ABOUT THE BOOK

This book is a complete book on business. It starts with the basic

problem beginners in business usually face and goes ahead to discuss
principles that even experienced business people will find useful.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part teaches how to identify
what kind of business is best for you and your environment. The
principles taught in the first part if followed diligently are certain to help
you build your business from the scratch.

The second part exposes you to principles that can make you
indispensable in the business world. It will enlighten you on how to stay
at the top of your game and be the best stop for potential customers.

The third part is what you can call the School of Marketing. It focuses on
how you can sell and sell well as a trader or as a businessperson.

Get set to learn and apply principles that will build your business into an
empire!
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ife Adetona is an anointed preacher of the gospel. He
is the President of the Sons and Daughters of Zion
[SADOZ] Global Harvest Ministries. SADOZ is an
interdenominational and discipleship ministry which
has seen thousands of people baptized in the Holy
Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues and
helped people develop a friend to friend relationship with the Person of
the Holy Spirit. SADOZ’s daily discipleship and devotional manual called
Daily Communion reaches and blesses tens of thousands of people daily
to the glory of God.

Ife Adetona is also the president of the Koinonia Bible Institute [KBI], an
online training academy of SADOZ which offers over twenty (25) courses
that cut across all facets of life. Some of the courses include School of
Ministry, School of Purpose, School of Leadership, School of Business,
School of Prayer, School of Deliverance, School of Healing, Masterclass
on Sex Education, Masterclass on Courtship, School of Mental Health,
School of Sex for the married and more.

He is an author of over 40 books that are imparting the body of Christ

maximally. He is the husband of Elizabeth Ife-Adetona and their home is
blessed with godly seeds.
 What Can I Sell: How Can I Sell
Copyright ©2021 by Adetona Ife Damola
ISBN 978-978-966-590-7

Published in Nigeria by:

FOUNTAIN PUBLISHERS AND MEDIA
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means- electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the prior written permission of
the publisher with the exception of brief excerpts in magazines, articles, reviews, etc.

Published in November, 2021

For further information or permission, contact:
[email protected]
Facebook: @Sons and Daughters of Zion
YouTube: SADOZ International
Telegram: t.me/sadozite
WhatsApp/call: +2347060916344, +2347032063929

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scriptural quotations in this book are from the King
James Version of the Bible.
 CONTENTS

What graduands are saying about the School of Business

INTRODUCTION

PART A
#1 What is your Business?
#2 Principle of Focus
#3 Hustling or Business
#4 Are you an Hustler or a Business Person?
#5 Examining the Richest Men across the World
#6 What Can I Sell?
#7 Monetize your Skills
#8 Knowledge Product
#9 A Business Idea
#10 Monetize Your Interest
#11 Monetize an Opportunity
#12 Creating a Need
#13 We All have Something to Sell
#14 Don't Be an Hustler, Be A Businessman
#15 Hustling and Money
#16 A Hustler and a Business Person
#17 Principle of Diversion
#18 Leveraging on Time
#19 Leveraging on Money
#20 Leveraging on People
#21 Leveraging on Information
#22 Leveraging on Industry
#23 Leveraging on one-off deals
#24 Principle of Change
#25 Drawing Lessons from the Life of Aliko Dangote
PART B:
#26 Be Good
#27 Who are you Comparing Yourself With?
#28 How Often Do You Take Up Challenges?
#29 To Be Good, You Have To Ask
#30 The Critical Customer
#31 Gather Information
#32 Be an Expert
#33 Be a Professional
#34 When Referral Comes Right
#35 Think In Terms Of Value

PART C:
#36 Marketing
#37 A Trader Sells, a CEO seats
#38 Marketing is a Must
#39 Think like a Trader
#40 Think like a Customer
#41 Customers are Selfish
#42 Decide to Make it from that Business
#43 Principle of Stages
#44 Principle of Cause and Effect
#45 Evaluate Your Methods
#46 Record Keeping
#47 Dynamics Of Time
#48 External Prime Time
#49 Be A Believer
CONCLUSION
 What our students are saying about the School of Business
The school taught me how to deal with and attract my customers, and how to manage my time. In a
nutshell, I've learnt about the things that improve one's business. The lectures enlightened me more
about business and also bringing ideas of the kind of business I can engage in, in my environment. Lawal
O.

It has really been an experience that makes you think big, learn how to promote your business and also
motivate you for success, even aside business ventures. Akinyemi A.

I have received the knowledge and I'm inspired by new business ideas during the session. I must testify
that the Koinonia Bible institute is a fertile ground for learning and knowledge is here. At first, I thought
business was just about capital to buy items and then sell but through this school; I have been able to
understand business even from God's perspective. Yanchio P.

It was a great privilege going through this process. I was actually confused about the do's and don'ts
about business, but my confusion is cleared. I don't regret applying to this school. Silas C.

I learned a lot of things in school of business. The school has helped my business in the way I tell people
what I am into. Now, most people patronize and give me work to carry out on their behalf because of
the trust they have in me. Popoola O.

The school of business of SADOZ is best of all business schools I have ever enrolled in. It opens students
to both the spiritual and physical aspects of business and the courses are well explained and broken
down. No other institute can give such package with the token we paid. God bless the president of the
institute. God bless SADOZ. Akindele F.

This is a great place to learn business. Teachings received were impacting, practical, and they helped
water my passion for entrepreneurship and business, making me see more clearly that it is possible.
Having gone through this school, I have grown in knowledge on the subject and my businesses will show
forth the fruits. Omokan O.

My experience here has been amazing. I love all the teachings; they are inspiring and simple to
understand. Signing up as a student of KBI SOB has changed my life so much and helped me in different
ways in building my business from scratch. Samuel S.
 INTRODUCTION
If you got this book with a sense of need to discover what to sell and how
to sell, then you have picked the right material. The only advice I have for
you is that you should be ready to implement the principles and ideas
immediately because they will surely work.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part examines "What to
sell". Many people who claim to be in business are actually not into
business, and that explains why they are always broke. The first part will
tell you what kind of business is best for you and your environment.

The second part of this book exposes you to principles that can make
you indispensable in the business world. It will enlighten you on how to
stay at the top of your game and be the best stop for potential customers.

The third part is what you can call the School of Marketing. It focuses on
how you can sell and sell well as a trader or as a businessperson.

This is one book, many things. It is well stuffed and packed with relevant
knowledge for your business. I see you making it big as you begin to
make adequate changes.
 PART A

WHAT CAN I SELL?

 #1
What Is Your Business?

The first part of this book focuses on "What can I sell?" Here, we shall
discuss several principles of business.

To start with, I have to ask the golden question: what is your business?
You need to answer it before we go on. If you have to pause before you
give me an answer, it means there is a problem. If you have to think of
what to mention among many other things that flash through your mind,
then you have a serious problem. If you have to list two, three things,
there is a challenge with you.

In our School of Business, the title of the first lecture is Mind Your
Business. We have to deal with that first because in actual sense, many
people don't know what their business is even though they claim to be in
business.

What is your business?

What is your trade?
What are you selling?
What service are you rendering?

As simple as this question is, many people who are supposedly in

business don't know how to answer it. They don't know which to mention
among the several things they are into. And this leads us into the very
first principle we shall examine in this section, which is the principle of
focus. You might not have even decided what business you wish to do,
and that is why you get this book. Don't feel left out. This book is just for
you.
 #2
Principle Of Focus
When you lack focus, you are into business and you are not into
business.

There is an interesting story in the Bible which is, at the same time,
quite hilarious. A war was ongoing, and the commander caught a
strategic enemy on the battlefield. Killing that enemy would bring a
significant victory. The enemy was then committed to a man to watch
closely. The commander told the man that if the enemy escapes; he was
going to pay with his life or pay a certain amount of money, which he
wouldn't be able to afford. After a few hours, the commander returned
and asked for the enemy-soldier. The man's reply was what made the
story funny; he said: "sir, I'm so sorry, while I was busy here and there,
the man escaped". The man pleaded with the king to come to his rescue
so that he wouldn't be killed. The king just told him: since you were busy
here and there, you will be killed or just look for the ransom.

To lack focus means that you are into business, and you are not
into business. To be busy here and there in business means that we
don't know the exact thing that you sell or offer as a service. Jesus
Christ, the greatest business expert, said that when your eyes are single,
your whole body would be full of light. That means having two eyes
doesn't mean that you should look into everything. Having two eyes
doesn't mean that you should not be focused. Singleness of eyes brings
light and the Book of John says that those that walk in light do not
record business failure (John 11:9-10 Paraphrased).
 #3
Hustling Or Business
Having two eyes doesn't mean that you should be looking
everywhere.

Of course, several things, interests and businesses will call for your
attention. Many people who are into business, especially online
businesses, are easily distracted. I see a lot of things on their social
media status. Some sell clothes today, shoes tomorrow and mobile data
the day after tomorrow. When you are not focused, people will not take
you serious. Your potential customers will not believe in you.

This doesn't affect people who are into online business alone. I have seen
it happen among artisans and traders as well. Many fashion designers
have loaded their shops with a lot of other things so much that you will
need to take a closer look to even notice their sewing machine.

If you examine the richest men in the world, you will identify what
business each of them is into. It is through that business that they
become who they are. Many of them later diversify, but it was a
particular business first. You have to concentrate on a thing first and
build it up before diverting.
 #4
Are You A Hustler Or A Business Person?

If you are busy here and there, it means that you are a hustler and not a
smart business man or lady. There was a time a son of mine called and
informed me that his business was not doing well. The first question I
asked was: what business are you doing? He was surprised that I asked
such a question. He knew I was supposed to know what business he
does and, of course, I knew, but I asked intentionally. I wanted to stir
and provoke something in him.

He does a different business every day. One day, he is selling cars,

another day he is selling house appliances and another day, he is selling
refrigerators. Meanwhile, his business is way different from all that. If
you are like that, you are a hustler. People think hustling is a pleasant
word that connotes a hardworking person. That is wrong. The dictionary
meaning for hustle is "hurry". In business, it means someone who
doesn't stay on a trade but moves quickly from trade to trade.
 #5
Examining The Richest Men Across The World
When people don't know you for a thing, they don't take you
seriously on anything.

