EVERYTHING I LEARNT AT THE YOUTH ENTERPRISE CONFERENCE 2017

I haven't really been this excited to write in a while, it's definitely because i have never had this much information to share in a while. A couple of days ago, i wrote an article about 8 amazing Nigerians that helped shape my entrepreneurial journey. Today, March 30th, I spent the whole day learning from  Akin Alabi Founder and CEO of Nairabet, Jason Njoku Founder IrokoTV, Rok on Dstv and Rok on sky, Funke Akindele Bello Award winning Nollywood actress, writer, producer and Entrepreneur, Japhet Omojuwa, Founder and Chief strategist at Alpha Reach, blogger, public speaker, socio-economic and political commentator and social media expert, Mark Essein, Founder and CEO of Hotels.ng and a host of other amazing Nigerian entrepreneurs at the Youth Enterprise Conference at Eko Hotel and Suites.

Youth Enterprise Conference is an annual youth conference hosted by Akin Alabi, Founder and CEO of NairaBet. He brings together some of the most successful Nigerians in their respective fields to share their story, struggles and success strategies with over 7000 Nigerian Entrepreneurs and students.

Last year he brought Opeyemi Awoyemi, CEO and Co-founder of Jobberman and Whogohost, Jason Njoku, Craze Clown, CEO House of Craze, Tiwa Savage, award winning singer, songwriter and actress and other exciting Nigerian Entrepreneurs to talk to young Nigerians entrepreneurs and students.

It was a struggle immediately i got to the venue. Thousands of Youth Nigerians were already at the event to complete their verification so they could gain access to the event hall. In as much as everything i went through to get into the hall and get a copy of Akin Alabi's new book titled 'Small business big money' which i will be reviewing on my blog soon. I think the event organizers need to pay more attention to the verification process. I had to literally struggle to get in because i met people who came before 8am but couldn't get access to the hall because the verification process was a little bit disorganized. I think the fact that we all wanted to get in as quick as we can is a huge positive and says quite a lot about hungry the Nigerian youths are to succeed. I also interpreted the struggle i went through to get his book as something positive,  Seeing so many young Nigerians struggling to buy a copy of a book says a lot about the future of Nigeria.

Young Nigerians that want to start and run businesses, start their music careers and acting careers in Nigeria should look up to Nigerians that are already doing big things in their chosen field. If you are a Nigerian or African Entrepreneur that wants to do business in Africa, then you have to learn from Africans who are already succeeding in your chosen field or something really similar to what you plan to achieve.

The above Nigerian Entrepreneurs are already doing great things and they all have gone through different paths to get to where they currently are. Their advice would definitely help any individual no matter your chosen field. I hope their words have the same influence like or even better than they had on me.

• Funke Akindele Bello aka Jenifa  was the only female speaker at the event and she did her best to represent the female entrepreneurs as much as she could possibly do. She had the biggest effect on the crowd because she could relate to a large number of us in the hall. She had a dream at a very young age to become a big entertainer and even though things were very tough at various point, she continued on the same path until she started seeing the results she wanted. She shared how she had to start looking for roles even after she become popular after featuring in "I need to know" a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) sitcom that aired from 1998 to 2002. Funke told us to get ready to hear a lot of No's but we shouldn't let it get to us and should continue working on better ways to achieve our dream.

She also added that we should always focus on sowing before we even think of reaping, she talked about consistency and how important it is to keep chasing your passion even if you aren't getting the results you want. She stated that everyone has something special and we all should be focus on creating our brands because we all have something unique to offer. She talked about being real and for us to acquire more knowledge, be persistent and try our possible best to be always prepared.

• Omojuwa was someone that also really surprised me, like Akin Alabi, i have followed and unfollowed him a couple of times. Mr Akin Alabi called Japhet Omojuwa a twitter warlord and after hearing him talk yesterday, i would definitely struggle to find the right words to describe him. He pointed out that social media has the potential of transforming our lives and that every Nigerian should be prioritizing how they can start using social media to add value to their lives and to the lives of those closest to them.

According to a 2014 "Emerging Nations embrace internet, mobile technology" report by the Pew Global Attitudes project, the internet is expected to contribute almost $230 billion to the growth of Africa by 2025. Japhet Omojuwa, currently the best twitter personality in Africa made us to understand that it is going to be one struggle after another even after we start seeing the results we want. He stressed how important it is to have the right friends if you want to succeed. According to Jim John, you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, understanding this will make your journey easier. Lastly Japhet Omojuwa asked a very interesting question... If you don't succeed, how can you help others?. He concluded by saying that sometimes, you have no choice than to be ruthless. 

