Business

12 Things to help you Grow Your Business in 2023

These 12 things, If followed holistically, would put you on a scale of growth and upspring in your business.

Here is a list of 12 things for your business this year.

1. Be Consistent

I realized that when you are consistent at what you do, you get better and people get to know you more— your brand.

2. Cheer Yourself

There are ups and downs in business too but you cannot keep staying on your problems. You have to stand up and move on when things don’t go the way you planned.

3. Choose Collaboration Over Competition

The reason for the success of a lot of businesses has been because they have chosen to collaborate more than they have competed. It’s great to have a healthy competition— it drives sales. Collaboration on the other hands does two things— drives sales and also gets your publicity on two different networks— your own and the other company.

4. Take up new skills for your business: it’s not enough to run a business, you should also take up new skills that your business would need like video marketing, content development, graphics designs, etc.

5. Hire more staff if you can: As the CEO, you cannot do everything yourself. You have to delegate sometimes so you don’t run down or so your consistent and you don’t affect your business.

6. Start working on taking your business bigger: You honestly should start planning how you want your business to be in the next years to come and start working towards it. In dreaming big, don’t leave dreaming big about your business out.

7. When you get an idea, do it: of course after praying about it and you’re sure you want to do it, please do it. You never can tell how well it’d grow. Also, start as small as you can or as big as you can. You don’t need to start with a billion dollars funds.

8. Don’t just market, make sales: there’s a clear difference between sales and marketing. While the former takes in money immediately, the latter just lets people know about your business and gives them the information they need.

9. Shake off fear: I know your dreams might be big sometimes or maybe many times but you have to go for them and shake our disbelief in yourself. It’s not from God. It’s a state of mind that restricts your productivity.

10. Maximize your network: Don’t just keep up contacts to call and chat for nothing. They should be able to help you publicize, talk to people about your business and positively help you build your brand by also patronizing.

11. Work harder: Work longer hours for your business and do the things that’d help your business grow bigger. As earlier said, get more skills, higher more staff, through out more sales driving campaigns.

12. Read more business books: No man is an island of knowledge. There are books that’d help you expand your horizon, teach you more and prepare you in that skill you have or you’re trying to improve in.

What You Should Know About Black Friday

Black Friday is a famous sales weekend that evolved from the Thanksgiving day just after summer. Usually, a significant number of individuals get to purchase items placed on the best deals and at extremely affordable prices. Many retailers and businesses overtime, like the popular Amazon, Konga, Jumia and other e-commerce websites put a cut to their prices over a range of products to allow users to purchase them.

The term "Black Friday" was first associated with financial crisis and not sales shopping. By history, two Wall Street financiers Jim Fisk and Jay Gould, together bought a significant amount of US gold in the hope of the overall price soaring and in turn being able to sell it for huge profits. On Friday, September 24, 1869, in what became referred to as "Black Friday", the US gold market crashed and their actions left Wall Street barons bankrupt. It was not until later years that the post -Thanksgiving period became associated with the name.

Also, when shops in the US recorded their accounting details by hand, they noted profits in black and losses in red. It is believed that many shops had their accounts read "red" throughout most of the year but they later "went into black" the day after Thanksgiving, when people bought a large amount of discounted goods and products. In more recent years, an inaccurate rumour circulated, suggesting that Southern plantation owners could buy slaves at a discounted price following Thanksgiving in the 1800s.

Police officers in Philadelphia were first to link Black Friday to the post-Thanksgiving period in the 1950s. Many tourists and buyers came to the city after Thanksgiving for the Army-Navy football game, thus creating chaos, traffic jams and shoplifting opportunities. The Police officers in the city were not able to take the day off work and had to work long shifts to control the traffic of people. As such, they used the term "Black Friday" to refer to it. The name soon spread throughout Philadelphia but some city's merchants and boosters disliked the negative connotations and unsuccessfully tried to change it to "Big Friday".

