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Blog, Diaspora Diary., FEATURES

Diaspora Diary: To Be A Man…

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Family is not an important thing. It’s everything. ~ Michael J. Fox As a growing kid, my dad always gave me pep talks on how to become a responsible and successful man. More than once he ended the talks with one line; “Ayichaa ka ara fhulu ulo, ayia ka ara fhulu ogalanya”. It means that friendship will be according to age as you grow but it will later be determined by success. The lucidity of this statement wasn’t exactly grasped by my juvenile mind then but it is a line that nevertheless remained engraved in my subconscious. As a young adult thrust into the hectic terrain of the Nigerian oil business when I lost my dad at 21, I mostly related with older men who had years of business experience. The wisdom I gained is invaluable. In Lagos, I had a boss who wasn’t much older even though he was almost at the peak of his career then. I would visit him in the office and we’d chat about business, life and politics. On this particular day, I was going home from work and decided to pop in. He was staring out of the window overlooking the sprawling and ever-busy Victoria Island Lagos. After the usual pleasantries, we got talking and at one point he said, “I wish I could fly over this traffic to the welcoming embrace of my loving family”. I could feel him. Lagos traffic can be debilitating. With a wry smile, I told him to be calm since he just left them in the morning. He said “Well, my wife just left here a few hours ago”…and continued about how much he would have loved to have his family around him at work, at home and everywhere. I can’t be too sure now but I think I said he can imagine my situation. He’s aware that my family lives in Ireland. As we talked about family and the joy they bring he asked a question that triggered what I now consider a life-changing introspection. “ When last did you see your family Cmoni?” I replied that I couldn’t be exact but that it’s been at least 3 months. Then he asked another question I would remember for the rest of my life. “How do you cope?” Initially, the question didn’t sound too weighty because I smiled and said I speak with my family daily. Moreover, I visit regularly too. Sometimes twice, thrice a year and when I can’t bring them home for Christmas I rarely spend it without them. With a resigned look he told me he couldn’t possibly cope in my shoes. As I drove home that night I thought about our chat. Here is a man who is at the very top who could have anything, nice clothes, fancy cars and so on. He goes on vacation to the best spots yet his top priority isn’t money. It is his family. I remembered my father’s pep talks. Can I possibly claim to be responsible and successful if I don’t actively and fully play my role as a father? Yet living abroad was not my immediate or future consideration. I could move my family back home of course. After all, the initial plan was to give our child a second citizenship. My wife only stayed back because she was offered a path to naturalisation. On second thought the benefits of having European citizenship surpassed those of living in Nigeria. When a friend asked me what would put food on the table after I informed him about my plans. I replied that I would be visiting every quarter to oversee my businesses. He said, “Cmoni it is time to build”. Again, I thought about this statement hard and long. Relocation could trigger a mid-life crisis for me. I mean who would effectively run my businesses? What would I be doing abroad? 9–5 wasn’t an option because I needed some flexibility to travel often. However, I was relieved after some research. I realised that significant changes and accomplishments made early in life can prevent a mid-life crisis. In Igboland, your foremost responsibility as a man is to your family. The resources you should deploy to provide for them go beyond money. To provide counsel, affection and protection you must devote your TIME. Following all the musings I concluded that for now, ‘building my family’ was more important than ‘building my business empire’. The reason for this is simple. You can always build an empire at any time but if you miss parenting and the bonding that a single roof provides especially during your kids’ teenage years, you can never recover it. Hard decisions are often the best. So, on the 15th of January 2015, I relocated. For a man who, barring a few years in the UK, had lived his entire adult life doing business in Nigeria, it was indeed life-changing. All the same, my family was already well settled in Ireland. And with my versatility, I could easily adapt anywhere. I had things planned, or so I thought… Yet, it is one of my best decisions. If you enjoyed this please share it. You can also hit the follow button and join our cmonionline community of digital creatives let’s grow together. Thanks for reading.

Blog, Lifestyle, Resources

Success Journey XXIV: You Don’t Need Plurality, It’s A Myth.