Success is about helping and influencing the next generation.

• Mark Essein, the CEO and founder of  Hotels.ng (Largest Online Hotel Booking Website) shared his story of how he had always been a good student in Nigeria and how he went to a university in Germany and  experienced something that had never happened until that point in his life. He failed all his exams in his first semester and passed only one in his second semester. He made us understand that at one point, talent is not going to be enough, you must be willing to do the required work, even though he was a talented student, he wasn't putting in the efforts required to pass his exams. He thought about quitting and going to another university but he changed his mind and decided to do all it took and in a few years, he was among the best 5 students in the same university.

Mr Essein also shared his 4 philosophies for success; Attitude, Knowledge, luck and investment. He explained that before anything you have to have the right attitude and without investing a couple of years into a particular project, you wont have the required knowledge to succeed. Ideas are nothing, execution is everything, he added that you cannot do what everybody is doing and expect to be different. Don't depend on anybody for anything, if you want something, do your possible best to get it. If money is what you need to achieve your dreams then you should start simpler businesses and then use the money to start your dream business. He used the money he got from his first business to start hotels.ng. He got his domain name for $5000.

• Andrew Airelobhegbe, Founder and CEO of arguably the biggest Online Event booking website in Nigeria; Ogavenue. Having recently secured a $45000 seed investment from Spark, the investment company founded by Jason Njoku, he made it clear that nobody would come and give you money until you start seeing results. He also shared the story of how he felt when Jason Njoku waned to come see him at his place so he could see "where the magic happens". Andrew stressed that you either "hustle real hard or you fail real hard". Lastly, success is going to test you to see if you really want to be successful.

• Anyone that has listened to Ybnl boss Olamide's songs would definitely have heard the words "Pheelz Mr producer". Philip Kayode Moses aka Pheelz is a young and talented Nigerian audio engineer and music producer. Pheelz made us understand how important it is to chase your passion and how he started chasing his dream at a young age. He pointed out that failing cannot be escaped and that the only way you can keep going is if you passionate about what you are trying to achieve.

At a point in the beginning of his career, he was paid 50 naira ($0.16) for two beats. That made me to understand that focusing on the money at the beginning of your business would definitely do more harm than good. He pointed out what me and and my friend Chuks talked about in my previous article. That Nigerian youths tend to give up easily because they lack patience. If you really want to be successful, then you have to learn to be patient because real success takes time. If you are passionate, you will definitely find a way, even when your family is against you, make sure you continue on your path to achieving your dreams.

• Woli Arole and Asiri also dropped words of wisdom. Asiri said "if you are loaded, you will be needed" and that you shouldn't allow people that don't know the rhythm of your destiny dictate to you. They both added that the number one limitation to your dream is yourself. And lastly you have to understand that "results cancels insults."

Jason Njoku was the last to speak and that was definitely expected. Like Akin Alabi said,  the biggest masquerade is always the last to dance. Jason Njoku is a British born Nigerian Entrepreneur, founder and CEO of IrokoTV, Rok on Dstv and Rok on Sky, and an African start-up Investor. IrokoTV is Jason's 11th attempt at starting a business. He started by pointing out that Nigeria is structured for the rich and wealthy and that if you come from a poor or middle class family then you need to become a warlord if you want to succeed.

Jason Njoku made us understand that it's up to you to find a way, you have to be so viscous you create a way for yourself. Even though he invests in African Start-ups, he made it clear that he was always the one to reach out to the start-ups he had invested in and that nobody is going to give you anything until you begin to see the required traction.

"I care about what you are doing and what problem you are focused on solving and not your family name or status because i have no interest interest in paying homage to anyone. Fuck that!" - Jason Njoku

He concluded by saying that if you want to be successful, you have to be fucking focused.

Understanding that success is a journey and that you cannot do it alone, one of the worst decision you can make is refusing to learn from Individuals who are already doing what you want to achieve. I can't wait to read Mr Akin's Alabi new book so i can add that to what i learned at the Youth Enterprise Conference. My mind is already thinking about #Yeco2018 and the amazing Entrepreneurs Mr Akin Alabi would be bringing.
I am also going to be working on talking to the crowd in a few years so i can use my struggle and story to help influence as many people as possible.

Were you at the Youth Enterprise Conference? What did you learn that i didn't include in my article?