7 Reasons Why Your Business Isn't Making Money (And How To Fix It)

It’s 11 p.m. You just wrapped up your 14th hour of work today. Your feet hurt. Your head is buzzing. You’re finally lying down when your phone vibrates—another customer asking, “Please, when will my order be ready?”

You open your bank app to check something quickly. It shows ₦23,000 in your business account.

But wait. Last month, you made about ₦400,000 in sales. This month, it’s closer to ₦650,000. So… where did all the money go?

If your chest just tightened a little, take a breath. You’re not alone. You’re not stupid. And your business is not necessarily failing. What you’re experiencing is one of the most common and least talked about problems in Nigerian business: working like crazy, making sales, and still not seeing any money left.

On Instagram, everyone is “booked and blessed.” On WhatsApp status, it’s screenshots of alerts and “Another happy customer!” posts. But in real life? You’re tired. You’re stressed. You’re quietly wondering if you made a mistake leaving that job… or starting this business in the first place. 

About 67% of Nigerian small businesses don’t make it past their first three years. And the number one reason isn’t lack of customers. It’s not even lack of sales. It’s lack of profit.

The good news is that this is completely fixable. An even better news is that most of the time, it’s not as complicated as it feels at 11 p.m. when you’re exhausted and overthinking everything.

In the next 10 minutes, you’ll discover:

• The 7 real reasons your business isn’t profitable (they’re probably not what you think)

• How to figure out exactly which one is hurting you

• Simple fixes you can start using today (most cost nothing)

• How other Nigerian business owners fixed the same problems

• And a simple system that helps you stop guessing and start seeing your real numbers

Let’s start by figuring out what’s really going on with your money.

THE DIAGNOSIS — IS YOUR BUSINESS ACTUALLY UNPROFITABLE?

First, Let’s Make Sure We’re Solving the Right Problem

Before we start fixing anything, let’s slow down for a second and make sure we’re not mixing up two very different things: revenue and profit.

Now imagine, that your business made almost ₦2 million this month!

That ₦2 million is your revenue. Profit is what’s left after you’ve paid for stock, delivery, packaging, data, staff, rent, and all those “small small” expenses thatyou didn’t think was necessary to account for. If you don’t know what’s left, you don’t actually know how your business is doing.

Let’s do a quick, honest self-check:

• Do you know your exact profit from last month?

  • Yes, I know the exact amount

  • No, I’m guessing / I don’t track this

• Can you afford to restock when you need to?

  • Yes, I always have money ready

  • Sometimes, if sales were good

  • No, I often struggle to restock

• Do you pay yourself a consistent amount every month?

  • Yes, same amount

  • No, I take money when I need it

  • What do you mean “pay myself”?

• At the end of the month, do you usually have:

  • More money than you started with

  • About the same

  • Less (you borrow or dip into savings)

• Can you explain where your money went this month?

  • Yes, every Naira

  • Sort of

  • Honestly, no idea

Scoring:

• 5 “good” answers → You’re probably profitable, you just lack visibility

• 3–4 → You’re on the edge

• 0–2 → Your business is likely losing money (keep reading)

Being busy ≠ being profitable. You can work 16-hour days and still lose money. The real question isn’t “Am I working hard?” It’s “Is more money coming in than going out?”

This is exactly why successful businesses use systems that show profit in real time. With Bumpa's Business Analytics, you can see your actual profit from your phone without having to do any of that mental gymnastics. But first, let’s look at why that profit might not be showing up.

7 Reasons Why Your Business Isn't Making Money (And How To Fix It)

REASON #1: You’re Pricing Too Low (The “Busy Broke” Trap)

The number one reason I see over and over again when I talk to small business owners is simple: you’re working hard, you’re selling, but your prices are too low.

Let me give you a real example. My friend Chika sells ankara fabric. She’s not lazy at all. In fact, she works like a machine. On average, she makes about 100 sales a month at ₦5,000 per fabric. That’s ₦500,000 in sales. Sounds good, right?

But when I looked closer, here’s what I noticed:

• Cost to buy the fabric: ₦4,200

• Delivery per order: ₦300

• Packaging: ₦100

• Total cost per sale: ₦4,600

She’s selling at ₦5,000. That means her profit per sale is ₦400.