Black Friday later became known in print, after an advertisement was published in The American Philatelist magazine in 1966. By the late 1980s, the term was commonly known across the nation and retailers soon linked it to their post-Thanksgiving sales.

Black Friday today is recognised world over as the biggest shopping event of the year, when many shops cut their prices on a range of products, in order to boost profits and officially kick off the festive season. Retailers often continue sales throughout the weekend, concluding with online-only offers on Cyber Monday.

By Adobe Analysis, 80 of the top 100 US online retailers, found online spending on Black Friday 2018 at $6.2 billion, with two billion generated from smartphones. Also, in the records of the year 2013, Asda, owned by American retailer Walmart, held its own Black Friday sale which resulted in chaos as customers physically fought for televisions and other gadgets. Following this, Black Friday grew significantly with more retailers choosing to hold sale events.

Black Friday is an important period for many retailers worldwide it is hoprd that offering discounts will boost profits. However, the increase in consumer demand and competition between retailers has led to an overwhelming amount of visitors to online retail sites and chaos in shops. To improve sales and online deliveries, deal with competition and satisfy customers' needs, retailers now choose to run their sales across an extended period, rather than the traditional 24 hours. Many promotions and offers have started in the days building up to Black Friday, a move which has been dubbed "Black Fiveday". Some online retailers nowbstart their sales as early as the first day of November, continuing across the Black Friday weekend, and concluding on Cyber Monday, the first Monday after Thanksgiving which usually falls in December.

Bill Gates was Insane to Sacrifice Schooling for his Dreams - Kingsley Ndimele

NNI: Can you tell us about you?

Guest: Kingsley Ndimele is a young Nigerian. I hail from Abia State, though born and bred in the ancient city of Ibadan. I'm a graduate of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Obafemi Awolowo University. I'm also a writer, event planner and a business consultant.

NNI: You recently released a book, titled "Rituals". What prompted you to writing?

Guest: Yes! RITUALS is my first book. And I'm happy it's really making wave across Africa. I perceived the crave for success and a better life nowadays like never before. However, I decided to study the daily habits of highly successful people and I saw this small but profoundly striking resemblance. There are strong similarities in their daily lives. There are things they must do everyday which I call RITUALS. Thanks to Elijah Ajibade who innocently challenged me to write a book.

NNI: Asides writing and your duties at Novel Nigeria, what else are you into?

Guest: I'm a member of an NGO known as Impact Africa Foundation founded by Taiwo Oyedele (Tax Partner, PwC). We travel yearly to selected secondary schools across Africa to support education and give scholarships to indigent students.

I'm also the President of Nigerian Association of Agricultural Economics Students, OAU. Lastly, I'm a member of several committees across Nigeria .

NNI: What is Novel Nigeria about?

Guest: NOVEL Nigeria is a subsidiary of NOVEL 1095 BIZFIELD (a registered business name with the Corporate Affairs Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria). NOVEL Nigeria is an organized, purpose-driven conglomerate. NOVEL Nigeria is a fast growing international brand. At NOVEL Nigeria, our commercial service system is all encompassing and characterized by highly efficient concepts. NOVEL Nigeria is an expert in diversity, coupled with a committed pursuit of excellence which makes us who we are. For now, we do everything that has to do with events. We hope to expand our commercial horizon very soon.

NNI: What prompted the establishment of Novel Nigeria?

Guest: I started NOVEL Nigeria in my second year in the university. I felt a need to build an institution and brand that will outlive me. Impacting and building lives across borders means a lot to me. It's all I'm committed to do till death takes me away. The generation of Dangote, Otedola and Alakija is gradually exiting the entrepreneurial planet. Who will replace them? These are the drives that triggered me to start NOVEL Nigeria. By God's grace in less than two years, NOVEL Nigeria became a registered company with the Federal Government of Nigeria. Today, we worth over #2million. We've reached over 20 countries so far. We are making progress. We just started.

NNI: You said that you owe your success to your mother. How is this? Do you have other mentors and role models?