When you hear Aliko Dangote, what comes to your mind? Cement.

When you hear Mike Adenuga, what comes to your mind?

Telecommunication (Globacom) and Oil & Gas.

When you hear Jeff Bezos, what pops up in your mind? Amazon, an e-
commerce site that operates like Jumia but it is the biggest in the world.

When you hear Elon Musk, what do you think of? Electric cars. He has
included space technology. I am still going to elaborate on the principles
of diversion.

When you hear Mark Zuckerberg, the next thing you think of is Facebook
or social media generally.

When you see the name of Bill Gates appear anywhere, Microsoft office or
computer is the next thing you will think of.

Nicky Oppenheimer, a South African and 3rd richest man in Africa, is

known for Diamond.

So, if I see or hear your name anywhere, what should be the first thing
that would come to my mind? When I want to ask people to patronize
you, what should I tell them you sell? Forget about what you told me
that you sell. By merely observing you, the adverts you run, your social
media status and so on, what should I think you sell or what service
should I believe you render? If I can't be sure, then you are a hustler and
not a businessperson.

Someone once chatted with me and she was complaining about how bad
her business was doing. So, I checked her WhatsApp status where I saw
something entirely different from what she told me she was selling. I
called her attention to me not seeing any advert for her business. She
told me she came across that business recently and she felt like going
into it. At that moment, I knew what her problem was and why she had
not been doing well in business.

When people don't know you for a thing, they don't take you
seriously on anything. You must imbibe the principle of focus and be
specialized.

The question on your mind right now is that what then can I focus on or
how do I know what to focus on among the several interests that I have?
We shall examine some tips or pointers on this on the next page and
subsequent ones.
 #6
What Can I Sell?
Everyone has something to sell or a particular service to render as
an entrepreneur.

Before I tell you how to know what to sell, let me start by emphasizing
that everyone has something to sell or a particular service to render as
an entrepreneur. I do say jokingly that you buy shoes, bags, clothes,
phones, recharge cards and every other thing, but WHAT ARE YOU
SELLING? How can you be a buyer all your life and not a seller?

Don't you see that there are only two kinds of people in the world? Those
who sell and those they sell to. To make money, you have to be in the
first category. And you shouldn't say that you are a salary earner. Those
who sell and make money are those who pay salary. You can choose to
be an employer too.

How do you know what to sell or focus on?

1. If you are permitted to do or sell just one thing, what would it be?
Say to yourself: I have a lot of interests and things on my mind, but if I am
only allowed to do one business or to build just a particular business,
what will I choose? Pause and answer the question.

2. Monetize your passion. Is there something you can do with ease? Is

there something you can do for fun? Is there something that you can do
even when you are tired? Is there something you even do for people for
free without flinching? You don't mind if you are paid or not. Why not
monetize it?

I have a young man who loves to fix electricity even though that was not
what he was studying in the university. If there is any electrical fault in
the house, we would rather wait for him to return than to get anyone to
do it. Many times, he would labour hard and sweat profusely while
working. By the time he is done and I say thank you; he would say he
was the one that should thank me for allowing him to do the work,
thereby gaining more experience. That is passion.

When they tell me something is someone's passion and I don't see

them volunteer or eager to do it, I know it is not their passion.
There is a way you itch when something you are passionate about is
lacking in your environment.

When I was working on my third book Mocking the Devil, I gave the note
to several of my spiritual children to type using their smartphones or any
other device. Do you know that they all returned the note to me the same
way I gave it to them? They are all wonderful spiritual children who do
several things for me joyfully, but in that particular aspect, they were
lacking; they couldn't do it. But there is this daughter of mine whom I
gave it to. Before I could remind her of the work, I asked her to do, she
was through. Up till this moment, she is part of our publishing team as a
transcriber. That is the power of passion! That is the difference passion
makes.
Even as a Christian, there are certain things that are easier for you to do
than others. Some find praying very easy. For some, it is reading, some
fasting and so on. It doesn't mean that you should do one and neglect
the other. But we are wired in such a way that some things come with
much ease. And like I always say, do more of the things you find ease
doing, even in your spiritual life.

Of course, do the rest and even learn them if you have to, but do more of
what comes to you easier. That is why we were created and made into
different parts of the body of Christ. For instance, I pray well to the glory
of God, but if I am asked to choose between praying for 24 hours and
reading/writing a book for 24 hours; you know the one that I am going to
pick. One is far more convenient for me. Just like Apostle Paul rightly
said in the book of Romans 12:4-8.

For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the
same office: {12:5} So we, [being] many, are one body in Christ, and every
one members one of another. {12:6} Having then gifts differing according to
the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, [let us prophesy] according
to the proportion of faith; {12:7} Or ministry, [let us wait] on [our]
ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; {12:8} Or he that exhorteth,
on exhortation: he that giveth, [let him do it] with simplicity; he that ruleth,
with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

So, in deciding what to sell or what service to render, you can look into
the direction of what you find easy and fun doing.
 #7
Monetize Your Skills

Another thing you can do is to monetize your skills. A skill can be learnt
consciously or unconsciously. A skill can be learnt in a school- formal
setting or in a semi-formal setting. By the virtue of the environment some
people were born into or the occupation of their parents, they get to gain
some skills. Any of those skills can be monetized.

I got to learn about printing because my father is a printer. I could

monetize that skill if I wanted to. Even though I didn't monetize it but the
skill paved way for me in the publishing aspect of our ministry. I know
the processes it involves and so, I can maneuver the market to our
favour thereby reducing the costs of our printed materials.
 #8
Knowledge Product
You can monetize your knowledge.

There is something that is called knowledge product. The book you are
holding in your hands is a knowledge product. The Koinonia Bible
Institute of our ministry is another example of knowledge product.

Knowledge product is actually one of the most lucrative and profiting

businesses you can ever talk about. When I pick a book to read, I am
always tempted to check the year it was first published. Many authors
are dead, yet their books are still feeding generations after them.

You can also put what you know into writing or record it into tapes for
people to buy. Many people who earn in dollars on YouTube and
Facebook are into knowledge product. Akin Alabi, a Nigerian
businessman and politician, built his business career by researching and
compiling knowledge about how to run certain businesses into journals
and handouts and sell directly to those who need it. He said that was
how he introduced football betting to Nigeria. Please note that I do not
approve of football betting or any form of betting whatsoever. I only cited
an instance.

Many people need knowledge; the only problem is that they don't know
where to get it. That is why our Koinonia Bible Institute keeps expanding
day by day to meet this need to the glory of God the Father.
Another angle through which you can monetize knowledge is by training
others. This is very common, and it is commonly referred to as
apprenticeship. There is a lot of potential on that side of business which
many artisans are yet to tap into. While some people do it as a side
business, you can actually build your business in such a way that you
major in it. There are fashion schools everywhere today where the only
thing they do is to teach and train students in a short period. You, as a
fashion designer, may begin to tweak your business in such a way that it
would attract more trainees. You don't need an entire house to begin
with.

And if there are fashion schools, why don't we have printing schools?
What stops you from starting a shoe-making school if that is your line of
business? What about a holiday hair-cutting school? Forget about trying
to make it standard at the beginning, a continuous improvement, they
say, is better than a delayed perfection. If you read my book
Understanding Business and Capital Management, you may probably be
encouraged to start this very minute.
 #9
A Business Idea

Let me sell this business idea to you. Running online courses is

becoming a regular thing today. That's knowledge product as well. You
can teach a whole concept or an aspect of it in a short period online.

For instance, you don't have to teach the whole of fashion designing, you
can decide to organize a programme where you teach a part or aspect
either to beginners or those who are already into it. For example, I can
organize training on book publishing. I won't be teaching the whole of
book printing and publishing, but an aspect. I hope you are a gaining a
business idea already? You can as well do it in a physical setting. Our
ministry is probably the first in Nigeria to have an online School of Music
that is fully online. Some people said it was impossible to teach any part
of music online, but we did it.

Whenever I go to any of our chapters to minister, I love to engage the

leaders in discussions. I was at a place and a lady was telling me with
excitement how she learnt so many things during the 2020 lockdown
over the internet. She told me how she planned to put those things she
has learnt to work immediately.

I told her that she has done well but instead of depending solely on
generating income from working with the knowledge she has gained, why
not put out an advert as well and train people on it. A training of twenty
people where you ask them to pay ₦1,000 each is ₦20,000. That's cool
money for starters. You are not buying any material; you are just
teaching them what's in your head.

If you have a shop to train apprentices, you will start making your money
from the sales of form. For instance, if you are a fashion designer, you
can target the period when students just finished writing their WAEC or
when they are on a long break. Organize a few weeks training on the
basics of tailoring and charge ₦10,000 based on your locality and other
factors. Ask them to pay a non-refundable fee for the form which you can
charge at ₦1,000 or less. If thirty people are interested, you know the
amount you would make already. You can buy a refurbished machine or
tool with it.

Within a few weeks of the training, all the thirty trainees would pay at
least 50% of the charges, which gives you ₦150,000. You may engage
some hands, extend your shop and do other things to make the place
more comfortable. Meanwhile, your training must have a duration. It
shouldn't be unnecessarily too long. Once the duration of the training
lapse, send them forth, but tell them to get certificates with ₦3,000 only.
Dismiss that set and take a new set or run various sets simultaneously.

I just gave you that draft as a business idea. It is your duty to adapt it to
your present situation and make the best of it. When you do it and it
works, remember to pay for my service. Don't say you have paid for the
book- that idea is not part of what you paid for. I'm just joking.
At this point, some business ideas should pop up in your mind already.
If you read this book and engage your mind maximally, as you do so, you
will be inspired by the right and best business to do.

Knowledge product could be something you do as "one-off" or that you do

"continually". When I say one-off, you do it once and you don't get to do
it again until later in the future. For instance, you can write a book and
that would be all for the meantime. You can also organize a training and
it would be all. But at other times, it could be what you keep doing
periodically or throughout the year.
 #10
Monetize Your Interest
We are still talking about the kind of business you can do. You can also
monetize your area of interest or something you like. It could be
something you like using, buying, or a service you like to patronize.

