BUSINESS OF BUSINESSES

Hello, trust you're having a great day!
An entrepreneurs job is rather the most challenging but also the most interesting job on earth. Unlike other jobs where you have to specialize in one field, an entrepreneur has to specialize in all the departments needed for a successful business and at the same time be a master of none.

Often times as an entrepreneur, you are faced with the challenge of how to make your business stand out, often with intense competition in the markets worldwide. This is often called your Unique Selling Point (USP). The advantages of USP are quite enticing, as the title suggests, it differentiates you from the competition, may keep you ahead of the competition and may position you as better than the competition.

Building business for businesses is a concept that works with almost all forms of markets and is very viable even with digitization. Examples of businesses built for businesses are e-commerce sites, research firms, outsourcing firms etc. In fact you can build a business for businesses in all market segments.

How can I build a business for businesses?

It simply means building a business model that instead of catering for customers directly, would cater for other businesses who will naturally be your competition.

Lets take e-commerce sites for example.;E-commerce means electronic commerce, in other words, digital trading or buying and selling on the internet. This merely moves buying and selling from brick and mortar stores to the internet. The success of e-commerce today, most especially in Africa has been to serve as a platform for other merchants to sell. That is, instead of me to just sell only my products on my website, I open my website up so other merchants (competitors) can sell their own products via my website at a commissioned fee. This way, I just built a business that caters for my competition, I am unique and different from my competition and I am running a business for businesses. This concept has gained so much popularity in Africa that when most people hear eCommerce, they don't think of all companies that sell via internet, all they think of are websites where other merchants go to post their products for sale.

I was reading a book a while ago, John was a waiter at a popular fast food. They always had the challenge of sourcing for high quality imported rice at good prices. After a few years, John felt he had the expertise and decided to start his own fast food so he also could become a boss and make more money. While doing market research, he visited competing fast foods and discovered they all were facing this same rice challenge. The light turned on, he made a move, he contacted a rice supplier and made a deal to buy large quantities of that rice at a much cheaper rate and began supplying other fast foods, including the one he was previously working in. Demand became so high, john was making so much profit, john was happy, his supplier was happy, his initial competition were happy, everybody was happy.
John had built a business for businesses.

To build a business for businesses from John's experience, you need to understand the market, your competition and your business properly. You need to know the elements for success in that business, elements for failure as well, challenges and risks of venturing in that business. When all this has been properly determined with intensive research, build a business model around your findings that would place you ahead of your competition, make you profit, make your competition profit and make everyone willing to do business with you. Everyone is happy.

Greatness is a choice, only losers plan to be lucky.

Have a great week ahead.

Think WITTEE! Think Intelligence

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CLOSE YOUR EYES AND SEE THE VISION

Vision is the picture of a destination that compels you to embark on a journey and stay on it
regardless of how long it takes and how rough the road is. Trust you're doing great.

One gift that amazes me the most is the gift of prophecy. I see it as something phenomenal. A gift that offers me the privilege to know tomorrow or years to come before that time comes.


I want to share a personal story; I'm a very spiritual person but I always thought I had a problem as I've come across so many prophets and alter calls that revealed so much but never about me.
One day, I had a meeting with a man of God (name withheld ) and it all changed. It was a business meeting, I got there 5 minutes earlier as usual and the meeting started at about 11:12am on a faithful Tuesday morning.
Within the first one hour, he told deep secrets about my life which no one else knew and also told me about some future occurrences forthcoming in my Life. I had mixed feelings immediately, I was happy, perplexed, anxious, excited and disturbed all at the same time. At the end, we went back to talking business and sealed the deal.

A few hours after that, while reminiscing, I thought to myself.. He saw a vision, he saw the vision, he saw my vision. I felt fulfilled.

This relates to spiritual vision but most of all i realized he didn't use his physical eyes to see that vision.

"To be successful, you must have a vision so visible your eyes can't see"

Vision is seen with your mind

The vision for your business isn't something your physical eyes would see upon conception.
If your eyes sees something similar, it's someone else's vision you just saw become reality because in life, no two people can have the same vision.
There would be differences and these differences are based on perception and the might of your mind.

