KNOW THIS AND KNOW PEACE.

There are 3 critical pillars in Business, according to Mazi (Dr) Nnamdi Ezeigbo, CEO SLOT and Author of the book, Entrepreneurship The SLOT Way; he names them:

1. Ownership
2. Control
3. Power

When I read the book around 2018-2019, I thought I understood what he meant. Maybe I did faintly. But as I am evolving with my businesses, I am getting more Illumination.

I went with a protégé last week to his farm immediately we checked out of Goshen DMSC. It was an elaborate farmland; massive and mechanized. He has installed so many functional machinery and imported over 2,000 birds into the poultry section. As he took me round the facility on a tour and I was praying in my spirit for the success of his labour, I paused and asked him “who is the agric professional on this farm?” Because he is a Chartered Accountant. He said “Coach, seeing the need for a resident professional and seeing there is no employment contract that can fully satisfy any professional, we made sure that we registered this farm at the CAC with a reputable VET DOCTOR and an AGRICULTURIST…”

Lesson 1: Giving a stake to anyone who is CRITICAL to the OPERATIONS of your business is CEDING POWER. There is no amount of knowledge you have that can sufficiently cover all you need to know about your own business. So when it comes to the moments where your skill set or awareness is not comprehensive enough, GIVE UP POWER to ‘the person wey know road’. Like Othman Abdulrasheed likes to quote ‘Follow Who Know Road’.

When I commenced SOBCA, I placed on our CAC list individuals who had the documents that CAC required for us to successfully register the business but not necessarily individuals who were interested in actively running the business or handling its growth. In fact, I’m sure they forgot that they co-own the business (by law). So when the business started growing beyond me, I realized that I needed more influential and experienced business owners who understand politics, turnkey capital, international trade, etc. People whom in their own rights are doing 10x and more of what I have ever accomplished. I went back to CAC and revamped the ownership of SOBCA bringing on board established and seasoned entrepreneurs, technocrats and administrators.

Lesson 2: when you submit to a bigger pool of talent and allow your small idea to be pumped into a big idea by the ‘powers that be’, this is CEDING CONTROL. What you have said is that I am not interested in controlling the destiny of this my brainchild because I have merged forces with midwives to make the brainchild a global force.

On paper, everything can look good but then it can go bad. Steve Jobs was magnanimous when he founded Apple. He brought great minds together. Ceded control and made wide additions. BUT HE WAS KICKED OUT BY THE VERY PEOPLE HE GATHERED. This is why any credible business advisor will tell you: THE MINIMUM SHARES YOU MUST RETAIN AS A FOUNDER/OWNER IS 51% of your company. Never get too excited that you relinquish MORE THAN 49% of your company stakes unless you’ve gone PLC. Even in PLCs, we see Boards and some ‘rogue’ shareholders influence SOCIAL ENGINEERING to ‘hold shares by proxy’ in other people’s names so that in principle, they are majority shareholders.

Lesson 3: man is man. Never give up OWNERSHIP of your idea and when you do, engineer ownership every given time. Go and read the stories of ELON MUSK, MARK ZUCKERBERG, and many other Mavericks. We don’t give up ownership. We only cede control and power.

Do you get? If you don’t get, don’t forget it. Ask me. 😁. ✉️: coachsam@sobcaonline.com

m a k t u b!!!

The Octopus.