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In business, once you decide who you aren’t going to serve, you are free of tyranny. So also in creating..if you try to appeal to everyone you may end up with no one. The plurality mindset is a myth..those who your product/service resonates with are all you need to succeed. ~ Cmoni I love Seth Godin because of his consistency which is built on repetition. In the Akimbo podcast, he repeatedly exhorts us to aim for the SMALLEST VIABLE SIZE and watch the multiplier effect from those we impact. Just do your best to create value and share it generously. If you rinse and repeat this process it is a guarantee that the ratchet as he calls will take over. He exemplified it thus; “Starbucks doesn’t serve coffee to the majority of the people in the United States. The New York City Crochet Guild appeals to just a small percentage of the people who encounter it. That’s okay. You don’t need a plurality or even a majority. In fact, in nearly every case, trying to lead everyone results in leading no one in particular.” For instance, you are reading this because my caption attracted you or you’ve read my previous essays. Either way, you want to get something at the end. If a line, paragraph or entire message resonates with you the likelihood of reading my next post will be high. Otherwise, you will scroll away next time. This is equally so in business. Products and services that offer value are purchased and repurchased over and over again. There will come a time when your customers/audience will start recommending you to others. They invariably become your advertisers for FREE! When I started the cmonionline writing contest, I only wanted to revive a waning literary culture. And since I planned to fund it as a way of giving back to the society that groomed me, I didn’t want to spend on publicity because I had no plans to profit from it. The initiative received tremendous support from friends and soon enough ideas and suggestions flooded in. Many recommended increased online publicity. A friend advised me to up the ante and take it to the broadcast media. Others asked me to seek corporate and government funding. Conflicting thoughts on strategy threatened to overwhelm me and I began to imagine that we could be the African version of Reedsy. Following tips on social media marketing I increased ad spending to grow page my social media pages, attract more writers and reach a bigger audience. Of course both the writers and audience grew in numbers. By the time we had published close to 1000 stories from over 50 writers the symptoms of inorganic growth became manifest. The engagement level didn’t reflect the followership numbers and some writers just wanted to write for the prize even though I repeatedly made it clear that the aim was not to win but to improve our chosen craft. I started having doubts about the viability of the project. I was certain about my mission initially even if the vision wasn’t vivid, but now there seems to be an increasing lack of clarity on both. In every endeavour, you will likely encounter frustrations but try not to let it dim your determination. I stopped the social media ads. It was time to take stock. Fortunately, the period of rumination was during my Post Graduate Diploma in Digital Arts & Humanities with modules like teaching & learning online, digital techniques and communities of practice. While the interdisciplinarity of the course exposed me to digital tools and methods that can be applied to solve various real-life problems, its hybrid nature prioritised learning through discussion forums like Canvas, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet etc. It didn’t take long for me to apply the knowledge gained. We moved from judges to peer review and that automatically streamlined the group because the selection of winners involved the writers themselves. If you are passionate about writing and improving you are going to partake in these activities. So while some writers moved on to other things those who mainly wrote for the money also left. The ones who wanted to progress remained and that was all the niche I needed. THE SMALLEST VIABLE SIZE. Since then we have moved from weekly writing contests to periodic competitions. In addition, we hold regular Talkshops on related topics and sponsor training in digital skill acquisition. Recently, a member of our community published a book and we are currently writing a book in a year. We can now publicise the project with confidence and hunt for public/private sector funding because it is easier for others to support you when you have gained some mileage. And we have the results to show for our efforts. As you can see, the path is usually not so clear at the start. I mean you can’t possibly have a picture of the route your journey will take but embark on it nevertheless. Learn and unlearn along the way, repeat worthwhile processes, iterate and use the feedback to progress. So long as you have an idea, a basic take-off plan and the resolve to keep pushing you will eventually succeed. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that publicity or paid ads are wrong. Of course, they are great ways of attracting leads and growing your audience. What I’m saying is that if you believe in the value you are creating then you don’t need plurality or publicity, especially at the start when your resources are limited. In business, once you decide who you aren’t going to serve, you are free of tyranny. So also in creating, if you try to appeal to everyone you may end up with no one. The plurality mindset is a myth. Those who your product/service resonates with are all you need to succeed. Whatever you are trying to create doesn’t need those numbers you dream of to be successful. People will come and leave. The key is

Blog, Bookshop

The Christian Business Mind by Oluwaseun Jemima

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Our own dear Oluwaseun recently published a book and we are proud to recommend it to you. Book Title: The Christian Business Mind Book Link: selar.co/TheChristianBusinessMind Synopsis: The price for excellence in life is a value that many Christians lack in their businesses and careers. Running a business or career the godly way is possible. In The Christian Business Mind, biblical principles as regards business and career are highlighted with several relatable examples. The author, a business and career woman, teaches steps to balance life and please God. With several references, she also acknowledges the resources that helped her this far as a Christian who runs a business during weekends and her career during the week.