To see a vision, all you need is your mind.
Your mind sees the vision.

The vision is that goal that gives you a sense of purpose which develops into a passion.

Conceiving a vision is just as important as working towards it.
When it comes to seeing and achieving a vision, your sense organs and physical environment have very little or no role to play.

Vision and success is all a mind game.

Whether or not you achieve your vision is determinant on the limits you place in your mind. The only one who can limit you is you and the most effective way to do this is by limiting your mind.

The most powerful tool in the world is your mind.

Let me end by stating clearly that your eyes and sight have nothing to do with your vision; The size of your vision is determined by the size of your mind.
The mind isn't a physical part of the body, it is abstract and doesn't occupy a physical space, this is like a dream world that gives us the ability to do whatever, wherever and whenever.

So in your mind, you can choose to expand your horizon and make your vision bigger than the universe or be very conservative and limit your mind to just a small portion of the immediate world you can see.

Whatever your decision is, it would not only affect your vision but your goal and your success in life.

Your vision equals your reality, whatever you seem possible is very possible with a willing mind.

How big is your vision?

Think WITTEE! Think Intelligence...

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SIMILARITIES OF SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE

Trust you're having a great day

I met up with an old friend a couple days ago and we had a very intense conversation about a couple of topics, but one which caught my interest the most was the topic about entrepreneurs and their similarities. We highlighted that all successful entrepreneurs have certain qualities in common, some of which include; passion, tenacity, resilience, optimism and perseverance. However, upon waking up the following morning, I tried to remember the conversation I had the day before and tried to re-evaluate the similarities we pointed out. That was when I remembered a very vital similarity all successful entrepreneurs have that my friend and I didn't think about.

While the later will definitely help you achieve your goals, I realize you need extra to maintain and sustain your goal which for most entrepreneurs would be their business/company.


One of my favorite quotes states;
"Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are,
Show me your role model and I will tell you who you can be,
But show me your mentor and I will tell you who you would be."


MENTOR-SHIP can never be neglected in the life of the entrepreneur with the Midas Touch. The role of mentor-ship can never be over-emphasized. Your mentor and your role model are two distinct roles. A role model is someone you admire and would like to resemble, either in looks, deeds or accomplishments, whereas, a mentor is someone who has achieved what you want to achieve and is willing and available to take you by the hand all through the phases till you achieve your desired success and would be there for you even till death do you part. While you might not necessarily have direct access to your role model, you must have a means to communicate directly with your mentor. Role models could be for a while, maybe till a certain age, but mentor-ship is a lifelong relationship, similar to parenting.

All successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-billion dollar businesses all have mentors. We have the likes of Robert Kiyosaki (my role model), Donald Trump, Steve Jobs etc.
Entrepreneurs who desire to be successful must all have one or few persons mentoring them. Personally, I have a couple of mentors and I must confess, a good mentor makes the journey easier and faster. A mentor is someone who has gone through the process and knows what each of the challenges you face feels like and so they know how best to advice you to tackle the challenges. Your mentor doesn't necessarily have to be an expert in your chosen field, but your mentor has to be someone you are accountable to and can push you, encourage you and inspire you.


"If you know where you are going, you can get there even without directions, but if you have a mentor take you by the hand, you will get there faster"


However, no matter how good your mentor is, you won't know his/her worth if you're disobedient. Its one thing to have a mentor, its another thing to listen and adhere to the advice of your mentor. Your mentor doesn't necessarily have to be older than you and this is quite a big challenge most especially in this part of the world where age literally controls and determines how people relate with one another. Its really not about the age but about the experience and exposure the mentor has. Its ok to have more than one mentor so their roles compliment each other but most importantly, make sure you get yourself a mentor who is capable, willing and available to work with you.

One major thing a mentor would do is to inspire you which in turn would spur you to be motivated.
Motivation comes from within but Inspiration comes from Without.
Motivation is like rest, you need it everyday.

You must have a mentor who can inspire you, scold you, connect you, connect to you, advise you and help you grow.