My wife, for example, never wanted to go into fashion but she's a lover of
fashion. That aside, she is a fashion critic. She knows how best a cloth
should come out. For all of her clothes, she is the one who gives the
fashion designer the styles to sew. I mean, she would craft out the style
uniquely. All her tailors confessed that sewing for her was their first time
of sewing those styles. If she goes out, people would ask if she is a
fashion designer and then ask her to sew the same style they saw on her.
An unknown person once saw her in the market and brought her
materials to her to sew, thinking she sews cloth. If you know my wife,
you will attest to what I am saying. It was all those experiences that gave
her the impetus to make a business out of fashion.

I have a spiritual son like that as well. He doesn't know how to cut or sew
but he is a fashion enthusiast. He started getting jobs from people, then
he outsources them to fashion designers and he makes money from it.

Yours may be something different. You can monetize it or start a

business around it. When you choose such as a business, it will be fun
and you will make money. I read the story of a young man who traveled
to all the countries of the world within 10 years. He was 30 years old by
the time he had gone to over 190 nations of the earth. He narrated how
he made money on the way. He was having fun and earning money.
 #11
Monetize An Opportunity

Another pointer to the business you can do is an opportunity around

you. You may look around and notice that people need a gas filling
station or a POS center in your locality. You can build a business around
it. I know a man who exports a particular part of cows to factories. All he
has to do is to walk around abattoirs to ask for that part of a cow. It is
not every cow that has it, so it is quite scarce. He buys it at cheap prices
and sends abroad.

Want or Need?
When we talk about monetizing an opportunity, a major debate that
springs out of that is if you are to sell what people want or what people
need.

For instance, you can argue conveniently that what Senior Secondary
School Students preparing for WAEC (final exams) need is a book on
"How to pass WAEC and Jamb with ease" but if another book is written
on "How to Win the American Visa Lottery" with ease and the two books
are sold at the same price, which one do you think would sell faster? You
are right. It is the one on visa lottery. What they need is how to pass
their imminent exam, but what they want is how to travel out. So, let me
put it to you, which one should you sell: what people need or what they
want?

I heard a story of a young man in Lagos who was selling books at a

location for a very long time. No matter how hard he tried, he sold little.
Suddenly, he started selling food at the same location. I tell you the
truth, he wasn't able to control the crowd that patronized him daily. He
had to employ more hands and go home late at night. So, I ask you
again: would you rather sell what people want or what they need?

The right answer depends on how you look at it. If you are selling to
them what they want, you are fulfilling their immediate gratification. You
are not concerned about your wish or what you believe to be more
needful, but you are concerned about what they want. Game houses are
usually built or opened close to Secondary School. That least person to
need a game house is a student, but the major customers of game
houses are also students. You, as a business person, may feel it isn't
right for them to play games but since it is a legitimate business,
someone can start a business around it.

On the other hand, you can decide to give people what they need if you
see a prospect for it. As long as it is needed, at the end; they would come
for it especially when you are in the right environment. A person who
wrote a book on how to get a visa may sell faster but does that mean that
those who wrote on how to pass exams would not sell? Of course, they
will. A person operating a game house and those selling food items close
to school areas may have patronage but stationery sellers would also
make their own sales.

You can decide on which you want to do either what they want or what
they need based on the environment you are. The man that switched
from books to food had two choices, either to change his environment or
to change what he sells. He chose the latter.
 #12
Creating A Need
You may never know that you are thirsty until you see a person selling water.

Sometimes, you will find the need already waiting for you in the
environment, but at other times, you can invent, create or generate a
need which people aren't even aware of all along.

For instance, nobody needed a selfie stick until selfie stick was invented
by whoever first invented it. It was when people saw it they realized they
needed it and therefore wanted it. Many people did not know that they
needed a desktop charger until someone conceived the idea. When people
started watching movies on their mobile phones, someone had the idea of
making a stand so that watching movies on phones would be easier.
Nobody was on Facebook until Facebook started. These needs were not
essentially created but were discovered, and the inventors created
something new around it.

Manufacturing a double SIM phone was a need that was discovered as

well. So, you can also invent or discover a need in your environment that
can form a business for you. People have needs they don't know about
until they see a product that satisfies it. For instance, you may never
know that you are thirsty until you see a person selling water.
 #12
Monetize Privileged Information

We are still on monetizing opportunities. Another opportunity that you

may monetize is privileged information. For instance, at the emergence of
Covid-19 in Nigeria and around the world, many people made money
from facemasks and hand sanitizers. And even till now, people are still
making money from those items. That is an opportunity that was
monetized.

If you had gotten the privileged information a week before, wearing of

facemask was made mandatory? Or you probably got an expert who told
you that with the trajectory of things, the Federal Government would
make it compulsory. What would you have done? I am sure you would
have bought a lot of facemasks and hand sanitizers materials ahead of
time. That is you making a business as a result of privileged information.

What newsmen and blogsites sell is privileged information. It is all about

who breaks the news first. There are several government agencies and
private institutions where information is leaked to those who are ready to
make a business out of it. This may not be legal at all times, but there
are industries where what determines the direction of profit is access to
information.
 #13
We All Have Something To Sell
You don't have to jump on every train of trade. Be focused!

So far in this book, I started with the principle of focus before giving you
tips on how to determine what to sell or focus on.

Here, I want to re-emphasize that we all have something we can sell. It

could be knowledge, a skill, a service or a product. There is something
that you can put out there and give to people in exchange for money. And
I am not talking about working for someone but being an entrepreneur or
a business owner.

However, you must beware of the hustling spirit. Some people don't even
mind calling themselves hustlers. Do not be a hustler, be a
businessman. Do not go into everything you see.

I have discussed monetizing an opportunity. That doesn't mean that you

should go with every opportunity that comes your way. Years ago, the
Holy Spirit told me that not all opportunities are useable. For instance, if I
am travelling to Abuja, and I get a free flight ticket to Portharcourt,
should I abandon my trip to Abuja and then jump on the flight to
Portharcourt? Not all opportunities are useable. It is not wise to take up
an opportunity that will take you away or distract you from the business
you are building.

When facemasks and hand sanitizers became the order of the day, did I
go into it? Of course not! You also probably didn't go into it. But I also
found an opportunity in my own area of business as a ministry. It was at
that time that we made a lot of money through the Koinonia Bible
Institute. Since our courses were (and still) online and many people were
at home, we could take advantage of it. We just resumed a new session
when the government announced a lockdown. The moment the two
weeks lock down was announced, I quickly informed the management of
KBI- Koinonia Bible Institute to announce a special admission. We called
it "Xpress Session". We told students they could start and finish a course
in two weeks. Some people applied. That was the first time we added lots
of courses at once. We added 9 fresh courses in 2020 which was more
than all the courses we were running from 2017 till that point. That was
possible because I was available to work on it. I also wrote 15 books that
year. For me and the ministry as a whole it was a year of a great
opportunity to the glory of God.

I am telling you all this for you to know that if you think in the direction
of your business, you will see opportunities. You don't have to jump on
every train of trade. Be focused!

The tech company, Zoom leveraged on the Covid-19 lockdown to make a

lot of money. Many billionaires became centi-billionaires during that
period.
 #14
Don't Be A Hustler, Be A Business Person
Your time input in a business determines your value output

Hustling can give you quick money, but it is business that can establish
you. Hustling will meet your immediate and petty needs, but it is a
business you build by focus that will meet your lasting need. You
will make real money and not just peanuts with business. Hustling
means to be in a hurry or to rush. In the context of business, it means to
go into a business or trade, make some money off it and move on to
another trade. When you hear that something is selling or available, you
move on it again. This is what many people do that they call business.
Some are into too many unrelated businesses.

Effects of hustling
 Customers will not take you serious. If you are not known for a
particular thing but for too many things, your potential customers,
especially the serious ones, will not trust you.

 You cannot build the business. In my book Understanding Business

And Capital Management, I wrote on "making money or making
business". Every business requires concentrated time for it to grow.
And whatever you spend time with grows. You may argue that you
are not being distracted from your business and that you are good
at combining so many businesses. But look at it this way: what if
you spend all time you are sharing on a singular thing, what effect
will it have on it? If you invest the time you spend on so many
 things on a single thing, you will see the difference. That is why you
will always see a difference between the ministry of full-time
pastors and part-time pastors. Your time input in a business
determines your value output.

 You will not be able to build professionalism. Things are evolving.

For you to keep abreast of the latest technology in your business,
trade or industry, you have to be engrossed in it. You need to be
devoted to it. That is the only way to build expertise and make good
money.

The man who cuts my hair also claims to be a photographer. He

cuts my hair so well but I can't trust him to take my photograph.
There was a day we needed a photographer urgently. I asked people
around the area and I was directed to him. I was reluctant, but I
was told that he was the only one I could get in the area.

Left with no other choice, I went to his shop. There was no proper
background to use, so we invited him home. The plan was that he
would change the background on his computer. When he printed
the pictures, it was as though we were floating in the air. He
couldn't synchronize the background with the picture. That is what
you get when you think you can do two different things. If he
needed extra sources of income, he can build expertise on his
barbing, extend his shop or open other branches.

 Customer satisfaction. You can't serve two masters and not

displease one. With business, you will end up displeasing
customers on both sides. You will forget appointments and delivery
dates easily. It won't be possible for you to follow up on your
customers' contacts. You will spend time thinking about how to
develop all the things you do, but you won't get to develop any.