Kingsley Ndimele: My mother was less than 30 years when I lost my father. Since my age 4, she's been there for us. She never remarried, though she had the opportunity. Through thick and thin. Catering for 3 kids is not easy coupled with the battles she faced from my paternal side. She struggled to give us the best. That's why it's very difficult to believe that I have no father. Even some with both parents alive cannot stand us in anything. We went to the best schools. Before Dad's demise, she was just a school cert. holder with no O'level results. Today, she's an NCE holder and a graduate of University of Ibadan. As a widow, she did this alongside catering for our education. She's full of optimism. She's been a teacher all her life. She's won several life battles. She's hardworking and very prayerful. She'll never force you out of your will. No matter what you do today, she believes you can do better. I have other role models, but my mum na my biggest motivation.

NELOC: How have you managed all of these activities at Novel Nigeria with your studentship?

Kingsley Ndimele: Hmnn. At a point in his life, every man will decide what he actually wants for his life. I think I've gotten to that point. Bill Gates and Zuckerberg were insane and passionate enough to sacrifice schooling for the sake of their dreams. I'm not gonna drop out. But I'm gonna make the required sacrifice to become a champion. Being in school is a priority, but I don't hesitate to make sacrifices when necessary. Some of my classmates and lecturers know this.

NELOC: Do you intend to work in your field of study upon graduation?

Kingsley Ndimele: If the opportunity comes. Why not? However, I'm a very restless person. I'm not used to sitting down doing one thing in a particular place for a long time.

NELOC: By our background information, you're interested in politics. What's your political stand at the moment, especially for the 2019 elections?

Kingsley Ndimele: 2019 just like several election is not going to be any different. The ancestral politicians are coming back in a recycled personality. The young ones are only social media noisemakers. Imagine 72 presidential aspirants. Two old politicians and seventy young aspirants. If not for personal greed, what stops this seventy from merging to one. So it will be two old politicians versus one young candidate. As far as I'm concerned, Nigeria is going to move round the circle again for another four years.

NELOC: By current trends, is rulership for the youths in 2019, a workable project?

Guest: In 2019, rulership for the youth is not feasible at all. This generation of youth seems to be worse than our ancestral politicians. Some of the aspirants are more clueless and empty. They lack facts and figures. They are zealous without knowledge. I've always said, Not Too Young To Rule is not for mediocres.

NELOC: You also organised the first online business summit for Africa- the YES festival. What's the story behind it?

Kingsley Ndimele: One of our mission at NOVEL Nigeria is to build aspiring entrepreneurs and brand owners. We had to make use of what we had. Initially, it was a biweekly online interactive session on whatsapp. Before we moved it to a bigger platform. Luckily, it was the first in Africa.

NELOC: Tell us about your personal life and relationship

Kingsley Ndimele: I'm a very daring person and very playful. In fact, when you see me play, you'll doubt if I ever work and when you see me work, you'll doubt if I ever play.

Relationship...hmnn it's not time for public display. I'm still working towards it. By God's grace, I hope to get married by 2022.

NELOC: What do you think are your achievements so far?

Kingsley Ndimele: I've only achieved one-tenth of my dreams. NOVEL Nigeria, YES! Festival and RITUALS are my testimonies. The lives I've affected positively are my greatest achievements.

NELOC: How have you dealt with challenges overtime for your company?

Kingsley Ndimele: As an entrepreneur, you have to get use to challenges. In difficult times, i'm often calm. Business growth takes time that's why I don't rush the process. I think through rather than worrying. I discuss with like minded people also.

NELOC: How have you managed Novel Nigeria and your other activities?

Kingsley Ndimele: I'm a very crazy person - Very strict with time. I give my attention to things that matters alone to my direction. Every other thing is considered a distraction.

NNI : What do you think about Nigerian Startups and funding?