Look around you, there are mentors everywhere but get someone with a Godly heart so you don't get used and remember to do your research about your mentor before you proceed.

Watch out for my post on how to pick your mentor. Do have a great week ahead.

Think WITTEE! Think Intelligence...

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THE BUSINESS OF PEOPLE

Trust You're having a great day.
A quick peep into the business world and you would realize that businesses have various parts that must work in a synchronized manner to ensure success and profitability.

Every business has two major divisions that must work together for the business to live long and healthy. Its no longer news that 90% of all businesses do not live longer than 10 years. This beckons the curious mind into wondering why this is and what could be done to help businesses live a longer healthier life span. In my research, I have realized that if these two divisions are neither effective nor cooperative, any business will die young. What are these divisions?

The two divisions that ensure business health are Structures and Relationships. Yes, and its not enough for them to be effective but they must also work together. Structure refers to the core business model, the chain of production down to when the customers receive the product or service being offered. However, the way the business manages relationships is equally as important as the business model. Relationships doesn't only refer to how the clients are managed but also how the staffs and suppliers are managed. Basically, every business has to maintain good relationships with “Customers, Suppliers and Workforce” to maintain good health and achieve goals.

“Business is easy, Managing people is hard.”

While the former requires rigidity and objectivity, the later requires creativity and flexibility. The business structure and how relationships are managed should be considered and planned to create a system that any and all businesses must thrive on. The system would encompass how resources are gotten, the transportation modes, processing infrastructures, packaging, advertisement and publicity, delivery, feedback mode, promotions, incentives ... etc.

If your customers are happy, they would make continuous patronage, if your suppliers are happy, they would provide the resources for production promptly, if your workers are happy, they will be very effective and if all these business relationships are healthy, the management will achieve goals much easier. However if the business structure itself isn't effective enough to properly manage the business activities to ensure smooth running, there's only an extent to which the relationships would last.

Many at times, businesses focus more on profits and neglect the core business which is to satisfy the customers.
The greatest asset of any business is its relationship with customers.

The customers are the ones who bring money into the business.
Of what good is having the best product without patronage? of what good is running the most expensive and most creative adverts if customers don't patronize you?

Businesses need to create room for evaluation and feedback from their core partners who are customers, suppliers and workers. They need to create room to reward them with more every once in a while and make them feel special.
Everyone likes to feel special.

Its not just enough to run an effective business model as the business model must cater for healthy business relationships.

Smart investors don't invest in businesses or ideas, they invest in people.

People are the core business regardless of what the business is and what it offers. So long as the business needs patronage, relationships should always come first.

I advice you re-evaluate your business model and re-adjust if needed, so your business puts people first. On the other hand, if you're about to start a business, consider how to make your customers happy and means to evaluate how healthy the relationships are even before profitability.

May you experience business success and may you achieve your business goals even beyond and above targets this year. Be a smart investor - put people first

Think WITTEE! Think Intelligence...

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WANTED BUT NOT NEEDED

Trust you're having a great day. Its been a while since I last posted an article in here. I apologize for this as I had to take a break to develop myself, build my business and learn new skill-sets. Over this one and half year break, I've been able to build my clothing line and expand our delivery reach, product offering and clientele base, I took some lessons on psychology and marketing, read a lot of books, learnt to teach and I also learnt to trade Forex proficiently. It was a bumpy ride, quite stressful and lonely at some point but overall its been very worth it. I also came to realize certain things which you will discover as you read through this post.


Firstly, you can never overemphasize the role of setting goals and having a passion for your desired field. Learning Forex is one of the most tasking training anyone can undergo; it tasks you intellectually, psychologically and emotionally. Then I realized that having a passion isn't all, setting a goal has to accompany the passion. There were times I felt like quitting, my guts failed me severally, I almost lost the desire to learn and the passion to continue but my goal kept me going. Many would not agree with me that a goal is enough to push you to accomplish a task even in the midst of all odds when you're tired and it seems like your passion is dead.

The type of goal you set determines the type of push you will give it.
My mentor says, 'what is pursuing you will determine how fast you will run'. I totally agree with him.

