#THEBIZMICGOTTHINGSTOSAY PART 1(B): BEST DECISION EVER!

Its all part of the Plan!

As it turns out, coming back home was the best decision I have ever made in my whole life. I am now over the crisis that was my premature “akwaaba”, taken from another perspective it was pure destiny. I am still not over the trauma of the local educational system I had to wade back into and the ensuing long and painful readjustment phase; lets just call it a process of reverse culture shock. I have still not fully come to terms with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Sorrows and Tears (KNUST) and until I do, I shall not write much about it; save the necessity of inking that degree onto my CV. I mean I remember how the Frankly Unaccomplished Cabal Keeping Ebullience Radically Short nearly succeeded in preventing a conclusion to my quest for purpose; but like I said, now is not the time. I digress; the topic at hand is that coming back home was the best decision I ever did make. In retrospect I would not have said this and meant it the way I do now a few years ago, but still I can even claim some level of prescience. I remember sitting down with one of the dearest women I have ever met, a counselor at the International Students Office in ‘Cuse who took me under her wing and advised me against coming back to Ghana; she felt it would be a mistake. I told her, “Back home, there are far more opportunities and far less distractions for me; there is a lot less pressure and I really understand the system, I will be able to mature and fully realize my potential.” I was right!

I knew deep down that in the US, I would at best be comfortably mediocre, but that in Ghana I could be truly great; I tired of having to choose between being the token African dude, or part of the close knit African clique – after all I am by nature an outgoing loner. I realize now though that I came to Ghana at precisely the time that the country was on the verge of leaving behind its past of obscurity in favor of a more robust exploitation of its huge potential. It could not have been a better-timed return; within a year of my arrival Ghana discovered oil and I found my calling in life; to be to Ghana what Rockefeller was to America. Ladies and gentlemen, that is the plan! Since our discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities I have been learning and soaking up so much information and experience that in my own biased opinion, I have become quite an astute local expert on the nascent petroleum industry – at only 24. At the same time I was slogging it out with the academics, I was also running around busily building the right connections, networking in the business circles and getting practical on the job expertise the hard way; the entrepreneurial way. I am glad to say that bit-by-bit, we are bringing the plan closer and closer to its fruition, we still have quite a lot to learn before we get there, but it is nice knowing that you are way ahead of the game. Nowadays, I regularly meet a lot of people who are only now trying to do what was done years ago, or learning what has long been known; they are new to the system and frankly they are behind and will be playing catch up for a while.

It has not been easy at all, in fact at times I almost gave up and run away back to the States – I raised the money myself and seriously contemplated that possibility a few times. However I remained in Ghana for so many reasons; first of all I cured myself of some dangerous habits; certainly not all of them but a marked improvement from before. Also I fell deeply in love and suddenly had a reason to be truly happy for once, though that proved to be another failed attempt at searching for an extrinsic source of joy; karma is only pleasant to the guiltless. Thirdly, I made some great friendships with individuals who had been through similar traumatic experiences and they helped me to settle down and re-appreciate the sun, the heat, the food and the sights and sounds of the land of my birth. Another reason was the onset of the Global Economic Crisis, which had very little effect on Ghana but left the prospect of working and financing the rest of my US college education by myself and in such a climate very unpalatable. But the most compelling reason is that I had a very supportive family; the parental unit was constantly admonishing me not to blame external sources for my troubles, but to reflect on the internal causes for my mistakes and seek to correct them. Thank you so much Mum and Dad for not coddling me into a dullard but forging me into the man I am today, a man who can truly survive in any circumstance.

As I gradually went native again, I suddenly began to realize the vast business opportunities available in a region of Africa that has been enjoying some unbridled growth over the past decade. So great was this epiphany that I knew my destiny was to become one of the rising stars of Africa, but only if I put in the necessary quantum of work and sacrifice. Sometimes I miss the good old days when I was carefree and spoilt; but I am far better at being mature, thoughtful and meticulously calculating. I think, I plan and I execute with the calm and precision born of constant practice dealing with both structured and unstructured situations. I am equally comfortable in a Tro-Tro station educating passengers on the recent petroleum product price increments or negotiating a multi-million dollar investment with a foreign investor at the Holiday Inn. I have not finished paying my dues in the school of hard knocks but I can smell the faint fragrance of graduation into the Big Easy, so I have been spurred on even more. I recently read “Talent Is Overrated” by Geoff Colvin and became even more convinced that all this stress I am facing; all this pain I am enduring; all this sweat, blood and tears are not being shed in vain. I am not going to be Rockefeller without it. Please note, he begun working in 1855 at age 16 in very modest circumstances, and it was not until 1865 that he made the decisions that launched him on his career to become America’s first Billionaire. I begun my career at 20, I am four years into the hustle and I have not made much yet but I bet you that by age 30, I would have been already set on a similar upward trajectory – this is not a boast but a simple statement of fact. You see I do not only aspire to be like these people, I know in my very marrow I am capable of doing what they did or even better – these are the personalities that I would deign to compete with and nobody else.

