Achi news desk-
Praising Mr Tah for being “honest and brave”, Lord Haughey advised him to “look at your costs and you must look at increasing your revenue”. He added: “Be careful you don’t pull yourself down a bigger black hole.
Business is not always about price, says an entrepreneur
“It’s sad for me to say when I’m encouraging entrepreneurship but sometimes you need to realize when you’re fighting a losing battle. When you’ve looked at everything… how can we cut costs, how can we increase revenue? But when you find you can’t sleep at night because you think you’ve tried it all, it’s time to see how you can get the best exit you can.”
Explaining how he had moved from a business center at Glasgow Airport to a building in Glasgow city center to reduce staff commuting time, Mr Tah outlined the history of Jambo! A radio launched during the Covid-19 lockdown to provide information to people in their own language including Swahili and French.
“Three years ago, we had 10 members of staff but now we have three and volunteers,” he said. “Most of the revenue comes from grant money and around 30% from advertising.
Lord Haughey, telling Mr Tah that he understood the radio business and described it as a “tough game”, said: “You have been honest and brave. Radio is a tough game to make money.”
Offering his advice, Sir Tom said that although it was difficult to do so without getting more information about the business, he agreed with his co-host that looking at sales and costs was crucial. “We would start by saying are customers buying what you are selling, is there a market for what you have? You as the leader of your business have to be honest with yourself,” he said.
There will be fewer barriers to business attracting and retaining talent in Scotland
“You have responsibilities here,” he added. “If your answer is ‘I have a product that customers are actually buying or maybe they could buy more … but you must not kid yourself.’
Sir Tom suggested that Mr Tah might consider finding a mentor “who can stand by you and say ‘George, do you think this is the right thing’, adding: “You need to decide whether to put a lot of effort into it. this – is it worth it or is there something else I can do for my community’?
“I understand that you are very community oriented and we take our hats off to you.”
