Tomiwa Ogunremi: What you need to do to make money online

In this interview, Tomiwa Ogunremi shares insights on the possibilities associated with making money online.
According to him, “there is a lot of money to be made online”. How this is possible is what Sanmi Falobi sought to find out. Excerpts.

There are increasing calls for people to go online for extra streams of income, how is it possible? What are some of the ways to make money through social media platforms?
This is the issue. Many people think you have to pick money online. No! There is no money growing tree online; it is a platform to sell and make money. Just like a physical market, you can’t make money there if you don’t have anything to sell. You will only go and come back empty if you don’t have anything to sell.
Let me break it further. There are over 4 billion people worldwide online daily doing one thing or the other. This is more than the half of people in the world gathered in one place. These people have needs. These are people with problems. These are people with desires. It is said that, where people are, is where the money is.
Now here is the trick, if you know how to meet the need, solve the problem and fulfil the desire of these people, you are automatically rich. Let’s say the need of these people is sneaker shoe and you can provide it in the quality and quantity they need, you are made. What makes online different from the normal physical market is the numbers and the ease of doing business. If the shoe is N1,000 for instance, you will be lucky to sell hundred pieces in a day in the normal market, but you can sell one million pieces in a day online.

There is no physical market with over ten million people in the same place at the same time anywhere in the world, but online, billions gather. However, unlike the physical market, you can sell the intangibles online. You can sell your talent, skills, knowledge or experience online. You can train, lecture or teach people on how to do a thing. You can sell your music, dancing, or idea online.

As an expert, is there a template that can be used as a guide; are there learning platforms/mentors to be contacted?
Good question! The truth is, it is easier said than done. There are skills to learn and systems to set up to be able to sell and make millions online. So, anyone interested in making money online, he/she must be ready to subject him or herself to learning.
The first thing to learn is, what are the problems a lot of people have online? Which of them do I have the skill, capacity, knowledge or experience to solve? Which of them can I equip myself to provide?
Then you learn where exactly these people are, online, and what do you need to set up to reach these people. Some are on emails, different social media platforms, YouTube, Amazon.
One of the best places to learn anything on how to make money in your area of interest online is YouTube. Another one is Google. However, I will suggest getting a personal coach and mentor in addition to personal learning and practising, if you desire to make money online, because like every trade, there are secrets which I detailed in my book, Online Millionaire Secrets.

Your advice on exploring social media for income possibilities.
My advice is simple; to avoid trial and error and frustration in your journey to source for extra income online, do your research, learn, unlearn and relearn, plan and execute. There is no food for a lazy man.

• Tomiwa Ogunremi is a creative writer, storyteller, author, digital marketer, copywriter, coach, and real estate Consultant. He has helped many brands and businesses move from zero clients to lots of premium clients that are begging to pay through proven systems and strategies.

© SUCCESSTACT, Vol 2, No 1. Download digital copy here.

‘Denike Fagbemi: Key insights every entrepreneur should know

In this interview, we delve into the inspiring world of Adenike Fagbemi, visionary founder and Creative Director/CEO of BrandTell Nigeria ltd. Driven by a passionate enthusiasm for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs, Fagbemi unveils her passion and expertise as a Publicist, Media consultant and Marketing Communications Pro.
Tobi Oyetunde captured the key highlights.

BrandTell and the drive to integrate branding as a core SME value
In today’s competitive business landscape, branding and marketing are essential for any start-up that wants to succeed. Adenike Fagbemi, CEO of BrandTell is one individual that is passionate about establishing a strong brand identity and putting in place an effective marketing strategy to empower start-ups with critical knowledge in establishing a solid brand and surmounting any challenges in their industries.

“We realise that what makes people unique is the story they have. So that’s the idea behind BrandTell and we have worked with individual brands and also corporate and public brands, but we thrive and try to delight ourselves that we work with SMEs,” says Fagbemi.

According to her, in making branding a core of SMEs initiatives, Entrepreneurs have the opportunity to receive constant guidance and support with the BrandTell Nigeria Business Push Group, a subset of BrandTell Nigeria. The push group, which is accessible by subscription, provides a platform for business owners and SMEs to learn basic tips and tricks to become the next big thing in their various niches while exploring both online and offline tools.

“Branding is important for start-ups because it helps them to stand out from the competition,” Fagbemi says.
“Effective branding helps start-ups and entrepreneurs to differentiate themselves from their competitors and convey their unique selling propositions and values to potential customers” she added.