The question is, what type of goal can keep pushing you? and, how do you set it?

Many of us, when setting goals aspire to achieve goals that are materialistic. In my experience, these goals only have a limit as to how much they can motivate you except if you're an extremely selfish person and can do anything to make money.
We mostly set our goals to achieve things we want but don't need.
A want is different from a need.
A want is something you can live without, mostly something that is meant to edify your social status, satisfy lust or meet a leisure purpose. Whereas, a need is something you can't live without, something that in some cases would not only benefit you but those around you in the long run.

Take for instance, there's a big difference between wanting a house and needing a house. In reality, you need shelter but want a house. You need to be mobile but want a car. Many pick their wants over needs maybe to oppress, flaunt, influence or depress others and many confuse wants for needs.

Most importantly, I've come to discover that goals set around value addition and value driven purposes not only in one's life but mostly to benefit others are the most important goals and these goals tend to push us faster, farther and keep us even more focused. In this instance, such goals targeted towards adding value to other lives are centered around societal needs and ills and also personal needs to help others and not just wants.
Helping others should never be seen as a want but as a need as that is one of the core values of being human and being alive.
What is the purpose of being alive if you don't add value to lives?
What is the purpose of being alive if no one can thank God they met you and thank God you're alive?

No one can deny that the joy derived from helping others and hearing the testimonies overrides the joy of buying yourself a Bentley or the most expensive house

When you set the right goal channeled towards meeting a need, the mission would always come first even before discouragement, laziness, fatigue, or overall quitting.
There's a force behind selflessness that inspires.

'The path to selflessness is the journey to fulfillment'

Its ok to have wants and its ok to satisfy your personal wants every once in a while, but as humans, we should always make sure we have goals and make a conscious effort to help others and add value to lives.

If your needs come before your wants, the mission will always come first and the inspiration and motivation needed to break boundaries will not be far from achievement.

Do it at your own pace, don't let anyone rush you but make sure you add value in your own way. This is the beginning of a new year, while setting your goals this year, make sure you set goals that will make others thank God you're alive, don't set goals around just your own self. SEEK TO INSPIRE.

Have a prosperous year ahead.

Think WITTEE! Think Intelligence...

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Choosing The CEO

Who is your CEO?

In lay man terms, the CEO is the big front end of the organisation, while the receptionist is usually the smaller front end. Many small businesses fail due to the inabilities of the CEO to manage the business properly and Leadership is key to the success of any business.

Most startup entrepreneurs are always eager to have their name on the top hierarchy of the startup as Mr CEO. In their defense, its their idea, they started it, its their sweat and all. They are right, except that they fail to realize that its only an existing business that needs a CEO. If they do not have what it takes to manage the startup properly, the CEO position becomes a neglect.

As an aspiring CEO, there’s much work to be done, many plans to be made, many things to learn, unlearn and relearn, many books to be read, many seminars to attend, many practicals to be done and most importantly, many mistakes to be made.

I run a clothing line WITTEEwears. I can’t afford to hire a CEO or a manager right now even though I know I still have much to learn, so I decided to go into partnership with the best partner that ever existed. My business partner doesn’t sleep, he’s always marketing, he’s constantly bringing in new clients, he handles the management better than I do and I can ever do, he only takes 10% of profit and allows me keep 90%, even though he’s the CEO.
My CEO is God.

I realized my in capabilities on time and chose my CEO wisely. You don’t have to use the same CEO as I do, but you definitely need a great front end management for your business. If you know you’re not so great at managing your business, don’t deceive yourself, think other than yourself, who else can come on board to assist you, it could probably be in form of employment or partnership; put the business first. The person might be the manager if you really love the CEO name, but most importantly, if your business is failing due to your inabilities as the CEO, look for someone who can CEO better than you. The most important asset in a business is the organisation itself, not the products or the marketing and definitely not the CEO.

If you’re scared of someone stealing your idea, you can keep starving your business of success, till there finally isn’t a business.
When choosing your CEO or your partner, make sure you employ legal agreements that define each person’s rights, percentages and roles. An MOU will also be good too.

