But while this article is not about Chelsea as a football club, it is about how to take advantage of whatever position you find yourself per time and craft your own greatness.

Life is like the price of bitcoin, it will do as if it is going down and may even be down for a while but when it shoots up, it grows beyond expectation and everyone that owns some bit of it are happy but the secret to that growth is the consistency in its inconsistency. It goes up down up down then up up up.

Whatever position or wherever you are today is as a result of decisions you made years ago and the accumulation of your daily habits over the years, blaming someone else for your failure or not willing to take responsibilities to see the change you desire will only keep you down.

If you find yourself in a position that you don’t want, how do you maximize whatever opportunity is available to you and turn things around for good?

These points below will help you to navigate through the ups and downs and keep you on a steady growth if you choose to take action;

1. Accept the fact that where you are is not good enough for you

It has often been said that no matter the level you are today, there is always a better place to be and what if where you are is not where you should be?

The first step to seeing and experiencing growth is to be humble enough to accept that where you are is not good enough, you need to improve on your lifestyle and change levels.

Pride sometimes blinds the minds of people and makes you feel comfortable at a certain level and you will always find excuse to defend yourself against the people that are doing better than you are.

While it’s important to thank God for where you are, please note that there is a place better than where you are and you can get there.

2. Take responsibility to become a better person

Accepting where you are is not enough but taking responsibilities to change levels is important.

No matter the challenges or excuses that got you to where you are today, the only way out is to take responsibility for your life and move forward.

Apply for that job now, do that online certification now, go back to school now, start that business now, stop those bad habits now.

Procrastination is a destroyer of destiny, it will only complicate your woes, taking steps in the right direction is what you need right, so start taking steps right away.

3. Never lose your joy

In all, maintain your steeze. Dress well, look good, say positive things to yourself, don’t see the challenges, see opportunities. Never ever lose your joy no matter where you are. Depression and the fear of depression will only do you more harm than good.

In conclusion: Chelsea football club have found themselves in unwanted positions over the years but they have always turned it around for good, bringing trophies home for their fans.

You can also turn your situations around for good and become a better you if only you are willing and obedient.

Take steps, improve your daily habits, make better decisions for your life going forward, put an end to unwanted habits that will only keep you in the same position or end up destroying your life, appreciate and celebrate every small win, it will end up becoming bigger. It will end in praise for you.

With Love,

There are many reasons why many wants to become an entrepreneur and why you should consider taking that giant step and creating your own world but before we talk about how to develop an entrepreneur mindset, let’s look at the difference between an intrapreneur and an entrepreneur.

An Intrapreneur

An intrapreneur is an employee of an organization creating values for the company he or she is working with.

An intrapreneur is someone who has passion for entrepreneurship but is using the passion and the knowledge to serve another man and by doing so, he or she is creating values in the company and he is been rewarded accordingly.

You are promoting innovative products development the same way an entrepreneur would.

Intrapreneur usually have the resources and capabilities of the firm at their disposal.

Entrepreneur and Intrapreneur vary in their level of focus. Whereas an entrepreneur envisions a company from start to finish, an intrapreneur has a much broader vision for an established company.

Since the intrapreneur works on solving bigger issues within the organization, he typically has more directly applicable skills for given tasks and takes more risks within the context of his job.

Just as an entrepreneur starts a company as a means of providing goods or services, intrapreneurs seeks policies, technologies and applications that will help increase a company’s productivity. As an intrapreneur builds the aptitude for recognizing and solving important problems, he also builds skills required to start his own business.

Similar to how entrepreneurs’ experiments, an intrapreneur possesses the freedom and anatomy for professional growth.

An intrapreneur has the independence to analyze and understand trends necessary for planning the company’s future. Intrapreneurs synthesize their findings and determine methods for staying ahead of their competitors.

Intrapreneurs become company’s executive leaders over time. They move the business forward and rise to the top as they understand the business from all levels.