And this is not simply about money or accumulation of wealth for its own sake, this is about showing people that it is possible to achieve anything that you want in this world if you are willing to work hard enough at it. It is about leaving a legacy of hope and opportunity to the masses of African youth who have little chance to better themselves and their circumstances. If they can be shown that they can make their dreams a reality through consistent hard-work and not via any shortcuts, they shall have hope and will be galvanized into action, into developing their nations and bettering their own circumstances. That is the legacy I want to leave this world with and I get personal satisfaction from knowing that I am trying as hard as I can to make this happen; and it can only happen right here on the Dark Continent. I only pray that God grants me life that I may enjoy the blessings that are still accruing and may He be graceful enough to amortize my sins.

Cheers,

TheBizmic

L.J.J @ 2:59am 14/01/11

WHO IS AN ENTREPRENEUR?.......Part 1

This article was written by Samuel Okore Mintah, the Chief Operations Officer of BMIC. He is a true friend and a brilliant business partner with the mind of a business guru in the making. Enjoy!

I have been asking myself the same question time and time again, “Who is an Entrepreneur?” From the many books I have read on Entrepreneurism the same answer to this very question pops up; simply put “An Entrepreneur is anybody who DESIRES to take the risks necessary to employ him or herself and others in a business venture.” Desire is a required mental attitude for an entrepreneur, but in the harsh world of business it is not enough to simply have desire, in order to succeed you need something more. An entrepreneur , formulates a definite goal(s) from an Idea, identifies an Opportunity and without procrastination works diligently towards achieving his or her objectives no matter the inevitable impediments to create value from a potentially profitable venture. Ideas are the children of the brain, which means that Entrepreneurism begins in the Mind. It is important to note that any business idea is potentially profitable but transforming the idea into a lucrative reality depends of the amount of work and determination that the proponent of the idea wants to expend in the pursuit of success. It is most often fear of the uncertainties of self-employment that results in most people giving up potentially profitable entrepreneurial opportunities in favour of securing a ‘safe’ and secure job, which was created by someone else.

The striking fact of economics is this; entrepreneurs are the minority who create opportunities for the majority to make a living. Every successful business, big or small, local or global, was the brainchild of a determined entrepreneur(s) that consequently created opportunities for others to benefit from, either as employees, shareholders or consumers. Their activities buttress that of state-run institutions by providing occupations for all the people seeking jobs that cannot be employed by the government. Entrepreneurs make up and define the Private Sector of any economy, which in most capitalist societies is much bigger than the Public Sector. All these jobs and opportunities originated as a little idea in the mind of an entrepreneur, which consequently contributes to nation building, creating jobs for the people and wealth for him or herself. Wealth creation through job creation is the universal attribute that is seen in every entrepreneur. Members of the entrepreneurial minority usually start with nothing but a simple idea, massive amounts of Determination, an incredible Work Ethic, the refusal so accept Defeat or Failure and eventually accomplish great feats in diverse areas because of their willingness to work, work harder and then work some more. With an idiosyncratic CAN-DO attitude and a NEVER-GIVE-UP spirit, entrepreneurs have been able to change the destinies of others and the fortunes of entire nations.

During a conversation a friend once asked me, “If entrepreneurial skills and job creation was important why wasn’t it being taught in schools?” I responded as Robert Kiyosaki wrote in his book, “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, “wealth creation or entrepreneurism is not taught in schools”. The syllabus taught in schools teach nothing about job creation or how to realize value out of an idea because the syllabus has been designed to turn us into job seekers instead of job creators. Therefore entrepreneurism is an individual pursuit that begins with an idea and manifests into reality through Determination, Hard Work, Perseverance, Discipline and Creativity. Indeed because of the unique and rare qualities that are necessary for a true entrepreneur to be born, not all of us can become entrepreneurs, which means job creators must not necessarily equal job seekers to decrease the large rate of unemployment. According to Noel Brempong, if just 5% of the citizens of Ghana become bona fide job creators then the unemployment rate of this country would reduce drastically.

An entrepreneur doesn’t wait for opportunities to come their way instead they actively search for opportunities and when they find one, they are able to capitalize on it to create value through which they create jobs for others and wealth for themselves. They use these opportunities to create an efficient effort-based system where wealth is generated by taking hold of the idea no matter how simple or complex and putting in the work necessary for it to become a successful reality. These entrepreneurs have Limitless Courage, a Positive Mindset, a Persistent Spirit and most importantly Self-Belief. Besides the above traits, entrepreneurs take responsibility for their actions; they have confidence in others, they cooperate with others and learn from their mistakes. When they sense an opportunity they move into action without leaving any room for procrastination. In entrepreneurism one’s level of education, sex, age, and race have no bearing on becoming successful......

To Be Continued!