Essays, Writers

Our Rat Race With A Business Mad Man by Osanyinro Oluwaseun. 

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  I knew it would be stupid of me not to join the crowd at that moment. The adage “don’t follow the crowd” was not applicable in this situation. I mean, whatever could cause people to be running while I walked in the opposite direction had to be that dangerous. With a quick turn, I took to my heels while wondering what was the cause of the chaos. My inquisitive side got hold of me as I asked my partner in the race if he knew what we were running from. I was not disappointed; he also did not know. He joined the crowd like me. I asked another beside me and got the same answer. I looked up and asked God for mercy as we were all running a rat race and none knew why.  Some seconds after, we stopped and turned back to watch. Others had stopped too and I felt it was high time I knew what made me do an unnecessary exercise in a hot afternoon. I pushed my way between the still panting runners straight to meet anyone who had an idea of what was pursuing us. However, my sudden boldness was short-lived as we all heard the words “excuse me” and everyone started running again. Before I joined the host of many others, I caught a glimpse of a man totally in tattered clothes, holding a stick and coming at us. Well, I got my answer. We were being chased by a mad man ready to instill injuries on us. I ran with all my might but it seemed the mad man was a better runner. He was getting closer. It had been long a mad man had displayed such height of madness in our community and I began to wonder whether my mother’s dream was coming to reality.  My mother had called me earlier that week that I should be careful in my going out and coming in. With various verses of the scriptures, she prayed till her airtime got exhausted. I didn’t bother calling her back because I didn’t want to be disturbed by her scary dream. Now it seemed it was finally coming to reality. Coming back to the present, I realized the mad man had stopped to rest and people had stopped too. I was getting angry. I had places to go but this was a one-way street and the only way was the mad man’s way. People had started going back home to come out whenever the man had passed. Others were entering people’s shop for cover while children saw this as a time to test the strength of their limbs as they moved close to him and then ran away again. I could not go back home and so I looked around for a shop that I could quickly seek refuge.   Sadly, the mad man did not let me make my decision as he started walking right to me. People began running again but I stood transfixed. I think I was paralyzed with fear already as he came closer. Mothers were shouting and praying and men began looking for whatever they could use to tie him down. I just stood recalling my mother’s prayers and asking for her forgiveness. I must have almost wet my trousers when I heard his clear voice. I think he must have said “excuse me Sir” thrice before I realized it was coming from the mad man. My fear turned to laughter immediately. I was sure onlookers would have thought he had transferred the madness to me as he came close. Once he saw he had my attention, he sighed out of relief. He pleaded with me not to run that he was not chasing me. Explaining further, he said he did not have an extra iota of strength to chase and could barely walk hence the use of the stick. My question of who exactly he was made him sigh again. At this time, people began coming closer. Maybe to watch two madmen interact, who knows. Seeing my back up around, I demanded in all authority to know who he was and why he was chasing the community. He explained that he was a business man kidnapped a month ago who escaped his captors and had been wandering around the bush hence his appearance. He was simply trying to get someone to explain his predicament but his look made people think he a mad man and his hurried steps towards them made them think he was pursuing them. He simply made the whole community exercise their limbs today. Thankfully, we were able to provide better clothes and lead him to the police station.   One leaving, one of the men said he now believed one should not judge a book by its cover. The madman was not a madman after all. Well, I disagree. Everyone has a way of dressing for easy recognition before their first speech. A banker, a doctor, a carpenter, a prostitute and even a madman. The madman’s appearance denied him any opportunity to speak. He was already addressed as a mad man though he was a business man.       Osanyinro Oluwaseun, a graduate of Microbiology and currently a master student of Public Health at the University of Ibadan runs a blog on WordPress deejemima.wordpress.com

Blog, Lifestyle

Newross & Co..the journey so far and a little encouragement.