A company should recognize and promote successful intrapreneurs so the business can succeed and grow. When intrapreneurs work at solving problem, they foster the growth of other talented intrapreneurs and integrate processes for the greater good of the entire company.

An Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is someone who starts a new business or organization, taking some personal risks to do so. He may quit a secured job to devote time to starting the business, use personal savings as capital or convince investors to finance the business.

Successful entrepreneurs need the strong characteristics of trust, confidence, competence, courage, self-discipline along with right personality traits. An entrepreneur needs a successful business trait like we already highlighted above.

You can call an entrepreneur an individual who, rather than working as an employee, runs a small business and assumes all the risks and rewards of a given business venture, idea or goods/services offered for sale. An entrepreneur is commonly seen as a business leader and innovator of new ideas and business processes.

Entrepreneurs play a key role in any economy. These are the people who have the skills and initiative necessary to take good new ideas to the market and to make right decisions that lead to profitability.

The reward for taking the risk is the potential economic profits the entrepreneur could earn. Entrepreneurs commonly face many obstacles when building a business.

Some common obstacles that many entrepreneurs face are overcoming bureaucracy, hiring talent and acquiring finance.

Entrepreneurship is a critical driver of innovation and economic growth. Therefore, fostering entrepreneurship is an important part of the economic growth strategies of many local and national governments around the world.

To this end, governments commonly assist in the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems, which may include entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and government sponsored programs to assist entrepreneurs.

Given the risks that comes with a new venture, the acquisition of financing is particularly challenging and many entrepreneurs overcome these obstacles by bootstrapping.

Bootstrapping means to finance a business using methods such as owner funding, providing sweat equity to reduce labour costs, minimizing inventory and factoring receivables.

While some entrepreneurs are lone actors struggling to get small businesses off the ground on a shoestring, others work with additional founders, armed with greater access to capital and other resources.

In these situations, businesses may acquire financing from venture capitalists, angel investor hedge funds, crowdsourcing or through bank loans.

Key Factors to Consider as an Entrepreneur

What motivates people to start business?

To you, it may be passion, while to someone else it could be something else. The economy could be the reason why someone wants to start a new business, it could be that you want to become your own boss, it may as well be that you want to be free from the 8 to 5 work style, other factors includes autonomy, opportunity, being responsible to the society, necessity, accidental, and many others. So the question is, what is the motivating factor behind your starting a business?

What type of business should you go into?

Before going into any business, you must do your market research, have a basic knowledge of the industry you are going into.

There are three things you need to run a successful business.

Capability: You must possess the ability or power to get things done, you must be willing and determined.

Strategy: You must have a business plan. A business plan of action that is designed to achieve a long term or overall aim.

Capital: When we talk about capital, it does not only refer to financial capital, although this is a key factor, but you also need relationship capital, knowledge and human based capital.

How do you raise capital for business?

• Personal savings
• Loans
• Investors
• Financial institutions
  Family and Friends

In addition, you should also become a service provider.

What must you do before starting your business?

• Register your business name/company
• Get a bank account
• Be determined to succeed
• Keep records
• Have a business plan and feasibility report
• Have a business model that works

While running your business;

• Have financial discipline
• Keep your earning in your business
• Have a staying power
• Pay and account for your taxes
• Keep your books accurately
• Build a brand around your business
• Market your business (both online and offline)
• Have a transition process in place

Do trend analysis for your business regularly

–             Understand the business operation

–             Manage people well

–             Build trust

–             Build people

–             Keep re-engineering your business. We elaborated more on this under business model in chapter one.

–             Expand your business when you need to

In conclusion, an entrepreneur must be sensitive to opportunities. Most people are not ready for a long race, for you to succeed in business, you must have a staying power.

Even good changes oftentimes result to loss of something. People in transition move from an end to a neutral zone before the new beginning.