₦400 × 100 sales = ₦40,000 profit for the whole month.

Chika is working 12-hour days for ₦40,000 a month. That’s about ₦133 per hour. Less than minimum wage. She’s busy. She’s tired. But she’sstill broke.

This is what I call the “busy broke” trap.

Most Nigerian business owners underprice for the same reasons:

• “My competitors sell at ₦5,000, I can’t charge more.”

• “Nigerians won’t pay for premium.”

• “I have to be the cheapest to get customers.”

• “If I raise prices, I’ll lose everybody.”

Asides from the fact that most of these turn out to be a myth, people don’t buy the cheapest thing. They buy value. Look at iPhones in Nigeria; they go for at least ₦800,000+ for a phone, and people still queue to buy. Why? Perceived value.

So how can you solve this problem for your business? The fix (do this today):

• Calculate your true costs (product + delivery + packaging + your time)

• Add at least a 40% margin (50–60% is even better)

• Set new prices starting tomorrow

“But I’ll lose customers!”. Yes. You’ll lose some, usually about 20–30%. But the ones who stay will make you more money with less stress. Quality customers beat cheap customers every time.

To raise prices without losing everyone:

• Improve perceived value: better packaging, faster delivery, better service, cleaner branding

• Protect loyal customers: “Your price stays the same for 30 days”

• Offer options: Basic at ₦5,000, Premium at ₦8,000. Most people choose the middle or premium anyway.

If you’re always busy and still broke, your problem might not be sales. It might be your prices.

REASON #2: You Have No Idea Where Your Money Goes (The “Black Hole” Problem)

This one happens every single day in Nigeria.

Another friend of mine, Amara, once told me, “I made ₦800,000 this month!” I was happy for her and asked, “That’s great. So where did the money go?”

She started counting in the air.

“Well… restocking was maybe ₦300,000… transport… packaging… data… I borrowed ₦50,000 for my rent… helped my sister with ₦30,000… bought new packaging… paid my helper… data again… fuel… and now it’s gone.”

I asked, “Do you have records?” She laughed and said, “No, it’s all in my head.”

That’s the problem.

Amara didn’t know if she was actually making profit. She didn’t know which products were helping her or hurting her. She just knew she was busy and always broke.

This destroys businesses because when you don’t track your money:

• You can’t tell which products are profitable

• You don’t know where to cut costs

• You can’t plan for slow months

• You mix business and personal money

• You start making decisions based on feelings, not facts

Can you name your top 3 best-selling products and your top 3 most profitable products? If those aren’t the same or you don’t know, I’m genuinely concerned for your business. But all is not lost. Here are a few things you can do to fix the situation:

Step 1: Separate business and personal money (non-negotiable).

• Open a separate business account or wallet

• Or use a dedicated app like OPay or Moniepoint

• Stop paying personal bills from business money

• Pay yourself a “salary” instead

Step 2: Start tracking. Pick ONE method:

One of the most efficient methods is to use an app that helps you track your orders, payments and inventory management in real time, so you won’t have to do any manual calculations. That’s why we built Bumpa for business owners like you, where every sale you make is recorded, you can add your expenses, and your profit shows in real time.

Other methods you can use include:

• Notebook method (free, simple): Date | Description | Amount | In/Out. Write everything daily.

• Phone notes method (still free): Screenshot expenses, record voice notes, transfer to a sheet at night.

Step 3: Have a weekly “money date” (30 minutes every Friday). Write down:

• Sales this week: ₦_____

• Expenses this week: ₦_____

• Profit/Loss: ₦_____

• Top-selling product: _____

• Most profitable product: _____

This is exactly what Bumpa was built for. Nigerian business owners told us tracking was too hard with transfers, POS, cash, and mobile money. So Bumpa tracks everything in one place and shows your profit in real time.

If your money keeps disappearing, it’s not magic. It’s just not being tracked.

REASON #3: Your Expenses Are Out of Control (The “Lifestyle Creep” Problem)

Let me ask you a simple question. How many times have you had a “good” month where maybe you made ₦400,000, ₦600,000, even ₦1 million in sales, but by the end of the month, you’re either in debt or you have almost nothing left?