Guest: Funding for start-ups in Nigeria has been an issue for a long time. However, I believe money is not the capital you need to fund a business, ideas are the greatest funds. You need ideas to fund your business and you need discipline to keep it flowing.

NELOC: What do you, personally, spend most of your time on?

Kingsley Ndimele: I spend most of my time reading and attending to various needs of people.

NELOC: 2019 is right before you. What are your hopes for the new year?

Kingsley Ndimele: It's going to be a busier year. I'll be going more into photography and Graphics design. I also hope to learn an international language. In all it's going to be a great year. I hope to write more, be more focused and serve more.

NELOC: What advice do you give to individuals who have a passion for entrepreneurship as yours but lack the ideas and ways to go about it?

Kingsley Ndimele: Be definite for what you want for your life and pursue it with insane passion and resilience. The sky will be their starting point.

NNI: Thank you for having us.

If You Can't Build an Online Business, Build Your Business Online - Clement Oyinlola - Head of Operations, Terabyte

If you do not believe the popular saying that running a business without doing advertisement is like winking at a girl in the dark (you know what you are doing but the lady does not), Clement Oyinlola in this interview will convince you. Read his interview with NNI below.

NNI: Can we meet you sir?

Guest: My name is Clement Oyinlola, born on the 18th of February, 1995. I'm a graduate of OAU from the department of Economics after spending my first three years in Electronics and Electrical Engineering, lol. I'm an entrepreneur and a business owner, currently working as the Head of Operations of The Tera Brand (Africa's number one and fastest growing advertisment, marketing and consulting firm). I'm a firm believer and currently serving as the Point Man Delegate of David City Tabernacle (DCT Church), Ile-Ife.

NNI: How has the digital entrepreneurship journey been for you so far?

Guest: Well, it has been a bumpy ride, full of lessons and lots of down-moments. I started business fully in 2015 and failed in my first 2-3 years. I started another business late 2017 and failed just about 12 months after. Then in July 2019, I started the business that's thriving today, The Tera Brand. Of course, I'm prepared for more failures, but I am certain I won't quit until I hit my goals, no matter how long it might take.

NNI: To you, what is the relevance of digital marketing and how can individuals leverage them for growth?

Guest: The world has evolved. Everything can now be done on the internet. My usual saying is if you can't build an online business, build your business online. Either ways, make sure you are leveraging the digital space. Business has never been this easier with the tons of available courses and training videos available online, much more, you can automate your entire business process down to payment and sales tracking. Not to now talk of the deep blue sea called digital marketing where you can access limitless amount of potential customers. The relevance cannot just be overemphasized. Individuals who really wanna gain presence and visibility have no choice but to use the digital space. WhatsApp is part of digital marketing, so if you're posting on WhatsApp status, you're part of the game.

NNI: What digital media lessons have you learnt from establishing a PR Firm like Terabyte?

Guest: When you are true to your values, people will respect you and seek you out. There are lot of copycats and fake people everywhere. Everyone is going about the fake it till you make it. I'm against this phrase, why fake what you don't have? Don't give the impression of who you are not. Be true to your word. I've learnt this practically from clients who request for metrics especially from WhatsApp views. And I always tell myself that if I promise 100k views and I deliver 70k views, I'm not true to my word. I recently underestimated our current reach with The Terabytes to 70k views across 15 campuses but in the real sense, we have about 100k reach. I won't tell customers 100k reach because of whipsaws. So, I'd rather underpromise and overdeliver. When I do this, customers are wowed and they become repeat loyal customers. I'm not out there to impress anyone. I'm out there to deliver value!!!

Clement Oyinlola

NNI: How does startup branding affect the future of digital revolution?

Guest: Your branding is the personality of your business. And your personality is what makes you different from the next person living next door. You are permitted to overlook branding when you're just starting, but you're not permitted to keep overlooking your branding. Apple is where they are because of their branding. They have given themselves that class and others are trying to be like them. Same with Ford, Mercedes, BMW, Coca-Cola, Nike, Disney and many others including Tera (winks). We guys (you know, I'm now sitting in the class of Apple), we guys are revolutionaries. We don't follow the conventional branding strategies, we are enforcing a new strategy that you already know subconsciously. It's called emotional branding. Lemme stop there!

