Leverage: All you need is a conduit and a starving crowd.
As a third world native, learning how to build alliances and identifying a hungry crowd for your project, skill and business matter. In today's letter, learn how someone like you applied leverage.
Escorting mum to the market was one of my favourite hobbies as an adolescent.
Markets in Nigeria are a mix of density and disorderliness.
Here, you wade through a sea of people always negotiating transactions, and a typical African mum is likely to haggle every price to get a good bargain.
It was a mentally draining exercise, especially for an adolescent.
But I enjoyed the trips to the market, basically because it availed me the opportunity to see the outside world since I stayed mostly indoors.
I also had the chance to observe people and products.
I consider myself an observant person. I still remember some of the ideas and products I paid attention to as an adolescent.
From the reddish rechargeable lamps that came with a tape recorder to the first Cowbell milk advert I heard on the radio: “Cowbell, our milk” — I can still recall everything.
One of the products I observed was Eleganza Group products.
They pioneered the market entry of cutlery, food flasks, cooking utensils and plastic household items (like coolers).
Back in 2003, when I visited local markets with mum, Eleganza product was number one. Quality and affordable products.
They were customers' favourite home items, at least for average families.
In January 2020, 17 years later, I saw an IG post celebrating the founder of Eleganza Group, Chief Razak Okoya on his 80th birthday.
The post reminded me of a man whose products dominated our (my parents ) home growing up.
It also nudged me to research Chief Okoya.
I discovered he is now a multi-billionaire, and he has established the Eleganza group as a conglomerate that has also branched into other industries like skincare and real estate.
Now, I started asking questions, as I would each time I find a subject of interest.
How did Chief Razak, a third world native who had no formal education, born to an average background, achieve this feat?
What did Okoya do differently? Can I learn the strategies he deployed to build generational wealth?
I found some answers:
First, Chief Okoya found a conduit.
Okoya grew up as an apprentice at his father’s tailor shop.
In the early 90s, he saved 40 pounds off mending clothes for low-end clients like close friends.
But he was ambitious. He discovered the catalogue of a manufacturer in Japan.
They produce fashion designers accessories like buttons and fabrics.
Okoya noticed they were of good quality and cheaper in Japan.
He did his maths and realised it was a profitable business on paper.
He ordered the accessories from Japan and released them to the Nigerian market at a cheaper rate.
The success inspired him to start a consumer products business, like cooking coolers and kitchen utensils.
He also ventured into the jewellery business, producing quality jewellery and selling it at an affordable rate to a target market: Women.
As Okoya sales increased, he considered manufacturing rather than importation.
This new quest took him to Japan, other parts of Asia and the world to seek for trusted partners to help with the expertise and facilities needed.
If you’ve read Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog you’d notice a similar pattern in both Okoya and Knight’s entrepreneurial stories.
Like Okoya, Knight started importing what we know today as Nike shoes into the US from Japan.
And after years of importation from Japan, he also considered manufacturing the shoes.
He sought expertise from the Japanese who assisted with funds to scale up Nike, labour and industrial equipment to manufacture the shoes.
Noticed a pattern yet?
Here’s the gist: See a conduit as network and partnerships.
It’s like LinkedIn, capable of connecting you to your next employer or investor.
When Okoya found the catalogue of manufacturers in Japan, at a time when the world had no LinkedIn and social media, he found a conduit. A manufacturer to communicate value to; I can help you sell your product in Nigeria, a new market.
Next, both Okoya and Knight invested in relationships — with the manufacturers to move from the point of playing small games — importation — to dreaming big: manufacturing.
So why are they both stressing themselves? Why would they leave Nigeria and the US to seek a platform or conduit in Japan? They could have stayed in their home country and relaxed.
These questions lead us to the next point:
Okoya and Knight found a starving crowd.
I’ve failed at starting about three businesses and personal projects.
Like I always say, there is a pattern or design to everything in life.
I didn’t understand this until I subjected myself to more study.
I discovered that to succeed in any project or business venture, you need to make sure there’s ‘a starving crowd’ ready to devour your offers.
Know this, and you will save yourself time, money and energy.
Chief Okoya found a starving crowd in Nigerian average families looking for quality home products at an affordable rate.
For women looking for quality jewellery on the cheap. For new couples looking for budget homes to start new families.
It’s the same for Phil Knight. He found quality running shoes in Japan, cheaper than its competitors, Adidas and Converse.
For the conduits Okoya and Knight approached in Japan, they saw Nigeria and the US as an opportunity to expand into new markets. It’s a win-win business deal.
What’s in it for you?
As a third world native and an under-30 fellow, consider networks and partnerships (conduit) as an essential part of success. It’s a fast lane to success.
What you would achieve in 10 years could be accomplished in 12 months with the right partnership and networking.
Start investing in the right relationships to build strong networks and partnerships.
A skyscraper does not spring tall in one night. Contractors start first by planning before they assemble elements like concretes and steel to elevate the structure.
Like the contractors, be intentional about what network you need to get into, what partnership you need to form by first, thinking and planning.
Next, impress your thoughts and plans upon the universe by acting. Call Mr A in Lagos. Reach out to Mrs Asante in Kenya. Form alliances with Mandiba in South Africa, Kwame in Ghana, Guillaume in France and Joon Ji Park in South Korea.
I started writing about the power of leverage last week. Next week, I will write about Arese Ugwu. I could not complete research on the subject, so I switched to this instead. As always, I’d love to know what you think about today’s newsletter. Let’s chat in the comment section.
If you can, join or support the ongoing nationwide protest to end police brutality in Nigeria either online or offline. It is a shared problem we must commit ourselves to fight, at all costs. It is either now or never.
As you lend your voice, please stay safe and protect your mental health. #EndSars #EndPoliceBrutality