One of the biggest silent killers of small businesses is something called lifestyle inflation. And yes, it’s okay to enjoy your money sometimes. Buy yourself a nice bag. Upgrade your phone. Celebrate small wins. That’s not the problem.

The problem starts when your expenses grow faster than your profit. When your costs keep expanding, but your business isn’t actually making more money to support them. That’s what we call lifestyle creep. It doesn’t attack you all at once. It creeps in quietly, in three main ways: 

1. Business lifestyle inflation.

You may start to have thoughts like  “I need an office”, “I need an employee”, “I need branded packaging”, “I need professional photos.” Maybe you do. But maybe you don’t. Not yet. A lot of businesses start spending like they’re already big, when their numbers are still small.

2. Mixing personal and business money.

Business money starts paying for rent. Family support. Personal shopping. Emergencies. And you tell yourself, “I’ll return it.” Most times, you don’t. Slowly, your business becomes your personal ATM and your profit disappears.

3. Hidden expenses that bleed you slowly.

₦10,000 for data here. ₦3,000 there. ₦500 transport. “Small small” purchases. Bank charges. Subscriptions you forgot you even signed up for. None of them look big alone. Together, they can kill your profit.

So how do you know this is your problem? Look at these signs:

• Your profit is lower than 6 months ago, but your revenue is about the same

• You have new business expenses that don’t increase sales

• You can’t list all your fixed monthly costs

• You’re paying for things you barely use

• You borrowed money for non-essential upgrades

If this total of your expenses is more than 30% of your average monthly revenue, you’re spending too much. But you can definitely fix it, here’s how:

Step 1: List all your expenses from last month (fixed, variable, one-time).

Step 2: Label each one with any of the following:

• Essential

• Nice to have

• Cut this

Step 3: Make brutal cuts this week.

Cancel unused subscriptions. Drop expensive office space if home works. Reduce staff to part-time or commission if needed. Simplify packaging and suppliers. Kill any “investment” that hasn’t paid off in 3 months.

Step 4: Set a new rule:

No new expense unless it clearly increases sales, saves more money than it costs, or keeps the business alive.

I’ve seen this work across skincare, food, hair, and retail businesses. People cut rent, reduce staff costs, fix delivery pricing and suddenly overhead drops by 30–40%. That one change can add ₦100k–₦200k+ to monthly profit. And that profit? That’s what you use to grow safely.

Bumpa helps here too. When you track expenses properly, you start seeing patterns, like spending 40% on delivery when you could negotiate better rates or batch shipments.

Sometimes your business isn’t failing because you’re bad at business. Sometimes it’s just bleeding money in the wrong places. And once you stop the bleeding, everything changes.

REASON #4: Customers Aren’t Paying You (The “Cash Flow Crisis”)

One thing that should be clear at this point is that sales don’t keep your business alive. Cash does.

You can be “making sales” every day and still be broke if the money isn’t actually entering your account. And in Nigeria, this is one of the fastest ways businesses quietly die.

Let’s look at this from Funmi’s perspective. In November, Funmi’s event planning business recorded ₦850,000 in sales. Sounds like a great month, right? But when she checked her account, she had only ₦250,000. The remaining ₦600,000 was sitting in debt.

You already know the lines:

• “I’ll send it tomorrow.” (Three weeks later, still waiting.)

• “My transfer failed.” (It didn’t.)

• “Can I pay next month?” (Next month becomes next month again.)

• “Let me pay half now, half later.” (The “later” never comes.)

• Or the worst one: silence after delivery.

This is even worse in Nigeria because:

• We’re still very cash-based (“I’ll send it later” culture)

• Friends and family expect credit

• We’re told “customer is king,” even when they don’t pay

• We’re afraid to be “too strict” and lose customers

• And for small amounts, there’s usually no real legal backup

So how do you fix this? Try implementing the following:

• New customers: 100% upfront or 50% deposit + balance before delivery. No exceptions.

• Custom/large orders: 60–70% upfront. Balance before handover. No payment, no product.

• Service businesses: At least 50% to start. Balance on delivery day. Don’t hand over until paid.

• “Regular” customers: Only invoice those with good history. 3–5 days max. One late payment = back to prepayment.