NNI: What do you think of data rates? How do they affect your businesses online?

Guest: There's nothing we can do about that. Just factor it in as part of your operational cost. It's like when you're trying to have an office and you're saying you don't need a generator, remember, this is Nigeria!

NNI: What is your experience so far in the Forex Industry?

Guest: Hmm... I started my Forex journey in early 2017 and it has been full of ups and downs. But in the last one year, it has been consistent ups as a result of the many lessons I've not just learnt but adopted. I'm a learner, in every single thing you can think about. I just wanna keep learning and much more teach as well. I started my personal brand (ClementOyinlola.com) and it's my way to teach individuals on the different ways of earning from the Forex Market and also on marketing, branding and sales. It's still at the starting phase, it's all still rough, but in a matter of 30-60 days, you'll start seeing it everywhere. So, for all Forex traders or aspiring Forex traders, relax, there's legit money in the Forex market, the question is, *are you ready and patient enough* to master how to pick the coins from the mouth of the crocodile?

NNI: Many have results to prove that digital skills do not yield actual conversions. Is there anything they are doing wrong leading to these results?

Guest: Permit me to smile here...lol... Everyone is looking for the magic beans for instant result. Truth is you can manipulate the results you get from the digital space. Remember anything digital can be hacked. Also, some people don't have the concrete understanding of how digital conversion works. For example, you ran an ad on Facebook and Facebook metrics showed you that your ad reached 5,647 people. Those 5000+ people that saw your ad are Facebook's leads. If out of them, only 60 messaged you or clicked your link, those 60 people are Facebook's conversion. At that level, Facebook has done her job and has converted 60 people to you. Now, those 60 people are now your own lead which is your sole responsibility to convert them. If you are able to convert 10, good and if you are able to convert none, it's all on you. Facebook already done her job. So, when you're working as a digital marketer, you need to understand how different leads and conversions actually work. I was forced to come up with a disclaimer for our clients last month that we are an advertisement company, we do not promise that you will make sale, we only promise that we'll show your ad to as many people as possible who are your potential customers. Those who reach out to you (which I'm certain people will), it is your responsibility to convert them to sales.

NNI: Is advertising always a worthy investment?

Guest: There's this popular saying that running a business without doing advertisement is like winking at a girl in the dark, you know what you are doing but the lady does not. So also is advertisement. As long as you're not doing your business just for yourself, you need to reach out to people outside your circle. I'm not the social in quote kind of person, but I realised that I can't be running a social media business and not be social, so I learnt it. I currently have over 800 students in our organization across 15 campuses in Nigeria and 4 African countries (which will be launching soon). That's not even the goal, that's just our introduction into the market...lol... So, back to the question, advertisement, if done well and right, is a worthy investment. And about doing it well and right, we have the best and smartest brains on our team for that. We don't just want you to run your ad because we want your money, we want your advert to be effective and get you leads.

NNI: What is your view on Global Youth Development and growth as regards the digital world?

Guest: Like I already mentioned, the Digital world has made all those easier. You can attend a summit via teleconferencing and so, there's a positive correlation between global youth development and digital world. Just yesterday, I dropped an idea with my team that we would be working on soon across the entire African continent, it's called THE AFRICAN FACE, we are yet to have the full structure but it's sure going to be a creative strategy for all African youths to connect with each other using the most basic platform.

NNI: What's your believe as regards interconnected growth? Is it absolutely possible for a brand to develop in isolation and without partnerships?