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I had read in one novel while growing up that a person is often distinguished by accessories. I was fascinated by this statement and while pondering it over I realized that these items are really the ones that we own the fewest. Ever since then I fell in love with accessories specifically wristwatches, sunglasses, and belts. I strived to own a few ostentatious ones that will stand out in any gathering. They are assets too because unlike clothing which depreciates in value, good accessories can retain their value or even appreciate in some cases. I learned this from a friend who is a watch freak. I once sold my £600 TAG Heuer for £800 after owning it for 5 years. I still bought the same watch for €480 on eBay in 2006. It is lying beside a £10k Cartier Balon Bleu and a £2k vintage Gucci Reptile Band Watch. They are articles of ostentation I know but they hold a value that may come in handy during times of drought. So it wasn’t accidental that I began with wristwatches when I decided to start a small business that will cover the cost of my frequent travels to Nigeria while living in the UK back in 2011. Or so I thought then. I registered Newross & Co with the Companies House UK and was able to secure a small overdraft of £2000 from Santander Bank. I started with about 30 watches and a few used phones. Initially, I was marketing on Blackberry and later on WhatsApp to friends mainly. I later extended it offline with 3 friends/marketers in Lagos, Enugu, and Port Harcourt. By 2012 I resolved to bring in a batch every quarter and by 2013/2014 the quantity had grown to over 100 items/quarter as I had included gadgets like Bluetooth speakers and other lifestyle accessories. In the Q4 of 2014, it peaked at 150 items, and then came the recession in 2015. That year I only imported 2 batches. By 2016/2017 I didn’t import a single item as there was little demand for non-consumables, people had to eat first and forex was practically out of reach. I was undaunted though. My long experience in the petroleum business had taught me that tough times are always temporary. Petroleum business for me was a necessity but this was by choice so I had to keep the faith and believe. So I wasn’t surprised when I started getting some requests from friends in 2018. They wanted to know if I still imported wristwatches. With forex now accessible all I needed was to recapitalize and adjust my mark-up to revive the business (I vividly remember that my shipper Amaechi Ani gave advice about mark-up/adjustments during a debate on my wall at the onset of the recession) I did these things and decided that I wasn’t going to do the business again without an offline shop. Our people love an address! The typical Amawbia man will dismiss you with ‘Nwokem inwero address’. That is to say that you can’t be taken seriously since you have no physical business address. So I rented a small shop in Enugu. It opened to the public in January and we are pushing forward with patronage and encouragement from friends and family to whom we will eternally remain grateful…. ___________________________________________________________________ Now for a little encouragement. In 2016 the forex crisis was at its worst. I recollect that sometime in that year I was in transit at Amsterdam Schipol, after some duty-free shopping I attempted to pay with my GTB card and it was declined for a bill of less than €80 because adding that to my previous spending had exceeded my monthly allowance of $100 A few days ago precisely on 11th March 2019, I transited through the same airport and paid for a shopping bill of over €320 with the same card seamlessly. Of course, I was aware that the monthly limit had long been increased to $1,000 since 2017 The same authorities that announced the recession also announced that the economy has bounced back to recovery yet the same people who danced at the former news quarrel with the latter. Well, it still doesn’t change the fact that the Nigerian economy is recovering. Let me advise you. There is little chance that you will see the positives in a given situation if you keep groaning and complaining. Smart Nigerians are those who see the opportunities in adversity. For instance, if your area suffers from incessant power cuts rather than complaining all the time why not try selling ice blocks even as you complain? You are not likely to sell ice blocks for more than a year or two before another idea of expansion pops up. Cold room, rentals or events management. And in a few more years you can sit back and reflect on what could have been. It only takes a step, a decision, a day, or a minute to start. But most importantly you have to start!