This neutral zone, also known as the middle time, is when you work out who you are and who you are not, what to hold on to and what to let go of, what you have to learn and what you have to unlearn to be ready to start something new.

Change is situational; it could be a new job, promotion, new assignment, new business, new policy or any other thing.

Transition is the psychological process that people go through to come to terms with new situation. Change is external, transition is internal. Change can also be a shift in circumstances, when something starts or stops, the outcome of an event, a wave, or disruption of your plans.

Change is external. Transition is the inner process; a psychological process we go through as we come to terms with the new change.

Both transition and change involves three stages, namely;

• The end stage
• The neutral stage, and
• The new beginning stage

The End Stage

While transition starts with an end, situational changes hinges on new things. Psychological transition depends on letting go of the old reality you had before the change took place.

You must think through who or what you have to let go of when change occurs. In all changes, there are endings and losses. People don’t like endings; but before you can begin a new thing, there must be an end. New beginning depends on an end.

Endings are difficult because some part of us still wants to hold on to what or whom we used to be.

The Neutral stage

After letting go, there is the neutral stage; or you may call it the middle time. This is when the old way is gone or almost gone and the new doesn’t feel comfortable yet.

The neutral stage is a time of reflection, you can’t rush through it, you must expect it and understand why it’s there. It is a tough time that doesn’t last for too long, it is the best chance for creativity, renewal and development. It is both a dangerous and opportune place, it is the very core of the transition process.

It was Anais Nin that said;

“We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially, we are relative. We are mature in one realm and childish in another. The past, present and future mingle and pull us backward, forward or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.”

The neutral stage is chaotic, lacking in clear systems, structure and signals about what to do. A lack of clarity within creative opportunity. Creative solutions emerge in the gap between the old and the new.

During the neutral stage;

• Anxiety rises and motivation falls
• People in the neutral stage miss more workdays than at other time
• Old weaknesses, long patched over or compensated for, re-emerge in full flower.
• Personnel are overloaded, signals are often mixed and systems are in flux and therefore unreliable.

The New Beginning Stage

There is a difference between a start and a new beginning. Often, change creates a start, yet transition is still underway and people are still in the neutral stage feeling lost, confused and uncertain.

A beginning only takes place after they have come through the wilderness and are ready to make the emotional commitment to do things the new way and see themselves as new people.

A start could be carefully designed, like an object. A beginning should be nurtured, like a plant. A start takes place on a schedule as a result of decisions while a beginning is the final phase of the organic process called transition.

The business world is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. You must learn how to leverage on change by riding on the waves of change.

“When the rate of change outside a business is higher than the rate of change inside the business, the end of that business is near”. ~Jack Welch

Are you a startup founder or an employee that has passion for entrepreneurship and you want to know more about how to manage transition, business model, online presence and many more?

You can order for my book Startupreneur. It will open your eyes to what you need to know as a business owner.

*Ebenezer Dare is an IT consultant who loves teaching startups on how to build sustainable business models. He is the CEO and co-founder at Hostlag Limited, a domain name and web hosting company.

If you don’t live for designing business model, your business won’t last. Business can only make progress when it is been re-invented on a daily basis. Ask Blockbuster why they lost the video rental business to Netflix- Business Model.

By definition, business model is a plan for the successful operation of a business, identifying sources of revenue, the intended customer base, products, and details of financing.

A business model lays out a step-by-step plan of action to profitably operate the business in a specific marketplace.

The business model for a restaurant is significantly different from the business model for an online business for instance.

To put together a business model, let’s look at the following points that make up a business model canvas.

Key partners: Who are the key partners for your business? Identify them and deal with them accordingly and have a good business relationship with them.

Key activities: When we say key activities, I mean what are the activities done on a daily, weekly and monthly basis in your business? All these must be identified and documented. This will help you put structure to your business and it will help you make informed decisions that will move the company forward.