Guest: For the past 11 months, our partners have been our customers and potential clients. We are currently at the stage where we are raising funds for growth through external investors. Our company registration is currently ongoing and so once it's done, we'll be partnering with external investors for our brand growth and development. Apart from business, there's no self-made person, success is not really a lone wolf journey as we have been made to believe. You only need to find the right set of people to be your best set of people. I am partnering with over 800 Nigerian students to deliver value through Tera and I'm also on the lookout for investors to partner with for our growth and development. There's need to connect and partner for growth. You just need to find the right set of people to connect and partner with. Even at that, you'll still meet some Judas (permit me to use that name). I know of people who started with us in some schools and felt like they could also do same. They left the team and started their own brand. It's quite painful but it's expected. The sky is wide enough for anyone and everyone to soar. I'm a keen believer in loyalty and trust and it gives me joy that my managers are loyal and trustworthy. In short, I have the best team and partners.

NNI: Demand is making price for digital skill courses increase. This is fast becoming a problem and turning back potential students. From experience, how can this be solved?

Guest: We stick to the basics. Simple. I was discussing with a friend, you might know her, she's Toluwakemi, the WhatsApp Queen. She was talking about how a particular investment program fee is high and I was like, very soon, yours will be high too, that it's only a matter of time. Same discussion ensued with the co-founder of Tera, and he was also telling me that very soon, we'll become expensive. Inasmuch as I love expensive cause it gives you a class of your own, we should not forget that there's something they call volume and depth. When you're expensive alone, you have depth, that's Apple. But Microsoft leveraged both volume and depth. They are expensive, yet affordable for the masses. You can combine both volume and depth. Segment your packages but make sure each package is valuable enough and allow you to afford the next package. Lemme explain... Assuming I have a community and monthly subscription is $29, I can also have a package for $9 for those who can't afford the $29 such that if you by my $9 package, I'll be able to equip you enough so that you can afford my $29 package. That's value. Not just about me making money, but about making your life better. So, there's a way trainers or tutors can adopt this strategy and it will also build trust in your students and you can easily keep them forever. I mentioned something like this briefly in the last part of my eBook, The Forex Scam (which you can pre-order for $19 against the regular price of $49). So, the more the demand, the more valuable the product is, and the more you can leverage on volume while also building depth.

NNI: What is your advice to fellow young individuals?

Guest: My fellow young individuals, let's prove to the world that we are not lazy. Let's prove to the world that not all Nigerian youths are scammers or fraudsters. Let's prove to the world that we can achieve our dreams legit. That we can put our hands to work and get the results we are proud of. That we are not ready to fail and that we are ready to keep pushing and digging till we find the diamond. That we are ready to wait and endure the growth process and be proud of the person we are becoming. That we are ready to fight our Goliath, walk on water and rise again from the dead.

NNI: What new heights do you hope to scale in the near future?

Guest: I will be launching the V100 project soon. It stands for The Vision 100. The goal is to establish my presence and brand presence (The Tera Brand) in 54 African Countries, 100 Campuses each with nothing less than 200 Active Ambassadors in each campus. The project should last for the next 5 years, so watch out for 2025! There are many other heights I hope to scale, like be featured in Forbes 30 under 30 (well, who doesn't). This has been a goal for me many years back even before I knew what kind of business to do. Also, this may sound funny, but I wish to be appointed as the CBN governor before I clock 40 and before I'm 50, I wish to be on the board of directors for the World Bank.

NNI: Thank you very much for your time sir.

Guest: Thank you for taking your time to follow me! I'm open to new and valuable friends.

How to Engage Risk Management and Scale Business Growth

This Post COVID-19 season has brought with it, really difficult growth businesses all over the world. While some are out of goods, some have not been able to operate wherever they are. This has taught business owners and the world at large a lot of things including Risk Management.

Risk Management is an important element in business that helps the business thrive and secure them during any unforeseen circumstances that might threaten to hold the business down. There are several ways by which your business can be taken care of in this season

1. Create a system around your Business

At this point, brands should secure viable ways by which customers would still get products and services safely without starving them of what they've always had from you. Operate a delivery system where people can order and still get what they need and also plan well, how you want to get the product to them in this time.

