Other People’s Problems

Always Reaping; Never Sowing — It is only birds that are entitled to
reap where they do not sow. You are not a bird. Never forget that!!! At
some point, you will have to sow in order to reap. That is what humans do.
Let me set the scenario. If you are a young person in a household, even
when you don’t contribute to the household purse, you have something to
bring to the table. You can run errands, mind the children, wash the cars,
be the ready handy-person etc. If you are not contributing and sowing, you
will become a liability. And soon, you will find yourself out of that house.
In the event that you start working while living there, even when they do
not ask you to, bring something to the table. Find something and
contribute to. Buy bread for the kids, bring home something on your way
back from work, be useful. Let the people you are living with feel your
presence.

You must gain control over your
money or the lack of it will
forever control you.

~ Dave Ramsey

1. Starting Business With Interest-Bearing Borrowed Funds— The
   emphasised word here is “starting”. This is as good as digging a grave for
   yourself. Yes, it can go well in some instances but how about if it does not
   go well? That means you will be running around with interest that
   compounds. Engaging in business is a risk —things happen; foreseen and
   unforeseen. If people believe in you/your venture, try to get them to invest
   or try to get funds without interest from friends and family. Get upfront to
   deliver the job. ‘Nuf said.

2. Managing Access — I have talked about this before but I want to
   reiterate it. This is a very big issue. The rich know themselves. They may
   not necessarily be in an association but they know things in their sphere.
   Information gets to them quickly and they use information to make
   business decisions. May the information they get about you not be “s/he
   will start asking for money on your first meeting”.

I got this from a friend and it says it all “When you get an opportunity to
meet a very wealthy person, never ask for money. Ask for ideas on how to
make money. They may even choose to give you money or invest on their
own after seeing that your ideas are great, but getting money from them
should never be your objective”.

Don’t tell me where your
priorities are. Show me where
you spend your money and I’ll

tell you what they are.

~ James W. Frick

1. Bad Timing—There is a time for everything. Know what is important
   now and get it done. There are short-term plans and long-term plans.
   Don’t mix them up. School fees money is not for investment. Long term
   money is not for short term plans and vice versa. When I was in school, 7-
   Up share price was about NGN5. In as much as I felt, it was a good stock
   to buy, I had no money.

All the money I had was for my school fees. And I
did what was responsible; pay the fees. By the time I had money to invest,
that same stock was NGN23. Do I beat myself up for not investing in
what would have become more than four times the initial investment? No,
it was not yet time.

The same thing happened to me when Zenith and GTB did their IPOs in

1. I did what I could. There were important things to sort out in my life
   then—siblings’ fees, parents’ upkeep, spiritual contributions etc. Don’t get
   so worked up about missed opportunities. Do what you have to do when
   you can. Business opportunities are like buses, the next one will come.

2. Becoming A Bank — Banking is a business and please do not become

a bank to your friends. Avoid holding money for people or being the one-
stop shop to loan money to your friends and family. Anybody that needs a

loan should approach the bank. Many friendships have been lost via failed
financial transactions. If you love your relationships, try to keep money
dealings away from it.

I had this young friend that I loved. I was very involved in his life. I wanted
the best for him. He had it all—God-fearing, intelligent, good looks and
likeability. One day he approached me for a loan for a business. He showed
me his well mapped out plans. We had a long talk. I told him to start small
and then, I can see how I can help.

He felt insulted and walked out on me.
I called him back after a while and told him that I cherish our relationship
more than what was at stake. I gave him many examples. I doubt he
listened but I had done my part. Many years down the line, I reached out to
him and he told me what he was up to. It was a small business. I gave him
some money and we agreed on the set terms.

He started paying back but
after a while, he defaulted and then the predictable happened; I lost both
him and my money. I knew it was going to happen but I also wanted to
prove that to him. So sometimes that “wicked Uncle/Aunty” is someone

who still cherishes that relationship and is doing all that is possible for
things not to go bad.

He who will not economize will

have to agonize.

~ Confucius

1. Lending Out Funds You Cannot Lose — I am sure everyone has
   advised you on this one. Seems to be common knowledge but I must
   reiterate this. Try not to lend out funds that might wipe you out, that is, if
   you must lend.

One of my senior friends reached out to me because he needed urgent
funds. It was big money for me. I sat down and thought about it for a long
time. He is a person of integrity, has been in my life for a long time and he
has contributed so much. I told my wife about it and we decided to give
him the money. My reason was simple, “if this guy does not pay, I am at
peace with it. He has contributed enough to warrant me giving him that
money”. Guess what? He paid back.

But remember that I was ready to
write off the money just in case he did not pay back. Yes, there was no
drama involved. I am sure you were expecting one☺

1. Considering Your Money As Little — Your fund will become what
   you call it. “How much can I save from this little money?” While you are
   asking that, know that your colleagues with that same salary and with your
   same issues are still saving from that “little” money.

HOW TO TRADE THE STOCKS MARKET PROFITABLY:

The whole aim of
saving is to become a habit and not necessarily about how much you saved.
In a whole year, you might be able to save only NGN20,000. That is good.
It means you can discipline yourself in the midst of so many issues to keep

something aside. Your next task should be “how do I find something that
will make me more income?”, “How do I obtain skills that can make me
more marketable?”. Focus on what you can bring to the table so that
someone can pay you more for the service/product that you sell/produce.

1. Using Social Media Only for Laughs—That same YouTube that
   you use to watch Mark Angel’s latest is the same others are using to learn
   new skills. I have learnt so much from YouTube, free online courses,
   Twitter etc. I have become better by consciously looking for things that
   will add value to moi.

I see many only going to YouTube to find the next
“Funke !!!” , “Lasisi Elenu'' and their likes. Guess what? Those people you
are watching are making a living out of it and minding their business. As
their viewership increases, so also does their net worth. Can you be a
specialist in an area where someone will pay top dollars for you? Give it a
thought.