Key resources: Key resources talks about the tools you can’t do without on a daily basis for your business, like the location for your business, human resources, recurrent expenses, and every other resources that will make your business profitable. Let’s take for example a website designer, he may not necessarily need an office, but he needs a laptop to work with, he would need internet data, he would have to get a domain name and hosting package.

Value proposition: What are the values you want to offer your customers? What are the features intended to make your company or product attractive to customers? Value proposition is what your customers want to hear about your product or services.

Customer relationship: This is the way you deal with your customers; it could be an existing customer or a potential client. Customer loyalty is very key in business and for a customer to be loyal, the relationship between you (your business) and the customer must be unwavering. You must possess the following qualities for you to be in a successful relationship with your customers; transparency, integrity, swift response to customer complaints, quick delivery of goods ordered and so on.

Customer segment: Customer segment is a function of customer relationship, it is the practice of dividing a customer base into groups of individuals that are similar in specific ways relevant to marketing, such as age, gender, interests and spending habits.

Channels: What are your channels of delivery? How do you intend to deliver your products or services to your customers? Let’s say you are into a bakery business, while some of your customers may come to the bakery to pick up their goods, you can also arrange for a vehicle to go supply to customers that are not close by. In this wise, there’d be two channels of delivering your products to your customers which will eventually boost your profits.

In conclusion; Successful businesses have developed business models that enable them to fulfill client needs at a competitive price and sustainable cost. Over time, circumstances change especially in this information age, and many businesses revise their business models frequently to reflect changing business environments and market demands.

In this article, I will share with you the story of a businessman in Nigeria who started a business from scratch as a result of his frustration after searching for a job for many years as a graduate but could not find one.

Nnamdi Ezeigbo is the founder and CEO of SLOT systems limited, and also the brain behind TECNO and INFINIX, the fastest selling phone brands in Nigeria.

Many people are not even aware that these popular phone brands are the brainchild of a fellow Nigerian. His success story is a very remarkable one.

He studied Electrical Electronics Engineering at the Yaba College of Technology in 1988, and got a Higher National Diploma (HND), before serving his country, Nigeria, during his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year at Guinness Nigeria PLC, in 1996.

After completing his youth service year, Nnamdi Ezeigbo tried to secure a job with a company in Nigeria. With no promising signs of any potential employment, he went on to work as an apprentice, learning how to repair computers.

After which he launched out on his own to repair computers for individuals.  Since he didn’t have any cash at the time, he had to squat with a friend of his at Ikeja, who owned a book store. His customer base grew, largely because of his honesty and the premium he placed on customer service.

The mutual trust and good relationship with his customers was what gave him his first break in business.  One day, an old customer he knew from his days as an apprentice came to his little shop to see him.

He told him he would love him to continue fixing his computers, but would prefer he operated from a larger and more serene environment.

To help him out, the customer brought some printers for Nnamdi to sell, from which he used the proceeds to setup a new shop for himself. He paid for the store at a then price of 180,000 Naira (He later bought that same store many years later for 100 million Naira).

From his new store, he began to sell computers. As his business grew, a lot of customers started to both demand for slot stores in areas close to their vicinities, and to ask if they sold mobile phones. With a keen eye to spot opportunity when it presents itself, Nnamdi Ezeigbo immediately expanded his business to also cover the sale of mobile phones.

With no real knowledge on how to manage a growing business, Nnamdi decided to enroll for an MBA program at the prestigious Lagos Business School. He also began to attend many workshops on entrepreneurship, and that helped to sharpen his business acumen and developed his legendary entrepreneurial prowess.

During this process, he and his team decided to take a 5-year route to build a strong reputation for their brand.

By the time the projection had elapsed, the Slot brand name was the most reputable mobile phone retailer in the whole country.

The rise of telecommunication networks created many opportunities in the Nigerian market. Their poor services caused many Nigerians to purchase more than one mobile phone, so they could try a different network when the other was bad.