2. Be there for your customers

At this time, a lot of businesses will collapse and close down because they would lose customers due to negligence. Your brand should not always ask all the time for patronage, they should also get to know how customers are doing and what they can do to serve them in this time.

3. Recharge and Recreate

This is also a time to recharge yourself as a CEO and also get your workers recharged so they do not lose the vibe to work and they also come up with great ideas even during this break. Chances are that a lot of workers would find it difficult to resume once all this is over and so a structure that helps them recharge and recreate would do a lot.

4. Keep in touch with your workers

Imagine you resumed work and you found out that five of your workers had the virus and you never knew, how would you feel? Sad, yeah? That's it. You have to check up on your workers. How are they faring? What's their current situation? What if you just called or emailed them to let them know you care and wouldn't mind listening to them? This should just be an act of love but it's more than that— it would create a bond and also get you to become supportive.

Our Digital Economy is powered by Information Democracy - Ikedichi Egwu

Join us as we walk the talk with Ikedichi Egwu, a brand strategist, digital marketer and Public Speaker as he shares his thoughts on the subject of Digital Marketing.

NNI: Can we meet you sir?

Guest: Thanks for having me on your platform. I am Ikedichi Egwu, and I come from the South East part of Nigeria (Ebonyi State precisely). I am a brand strategist and digital marketer. My journey into the world of branding dates back to when I was in 200L at the Obafemi Awolowo Univeristy, Ile-Ife. I couldn't seem to understand the philosophy driving the African entrepreneurial landscape at that time. My quest to find out stemmed the beginning of what would be later become my career as a brand strategist. Digital marketing for me is a field that encompasses all. Regardless of your industry, sales and marketing drive businesses. Also, the future is digital. Artificial Intelligence is the driving force behind major modern day innovations.

It was the above thinking framework that drove me into digital marketing. Today I have gone on to work with several brands as a digital marketer and brand strategist across the country. Currently, I work with Digital Funnel in Lagos as a brand strategist and digital marketer.

Moreover, I have traveled across several states within Nigeria speaking across multiple platforms on the subjects of branding, personal branding, digital marketing and leadership. So, I am who most persons would prefer to term a public speaker.

I was once a technical drop out from the Obafemi Awolowo University. My philosophy about life was at the core of my decision to drop out of the university while I was already in 500 Level, my final year. (Laughs.)

Well, the good news is that I went back and decided that I would finish up my degree program eventually. I was taking a degree in Crop Production and Protection.

NNI: How has the entrepreneurship journey been for you so far?

Guest: The entrepreneurial journey for me has not particularly been easy. It's been filled with mistakes and lessons, like for many brands out there dipping their toes into the water. The journey, however, has been worth it.

NNI: Your emphasis on Digital Skills is strong. What is the relevance and how can individuals leverage them for growth?

Guest: Well, as I said earlier, the future is digital. In fact, the post covid-19 economy would favour brands that are digitally driven.

Brands would want to look for ways to do things faster and achieve better outcomes. And the solutions that are going meet these needs would be digitally powered. So, your industry not withstanding you either adopt a digitally inclined approach or find your business falling behind your competition.

We are at a time in history when information is highly democratized. What this means for individuals is that there's no digital skill they set to learn that they can't grasp – be it programming; digital marketing; machine learning; IT Support etc. This would confer on the individual advantages that place them ahead of their competition.

NNI: Why do you think people are skeptical about online courses?

Guest: People are not skeptical about online courses, many Nigerians are.

One of the reasons is the speed with which we adopt technologies. It would even be safe to say that many times we have fallen between what they term late adopters and laggards in the information diffusion process. It's a huge setback for us as it sees us crawling behind our contemporaries across the world.

In addition, while the other parts of the world are championing the digital revolution, Nigeria is still contesting leadership of a struggling regional artisan economy – a position it can barely hold on to as focus keeps shifting to its bordering counterparts who have shown a more responsible approach toward governance.