I was at my barber's shop one Sunday afternoon when he told me

he was about to close his shop to meet up with a photography
appointment. If I had met his shop closed, there was every
tendency that I would go elsewhere and if I had done that, I may
not patronize him again. He was in a hurry that day and so he
couldn't do a proper job with my hair cut and he was still late for
the appointment. That means he has displeased two customers.
 #15
Hustling And Money
Hustling pays quickly, but building a business pays better

Talking about money, many think hustling pays quickly- yes, it does.
Hustling pays quickly but building a business pays better. For
instance, I could decide to leave the book I am writing and go to do a
quick job somewhere outside my career just to be paid a few thousands.
But if I stay in this book, I won't get that money immediately. I may even
go hungry as a result, but by the time this book is out, the money I could
have gotten for a whole day's job could be what I will get from just two to
three buyers. By and large, I would make much more than hustling can
give.
 #16
A Hustler And A Business Person

You can compare a hustler and a business person with the gestation
period of an elephant and that of a rabbit. Both of them may become
pregnant on the same day. By the time the Rabbit gives birth in 30 days,
the Elephant may not even know that it is pregnant. The Rabbit would
even make fun of the elephant because it would take in and give birth
several times before the elephant would put to bed. This is because the
gestation period of an elephant is almost 2 years. But by the time the
elephant gives birth, it would, however, birth a giant! That is the way it
is. Hustling will give you several peanuts. You would feel okay and fine for
a while but business would give you a breakthrough.

The rabbit can only live for 9 years, but an elephant can last for as long
as 70 years. A time would come when you will no longer be satisfied with
the money you make from hustling. Even the strength will not be there to
run around. But a man in business would just begin to harvest his cash
crops. The Bible says that the vision is for an appointed time, at the end,
it shall speak. Hustling speaks in the beginning and goes mute before
long, but a business speaks only at the end.

Many claim that they went into hustling because they were broke. You
are not broke because you are in business, but because you are a
hustler. A hustler is always broke. A person who is trying to build a
business is already broken and so, he is building up. He won't go lower
but will keep going higher.
A business person could make ₦2,500 today in his business while a
hustler could make a ₦7,000. If the businessperson returns the ₦2,500
to the business, it would yield more, but that is where the problem is.
One major mistake entrepreneurs make is that they don't return money
into the business, rather they spend it all and that is why they fall back
to hustling. You only build a business by returning money into it and
paying yourself a salary from the profit. If the business person returns
the ₦2,500 back to the business, the business would grow. A time would
come when the least amount of profit he would make would be ₦10,000.
From there, his profit would continue to grow.

In summary, if you build your business step by step, you will make
money gradually. At first, you won't make as much as you make from
hustling, but with time, your minimum profit will supersede what a
hustling job would give you. And the word "broke" would be off your
dictionary. Meanwhile, this takes patience.
 #17
Principle Of Diversion
There will always be a need or urge to diversify in every business
person.

By the help of the Spirit of the Lord, we have touched so many areas.
Starting with the principle of focus to tips on types of business you can
do and then to the emphasis on why you should dump the idea of
hustling and focus on building your business.

There will always be a need or urge to diversify in every business

person. You will want to do another business or add another source of
income. Every rich man diversifies. And of a truth, there is a limit to how
rich you can be in business if you do not lay hands on some other
things.

In this section and subsequent ones, I will give you tips on things you
should consider before you diversify. I call them leverages. They will help
you not to lose your business in a bid to go into other businesses.
 #18
Leveraging on Time
If your business can run effectively in your absence and you have
the resources, you can go into another business

Aliko Dangote as at the time of writing this book, is constructing the

largest crude oil refinery in Africa and the world's biggest single-train
facility. He started by selling sweet then he moved into rebranding of
sugar and flour, then he went into manufacturing of sugar, flour and
pasta. Afterwards, he built a cement manufacturing plant which is the
largest in Sub-Sahara Africa and now he is going into oil and gas on a
large scale, but unlike many young entrepreneurs today, he didn't move
rashly.

He was established in one before moving to the other. That is why,

despite his transition, none of his businesses crashed. He probably
doesn't even have to visit any of his plants in years, yet he makes profits.
He doesn't have to stress himself over those companies and so; he has
the time to venture into other things. So, if your business can run
effectively in your absence and you have the resources, you can go
into another business. That is leveraging on time.

People who know me and our ministry closely marvel at how I can do
many things at the same time. But it is not about me, it is really not
about me at all. We have great people in the ministry who handle various
departments of the ministry. Take KBI, for instance, if you have gone
through any of our courses, you will realize that you only get to hear my
voice but you don't have contact with me. I recorded all the lectures of
many of the courses. I also set many of the exams but that is all I have to
do. From the admission to the graduation, I have no real business in the
process than to get reports. As I am working on this book, some students
are in session and admission into four newly introduced courses is on to
the glory of God. I don't have to bother about it. Other departments of
our ministry are also running effectively simultaneously. And here I am
concentrating on writing four books on business at the same time.

Meanwhile, I couldn't do that a few years ago. When KBI was at the
infant stage, I was involved in all the stages. I didn't record the lectures
and go to sleep or do another thing. I ensured that it got built up before I
could concentrate on other things. Many young men see our ministry
and want to follow in our footsteps, running several arms. They also
want to run an institute and have Bible study sessions like we do yet,
they don't have a stable executive. Many of them put out advert only to
close few months later. I am not making fun of them; I just want you to
see what you are doing to your business and career when you jump
foolishly around in the name of business opportunities. You are killing it
instead of building it.

Before we ventured into KBI, other arms of the ministry also took all my
time. It got to a point where I could shift my attention elsewhere without
fear before I attempted it. And now, my attention is shifting into setting
up the ministry's publishing house and an e-bookshop. Our ministry
grew into all these things; we didn't jump into them.

Leveraging on time doesn't necessarily mean that you need to wait until
the time where you can fully pay attention to something else. As long as
you can shift your attention to up to 80% then, you can diversify into
other things.
 #19
Leveraging on Money

You can be involved in another business, or industry without being

involved in it. You only have to send your money. I don't believe that
Aliko Dangote was not involved in oil & gas before he started building his
refinery. He might have been an investor all along and then when he
found it most appropriate, he went directly into it.

So, if you are established in your business and you have the
resources to invest in another business, you can do so without
necessary getting involved directly. When you invest your money, you
need to be smart about it so you don't hurt your business in the process.
And please, I am not talking about Ponzi schemes here. Investments to
many young entrepreneurs are a quick money or money-doubling
venture. That is what is called "pennywise turned penny foolish".
 #20
Leveraging on People

This is closely related to leveraging on money, but with a minor

difference. When you leverage on money, it is a full investment. You don't
need to concern yourself with running the business or the risks in the
business or organization you invest in. You just get reports and your
dividends. But when you leverage on people, a degree of monitoring is
required and it can have an adverse effect on you and your business if
you attempt it wrongly.

For instance, you can buy a car and get a driver to work with it and in
turn, he makes weekly or monthly returns. Many people do this even
though it is not the best as far as transportation business in Nigeria is
concerned. What is best, or let me say better, is to give it to a driver on a
hired purchase agreement. This type gives a rest of mind. When you do
this, you are leveraging on people to work with your money and you
would be directly involved, but the time and attention it requires is
minimal compared to doing the driving yourself.

When you leverage on time, you leave your business to do other things,
but when you leverage on people, you are in the business, but you do
other things through people. When you are leveraged on money, you only
receive profit without getting involved in the business.
 #21
Leveraging On Information

Let me illustrate this by referring to one of our graduates in the School of

Business. She got some business information that she could buy palm
oil in a town at a very cheap rate, keep it and sell it at a higher rate later
when it would become scarce. Luckily for her, she has a relative living in
that town who could help her buy, and keep the products and even help
her sell them when it's time.

That's a cool deal, isn't it? She didn't even need to set her eyes on the
goods. She didn't have to monitor the person in charge, either.

I talked about privileged information earlier. Many people actually rise by

information. You can get information about a company that is yet to go
public and buy shares or properties with them. When it goes public and
attracts investors, it would mean profit for you. Information, as such
leaks to the public from time to time.

A young man was telling me about his mobile application. The

application started doing well recently. He said he had been trying to get
partners all along, but he thank God that he couldn't get any partner
because if he had gotten any, the person would share from his profit now
that the app is doing well. If he decides to move his application to a
higher level, and get it listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, he may
inform people who may invest in it with their resources and with that,
the business would yield more income and those who invested in it
would start making money. That is what applies to most of the big tech
companies around. When you get useful information like that which will
not distract or affect your business, you can divert to it.
 #22
Leveraging on Industry

Another basis of diversion is industry. First, you must identify that your
business belongs to an industry. For instance, if you are a fashion
designer, you are in the fashion industry. The industry is large and
entails several things. So, instead of diversifying to another industry, you
can just go deeper into your industry by absorbing other aspects of it.

As a fashion designer, you can start selling sewing materials alongside

fashion designing. You can monetize your fashion skill by organizing
trainings or even go deeper into knowledge products like I have
mentioned earlier. Meanwhile, going deeper in the industry will be easier
if you are already well established in an aspect before you gradually
diversify into other areas.

For instance, if you intend to run a fashion blogsite alongside sewing

without being well established in sewing, you may bite more that you can
chew unless you wish to change business entirely.
 #23
Leveraging on One-off deals

I have talked about this earlier when I discussed knowledge product. If

you see a one-off deal that you just need to do in a day or two and be
back in your business, you can go for it. However, you should be careful
advertising your one-off deals using the same platforms or channels you
use in advertising to your customers else. You may lose their confidence
most especially if the one-off deal is in an entirely different industry. You
also need to be careful and ensure that a one-off deal does not turn to a
continuous deal unless you are considering a change of business. I will
talk about the principle of change on the next page.

Make sure that when you are diverting, it is based on these principles.
Don't think that you can multi-task. You will only delude yourself. What
many people are doing is not multi-tasking, but task shifting. Think of
putting all the strength and efforts you are shifting around into one thing
or according to what we have discussed so far and you will see the magic
it will perform in your business.
 #24
Principle of Change

I have shown you various factors you can leverage on while

contemplating diversifying. However, you may come to a point where you
wish to change your business entirely. Maybe you want to move from an
industry to the other or that you want to move from an aspect in the
same industry to another aspect. This is very possible, and it is not
harmful.

I know a lady who went from sewing of clothes into selling of clothing
materials. It started from trying to diversify into selling of materials but
she found it more lucrative and convenient than the other and so she
went fully into it. There are few things you need to note while changing
business.