Nnamdi realized this problem early on, and approached Nokia in a bid to convince them to manufacture dual sim phones for Nigerians, so they would carry only one mobile phone at a time instead of two. They refused to listen because, seeing people carry more of their phones meant more phone sales for them.

According to his interview with one of the media company, Nnamdi said;

“So I went to China and got a guy who had worked with a company called Bird then. Bird was into phones but they got choked and lost market share. I met with the guy and asked the guy to let us do something. I came with that name and I registered it here and brought the guy to Nigeria. And that was the high point of our business. We came together and I designed the first Tecno phone, Tecno T101. We started it but the market did not accept it and we also had problem with the dual SIM not working together and we had to make corrections and we came with Tecno 201 which was a bit accepted by the market. But we were basically giving marketers on credit to sell the phones and then pay us later. And I was funding it all alone.”

“Since I was funding it alone, we were finding it difficult to get the right quantity to sell until the market started accepting us. What I now did was to make them pay in advance, I mean the dealers. So we started using their money to order the products.  This was around 2007. The introduction of Tecno brand was the turning point of our business.”

“Like I said, TECNO is my baby and we kept improving. I knew a day would come when the middle class would accept TECNO. Initially, it was a phone for low income people but based on improvement and upping our game, the middle class had to accept it. And when the economy went down in 2008, that helped Tecno to move to the top. Since purchasing power had dropped, they had to go for something that has same capabilities but cheaper. So with ₦15,000, you could buy a Smartphone and thank God for 3G network. The advent of 3G network actually helped TECNO to move up. So students who could not afford to buy phones in the range of ₦30,000 could buy one for ₦15,000 and enjoy features of Smartphone like Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and so on.”

Today, Nnamdi Ezeigbo is a phenomenal success story in Nigeria and indeed Africa. From a humble repair man, he has built a MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR company and one of the most recognizable brand in Nigeria.

There are many lessons in this story, I will leave you to figure them out.

There’s been an interesting conversation going round that since businesses could sell on social media platforms and customers are buying without fear of been duped or not getting what they ordered, why does a business still need a website?

Also, age-long organizations claimed that they have been doing well before the internet bubbles of the late 90s and many (including companies that started after the internet bubbles busted) are still doing well today even without having a website, why should they choose to have a website?

Many business owners even tried to register a domain and develop a website for their businesses but decided not to renew it again after the first year because according to them, the website is not generating money for them.

According to expireddomains.net, well over 518 million domain names have been deleted to date while active domain names stand at 640 million.

The question these business owners that their domain names got deleted keep asking is why do they need a website for their business?

Let’s look at few reasons why you need a website for your business

1. Official Business Email Address:

Are you one of those who still use generic email addresses like yahoo, gmail or hotmail as your business email address?

Some big and well-structured organizations will never do business with you if you don’t have an official business email address and this is part of the package that comes with having a business website.

Part of the add-ons that comes with hosting your website is the ability to create official email addresses and you don’t have to pay a dime extra except if you want to use tools like Google workspace or Microsoft 365 to access to your email address.

2. Brand and Business Control:

With your own business website, you determine how visitors and customers should view your business with well curated content that suits your marketing style. Also, if any social media platform shuts down at any time, it does not affect your business because your website will continue to represent your brand identity and message.

3. Improved Customer Service:

Having a business website can greatly improve your customer service experience, engagement and capabilities. With a website, you can communicate with your customers more efficiently, provide them with the information they need, and offer tools such as chatbots and contact forms to address their concerns and convince potential clients to do business with you.

4. Increased Visibility and Marketing Opportunities:

Your website allows your business to be visible to potential customers anytime of the day, regardless of their location or time zone.

This can help increase your brand awareness and attract more customers. A website can be optimized for search engines, allowing businesses to reach a wider audience and attract potential customers who are actively searching for their products or services.

5. Build Trust and Credibility:

A professional website with detailed information about your business (phone number, office address, contact information etc) help builds trust with potential customers and enhances your perceived legitimacy. Investing in a quality website can be a game-changer for your business, opening up new opportunities for business growth and success.

