Chapter 48 – Accounts that Teach(es)
After the initial encouraging results, the four friends realized a harsh truth: it's not enough to produce. If they didn't know how to manage the numbers, they could be working hard and still losing money without realizing it.
It was during a session of the PROSPERAR program that mentor Ernesto brought them back to reality. With a serious look, he asked:
"How much did you spend on pet food this month?"“
There was total silence. Each one looked at the other, unsure how to respond.
Ernesto then stood up, picked up four simple hardcover notebooks and handed one to each of them.
"A business without registration is like a ship without a rudder. It moves forward, but doesn't know where it's going. In here, don't write dreams—write numbers. Clear accounts aren't just for knowing how much you're making. They're for learning where you're losing money and where you can improve."“
From then on, each young person began to record:
Salimo kept track of how many eggs each hen laid, how many were fertile, and how many were lost.
Hamza kept track of how many eggs went into the incubator, how many chicks hatched, and how many did not survive.
Beto recorded the average weight of the birds each week and their feed consumption until they reached the point of sale.
Fito calculated the motorcycle's fuel consumption, the deliveries made, and customer delays.
At first it seemed like a boring task. But, over time, the numbers began to tell stories. They discovered, for example, that for every 50 kg of laying hen feed, Salimo obtained about 160 fertile eggs; that out of every 68 incubated eggs, an average of 54 viable chicks hatched; and that fattening a chicken to 1.5 kg required three months and about 6 kg of feed.
This clarity changed everything. They could no longer blame luck or others. When the accounts showed flaws, they could see exactly where they needed to make corrections.
Salimo, looking at the notebook, thought: “Here is the naked truth. It’s not the fault of the government, of society, of the neighbors. It’s here, in my record. The choice is mine: to improve or to repeat the mistake.”
A practical lesson for young readers: recording expenses and income, however simple, is the first step in controlling your future.
You Can: Whoever masters their numbers, masters their destiny.