1. First, it should be in line with the tips I gave in choosing a business

to engage in.
2. You should also be the type that has learnt the principle of focus
and consistency. Many people have a challenge with being
consistent and that is why they easily move from A to B.
3. Take note of what I said about not jumping on every opportunity
you come across.
4. When you are changing, change clearly. For whatever reason you
are changing business, ensure that you don't end up hanging in
the middle. So that you don't end up chasing two rats and losing
both.
I believe that if you go by the principles I have explained in the sections
on principles of diversion and change, you will be able to make the best
decision for your business both today and in the future. The truth about
diversion is that it doesn't have to occupy your thought. When the time
comes to diversify, you will know. It is something you naturally grow into
if you embrace the principle of focus.
 #25
Drawing Lessons From The Life Of Aliko Dangote

In this section, I will tell a brief story about the richest man in Africa and
the richest black man in the world. I want to show you how the various
principles we have discussed in this book worked together to enable him
to emerge as who he is today.

Dangote Group of Companies is into a lot of industries including oil and

gas, consumer goods and manufacturing. However, Dangote Cement
makes up most of the conglomerate revenue. Like I said earlier, it is the
largest cement company in Sub-Sahara Africa. He also owns the world's
second largest sugar refinery. One-quarter of Nigeria's stocks exchange
belongs to Dangote.

He was born in 1957 and grew up in a family (the Dantata family) who
were all into business. His maternal great grandfather was a rich man;
he was the richest West African as at the time he died.

Now, you do not say: "Oh, it was all because he was from a rich home".
Many people also had access to the kind of wealth Dangote had access
to, which he used to start his business, but they spent it on other things.
With the kind of spirit Dangote has, even if he didn't have access to that
wealth, he will still be a millionaire today if not a billionaire. You can
start your own race from wherever point you are and you will be
limitless.
When he was in primary school, he said "I'll go and buy cartons of sweets
and sell them just to make money. I was so interested in business even at
that time". That is a trading spirit. He was so interested in business, even
from that tender age that he was not just a consumer but also a seller.
Even though he was from a rich home, he sold sweets in school.

At 21, he graduated from the University, after graduating he could

convince his uncle to borrow him money to start a business. He
borrowed $3,000 (which was worth approximately ₦300,000 as at then)
which he invested into wholesale business. He was importing rice from
Thailand and sugar from Brazil. After repackaging the goods, he would
sell them. The business boomed, and he was recording a profit of about
$10,000 in a year. He paid back his uncle's debt in three months.

You may not have access to the kind of money Dangote had access to
when he started, but what have you done with what you have. That same
$3,000 (₦1,200,000 in today's value) is what many people spend on
vacation, on phones and electronics. I know someone at the time of
writing this book who wanted to get a loan of ₦2,000,000 on the premise
of using it for her business. However, she planned to use it to buy a car
and then a landed property. So, the advantage Dangote had was not
money but a trading spirit.

After a while, Aliko Dangote noticed that if he's buying and reselling, he
won't make much off it and that birthed the dream of manufacturing,
which led to a change in his career even though he was still in the same
industry.
After importing for 20 years, he started producing some goods such as
Pasta, Flour, Sugar and salt. After sometime, he diversified into other
industries including, Cement. But it was at the point when his business
as regards production of pasta and other goods didn't require his
presence to grow that he moved into cement. He started the cement
company in 2005 and invested $219 million from his own money into it.
He also got a loan of $479 million from an international organization.

One thing Aliko Dangote once said, and which I do like to reiterate, is
that he had always re-invested his profits into the business. And this is
one major reason the empire has grown so much since inception. The
problem we have in Africa is that people, especially the start-ups, spend
their profits. Dangote said that he doesn't even keep money in banks. I
believe it was when he realized he doesn't need to put more money than
necessary into his cement factory that he took up a new challenge by
building the largest crude oil refinery.

In his own words, he said; "we, the Dangote Group, are not doing like
other Africans. We do not keep money in the bank. We fully invest
whatever we have and we keep on investing."
 PART B:

BUSINESS GROWTH

The second part of this book focuses on the underlying principles that
will help a business person grow their businesses and maximize their
profits.
 #26
Be Good
You have no business doing that business if you are not good at it

By now, you must have established in your heart what you want to sell
or the service that you wish to render. In the part B of this book, we will
look at things that can influence your level of profit in that business.

Be good. I always say that you have no business doing that business
if you are not good at it. For God's sake, why will you call a thing your
business and you are not good at it? Then, it shouldn't be your business
at all. I remember seeing an advert on Facebook some years ago. My wife
was by my side at then. The woman was a dressmaker. She uploaded a
picture of herself wearing a cloth and wrote: "if you are interested, contact
me." The first person that commented wrote: "in you or in the cloth?"

It was very funny and at the same time, it was not funny. The cloth she
sewed for herself was nothing to write home about. It would have been
better if she had written: "I would never again patronize the person who
made this cloth".

There was another advert I saw and again my wife was with me. She was
even the one that called my attention to it. This lady was also a fashion
designer. She uploaded a picture of herself with someone and it seems
she was the one that made the dresses they were wearing. She wrote:
"you can trust me with your outfit". My wife said: "Pardon? Trust who? Can
I even trust you to sew a cloth for you?" It was so poor that if I wanted to
gift that lady (the fashion designer) a dress, I wouldn't contract her to
make it. If I want to gift her mum a cloth, I cannot trust her with it as
well. How much more trusting her to make a cloth for me?

So, if you are not good, you really don't have any business under heaven
doing that business. And when I am talking about being good, it is not
left for you to say to yourself that you are good. I believe those people I
cited and many people like them also tell themselves regularly that they
are good, but they are not. To know if you are good or not, you need a
third party.

In subsequent pages, I am going to show you how to know if you are

good or not.
 #27
Whom Are You Comparing Yourself With?

The word good is an adjective with a comparative and superlative- it is

good, better and best. So, you can't just assume that you are good when
there is no one to compare you with. And the first person you should
compare yourself with is your mentor. As a pastor, I compare myself all
the time with my mentor. I have said it repeatedly that every time I look
at the mirror, I don't see myself, I see my mentor. I keep checking how
close I am to him in appearance.
 #28
How Often Do You Take Up Challenges?

If my mentor preaches a message, I ask myself if I have ever spoken on

such topic. Or if I can teach on the same topic then, I go ahead to study
and teach it. I mean, I literally teach it because I see him teach it. If he
preaches from a passage that I haven't preached from, I note it and also
use it as my reference as soon as I can.

So, as a fashion designer (for example), if you see any style on the
internet and it is applauded, don't just assume or say to yourself that
you can sew it. Go to buy material and sew it and see.

Recently, my wife was seeking to engage fashion designers from people

who are close to us. I tried to caution her because of experiences. She
told me she knew what to do. She asked all those who showed interest to
go sew a "polo" with a particular material, snap and send it to her.
Among those who showed up, only two of them attempted it. One was a
bit ok, and the other was bad. While she engaged the person who sewed
it fairly, she commended her intelligence because she successfully
explained why her sample didn't come out the way my wife wanted it on.
My wife gave her a trial, and she performed well.

To be good, you don't have to wait till customers request for a particular
design or style. You should have tried it out yourself. Just as I was
working on this book, someone sent me a message on social media
asking how he can improve his teaching and preaching. He may not like
my answer, but I haven't replied yet. I developed the art of teaching and
preaching through what we call morning cry. I would go out into the
street as early as 5 am, stand on a spot and preach to the empty air,
hoping that someone just waking from their bed would hear me. For
thirteen years, I continued in that. And I can still do it today.

I love those times because no one gave me a topic to preach or told me

when to stop. I would preach at a spot and move to another spot. I
preached without a microphone or megaphone 99% of those times.
Together with some folks on campus, we once stood in front of an empty
house screaming out our lungs thinking someone was around hearing
us. We got there around 6 am, so everywhere was dark. By the time it
was 7 am, we discovered we had been preaching to an abandoned
building. A part of it had even crumbled.

To be good, you have to be given to lot of practice sessions and you don't
have to wait for an audience.
 #29
To Be Good, You Have To Ask
Your customers are your most accessible judge

You can ask your mentor, your boss that trained you or your customers.
Your customers are your most accessible judge. To get the truth from
them, don't ask if they like the cloth. Ask them what area they think you
should adjust or improve. You can meet with a customer who you have
not seen in a while to ask for the reason they have not been patronizing
you.
 #30
The Critical Customer
90% of customers don't know what they want

There are some set of people referred to as critical customers. If you are
not good at all, you may not come across any of them in your career as a
businessperson, but if you come across them, you should be grateful.
They are the hardest to please and nothing ever seems to satisfy them.
What seems to be okay to others often seems not good enough to them.
But whatever seems good to them is always good to everyone. That is the
positive side of them. If any of them show interest in you and you are
committed to serving them, they will force the best out of you. They can
be frustrating but they will bring gold out of you. If they certify you as
good, then you are not only good, but you will be commended as very
good by every other person.

I remember a lady who worked with my wife at a time. She said her boss
told her that 90% of customers don't know what they want. And the
remaining 10% are the critical customers. The remaining 90 percent
would tell you whatever you make for them is good until others see it on
them and lament, and then they will stop patronizing you.

One of those critical people is my wife. And I think I belong to the other
ninety percent. We can all take a picture and everyone except my wife
would commend the photographer. She would point out what is wrong
with the photograph without thinking twice and once she does, any
reasonable person would agree with her.
Recently, we had an event and an upcoming entrepreneur was
contracted to make the food. Out of about 20 people who ate the food,
my wife was the only one who complained. I was even commending the
food when she pointed out what was wrong with the meal and meat and
we all agreed with her because she was right. The host of the event
mentioned it to the lady that made the food. The lady did something that
amazed me. She sent a complimentary pack to the host that contracted
her and sent two packs of everything she sells to my wife including
chicken, fish, moi-moi and the rice itself. She won the approval of my
wife afterwards.

Until you win the approval of a critical customer, you are not good.
They are the type that will ask 250 questions before they buy one item. If
you do well with their questions, you will be able to satisfy every other
customer that comes to you.
 #31
Gather Information

To be a better entrepreneur, you need to keep gathering information and

continually follow the trend in your industry. That is why Google and
social media platforms are there for you. You should also ask questions
from colleagues and experts on how you can better improve your trade or
business.

