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OKECHUKWU ONWUKA

The Risk ProfessorSeries

How much money is Enough?

The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and

sells itself.

Peter F Drucker

We all can do with a little extra money. Some might say, not just little but lots of it. I had a

friend who said all she wants is a simple life with simple things. Shes not asking for too much.

And I would respond by saying that I agree. Only that simple things like a house in a cool

estate, a brand new car with less mechanic stress, a good silent Diesel generating set with

enough capacity to power all the Air conditioners in the house, a good job or thriving business,a loving and supportive spouse, a yearly vacation to one choice holiday resort in the world, fly

conservatively at Business class, a spare brand new car for the kids, a loyal dedicated driver,

enough savings in the bank to guarantee retirement peace may not be that simple to achieve.

May be it is the desire for such simple things that drive many into the frenzy of wanting more

money. So we find ourselves pushing, plotting and scheming for the next promotion, the next

pay raise, the next bonus. We want to move to the next level. Buy our first brand new car.

Build a house of our own. Run a bigger more visible company. Buy a second car for our spouse.

Travel more frequently. Eat better, dress better. Wear designer labels. Be the envy of our

friends. Show them that you have arrived. Or better still; show your enemies and all those whosaid youll not make it that they are wrong. That the only reason you are not Bill Gates is that

you were unlucky to be born a Nigerian. How can those boys you were much better than in

school be the CEO of banks and multinationals, youll show them. Your best friend just bought

a Hummer Jeep or is it a Range Rover Sports utility and came to your house to make sure you

see it and your emotions go into overdrive. You must buy the same vehicle or better still, a

more expensive one.

As an entrepreneur, you start looking for ways to grow your profits overnight to give you the

opportunity to satisfy your immediate craving of simple life or levels. Your competitor has

made the top 200 lists based on asset value and you must make the same list.

When these emotions take hold, the quest for more money enters into overdrive. Ironically,

history shows that no amount of money or growth is ever enough for those who enter into such

quests. There will always be a new financial status to be attained. Richest man in your family,

richest in your village, richest man in your state, country and finally, maybe richest man in

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world. Even the position of the richest man in the world is constantly changing hands. History

and statistics have shown that the quest for more money, for the sake of more money can be

very frustrating as there is usually no end in sight. Is there a better way then, since we all need

money for the basic, simple things of life? The answer is a resounding YES.

"I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give

others... I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent."

Thomas Edison

Take a cue from Thomas Edison, the inventor and entrepreneur. He identified problems within

his society and the world and then focused all his energy, passion and commitment with

patience, diligence and tenacity to develop affordable solutions. He loved his pursuits so much

that the monetary rewards were only a secondary benefit. One day he is celebrated a hero for

one good invention, the next he is castigated for being too slow in delivering the goods but hewas not deterred because his passion was not a result of public opinion but a personal

commitment and drive. For this reason he was able to overcome several failures while enjoying

the many small incremental successes that led to the big ones. Even when the financial

manipulators forced him out of the Company he co-founded, Edison General Electric Company

on the strength of his inventions in Electricity including the incandescent lamp, he sold all his

10% shares out of frustration and proceeded to form a new company which produced the First

Operable Motion Picture Camera. His conviction was that if he produced solutions to human

needs, people will patronize you and the profits are bound to follow. He was a passionate

inventor, not a money growth fanatic.

With this approach, youll find that solving peoples problems, delivering services that meet

their needs produce a satisfaction in the entrepreneur that is deeper than what money alone

brings. This is also much more rewarding if you utilize your training, talent, passion and

experience to produce and deliver your products and solutions. There are several other

benefits to this approach. They include

You enjoy your work. While many consider work suffering or labourious, each minute

you spend working is tremendous fun.

You look forward to the satisfaction in the eyes of your customers. The positive

feedbacks. No amount of money can equal the feeling.

You have several positive memories as you grow older that makes your life ever so

richer. You can see around you the effects of the positive contributions you have made

to quality living in your community, family, state and country.

Even if you hate money, people will pay for things they need. The wider the spread of

the solution you provide, the richer youll become. TATA, the big Indian carmaker has

just introduced a $2000 car into the market. Now, thats a solution.

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Value-addition brings fulfillment. Money chasing brings constant stress and tension.

One of the primary failings of the Nigerian banks has been the very low interest in adding real

value to the country. Their focus has simply been to attract deposits without having any plan,

product or service that really shows care and value-addition to customers and entrepreneursbeyond the fancy slogans and colourful logos which they confuse with the real meaning of

branding which remains image of the value and quality that you deliver in the mind of the

customer. Unfortunately, our creditable Information Minister, Dora Akunyili has been

hoodwinked into adopting this peripheral concept of branding because those we expect to

know better as experts have been blinded by greedy pursuit of lucre at the expense of sound

values. Instead of developing sustainable sound strategies for customer outreach, the trend is

to use Promos which promise depositors various awards such as cars, motorcycles, generators

etc. This I consider a tragedy.

Marketing officers from several banks have visited me in my office seeking account openingand deposits. All have failed to provide an answer when I ask them what they think their banks

offer or can do better than other banks. In only one case, I met a young manager in charge of

SME Operations and he is the only one to date I have met in the bank who showed an interest

in adding value first before receiving. He has referred a number of clients to us after taking the

pains to review our history, performance and service provision. It was no surprise that he

called me last week to tell me he has been forced to resign. I was not surprised because he did

not share the bring the deposits in, we dont care how you do it mentality. After all, some

marketers are successfully bringing it fat deposits, so why should he not perform. I have

reassured him that his future is bright. The future of this country belongs to ethical, principled

value creators and solution providers. If you are making a living now selling diesel or

generators, my advice is to start a rethink. Nigeria will have stable power supply someday

sooner than you expect. Our refineries will work including private refineries. We shall export to

other countries. Generators as major power supply items will be history. Portable water is

coming too. All those who are focused on more money will continue to chase the shadows

while the committed visionaries provide cutting edge solutions that will etch their names into

history books. Air-Conditioned buses have come to Lagos State. It started with BRT lanes.

Shortly, the fast trains will come. More Tinapa-like concepts will be built. Great hospitals are

being built. The efforts might not get popular appeal or applause at first but surely as the

results come, even the most incredulous will become converts.

The pessimists will continue to doubt but we are moving ahead. Well confront the issues withresolve and tenacity powered by passion and commitment. There is no time to blame people,

others or the Government. Ill-gotten wealth hardly produces any enduring legacy. By the

collective action of ethical business people, someday, one of such people will become

Governor, President, leader of Mega corporations, social entrepreneurs, etc.

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If you are currently employed, look for a business or operating problem facing your company or

department and find a solution to it. Get your boss to buy into it. Even if you dont get

promoted or rewarded immediately for it, the knowledge will remain with you. And it will come

in handy some day.

Decide to use your passion and talent today to solve a need, at whatever level you find

yourself. As an entrepreneur, chase value creation and leave the money to chasing you.

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