Emma runs a shawarma fast-food business in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria. He and his wife manage the business. After getting introduced to Loyverse by one of their customers, they have been using it ever since. Emma was happy to share about their business with us.

What led to you starting the business?

We started on the 14th of November 2020. The lockdown brought about some creative new ways of doing business. The food business was booming, aided by delivery companies. My wife and I decided to use the opportunity. We did a lot of research and tried out the products of other businesses. We noticed a lack of consistency in these products and felt we could compete in the market. 

We set up a kitchen and got a qualified chef to run to production for us. Since then, our business has received several positive reviews from clients. Going forward, we will be opening more locations around the city. Although the pandemic caused a lot of tension, we started the business when things were easing off, and there were little to no restrictions aside from the occasional curfew. As a result, this did not impact our business.

Did you explore having an online presence?

We have, but it is not something we have done actively. We are currently struggling with getting a staff with the right skill to work for us. We have a website, Instagram, and Facebook pages. Towards the end of the month, we should get someone to run these for us. We would also like to explore other channels that could help with selling our business.

What is your goal when running your business?

In our business, we place a lot of emphasis on customer satisfaction. We want to meet their needs and satisfy them. This can be observed in the way we run our business. We are located in an environment where there are several other businesses, making it easier for our customers to have access to varying services. There is a sports center, haircut salon, supermarket, etc. This makes our shop a one-stop location providing all possible services.

How did you find Loyverse?

At a time we were struggling in accounting for sales and didn’t know what to do. One day, a client saw the way sales were recorded and told us about Loyverse. He was very familiar with the software and had been installing it for his clients. He gave us a demo, showing how everything worked. Afterward, things improved, visibility on or how the sales are coming in was clear. I can now run my business without having to use Excel spreadsheets. The features available were exactly what we needed for the fast-food business.

What feature did you find the most useful? 

Getting to see the sales coming in without having to be at the location is a great option for me. My wife and I manage the business and this is great for us because most of the time we only have the employees at the location. We like using the dashboard app for making quick inventory and sales check-ins.

What would be your advice for someone starting a new business?

Don't ever get into business without having the right IT infrastructure in place. It may depend on the type of business but you will need to have the right infrastructure in place. I would recommend Loyverse because it can be used to enhance productivity within the business and it is perfect for small businesses.