How branding helps to position goods and service
Stressing the importance of consistency and clarity in branding efforts, Fagbemi says that there is a need for Start-ups to understand that branding is about conveying value and leaving a lasting impression on the target audience.
According to her: “Authenticity and consistency in brand messaging are crucial for start-ups to succeed in the business world. For entrepreneurs that are just starting off their businesses, it’s very important to know that branding is key and these things are what make you stand out. If you are going to be charging XYZ, for whatever your products or your services, you need to make your clients or prospects have the feel that you are doing something differently and that your personal brand or your corporate brand is worth the hype and that’s where branding comes in”

Laying emphasis on the need for entrepreneurs to embrace clarity while ensuring that their brand essence resonates with their target market and effectively communicates their value proposition, she noted that “brand message and brand essence needs to be well communicated and these are basic things that have to come with the marketing or branding of brands or products.”

Overcoming challenges: navigating the business landscape
While acknowledging the existence of some blocks and hurdles that start-ups face and must surmount to be successful, she noted that start-ups often face numerous challenges in today’s business landscape, such as economic fluctuations, unfavourable policy and limited access to support.
She also notes that accessing grants and loans can also pose to be a cumbersome process thus hindering the growth potential of these budding enterprises. Additionally, finding funding, skilled manpower, and affordable mentors become an uphill battle.

Thus in recognising these obstacles, Fagbemi says that BrandTell strives to bridge the gap by providing accessible and relevant resources to empower SMEs to overcome their challenges by providing tailored solutions to clients while ensuring effective brand development and strategy implementation.

“One of the virtues I possess when it comes to handling brands, training SMEs or even taking up projects is my readiness to learn on every project that I find myself. I already know that a project needs my professional expertise but at the same time, I know that I need to unlearn some things while handling various jobs because, for every project, there is a story behind the story, so I’m always open-minded when it comes to it.

“I love to educate my clients before telling them this is what you should do. Most brand marketers just bring their professional cards on the table but you need to understand that for every brand or for every niche you want to work with, there is a peculiarity that comes with it. It is important to do some background research about this XYZ brand, and while doing the research and trying to handle the project, know that educating your clients is very important. So, if you tell a client that ‘I don’t want us to do this’, you don’t just say you don’t want them to do this without backing it up with a fact; a fact as a result of your research,” she explains.

Stressing that each project presents a unique opportunity for growth, requiring both professional expertise and a willingness to unlearn and relearn, Fagbemi also lay emphasis on the significance of the ‘Five Ps’: product, price, place, packaging, and promotion, as key considerations in brand strategy.
According to her, the Five Ps make up the foundation when it comes to “handling a brand, doing a pitch or even directing or trying to educate an SME on why they should take up a strategy”.

She also noted that mental preparedness is one of the keys to overcoming challenges faced by SMEs while urging entrepreneurs to know that setbacks may occur and so there’s the need to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

“Before I take up a project or before I walk up to clients, I asked myself what is the worst that can happen. So, once I can identify the worst that can happen whether on a project or with a client, I prepare my mind towards that and I hope for the best but I prepare my mind for the worse,” Fagbemi says.

In the face of challenges, Fagbemi demonstrates resilience and places her trust in divine guidance and direction. She explains that even while preparing for worst-case scenarios on a project and dealing with clients, she seeks God’s direction, relying on His wisdom and provision in achieving a successful campaign. This spiritual foundation, coupled with strategic planning and expertise, according to Fagbemi, enables her to navigate obstacles and unlock new opportunities for success.

In her words, “I pray to God. I’m not trying to be so spiritual here, but I tell God what I want. I remind Him that I am a child of promise. I remind Him I am royalty; I am the king’s daughter, and this is what I would want but as much as this is what I want, I want His will to be done. So, I do this by the grace of God, it is not just a cliche or tradition. I do not just go on my knees to pray but I also have simple conversations with my creator.”

Keeping on, making progress
As Fagbemi continues in her mission to equip and empower start-ups and entrepreneurs across the nation through BrandTell and the BrandTell Nigeria Business Push Group, she is confident that SMEs can look forward to a brighter future where their unique stories resonate with a global audience and thus propel their businesses to new heights and successful strides.

For Adenike Fagbemi, her passion is to provide cutting-edge branding & marketing expertise to clients. This, she does in a unique way through a close working relationship with Start-ups and SMEs, including training thousands of SME owners on boosting their Brands using Social Media, assisting small businesses in registering of their brands with the Corporate Affairs Commission, managing the online and offline presence of tons of SMEs and providing the insights they need to know to enhance and advance their goods and services.

© SUCCESSTACT, Vol 2, No 1. Download digital copy here.

Dupe Obiora: How to nurture your venture from little to something BIG

Success is a journey. That is exactly what the story of Royal Vet Clinics and Pet Shops is all about. The one-room vet shop, which was started then by two young graduates who had just completed their NYSC in Calabar has now grown to become a leading and notable Veterinary Clinic and Vet Service Providers in Cross Rivers State and environs.
“I started with just a one-room shop space at a corner in Webber Street”, Dr. (Mrs.) Dupe Obiora, Managing partner, Royal Vet clinics & Pet shops said retrospectively in this interview with SUCCESSTACT, as she shares on the gradual but progressive success experience of going through thick and thin, times of lack and delayed gratification in running the affairs of the outfit, which is now a notable and leading Vet service provider in Cross Rivers State and beyond.
Excerpts from the interview session with Sanmi Falobi.