You must believe that there is a better, faster, finer and more effective
way to do anything.
 #32
Be an Expert
You are an expert only when you become a consultant

This is a step further from just being good. You should grow into
becoming an expert in your field. And how do you know that you are an
expert? It is when you become a consultant. As a consultant, clients
do not come for your product, but for your knowledge. You are a
consultant when people in the same field with you learn from you. You
are also an expert when you train people to do what you do.

This was the suggestion I gave to our students in Masterclass in

Business Marketing. If nobody is coming to you for advice or to consult
with you in your field or industry, start giving out free counsel on your
Facebook page and social media platforms. Start to give tips as
information.

For instance, if you are into cake baking, you can give tips on colour
selections for children's birthdays. You can take a picture of a cake and
analyze why such is best in terms of colour and the accessories used for
a year-old baby birthday. Those who see such on your status will believe
that you are an expert. They will say: "Oh! this person knows what she's
doing".

As a fashion designer, you can recommend what is best for people to

wear based on their stature or the occasion. You can talk on material
identification. A video can be used to back up your point. You can pick a
style or a complex part of cloth and just teach how to cut it. You will
agree with me that if you see that on anyone's status or social media
page, you will label the person as an expert. But what I see today's
generation of entrepreneur display on their status is their friends'
birthday, different ministry handbills and comedy videos. I once asked
some of them if they are photographers or promotion agents for churches
and ministries. I have not said it is bad to upload handbills, but your
social media of all things is expected to first reflect your business
at all times.

When you put out such information, it is knowledge product. They may
not come to you at first but you are taking it to them. It won't put direct
or immediate money into your pocket but with time, it would bring in
great customers for you. With the things I write on my social media
handles, I get several inbox messages from pastors.

Another way to present yourself as an expert is to meet with people and

recommend what is best for them. Someone once came to me and
suggested a better way to run our KBI courses. At the end of the day, he
told me that the service he suggested was what he does. You can see
someone with a beautiful phone but a rough phone pad and tell her how
to identify a quality phone pad and the best to go for. What such a
person will ask before you introduce your business to them is if you can
help them get such.

Meanwhile, as you release information, you must know what to release

and the ones to keep back. Some information may make you lose instead
of winning. You should also beware not to reveal all your cards. Hide
some things that would bring them to you.
 #33
Be A Professional
You are a professional when people stop expecting free products or
services from you.

How do you know when you are a professional? This is when your first
customers no longer expect you to sell or render services to them
for free. Who are your first customers? They are the first set of people to
patronize you when you start a business, and those are your friends and
family members. If they still bringing their torn clothes to you as a
fashion designer or they expect you to render free services to them, you
are yet to become a professional.

You are a professional when people stop expecting free

products/services from you. You can't expect a teacher to teach you for
free, you cannot expect an automobile mechanic to fix your car for free.
You can't expect a lawyer to render a free service for you. Why? Because
they are professionals! And it doesn't take a long time to become a
professional. You just need to present yourself as one.

How do you become a professional?

Create awareness about your business with a price tag. The truth is
that many people around you don't even know what you do. Or they
don't know that you have monetized that skill or interest which you used
to do for free. The day you begin to make awareness, you will be
surprised at people's response.
There was a time I told someone that people don't know that she does
that business. She argued with me. I simply asked those who know her
and were around at that time. She was surprised when people were
asking her if she really does that business.

I remember when I was working on my first book. I needed an editor and

so I thought of an old school mate. He was very good in English. I met
him and told him what I wanted. I was actually expecting that he was
going to do it for free. In the process of our discussion, he made me to
understand that, that was what he does professionally. When he
mentioned that, I was left with the choice to either withdraw my job or be
ready to pay him.

Even before they get to you, you should have put up a front that affirms
that you charge for your services. That way, they will not think that you
are targeting them. You may even have to advertise your service to them
before they come to you.

For an example, there is a spiritual daughter of mine who buys foodstuff

for us from the market. It is very convenient for her because she also
sells things in the market. One day, she told me that people do ask her to
buy one or two things for them since they know that she works in the
biggest foodstuff market in the state. I asked why she has not monetized
it.

Another good daughter of mine loves cooking and always assists my wife
in making meals that would last for weeks. I also advised her to monetize
it.
If they should monetize that skill or passion, people won't notice the
transition until they inform them. They may start by painting their social
media handles red with the advert. They can print fliers or business
cards. They can also tell people around, especially those they used to run
errands for. And friends and family can help them spread the news.

You really have to say it when you are really expecting to be paid.
There was a young man who rendered a service for me a long time ago.
He is my spiritual son, and he doesn't charge me for his services. But
that time, he was disturbing me for payment. I didn't feel comfortable
with his action because he didn't tell me that I would be paying before he
rendered the service. If he had told me, I would have loved to also
negotiate and specify what I was expecting.

If you wish to charge but the person is someone you cannot charge
directly, you can ask for a token in terms of transport fare and to pay for
the material you will use. Meanwhile, you shouldn't tell lies. If you are
charging, tell them you are charging. To make them feel that you are
doing them a favour whereas you are not will be discomforting when they
find out.
 #34
When Referral Comes Right

You are not a professional if, when people refer you, they paint a picture
that you will render your service for free or cheaply. Most times, it is not
their fault when they do that. It is the picture you painted to them. And I
have seen this happen several times.

When you are recommended that way, you are to open your mouth and
charge the person. Your fee doesn't have to be exorbitant, but you have
to state what you are expecting. They will go back to the person who
referred them to you and tell them you asked to be paid. When they hear
that, they will also put it to heart to pay you for your service in the
future. Just ensure that you are good. That will make you indispensable
or difficult to be replaced.
 #35
Think In Terms Of Value

While saying that you shouldn't do things for free for anyone, there are
some people you need to handle with value in mind. When you do a thing
for them for free or at a reduced cost, what you will get from them in
terms of referral or blessings can go a long way. It could mean more to
you and your business. But if you feel that what you need from someone
is immediate money, please do not hesitate to ask for it. They choose to
either patronize you or to move on.

There is a son of mine who started a business after graduating from our
School of Purpose. He asked me for how he should charge. I told him not
to start by charging but to render free services first. That time, he was
just starting up. He needed platforms to test his capability. I told him
that the first set of people he renders the service to wouldn't mind
because it is free. They will give him the stage and the fame. He followed
my advice, and it paid off for him.

In KBI, we have free courses. We put in those free courses to reach out to
people but also to attract the "Thomases". It was when they tasted our
free courses that applied for more the paid courses. Many of them are
outstanding leaders in our ministry today. What brought them were the
freebies. So, as important as money is, everything should not be about
money.
There are people who have also done things money cannot buy in your
life. You shouldn't charge them like you charge others. And when you
choose to charge them, you should, in turn buy gifts for them. You can
even do things for them that are outside the scope of your service. That
way, they will have a regard for your business.

Personally, I love to pay members who offer services to me or for the

ministry. When one of them was rejecting his payment, I asked that his
fees be sent into his bank account and then told him that we have paid
him as we ought to. If he feels like giving to the ministry, the ministry
account is available for him to pay into.

Last, experts and professionals don't shift blames. Stop shifting

blame. I have encountered too many artisans who do this, especially
tailors. They blame the materials or the style you ask them to sew for
you. I expect that as an expert, when I come to you, you should be able
to tell me what is best for me. You should have dealt with that material
and know how to handle it.

There was a man who didn't even allow me to finish complaining before
he shifted the blame. Alas, the complaint wasn't what he thought it was.
When I finally told him what the complaint was, he had another thing to
blame except himself.

As a customer, I don't care what is at fault. If my job didn't come

out well, it is your fault. And if my job comes out well, I don't care what
helped you, the praise is all yours as well.
 PART C:

HOW CAN I SELL?

 #36
Marketing
Marketing is the bridge between the seller and the buyer

Everybody has something he can sell and people always have something
to buy, and marketing is the bridge. If you have any goods to sell and any
service to render and there are people who use that goods or need that
service, I tell you, marketing is the bridge to it.

The reason you are not selling well is that you are not marketing
well. Take, for instance, if I sell handkerchiefs and I am not making sales
although people use handkerchiefs every day, what is my problem? My
problem is not prayer, my problem is not fasting. Did I say that a believer
shouldn't pray or fast? No.

My problem is not capital either. We are too quick to blame capital as the
reason for not selling well or the reason we don't have something to sell
at all. You would see people saying that, if only they have a shop… A
shop is not the issue. It is said that 7 out of 10 shops close indefinitely
after a year. That is one of the reasons agents and shop owners demand
an advance payment of two years in Nigeria. They know that, once that
rent is due, it becomes a problem to renew it.

How many traders can boast that it was the turnover of their shops that
they used to renew the rent of the shop each year? Many renew their rent
with loans or they get their husbands to pay for them.
My wife always makes reference to a relative of hers who was always
complaining about that her lack of a shop and even of capital for her
hairdressing business. She believed that was her problem. After many
years of singing the same song, the husband decided to open a shop for
her. What did she do? She would get to the shop late and then leave the
shop to go around gossiping. She would return home in the evening and
complain that the market was dry. It was capital she blamed initially and
later, she shifted the blame to customers who refused to patronize her.
Those that blame circumstances always have a circumstance to
blame.

I was teaching at a place some years ago and I kept emphasizing that the
problem of people is not capital. I am not a motivational speaker, I am
a fact speaker. Practical and workable ways to achieve your goals are
what I give you. While I was saying repeatedly that the problem was not
capital, a lady asked question. She said she was a hairdresser, and she
needed some equipment as well as a shop. Since I said her problem was
not capital, she asked what she should do. I told her what she needed
was not capital, it was customers. The biggest equipment of a
hairdresser is her hands. If she advertises to people and they request for
her home service, she will make money, save up and begin to improve
her business.

