Leverage

I have observed that it takes more than a great idea to be a success.
The fallout of successful business plans and concept rise with leverage. To an extent, some great ideas must run on existing success stories. That way the public can trust an accept your brand and whatever product your brand represents.

Business Life Pt 2: Be Calm, Stay Focused

I was privileged to invest in a friends business (against my wife's advise).
I did it because it was a brilliant idea and I saw a need to help this friend of mine who was so totally distressed. To share the risk, I invited another friend to be a part investor.

It was a bad move. After 4 months of continuous follow-up and strategy sessions, the project is still yet to kick off. I pulled out of the entire project afterwards. But before I did this, I met with the co-investor about my concerns.

I told him the project was bound to fail. Not because it was a bad concept but because of the individual handling the project.

You see, I had worked closely with this project manager and one thing was constant. He was unstable. Talented, yes! But unstable as a turbulent water. He lacked focus, he couldn't see a project to its logical conclusion. Painfully, over the one year period I had known him, each presumed project that was termed as concluded never really was. Why? Because he was unstable.

I told my co-investor that I believed that if someone else took over this project, it would succeed.
My wife referred to the Project Manager's personality as "having great talent but lacking in wisdom".

A good entrepreneur must be calm. It is not okay to deep your hand in every pie. Never bite more than you can chew. Follow through on a task to its logical conclusion. Know your limits. It is important to know your strength & weaknesses so you can know which area to pay more attention to.

I looked up on the project in question earlier today and it was no different from the way it was in the beginning.

N/B for an investor, its okay to invest in great ideas but you must never get greedy. Study the investment, the mechanics and the people driving the investment.

As for me, the lesson learnt is listen to your wife.

Till we meet again, keep winning.


Mr David Chiaka
Twitter: @MrChiaka

The Chronus Travel Club

The Nigerian travel culture is gradually evolving and for businesses in the travel sector, we must evolve also.

During my vacation, I took out time to learn how to build a website.

I learnt it online (via youtube- how to build a website by Tyler Moore).

I had to learn it cos it would be an added advantage to me (an additional skill acquired) and for my business.

Now, with the rise of the middle class, Nigeria has witnessed a rise in the travel market.

Its astonishing when you think of this, but the truth is that it is not the political class that make up the rise of travelers, its the bankers, oil workers, civil servants and business owners.

To capture this market, I did 2 things, first, build my website www.chronussolutions.org and secondly networked with other tour companies to compliment my air ticket and hotel reservation expertise. So what am bringing to the market is a whole package (air ticket, airport transfer, hotel, tour & visa).

With the travel club, our members get to plan their next vacation and make installmental payments. That way, the burden of parting with a ton of cash is minimized. The plan is to help our clients start their travel plans early early. So that is my strategy. Of course the story wont be complete without the use of social media (email marketing, twitter etc).

Hope this is helpful? My advise to anyone reading this is- keep innovating. Look out for needs and innovate towards meeting those needs.

Do have a great day.

Rejoice Daniel

Business Life

So much depends on reputation. Guard it with your life...Robert Greene (48 Laws of power)

Every business has a life in itself and in the same light, every business cycle should pass through life's stages of infancy, childhood, adolescence to adulthood.

It is a sad thing when a life is cut short. I personally believe that a business should outlive its creator. There is absolutely no reason why a business should cease to exist after the demise of its owner. However, this is not the case of so many businesses (Nigeria not exempted). Like so many illnesses, a Doctor can diagnose it through its symptoms.

I have observed that many Business persons whose business have a tendency of an early death are particularly individuals with no work experience and with a poor organizational structure. People with work experience who have grown "successfully" through the ranks, usually have enough acumen to structure their organisation for growth.

I am amazed when I meet gifted individuals who cant meet up with commitments because "they are overwhelmed with work". A proper organisation should have division of labor. Tasks must be broken down into parts and run through a process to its completion, "The Boss" shouldn't be the one holding all the aces up his/her sleeve. "The Boss" should be that person that ensures all work is done, targets are met, customers are happy, and the profits are constantly coming in..

A good boss empowers his/her workers in the interest of business growth. Just in case you don't get it, your customer is the last person you should give endless reasons why you can't meet up with deliveries. When you give your word to your customer - KEEP IT. Results and not efforts are rewarded. It is your responsibility to structure your business for success. Identify and remove all bottlenecks to success. What is that thing that only you know? TEACH YOUR WORKERS.

I intend to share more on this subsequently, They say "experience is the best teacher" so I will share my experiences in this light. Till we meet again, keep winning.


Mr David Chiaka
Twitter: @MrChiaka

June 12 & The Democratic Experience in Nigeria

If Democracy is Government of the people, for the people and by the people, then the Presidential election victory of Chief MKO Abiola in June 12, 1993 is a remarkable symbol of Nigeria's resilience for change.

In this election, all myths concerning power residing in one portion of the nation was genuinely disbanded.

Yes there were election malpractices, but the will of the people prevailed.

This election expressed the soul and interest of the Nigerian people.

We prevailed- "power to the people".

The beautiful thing about the Abiola story is that he died for what he believed in (that is conviction).

He won the election, he refused to renounce it during his arrest by the military dictator - Gen Ibrahim Babangida and he died for refusing to acknowledge a contrary opinion.

Truly, a man of conviction is a dangerous man.