Blog, Essays

Africa’s business schools need to be locally relevant and globally wise

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If 99.6% of businesses in a country like Nigeria employ fewer than 10 workers, does it make sense to teach Nigerian business students how to manage Fortune 500 companies in the US using Harvard Business School case studies? This question, raised by the African Management Initiative in a recent report, sums up the complex nature of the challenge facing African business schools when picking a path between global recognition and local relevance. There is no doubt that business schools need to demonstrate international relevance, whether through the programmes they offer, or the content they teach. This allows them to attract international students and faculty. And, perhaps more importantly, it offers students a chance to experience international contexts. International mobility in today’s global business world is a key requirement. At the same time, schools need to cater to the day-to-day realities in their own context. African business schools operate in environments characterised by high degrees of inequality and uncertainty, a lack of skills and high rates of unemployment. Ideally, they need to do both these things if they want to deliver the best possible training for the continent’s requirements. An assessment of quality One important way that business schools seek to demonstrate international relevance is through rankings and accreditations. These offer an important marketing and reputational window to the world. And they are widely used by global schools as stamps of quality. They are also one of the major tools employed by students in choosing where to study. But only a handful of schools in Africa are recognised and ranked globally. The University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, University of Stellenbosch Business School and the American University in Cairo are the only African business schools out of 86 globally that are triple-crown accredited. This means they have recognition from the top three global accreditation bodies, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the Association of MBAs, and the European Foundation for Management Development’s Quality Improvement System. When it comes to rankings, only the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, University of Stellenbosch Business School and the Gordon Institute of Business Science University of Pretoria are recognised in the various Financial Times rankings for their offerings. Useful benchmark or distraction from purpose? The process of business school accreditation is rigorous and time consuming. Schools must articulate their vision and mission and relevance and impact. Schools have to submit a lot of information and an accreditation panel will spend time at a school to inspect and ensure that it is delivering what it claims to be delivering. This process can be useful because it helps schools identify and improve on weaknesses identified. Accreditation bodies offer a rounded assessment of schools. The three main global assessment bodies assess performance in a holistic way. Their assessment goes beyond just individual increases in salary. They take into account graduates’ contribution to society, value creation and entrepreneurship. There is a new kid on the block worth watching: the Association of African Business Schools which hopes to delve deeper into what African business schools are doing to develop the continent. Undergoing accreditation can therefore be a highly developmental process. It can be useful as a consultancy exercise as much as – if not more than – an audit of quality standards. But the reality is that many African business schools operate with minimal resources making it challenging for them to achieve accreditation. Rankings, by comparison, are easier to participate in but have received a lot of criticism including charges that they come with flawed methodologies, misleading information and a lack of transparency. They are also accused of detracting from the social obligations of schools. That’s because they tend to place little emphasis on students’ learning or societal benefits and focus almost exclusively on the short-term economic returns of their education for graduates. The rankings however, are a criterion used by potential international students when choosing which schools to apply to. They cannot be discounted. Together, accreditation’s and rankings offer African business schools a valuable way to benchmark themselves against their global peers. As Professor Jonathan Jansen, former vice-chancellor at the University of the Free State, wrote in a recent article, they can reveal areas in which a university can grow and improve on its scholarly work: You never really know how good you are until you are ranked against the best. Rankings and accreditation may be onerous and expensive, but if used wisely they can strengthen global credentials. At the same time they can also help business schools to hone their offerings to develop the right calibre of leadership and management to drive the development that is needed on the continent.   This article was originally published in The Conversation by Kutlwano Ramaboa, Senior Lecturer in Research Methodology, Director of International Relations, University of Cape Town

Blog, Resources

SMEs to benefit more via movable collateral and GEEP credits.

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The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Jumoke Oduwole in Lagos, Nigerian said that small business owners in can now heave a huge sigh of relief as the Federal Government has approved the use of movable assets as collateral for credit facilities from Commercial institutions in Nigeria. The SSA revealed the plans of the Buhari administration to stimulate access to credit facilities by micro, small & medium enterprise ( MSMES) with the promulgation of the National Collateral Registry Bill which was proposed by the National Assembly and passed into law by the Government of the Federation. This is also coming at a time when the Vice President just launched the Nationwide Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Clinic and the Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme (GEEP) in Osun State. The MSME Clinic, a scheme under the Office of the Vice President, is targeted at helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to increase its critical role in boosting the economy. While GEEP also known as MarketMoni provides soft credits of between N25,000 to N250,000 to beneficiaries in order to aid their businesses and provide positive engagements for many Nigerians who are faced with unemployment challenges. I recollect that the SME business clinic which was first launched in Aba has now been launched in 10 states. In Kwara state an estimated 50 thousand people have been advanced loans and grants, patriotic and well meaning Nigerians who want to earn a decent living are benefiting from the initiative but a lot needs to be done especially in informing the uninformed. On Monday I will direct my hardworking cousin to a co-operative society where she can register to qualify for this credit scheme. So please tell those who don’t know to register too before they sell off their properties and zoom off to Libya. #StartSmallAndGrowBig Below are some useful links that will inform you better. https://npowerdg.blogspot.com.ng/2017/09/how-to-apply-for-fg-market-moni-geep.html marketmoni.com.ng

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