How did you start with Royal Vet?
I graduated from the University of Ibadan as a Veterinary doctor and served in Calabar during the 1991/ 92 NYSC batch. In the course of the service year, I had been seeking the mind of God on what next and I knew God wanted me to remain in Calabar. With this, I knew He had me do some things so I was not really looking for a job because I knew He had a plan for me. Even while I was working in a private firm in the course of the service year, I knew it was going to be for a short time working there because my colleague then who served with me in Calabar (who is now my husband) is also a Veterinary doctor. It was with him that I started together in November 1992, and we were working together until he ventured into full time ministry.

How was it coping with your husband as your business partner?
I think starting business as husband and wife is good as this builds intimacy, companion and fellowship. It binds. We shared our limitations and challenges together.

How did you grow the business?
One thing about growing a business venture is that you have to offer a service. People value you when you give them more that what is the worth. People also like respect. One of the secret in succeeding in business or in any venture is to make your client comfortable, showing respect and attention when answering their questions. People also like honesty and also having a fixed standard price so whether it’s a rich or poor man, they pay same rate. We didn’t have different rates by class and so we treated every client the same because what we were in business to do was to offer service. I have also discovered that people also like honest people. There are some times that people want us to inflate the price so they collect more money from their masters, but we don’t allow that. So whether it is the houseboy that brings a pet to us or the owner of the pet, our rate is same. Some people would leave and go to other places where they can get the prices inflated but when the chips are down and something goes wrong, they come running to us because of the standard we have in place.

… But didn’t you want to make money?
We wanted money but we were also passionate about what we were doing and so we had to exercise a great deal of patience. The truth is that your customer will see and know when all you are after is how to get money out of them, but if you are patient, they will have trust in you because they know you are not out to cheat them. For us, it was about service.
Service should come first and then money later. If you don’t give to the society, you can’t reap from them. So from experience, we saw that you don’t put money first, but service and at the end of the day, money will come. But if you put money first, people will run away, but if you put service first, even when they go, they will come back to you because of the quality of service they get from you. So in running your business, you should not put money first. Though everyone wants to make money but if you put service first, money will come. So put service before money. It always works.

You are lucky to have had you and your husband doing business in same profession…
I don’t believe in luck, I believe in God’s blessings. I have never seen luck and don’t k now what colour it is. I don’t know how it looks. Our success is linked with having an intimacy with God and our believe in Jesus as the way, the truth and the life. To succeed in life, you have to build a day-to-day relationship with God because there is a God factor in everything. If you don’t have the God factor, you will not want to serve. You will not be honest and you will be proud. There are things you cannot do if you have a good relationship with God. There are blessings that come to you because of your relationship with God.

Beyond the God factor, what other factors enhances success?
Don’t be lazy. Work when you are supposed to work. If your working time is 8am- 6pm, be at your place of work between 8am-6pm. If it is 9am-2pm, be there. As an entrepreneur running a business of your own or providing a service, let people know when you are at work. Not that you will say you will be open 9am-4pm and then when it is 2 o’ clock or 3 o’ clock, you say you are going and close your shop. People will not take you serious. If it is only four hours you want to be putting daily in your venture, be consistent so that in those four hours, people will know you are around and can always meet you.
There is a personal touch in growing and running a business, not that when people will want to see you, they will not meet you at work but meet your sales girl. So self-discipline is very important. When your clients and customers know that they can always meet you at a particular time that you will be around, they will come and meet you, and through that, you build confidence and trust.

How do you handle challenges?
I am a Christian and when I have challenges, I go down on my knees to pray.

… What has life taught you?
Life has taught me to do my best and that my best will bring results. Life has also taught me to be knowledgeable so that you have confidence in what you do. I attend seminars and conferences to stay abreast. I also believe in mentoring and seeing what other people are doing. For example, when I go to a new city, I go to vet shops there and ask questions to know what they do.

What other interests drive you on?
I have some other passion; passion for the ministry, passion for children evangelism and I minister to the teens. We run a tuition free school for the children of the less privileged member of the society. We also run churches within Nigeria and outside of Nigeria. All of these are to impact and bless the society and despite the challenges, the joy we have is to see that we are imparting lives.

• Dr. (Mrs.) Dupe Obiora and hubby, Rev. (Dr.) Mike Obiora are based in Calabar, Cross Rivers State.

© SUCCESSTACT, Vol 2, No 1. Download digital copy here.