Kemi learned this with her hair business. She was making ₦600,000 in sales but receiving only ₦180,000. After switching to 100% payment before delivery, she lost a few people. Three months later, she was collecting 100% of ₦520,000 monthly, with zero debt and cash to restock. Her business finally started breathing.

If this sounds like a lot, not to worry, Bumpa can help you with debt recovery. It shows you who owes you, sends payment reminders, lets you send payment links in one tap. Sellers report collecting payments 3x faster when they stop chasing manually. You can also set up online payments on your Bumpa website to make collecting money even easier.

Remember: A business that doesn’t collect its money is not a business. It’s charity.

REASON #5: You’re Trying to Do Everything Yourself (The “Overwhelm” Problem)

If you wake up every day, already tired with several tasks like replying to WhatsApp messages, posting on Instagram, packaging orders, rushing to the market to restock, delivering orders, bookkeeping, handling complaints, etc, you’re very clearly not optimising processes that could allow you have more time for more important tasks and here’s why this could kill your profit.

When you spread yourself this thin, nothing gets done really well. The high-value things, like sales, partnerships, strategy, and growth, are pushed aside. Low-value tasks like packaging, delivery, and data entry eat up your whole day. You get decision fatigue, you start making poor choices, and eventually you burn out. And when you burn out, your business suffers.

The fix  for this problem, starts with a simple time audit.

For 3 days, write down everything you do. Then group them into 3 categories:

High value (only you should do):

• Sales and customer acquisition

• Strategy and big decisions

• Quality control

• Relationship building

Medium value (delegate later):

• Customer service

• Social media

• Content creation

Low value (delegate now):

• Packaging

• Delivery

• Data entry

• Inventory counting

You don’t need millions to get help. Under ₦50,000/month, you can:

• Get a part-time helper (₦30k–₦40k)

• Use a commission-only sales rep (10–15%)

• Or pay per delivery instead of running around yourself

Or better yet: automate.

This is where Bumpa can help you save up more time and energy. It removes much of the low-value work: automatic sales & delivery tracking, invoicing, inventory alerts, customer reminders, order management, and even WhatsApp replies. Most sellers save 15–20 hours a week just by not doing admin manually.

Trying to do everything yourself doesn’t make you a hero. It just keeps your business small and your life exhausted.

So, What Should Be Your Next Move?

If you’ve been reading this and quietly thinking, “This is me. I’ve made some of these mistakes,” first, take a deep breath. Second, relax and know that you’re in very good company.

Every successful entrepreneur you admire (yes, even the ones flexing on Instagram) has been exactly where you are. Confused. Tired. Working hard and wondering why the money isn’t showing up. The difference isn’t that they’re smarter or luckier. The difference is simple: they fixed the system. And now, you can too.

Being unprofitable does not mean:

❌ You’re a failure ❌ Your business idea is bad ❌ You should give up ❌ You’re not smart enough

It means only one thing: you haven’t put the right systems in place yet. And that changes today.

From here, you have two paths.

Path 1: Do nothing. Six months from now, the same problems are still there, maybe worse. You’re more tired. The debt is higher. Your confidence is lower. And one day, you quietly say, “Maybe business is not for me.”

Path 2: Take action today. You don’t even need to fix everything. Implement just 3 of the 5 changes you’ve read here. Most people start seeing profit improve within 30 days. And slowly, your business becomes one of the success stories others look up to.

And to be fair. of Nigerian entrepreneurs who actually apply these fixes:

• 72% see profit increase within 30 days

• 89% feel more confident about their business

• 94% say they wish they’d started sooner

You can be one of them.

Stop Guessing. Start Growing. Join 100,000+ Nigerian Entrepreneurs Using Bumpa.

When you sign up today, you get: ✅ Automatic profit tracking (see your real numbers instantly) ✅ Sales from website, WhatsApp, Instagram, all in one place ✅ Inventory management (never run out of stock or overspend) ✅ Customer database (know who owes you, who buys from you) ✅ Financial reports (make smart decisions, not guesses) ✅ Payment tools (get paid faster) ✅ FREE to start (Get access to a 14-day free trial)

[Start Free with Bumpa Today→]

Your business doesn’t need more stress. It needs a better system. And you can start today.