Even in death, Chief MKO Abiola is feared within the corridors of Aso Rock (Nigeria's seat of power). The truth is a bitter pill to swallow.

While some states in Nigeria may refuse to recognize Chief MKO Abiola's election victory for tribal reasons, the fact still remains that he died because of his convictions.

Rest in peace Chief MKO Abiola, you will forever be remembered by the Nigerian people.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

God bless Nigeria

Mr David Chiaka

Twitter: @MrChiaka

The Impact Of Social Media on Business Growth: The Twitter Case Study

"Twitter is an online social networking website and microblogging service that allows users to post and read text-based messages of up to 140 characters, known as “tweets”. Launched in July of 2006 by Jack Dorsey." Source: Twitter, Huffington Post, eMarketer

I chose to write on this topic because of the uniqueness of this social media - Twitter.
You see, this social media works on a principle of amassing followers. Now, you can tell a man's worth by the number of followers (ears that listen) the individual has.

Upon researching about twitter, I found out that they have a total of 554,750,000 active users with a daily number of 135,000 new users. Amazing, isn't it?

The question now is, how does this affect corporate organisations?

With the advent of the internet age, Corporate organisations can no longer hide in the dark by forcing information, down the throats of consumers. 

We have entered an age of corporate accountability and social responsiveness. This means that when a consumer speaks, you had better give a concrete answer because a careless response can and will be used against you by the public (the individual and his myriad of followers).

For instance, a consumer that has over 200,000 followers is definately not someone you want to mess with. This is because, if that individual or organisation should cough, an average of 90,000 followers or more will catch cold (meaning, they will see his/her remark).

All it takes is for an angry individual to comment and a spiral effect of counter comments can emanate (plus retweets from followers, and his followers-followers (and so on). Its like an air bourne viral infection.

Now that is the power of influence. Do not be deceived, there is strength in numbers or how did you think the Arab Spring and various"occupy" events were organised?

Given the above, it means organisations can no longer leave the handling of company issues on twitter (especially) in the coffers of small minded personnels. This is serious business. It is a Public Relations issue. Organisation will need to control the kind of information that is passed out and control the kind of response you give to customers issues.

Twitter has bridged the gap between society's high and low in the society. Now, the Techy fellow in rural India wants to know the kind of tie Warren Buffet is wearing to work. He is interested in the type of product Samsung is coming out with. People can now tell Apple the flaws in their latest product. People now have voices and Corporations can learn the current needs and trends of consumers and even predict possible business opportunities to harness from (through customer feedback).

In all, Corporations can use this social medium to restore consumer confidence and retain consumer loyalty. So don't just stay in that cossy pent house office overlooking the myriads of ever hustling populace. Get a twitter account, tell people what you have to offer, listen to them, feel them, talk to them and you will be on your way to having a true consumer-centric family.

Till we meet again, keep on winning.



Mr David Chiaka
Twitter: @MrChiaka

From Employee to Employer

"A mans worth does not consist in the amount of his material possession but in the number of lives impacted" Rev Chris Oyakhilome


A friend of mine recently asked me a question: "when can we become a Boss and no longer employee?"

My answer to this was simple: 
(1) For an entrepreneur - when you own your own business. 
(2) When you earn enough to pay yourself, pay someone else and still have enough to run your buisiness ie pay bills & 
(3) When you are able to manage people to a point where they look towards you as a solution to their work challenges.

This my summary of what the evolution of a Boss should be.
What do you think?

Mr David Chiaka
Twitter: @MrChiaka

The minds eye

The mind is like a door. When it opens up to a new idea, be diligent enough to look through it and take in sights into new frontiers (which you can explore).

Commit these visions to paper and pursue them to its logical conclusion.

David Chiaka
Twitter: @MrChiaka

All Na Packaging

The above picture has stirred up a lot of thoughts in me and I even shared the indirect messages that is being communicated in a Black Berry group chat.
Permit me to do the same here.

You see the term 'agege bread' actually refers to a type of bread that is consumed in the South Western, part of Nigeria (Lagos). Agege is actually a city in the Metropolitan part of  Lagos and this bread was a very common delicacy during the early 1990's. Production of this bread was however limited due safety concerns that were raised by Nigeria's food & beverages watchdog (NAFDAC).

Little wonder why the name in the picture has generated a stir from Lagos residents. The reason for the stir is a combination of the name and the fact that there is even a website attached to it (www.agegebread.co.uk). The thought of the ".uk" implies that this local concept has evolved into something that can be consumed in the United Kingdom.

What many Nigerians have failed to realize is that anything can be packaged or re branded into something really awesome (all na packaging).

Just in case you missed it. The below are some silent messages that the above picture contains:
(1)  A delivery van - implies an organised distribution system
(2)  A website- means online publicity/self advertisement. Probably and organised method of ordering for the product.
(3)  Telephone number- means that you can reach the company for any queries or suggestions.
(4)  Personalized service- you can get the product at your doorstep.

As business fellows, we must open our eyes to see what others have missed, then cash in on it. We must open our minds to look out for human "NEEDS", then we must progress to meet those needs in a unique way. Don't just do something. Make it exceptional, make it different, make it the best.

Businesses are crumbling but you can be different, just keep re-inventing your business. Stop being myopic. Don't think small. Dare to be different.

Keep these thoughts in mind, please look at the picture above and tell me certain things even I may have missed. I welcome your comments.

Till we meet again, keep winning

David Chiaka
Twitter: @MrChiaka