Yes, some people will take her for granted because she doesn't have a
shop, but if she is good, I mean very good. She will breakthrough. She
will get referrals. She may even have the privilege of getting someone that
will be willing to invest in her. But, if she seats back and keep blaming
capital, she would make no progress.
If your problem is not fasting or praying or capital, then what is your
problem? Your problem is marketing. What you need is the right
marketing skills to attract those who need your goods and services. From
today, you need to begin to think this way: I have what they need, they
need what I have. If they are not buying from me, it means we are not
connecting with each other and what can connect us is marketing. That
is why I say marketing is a BRIDGE.
 #37
BE A TRADER
To make it in business, you must find trading and marketing
interesting

The common thing today is that everyone is a CEO. You started selling
clothes, shoes and bags online and then you began to call yourself a
CEO. Calling yourself or aspiring to become a CEO is not the problem.
The problem is the unnoticed negative effective it is having on your
business.

A CEO means a Chief Executive Officer. To be a CEO means that you

have people working for you and working with you. It means that you
have personnel handling different aspects of the business. For example,
someone is in charge of sales, another is in charge of production and you
are then the chief of all the officers.

But now that you are the only one doing the job, or most of the job, you
shouldn't classify yourself as a CEO. Yes, you have a wonderful dream.
Yes, you will become it. And in fact, you are a CEO by faith, but to get to
that point and achieve your dream, the correct route is to see yourself as
a trader, and a marketer.

I laugh when some people who are in business say that their only
challenge is marketing. As a business person, how can your challenge
be trading? How can your challenge be marketing? HOW? It is like a
student saying that his challenge is reading. Then, he shouldn't be a
student. He should be any other thing but a student. If your child tells
you that, what will you do?

If you see yourself as a trader, then you will not say that your
challenge is trading. What inspired me to start the course, Mastersclass
in Business Marketing was because of this complaint that I hear all the
time from my spiritual children who are into business. To make it in
business, you must find trading and marketing interesting.
 #37
A Trader Sells, A CEO seats

Your challenge is marketing because it seems to be the hardest part of

your job. One thing you should know today is that no matter how much
you like or enjoy doing a thing; there is always a part of it that
appears to be the most difficult or most challenging. Yet, it is that
part that determines the direction of your business; it determines how
much you make. If you're able to conquer that area, you'll make more
money. Every profession has that area and for you as a businessperson,
that area is marketing! It's trading!

When you hear the word "trader", what comes to your mind? Is it a
person who sells clothes or pepper? No! It's not what a person sells that
comes to your mind first, but rather, you picture someone who is urging
people to come and buy what he or she sells.

Have you visited an open market and observe how market men and
women behave? Regardless of what they sell, they all behave the same
way. The enthusiasm and shameless persuasion are the same. They have
only one motive; they want to get you to buy. Those are traders.

The first time I was in the market as a young adult, I felt as though I was
being assaulted. Those guys literally dirtied my clothes with the way they
were pulling me to buy from them. If you look at a stall for up to 30
seconds, everyone selling similar stuff will come for you. That is the spirit
of a marketer.
What a trader does is to persuade and convince. But if you present
yourself as a chief, you will seem too big to be a trader. To call yourself:
"CEO Tiks Fashion Hub" or "CEO Rew Cakes" and even put those titles
on your social media bio-data is great but remember, it is what you make
at the end of the day that matters the most and only trading can get you
that.
 #38
Marketing Is A Must
If you don't see yourself as a trader, you are either out of business
or on your way out.

If you want to be a chief at the present stage of your business, be the

chief marketer or the chief trader. If you don't see yourself that way,
you are either out of business or on your way out. It got to a point in
our ministry that I stopped seeing myself as the president but as the
chief marketer. I started seeing our ministry as a marketing ministry.

As anointed as our Lord Jesus was, the Bible reported that for the three
and a half years of his ministry, He was going about. He was moving up
and down. The Yoruba rendition portrayed Jesus as a hawker of the
Good news. He knew that He must hawk what He was selling. Only an
evangelizing-pastor does that and not a president-pastor.

The book of Isaiah presented Jesus as a trader shouting: come and buy.
That's a hawking trader to the core who goes out to call on customers?
Every growing business is a marketing business and every dying
business is a non-marketing business. That's why I said that you are
either marketing or you are out of business.

You need to step down from that high table of being a CEO and step into
real time business which is trading. Your first business in business is
trading and marketing. If you bake cakes, for instance, your first job is
to look for customers and not to bake cake. A time will come in your
business when you don't produce or go to deliver jobs. The only thing
you do is to get contracts and bring in customers. When you keep
growing and your brand becomes a household name, you won't even
need to meet with customers, you just manage the staff. That is when
you become a manager or a CEO but for now, be a trader.
 #39
Think Like A Trader
Your first business in business is trading and marketing

Thinking is said to be the most valuable asset in the world. If you think
right, you will sell right. Like I have emphasized again and again in this
section of the book, you must think like a trader and not as a CEO. Even
as an established CEO, if your marketing line is faulty, you will soon be
out of business.

A CEO sits, a trader stands.

A CEO relaxes, a trader sells.
A CEO waits for customers to walk into the shop and buy, a trader walks
to the potential customer and urge them to buy.

I see many people who are into business on WhatsApp. They forward
several items to their status and go to sleep. They are waiting for the
people that will follow their status or advert and come to their DM. But at
the end of the day, they don't get many sales.

A trader would advertise, but will not stay at that. He would go to meet
potential customers or even old time customers and show their new
goods.

In our ministry, what we do is what you can call two stage marketing.
First, we put out the advert and wait for those who will voluntarily follow
the advert to us. The second stage is to persuade those who saw the
advert and didn't respond. We even go as far as meeting those who didn't
see the advert at all and bring them in. You ask what are we selling. Our
first product is the gospel. We have a dedicated day that is meant for no
other thing but marketing of the gospel. Another thing we sell is
knowledge product: this book in your hand and our courses in the
Koinonia Bible Institute.

You have to begin to think like that woman who sells pepper in the
market. Think like that cloth seller. A young lady in our ministry
narrated her experience in the market. She said she prized a cloth and
though she didn't want to buy it but the woman insisted that she must
buy it and she found herself buying it.

I also had a similar experience. My wife called me to ask if I would go to

the market on my way home and buy live fowls. There are people who
deal with selling of live fowls throughout the year. You point to the one
you want. They will slaughter and cut it for you on the spot. I couldn't
find my way around the market as it was described, but I found a
woman. She was the only one I saw around that place. Her stock was
more expensive than I budgeted, but because I was at her place, she
tried to tell me I wouldn't get it at a cheaper rate anywhere. I was almost
buying from her, but decided to speak to my wife on the phone. By the
time I turned sideways to speak to her privately; I discovered that just
behind her was an array of fowl sellers. I didn't patronize her, but I was
impressed at her audacity. The persuasive force of a trader works just
like an enchantment.
At another time, I and my wife wanted to buy a type of dress. We visited
the open market. The audacity of those guys was quite amazing to me.
You tell them exactly what you want, they would tell you they have it
only for you to get into the shop and they show you another thing. That
day, we ended up in a shop and we didn't find what we were looking for,
but we ended up buying what the trader had. We exhausted our budget.
While we were going home, we checked another place to see if we will get
what we actually wanted. That was how we came by a place that was
fully stocked with what we had in mind. But that young man had
convinced us to buy what he had.

A CEO doesn't think or act that way. He is the "oga" (boss) or the madam
of the place. If possible, he wants customers to respect him and speak to
him politely. But a trader or marketer doesn't care. All he wants to do is
to sell. And a customer loves a trader. A customer loves a trader because
he is respected and honoured. He is politely persuaded and so he feels
good spending some of his money in return.

I once bumped into a CEO turned trader. We were at a computer

business complex to repair a laptop. The engineer said we would need
superglue and so I decided to buy it. I was shown a shop within the
complex. When I got there, she wanted to sell superglue in a turn pack to
me. I saw her placing the product back into the pack and then jokingly, I
said that I saw what she was doing, but it's not a problem, I can still
have it. She got angry and said she wasn't selling.

On my way, I was thinking how a person could be allowed to sell such

stuff in that complex in the first place. The cost of rent in that place is
too high for someone who only sells such items. I had to even walk a
distance to get the glue. When I returned to the engineer, I was asked
why it took so long. I narrated my experience with the woman. To my
surprise, I was told that she is the owner of the whole complex. That
means she's a millionaire! For reasons best known to her, she decided
not to sit at home and so reserved a space for herself to sell such items.

She is already established, and that explains her attitude. Note, I didn't
say that justifies her attitude, but it explains it. If you are not yet at that
level and you are comparing yourself with a CEO instead of being a
trader, you will be at the losing end.
 #39
Think Like A Trader
Every growing business is a marketing business and every dying
business is a non-marketing business.

It is one thing to be a trader; it is another thing to be a hawker. I have

been the two and I know the difference. A CEO seats inside her office or
shop and doesn't really care if people walk in to buy or not. They are
either overly confident that people would surely buy or they don't need
the money from the sales to survive like that woman I encountered.
However, a trader cares. A trader doesn't seat or relax; he stands and
calls for customers who left their homes to check out if they can get
things in the market.

A hawker differs from all of that. A hawker doesn't seat or stand, he

walks. Our Lord Jesus Christ is a perfect example. He hawked the gospel
so much that He once said He didn't have a house to sleep but wherever
he is when it becomes dark is where He sleeps.

A hawker puts his goods on his head shamelessly. As a teenager, I

hawked a lot of things. I started hawking when I was in Junior secondary
school till my penultimate year in the senior secondary school. I hawked
oranges, banana and fufu depending on the season of the year.

You can describe a hawker in one sentence: he who goes out with
his tray loaded with goods and returns with an empty tray. A hawker
wants to sell everything he goes out with and religiously pursue it. There
is a joy that comes from returning home with an empty tray. As a boy, I
would put the cloth I used in carrying the heavy tray inside the empty
tray while returning home as a sign of victory. A hawker would count his
money twenty times before reaching home because he is happy that he
"sold out" that day.

You must have that same mindset and mentality. You must carry your
goods on your head. You must go from house to house or from DM to
DM. And you must be able to use your voice in calling on customers. The
most tough part for me when I was hawking was announcing my arrival
as the "orange boy" as I walk through the streets and houses, but that is
the only way to have good sales.