6. Data Collection and Analytics:

Having a business can help you to gather data about your customers behaviours and buying preference, allowing you to refine your business model, marketing strategies and improve user experience.

In conclusion, while social media platforms are fantastic for creating awareness for your business, building a huge fanbase or followership, it is nothing compared to having a website for your business as website remains the foundation for online presence and visibility for businesses giving you the much-needed control, flexibility, effective and efficient customer engagement. [Featured Image Credit]

The session, moderated by Busayo Balogun, head of Corporate Services at the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), featured speakers including Omotola Olaseni, managing director/CEO of GO54; Ebenezer Dare, CEO of HOSTLAG Limited; Ahmad Mukoshy, CEO of GigaLayer; and Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, managing director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone. 

These experts delved into the benefits, challenges, and untapped opportunities surrounding the adoption of .ng domains by Nigerian businesses and web developers.

The Case for Localisation: Leveraging .NG for Growth

Omotola Olaseni stressed the importance of owning a local domain: “If you want to succeed in Nigeria and truly establish your presence, having a .ng domain will go a long way for you and your business.”

Ebenezer Dare built on this, highlighting the technical advantages of .ng domains, particularly in reducing cyber risks and enhancing Search Engine Optimization (SEO): “Using a .ng domain and hosting locally reduces the number of attacks on your website. If your traffic is local, it helps your SEO because search engines prioritise locally hosted websites when people search within the country.”

He also noted the affordability of .ng domains, stating: “Many years ago, .com was way cheaper than .ng. But today, you can buy three .ng domains for the price of one .com. They are all top-level domains, so why not go with the cost advantage?”

Addressing Challenges

Ahmad Mukoshy acknowledged some challenges developers face when working with .ng domains, particularly with DNS configurations: “Developers tend to have challenges with manipulating or using DNS because it is complex, as simple as it seems.”

He further elaborated on the advantages of .ng domains, explaining their unique offerings compared to .com: “There are some other domain names you would want, and you would not find them under .com. The .ng domain gives you sovereignty and a unique identity as a Nigerian.”

Ebenezer Dare addressed misconceptions about .ng domains being “too local,” emphasising: “Some people say my business is global, so I don’t want to remain local. But even with a .ng domain, anybody from any part of the world can access your website and do business with you. Let’s educate our customers about these advantages and work to mitigate the challenges.”

.NG as a Symbol of Sovereignty

Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju brought a historical perspective to the discussion, tracing the evolution of the internet from the early days of the World Wide Web to the current era of Web 3.0: “The future of the World Wide Web lies in artificial intelligence, blockchain, and machine learning. The .ng domain gives Nigeria a sovereign digital identity, akin to the country code +234. It shows that Nigerians are powering and contributing to the digital ecosystem.”

He also highlighted the government’s role in adopting .ng domains, noting the example of Service Wise GPT, an AI-powered platform recently launched to enhance civil service processes: “This project shows the potential of integrating AI into government services, and it is all powered by .ng domains. The local domain reinforces our identity and promotes innovation within the country.”

Building Awareness

In closing, the panel emphasised the need for increased awareness about the benefits of .ng domains. Busayo Balogun, the moderator, noted: “I’m sure there are challenges, but sessions like these help in building trust and confidence in the .ng domain.”

There was a consensus among the panellists that organisations like NiRA should engage with tech communities, schools, and businesses to drive .ng adoption.

Ebenezer Dare reiterated: “We need to create more awareness. Let people see the need for .ng domains. Engage tech communities and educate students about this. With time, more people will embrace .ng domains.”

The session at the NiRA Tech Convergence 1.0 was a detailed exploration of how webmasters and developers can leverage .ng domains to drive growth in Nigeria’s digital space.

It stressed the need for stakeholders to embrace local domains as tools for innovation, economic growth, and national identity.