Africa-Press – Uganda. Every December in Kampala, something strange happens. As the city starts to glow with Christmas lights and the smell of roasted meat fills the air, you begin to notice an epidemic, not of flu, but of closed shops.
Walk through Ntinda, Kireka, or Wandegeya and you’ll see handwritten signs pinned on shop doors: “Closed for the Holidays. See You Next Year.” For some reason, the business owners go for Christmas and their businesses go with them.
It’s funny until you realise how serious that is. If your business closes simply because you’ve closed, then you don’t run a business, you are the business. And that’s the problem.
A proper business should be like a car with a full tank, it should still move even if the driver steps out for a few minutes. But most small businesses in Uganda are like those DMC taxis that can’t idle without the driver’s foot pressing the accelerator. Once the owner disappears, everything stops; sales, service, even the WiFi. The customers wait, suppliers postpone, and the money follows the owner out the door.
I remember visiting a hardware shop in Kisaasi last December to buy paint. The attendant told me, “Boss is in the village, we reopen after New Year.” I asked, “But can’t you sell me a tin?” He said, “Eh! I can’t touch anything unless boss is here.”
So, the paint and the profits went on holiday together. Meanwhile, the landlord’s rent meter never takes a break.
And it’s not just small shops. Even companies that claim to be “registered” end up operating like extended versions of their owners’ moods. The business prospers when the owner is excited, but the moment the owner catches a cold, boom, the company sneezes too. One week of fever, and invoices pile up. Two days of a toothache, and customers are calling, “We’ve not heard from you.” That’s how fragile many of our so-called businesses are.
A true business must outlive your moods, your holidays, even your health. Imagine if UEDCL announced, “We’re taking a festive break, please use candles until January.” Chaos! Yet that’s what happens when entrepreneurs build businesses without systems, everything runs on human energy, not structure.
Now, don’t get me wrong, everyone deserves rest. Even Jesus took naps. But the goal of entrepreneurship is to build something that works without you constantly hovering around. If your business can’t survive a week without you, you haven’t built a business; you’ve built a job. And you’re the only employee.
Uganda has over 1.1 million registered small and medium enterprises (SMEs), according to UBOS, but fewer than 30% make it to their fifth birthday. One of the biggest reasons is what I call the “founder fever.”
When the founder is active, things move. When they’re down, everything halts. No delegation, no trust, no systems; just the owner’s hustle spirit keeping the engine alive. That’s not sustainable.
I’ve met business owners who close their shops because they “can’t trust anyone.” I once told a friend, “If you can’t trust someone to manage your till, then you’ve hired wrong or you’re managing wrong.” The same people who don’t trust leave their houses with housemaids they barely know and their children sleep fine. So, it’s not really about trust, it’s about control. Many entrepreneurs don’t want to let go, and that’s why their business never grows beyond their arms reach.
Let me bring it home. If you run a salon, does it close because you’ve gone to the village? If you sell chapati, does the pan go cold because you’re attending a wedding? If you’re a moneylender, do collections stop because you’re coughing? If yes, then your business is not yet independent, it’s on your umbilical cord.
I’ve seen business owners in downtown Kampala carrying keys for every door, literally every lock in the building. One gets sick, and five employees stand outside helplessly. Others are the only ones with passwords for the bank account, or worse, only ones who know where the receipt book is. You wonder whether they plan to be immortal.
The festive season is a good test for every entrepreneur. Can your business breathe without you? Can it earn even when you’re offline? Can it operate on systems instead of sentiments? Because real business growth is measured by independence, not income.
This December, before you hang that “Closed for the Holidays” sign, ask yourself a painful question: If I catch a cold today, will my business also sneeze? If the answer is yes, then your 2026 resolution just wrote itself; you need to build systems, not excuses.
Start by writing things down. Document how sales are made, who approves what, how payments are handled. Train someone, yes, someone who isn’t you to do your role when you’re away.
Automate what you can. Get accounting software. Use mobile money records. Create a structure. Because when you stop working in your business and start working on your business, that’s when growth begins.
Remember, Coca-Cola doesn’t close for Christmas. Your local supermarket doesn’t close either. Even boda stages don’t. Why? Because those are businesses built on systems, not sentiments. Your business shouldn’t be allergic to your absence. It should breathe, serve, sell, and smile even when you’re away.
So, as you plan your trip to the village, pack your bags but leave your business breathing. Don’t let it catch your fever. Because when January comes and oh, it always comes, you’ll realize that customers moved on, bills didn’t, and the landlord is healthier than your cash flow.
You don’t want that. You want a business that outlives your moods and outlasts your holidays. A business that can stand on its own two feet. Because until then, you’re not building a company, you’re just building another employee. And that employee is you.
So, let’s ask again: When you catch a cold, does your business sneeze too? If it does, then it’s time for some entrepreneurial medicine: systems, structure, and a strong dose of separation.
Source: Nilepost News
For More News And Analysis About Uganda Follow Africa-Press