NNI: How does startup branding affect the future of digital revolution?

Guest: This is an era where digital visibility has an impact on the success of any start up – a time when relevance and visibility are like two sides of the same coin. You can only attract the business of customers who have heard about your business and or actually seen it.

So, for a startup that's considering gaining a strategic positioning both online and offline, emphasis must be laid on visibility.

NNI: Is it necessary for Digital Skills to be included in school curriculum? Why?

Guest: As a matter of fact, digital skills must be included in our curriculum if we must catch up with other parts of the world. The world has gone past the industrial revolution. We are talking digital now with AI, Machine Learning etc.

You can't continue to teach students skills of the past and expect them to be relevant in the present. To me that's counter-productive.

If the problem of mass unemployment among the youths is to be dealt with, then there's the need for mass investment in human capital as it applies to what is relevant now – digitization.

NNI: Many have results to prove that digital skills do not yield actual conversions. Is there anything they are doing wrong leading to these results?

Guest: Digital skills yield maximum conversions. In fact, programmers are amongst the highest income earners in the world at the moment.

The challenge, however, is that many persons who come into the digital world come in with the "overnight success" faulty thinking framework. But it does not work that way. You need a certain amount of mastery to begin earning big from your digital skills, and that kind of mastery requires patience and consistency.

Anyone who tries to make you believe that digital skills do not convert is deliberately hiding the truth from you. It's the new untapped oil for Nigeria.

NNI: What is your view on Global Youth Development and growth as regards the digital world?

Guest: I would say Nigerian youths are way behind on a global index. Of course, you could argue that there are many Nigerian youths doing fine when placed side by side with their contemporaries from other parts of the world. But the question would be how many of us and at what age?

Findings would show you how we are way behind. It becomes necessary therefore for the youths to rethink their approach to life. The day I understood that my competition was global was the day my life found a deeper meaning.

NNI: What's your believe as regards interconnected growth? Is it absolutely impossible for a brand to develop in isolation and without partnerships?

Guest: I preach collaboration a lot. In fact, it's my belief that collaboration is the best form of competition. The damage in the country already is something one man can't correct. It's going to take collective efforts to make that happen.

There's a limit to the number of jobs a business which exists in isolation can create. We need to come together to enjoy the economies of scale.

The digital economy worldwide is powered by the democratization of information. So if we don't come together and share intelligence, our digital growth would be slow.

NNI: Research shows that demand is making price for digital skill courses increase. This is fast becoming a problem and turning back potential students. From experience, how can this be solved?

Guest: Well, I would rather choose to not agree with this. In fact, the demand for these skills is achieving the opposite – these courses are rather becoming cheap so more persons can get on board and acquire the skills needed to service the fast-growing demand for them. For example, there are less programmers than we need in the world today.

I began learning programming to further enhance my skills as a brand strategist and digital marketer. It may interest you to know that I have not spent as much since I began the training. As a matter of fact, most of the resource I use so far are free. There's Free Code Camp there, you don't pay a dime to learn. There's Gemn, American Internet Business School, Google and YouTube. Interestingly, Udemy has options for partial or fully funded scholarship for indigent students who may be restrained by funding from taking their courses.

So, what's more? Seriousness and the willingness to commit quality time to learning on the part of the individual.

NNI: What is your advice to fellow young individuals?

Guest: My advice is simple! Yes, the government has failed us and continues to deteriorate by the passage of each day but the responsibility is ours not to further fail ourselves. I understand that it's not easy and probably will not be in the foreseeable future. But if you will continue pushing and not doubt your abilities, there will be no limit to how much you can become.

NNI: What new heights do you hope to scale in the near future?

Guest: I am looking forward to building an inclusive digital community for all Nigerians. The goal is to grow into a household name as far the African and Nigerian digital space is concerned. Also, I look forward to more speaking invitations, but this time, from other countries across the world.

NNI: Thank you for your time.

Guest: Thanks again for having me.