworthy – diversification of payment mode. This way, he is sure he is kept busy all the time.

Admire says business is brisk, especially during this rainy season. Soon he will be buying two more grass trimmers and getting one or two more boys to help him out.

His is a classic case of a school leaver who has escaped the delusion of the white-collar job.