Don’t be scared of taking risks, be scared of remaining stagnant.

Mr CEO, who ever you are, be realistic, be strategic, understand the company’s mission and vision and work according to it. Set long and short term goals. Stay true to the mission- the mission comes first, then the team and yourself should come last.

When it starts to get easy, EXPAND

Think WITTEE! Think Intelligence

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LAZINESS BUILDS BRANDS

The Brand Is Worth More Than The Business

A while back, I was chatting with a friend who just started an NGO with a beautiful motive and wonderful ideas, but she needed to raise money through sponsors and donations. I told her to create a system to make it very easy for people to make donations online which would be much easier and faster. During our session, while doing the SWOT analysis for her organisation, I mentioned to her, 'LAZINESS BUILDS BRANDS!!! she flared up insisting she's not lazy, Laziness can never describe her and so much more in her defense. I thank God we were chatting that day, If it was a face to face meeting, I can almost bet she might have beaten me up that day. I later explained the concept and she understood.

Laziness builds the best multi-national brands till date. Laziness in brand building doesn't mean you as the brand should go weak with business implementation and activities. It rather means, the brand should do all the work for the customers and the only thing customers have to do is to fully rely on the brand to meet their needs without them going through any stress. Does that make sense?

Why do you prefer shopping on JUMIA?

Why do you prefer doing your searches on Google?

Why do you prefer buying/repairing your phones with SLOT?

or 

How did you become a fan of coca-cola?

Why do you like to eat Indomie noodles?

What makes noodles different from spaghetti?

The answers to these questions, are born out of laziness.

JUMIA - E-commerce site where you buy the best products from the comfort of even your toilet and only pay when they are delivered to your sitting room.

GOOGLE- Information database that has or links you to almost everything in the world, both past, future and present and is accessible from any internet enabled device.

SLOT- Trusted gadget merchant with excellent services and so many branches all over Nigeria with a good return policy and efficient warranty.

COCA-COLA- World re-known soda brand available everywhere in the world. Sold by every kiosk, bar, hawker etc. Even unconsciously, some people mention the name coke even when they intend buying another soda brand.

INDOMIE- Most popular noodles brand in Nigeria. Available in all stores, easy to prepare and comes in various sizes and flavors. 

Spaghetti has more nutrients than noodles, it's more filling and less expensive but because spaghetti would cook for nothing less than 30 minutes and it requires some cooking skills, Noodles is preferred by most.

All these brands understand the needs of their customers and work so hard to meet them while improving their services everyday to make their customers lazier and loyal.

Laziness builds brand Loyalty

In our own way, we are all lazy. What motivates me might not motivate you. We all have mood swings. For any brand to be successful, the brand needs to take it as a responsibility to ensure that even in times when the customer is psychologically unstable, your brand still comes first when they need your service. Such is achieved when customers can easily access your brands' products/services very fast without any stress. That way, even when competing brands arise, your customer remains loyal since its easier to purchase from you than your competition.

Put your customer's interest first.

In business, the interest hierarchy should go like this -CUSTOMER - SUPPLIER - EMPLOYEES - ENTREPRENEUR.

Your customers interest should always come first , hence the saying 'customers are always right'.

Your suppliers interest should come second, or else, you wont be able to meet up with customer demands and then customers start becoming unhappy.

Employees are next because they are the skeleton of your business, unhappy employees are less productive and less productive employees would reduce customer satisfaction.

If your customers, suppliers and employees are happy, business would be great.

The entrepreneur is happy.

Customers are lazy people who want all the work done for them. Entrepreneurs are hard working people who get paid to build a system that does all the work for them and satisfies a need.

If the entrepreneur becomes lazy, the customers have to become hard working, but since customers have the choice of patronizing competing brands, they won't get hard working, they would rather switch brands and subsequently, loyalty.

Don't strive to meet your customers half way - that only works for love stories.

Meet your customers 98% of the way, make 1% the neutral ground that holds the decision preference of the client and make the client only participate in 1% which is payment.

Laziness would make you a brand leader.

I wish you success in business.

Think WITTEE! Think Intelligence

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