Michael Botu's Blog

IT'S SO VITAL TO TRAIN AND RETRAIN: To us at The Bikome Affairs training is like ridding a bike, to maintain peak performance, you've got to keep training and retraining. The Scriptures says; "The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city." Because, he doesn't know how, he wearieth everyone, including the owner of the business.

NEVER STOP LEARNING: But that information would be very valuable—we would learn how someone who had it all messed it up. Learning from other people’s adventures and mistakes is valuable information because we can learn what not to do without the pain of having tried and failed ourselves. As Haruki Murakami asserts “Unfortunately the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting.”

"In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and - SNAP -👏 the job's a game!" ~ Julie Andrews

WEALTH DOES NOT EQUAL INTELLIGENCE AND OR WISDOM It is wrong for entrepreneurs to think that just because someone works for them, that person is inferior or less intelligent and or lacks wisdom. The average entrepreneur in Nigeria threats his or her employees as slaves who are nothing but tools to be used and dumped whenever necessary. But is that the best?  You don't scold a grown man or woman like you are scolding a toddler, and in some cases less than you will scold your under age children and still expects them to be at their peak performance wise.

IT PAYS TO PAY OTHERS “If you deprive yourself of outsourcing and your competitors do not, you're putting yourself out of business.” ~ Lee Kuan Yew It's wisdom to evaluate where you are and project for the future as an entrepreneur, for the pain of closing a once thriving business goes beyond the immediate lose of a source of income for the business owner and jobs for the employees but also potential investors that may become frightened to invest in the sector. Imagine the ripple effect. Getting it right and keeping the business afloat and growing takes ingenuity. And because no one knows it all, outsourcing is a safe way to get things done effectively.

REDUCE FEAR: Fear stops action. Entrepreneurs have to be able to pivot and quickly take action when they see an opportunity or recognize a mistake. With fear riding on your shoulder, you won’t be a successful entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, if you let fear be your guide, you won’t be able to listen to your intuition, you’ll be afraid to take the necessary risks, and your judgment will be clouded by emotion. Find ways to reduce and manage your fear and you’ll be a much more successful entrepreneur.

TURN THE TIDE IN YOUR FAVOR. "It is not what happens that determines the major part of your future. What happens, happens to us all. It is what you do about what happens that counts." ~ Jim Rohn We all feel the pain, disappointment, frustration anguish and disgust. Things and situations we thought will get better are getting worse. The Late Sage Pa. Rewane puts it succintly when he said "Yesterday we prayed for a better tomorrow, today we weep for a better yesterday" It's so bad even the daring optimist are beginning to harbor doubt's about the possibilities of the emergence of the Nigeria of our dreams in our lifetime. Truth is what's happening is happening to us all, the question is what are you doing about it. As Jim Rohn puts it "Disgust and resolve are two of the great emotions that lead to change"

DO YOU HAVE A SECRET RECIPE? "........ Do you have a secret recipe no one can decode. Did you unlock a new supply channel?"  ~ Otunba Akin Alabi Otunba Akin Alabi is an Entrepreneur and philanthropist. The man behind the revolution we call online betting In Nigeria. The founder and CEO of NairaBET and author of the best seller - Small Business Big Money. He should know, he had been this and that before he finally saw success as a businessman and now a Politician Representing the good people of Egbeda/Ona Ara Federal Constituency.

THE COST: Brian Benton listed six major areas establishments that refuse to train are losing out, they are; 1. Untrained Workers Have a Low Production Value 2. Untrained Workers Are Inefficient More time (and therefore money) and effort is spent when employees aren’t fully or properly trained to perform their tasks or to fulfill their responsibilities. It takes them longer to do the work. 3. Lost Time/Money Due to Mistakes When an untrained worker makes a mistake, the time and materials used are lost. The work then has to be done again. Or worse, the inadequate product was delivered to the customer. 4. An Increase in Miscellaneous Expenses

NOT TRAINING IS COSTING YOU MORE 2 It was Zig Ziglar who said “You don’t build a business, you build people and then people build the business” Words any serious entrepreneur must take to heart and work with.  Before we look at what you are missing by not training, let’s look at your excuses, shall we. (If yours is not on the list, please drop a comment or a mail, you will get free advice from us and that’s bonding promise) 1) NO TIME: A wise man once said, “people create time for the things they love.” So the problem is not about time, its about prioritizing. what you as an entrepreneur place more premium on? The consistent, progressive growth of the establishment through the road of training or business as usual? 2) NO MONEY: You are the risk taker no doubt and you deserve to get that new car, build a bigger house, threat the family to an expensive vacation or even marry a second wife but you must plough some of the profit back into the business. Going by Z

NOT TRAINING IS COSTING YOU MORE Many entrepreneurs will not touch an untrained, untested driver with a long spoon. If an untrained driver will cost less in terms of salary, many entrepreneurs still wouldn’t hire them, particularly to be their personal driver. Yet many a Business owner do not acknowledge the importance of training their employees. Some of the excuses not to train are:  1) No time: we are too busy to learn something new 2) No Money: we don’t have the money to train 3) Don’t rock the boat: we like things the way they are as the old wrong saying goes; “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it”  4) What if I train and they leave: fear of employees leaving after so much had been invested on training them.

Watched a video clip where football legend Cristiano Ronaldo disguised himself and played football in a busy street of Madrid for hours and got just a few glances from onlookers. Passersby were reluctant to either kick the ball back to him or watch his fancy foot walks with interest. The best attention he got came from a small boy who was fortunate to get an autographed ball and was the first to see the man behind the mask. Alas, when the real man emerged, he needed body guards to get him out safely from the crowd.   MORALS FOR STARTUPS: When you are building a startup, understand that you are first selling a product: I have sat with intending CEO's that insist they want their startup to be like established brands in the industry. While that in itself is not a bad desire, ambition or goal, there are certain factors to CONSIDER viz...  1) WHEN YOU ARE UNKNOWN, YOU DON'T GET ATTENTION: Like the disguised Ronaldo, the process of unveiling your product to the mar