Steve Harris is a Nigerian founder of EdgeEcution, a startup that is into business coaching and capacity development. Harris, often referred to as ‘Mr. Ruthless,’ helps scores of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) to achieve success.
Harris’ success as a life coach wasn’t built on bed of roses, as it came with hard work and diligence, according to him.
Harris quit his paid job as a management consultant to kick-start his coaching and consulting business in 2011, although he revealed the difficulty that the decision dawned on him and his family.
“In 2010, I left my paid job as a management consultant by divine instruction. Unfortunately, when I did, it was perhaps, the worst time ever. My wife was pregnant then and our rent was going to be due in a few months and I was scared to death,” he noted.
Starting the consulting business in 2011, his business was initially devoid of an office, staff or clients, but he motivated himself through a mantra – “It’s not what you don’t have that limits you, but what you have and don’t know how to use.”
Harris revealed that his diligence paid as his business earned 17 million Naira in revenue in about ten months after kick-starting.
Sharing insight on what his organization does for SMEs, the consultant said, “I’ve always been passionate about helping businesses thrive and become market leaders.”
“As you know, SMEs are the engine room of the economy and my job is to keep that engine humming, revving, and accelerating. Our services fall under consulting, enterprise development, and coaching,” he stated.
Speaking on how his business has remained successful, Harris says he always likes measuring success by the number of businesses he has helped scale and succeed via services EdgeEcution provides.
“A lot of entrepreneurs don’t know how to communicate the value they deliver in a way that’s urgent and important to their customers, so if I can help them with that, I’m incredibly satisfied,” he said.
“I know we say that you’ve got to under-promise and over-deliver, but I’d rather say over-promise and over-deliver,” he said.
On significant achievements his business has achieved since inception, the business has been able to establish a coaching program called ‘Mastering the Business of your Talent (MBT)’, which has helped several entrepreneurs hit their highest sales target within six weeks. This program has accelerated the businesses of 550 SMEs that have generated over N4.5 billion in revenue.
“I think that’s pretty awesome … especially when you can imagine the ripple effect across the economy. They can scale their businesses, hire staffs that gets to make a living, and provide for their families,” he said.
On his advice to entrepreneurs, Harris said, “Working in Nigeria is pretty daunting, but like every good workout, it helps build your entrepreneurial muscles.”
“I salute the resilience of the Nigerian, who’s a natural entrepreneur, getting up many times before sunrise, to provide value, even if it’s daunting and there’s no guarantee they’ll make a sale, but they keep showing up daily, regardless,” he said.
“Remember, it’s not what you don’t have that limits you but what you have and don’t know how to use,” he advises.