As a business person, especially when you are just starting, register it at

the back of your mind that you will not sell if you don't hawk and you
cannot make money if you don't sell. Carry your goods on your head by
letting everyone identify you with that product. Before they know your
name, let them know your product. Go from house to house just as
Jesus Christ told His disciples, despite anointing them.

In your own case, you may have to go from DM to DM if you sell mostly
online. Then, make it a habit to always announce your arrival. Each time
you have a new stock, go to meet your old customers and potential
customers. You should even make them see your old stock as new.

Have you not noticed how established businesses advertise?

Telecommunication companies come up with new adverts all the time.
Everywhere you turn to, you see newer adverts of drink companies.
Satellite TV companies have something new to show you everywhere. You
probably have even received calls from their agents. They know that the
day they stop announcing their products; they stop selling.
 #40
Think Like A Customer

This is one major principle that will make you to stay at the top of the
competition in any business that you do. It is also one thing that has
helped me a lot in the preaching ministry. When I am preparing my
messages, I don't think like a preacher; I think like a member of the
congregation. I usually ask myself a simple question: as a listener, how
would I love this message to be preached to me? That is why my messages
and books are not unnecessarily complex.

The Bible explains that with many stories, Jesus taught the people. Who
teaches with stories if not a preacher or teacher who wants to ensure
that his listeners understand the message? The popular ones among
Jesus' messages today are the stories.

In the same vein, as a businessperson, you need to think like your

customers and ask yourself questions like: how will my customers like
this product to be marketed to them? How will they like this product to be
introduced to them? See yourself as a customer and ask: what can
somebody say that will make me to buy this item?

After making several researches before writing a book or introducing a

course, I pause to ask myself: how best would I love to listen to these
lectures as a student or how best would I enjoy reading this book as a
reader. I usually say that even if we run 100 courses today in our
institution, none of it can be overlooked. I mean none of it. There are
people who have attended virtually all our courses and they still ask for
the latest course. No matter how many books I write, there is none that
can be seen as a substitute to the other or as a waste of time. And it is
because of the thought process that goes into it to the glory of God.

I spend days meditating and ruminating with the Holy Spirit on the title
to give to our books. I make it a habit of asking myself that if I am visiting
a bookshop, what title would attract me as it concerns the content of the
book?

In the same vein, you must always see yourself as the customer all the
time and ask, what would I want? What would I like? How would I want it
presented? What would attract me?
 #41
Customers Are Selfish
Customers are always thinking WIFM- What Is in it For Me

I will tell you some interesting discoveries about the attitude of

customers on this page and the next. The knowledge of this will equip
you to adequately to win their love over and sell to them easily.

The first thing you should know about a customer is that a customer is
selfish. A customer wants to buy a product because of its benefit. This is
what is called WIFM which means: What Is in it For Me? A customer is
always asking WIFM. They want to know what is in it for them. If they
don't see a benefit in it, they don't want it. And in fact, they don't care if
that benefit has a positive effect on you or not. And that is why Ponzi
schemes still sell.

The Bible explains that a customer will haggle over the price of a thing
and buy it as though he doesn't want it but he will go about boasting
about having gotten a good deal.

Customers always want to know what they stand to gain by purchasing

your goods or services. Therefore, you need to market that product to
them in a way that will make them want to buy. I once posted something
on my Facebook status with the aim of getting the readers to download a
particular sermon. After typing for a while, I deleted all I had written and
sat down to think of a better approach to reach them. I reframed and
posted it.
After a while, comments started pouring it. One of the foremost
comments reads thus: The way I read this, I feel like downloading the
message already. Then I smiled and said to myself: it worked. I could
have just told them to go download the message, but that wouldn't have
been as effective as telling them what they stand to gain by doing so.

Let me tell you this fact, people always buy things. If they're not
buying from you, that means they do not find you appealing. You
have to be appealing to them! You can say the market is dull, and the
economy is bad, but does that mean that people no longer buy those
goods you sell? Does it mean that your previous customers are no longer
buying that product? Then why are you not the one selling it to them?
They simply did not find you appealing.

The second thing to know about a customer is that A Customer likes to

buy and not to be sold to. Customers want to buy and not feel bad that
they bought. They want to purchase the product not because you made
them purchase it but simply because THEY WANT TO. So you have to
make them want to buy, make them decide to purchase for their own
sake. If I buy a thing for your sake, that will be the last time I would buy
from you. But if I buy from my personal interest, then you will see me
return all the time. When you are face to face with a customer, let them
want to buy and let them buy from you.
 #42
Decide To Make It From That Business
As long as you have something to sell and you are selling it, you
will surely make profit and the profit can become a fortune

There are many in business who are not actually in it so that they can
make money, just like the woman I told you earlier. And there are some
in a business who want to make just enough to get their stomach filled. I
know many people like that and they make up for 80% of those that are
into business.

I don't have an issue if you are in a business not to make money. Some
are actually in it for the fun of it or for leisure- I know quite several
people like that. But it pains me to see those who think they are in a
business to make it but all their actions speak otherwise. They need the
business. They need the profit but their actions say something else.

I should ask you; do you want to make a career out of that

business? I often say that there is no business that doesn't have the
potential to lead to prosperity. There is no business that cannot turn you
into a millionaire. In Nigeria, especially here in the South West, many
houses in the cities and towns are built by petty traders. Everyone knows
at least one Pepper Seller or Leaf Seller or a Pap Seller or a Charcoal
Seller that has a house or that is building a house.

Their houses may not be the very fancy ones, but they have a complete
building. And no matter what you used in building your house in this
dispensation, there is no house that you will spend less than two million
naira to build and that doesn't include what is spent to acquire the land.

Those petty traders built their houses from no other source than from
their businesses. Many of them are single mothers and their children
attend private basic schools. They have children in the higher
institutions too.

As long as you have something to sell and you are selling it, you will
surely make a profit and the profit can become a fortune. The
Scripture says that there is no man who is diligent in his business or in
whatsoever that he sells that would not stand before kings. Note that the
Scripture doesn't mention a particular business.

I was at the printing hub in the city I live. I was amazed at the kind of
cars those shop owners you can refer to as petty printers ride. They pay
as much as half a million naira per annum for some of their room-sized
shops. You will be amazed if a person running a photocopy business in
higher institutions tells you how much they go home with daily.

It is all about how you handle your business. If you handle it like
someone who wants to make a fortune from it, your approach and
diligence will be different and in a matter of time, you will see the result.

Whenever I talk about this aspect, the common question people ask is
what they can do when their personal expenses are more than the profit.
There is one thing that you can do, get my book, Understanding
Business And Capital Management. In it, I wrote about how to raise
money and multiply your profit.

Until you decide to make a living off it, you will not get serious about
marketing. There's a saying that to sell a thing without marketing it is
like winking at a girl in the dark. It's only you that knows what you are
doing. If you have what people need or want or what they buy all the time
then, why are they not buying from you? It is because you are not
seriously engaging them in marketing.
 #43
Principle of Stages

What I have been doing in this book is to hand to you proven principles
for success in your business. You may even be familiar with some of
these principles. You may even be used to some of them, but you have
not fully maximized their potentials. I tell you, the combination of these
principles will bring about a dramatic turnaround in your business and
marketing endeavors.

Meanwhile, you must understand that life is in stages and men are in
sizes. Those principles will work, but they require patience. Those who
are quick to say it doesn't work are those who do not patiently digest and
practice it.

You must have short term and long-term goals for your business and
that is why record keeping is as important as your sales effort. You must
follow up on your growth in terms of sales, profit, customers and even
customer satisfaction. If you stay on a spot for too long, you need to
examine yourself and look at what you are not doing at all or what you
are not doing well.
 #44
Principle of Cause and Effect
Things don't just happen; things make things happen

Principle of cause and effect says that anything that happens is caused
by something. In life, things don't just happen; it is some people who
move things. The law of motion explains that an object will remain on a
spot for life unless an external force acts on it.

The question is: what are you moving that will make you to have more
customers? What are you moving to realize that dream you have? You
have to be moving something. You have to cause some things to happen
before your desired goal can take effect. You must always move
something.

It is not about whether or not your business is working, it is about what

you are working on to make your business work. For you to have sales,
you must cause it.
 #45
Evaluate Your Methods
If you don't know what works best for you, how do you want to
work it the more?

Nobody wants to agree with you that he is not doing anything to record
higher sales in their business. In fact, what you often hear is that I have
done everything; it is not just working for me. One thing I believe
personally is that if a thing is not working, it is either because I haven't
done what I am supposed to do or that I am not doing it well.

You need to always reflect and evaluate all your marketing methods.
I know people who sell through WhatsApp. Their only marketing
structure is to showcase their goods on their Whatsapp status. Have they
paused to evaluate if that method actually works well or not? Have they
realized that people view their pictures more but only few people view
their goods? Have they asked for the reason of the disparity? Have they
thought about the number of those who view their status and the
percentage of those that come to ask them about the goods?

It is when you make those findings that you can then ask yourself: what
can I do about it? At times, you just need to adjust in the way you go
about it or use that method alongside another method to get a maximum
result. But it all starts with evaluation.

There was a time we were preparing for a programme in the ministry and
the mobilization team reported the number of people that have pre-
registered. I was alarmed at the low turnout but they defended
themselves by saying they have done all they needed to do, including one
of our most effective methods but still had low yields. When we looked
into it critically, we realized that their implementation of that method
was poor.

There was a time we were to admit new students into the Koinonia Bible
Institute. I tested all our advertising methods one by one. Instead of
putting all the methods into use at once, we spaced it and measure the
responses from it. In the process, we could determine the effectiveness of
each method.

There are some that we believe should work well but didn't work as it
should. We checked for what we were not doing well and re-strategized.
We also realized that some methods that take more money were not
worth it and so we stopped using them. If we had not evaluated, we
wouldn't have known about those things.

A young entrepreneur was with me, and he heartily told me how well his
tech product was doing. I was thrilled about the service he is rendering
to the body of Christ and so I asked him what he thought was
responsible for the sudden rise in his patronage. I won't be sincere if I
said that I was surprise that he hadn't really thought about it before I
asked. It was at that point that he thought and gave me answers. I
advised him not to leave the success of his business to the winds.

If you don't know what works best for you, how do you want to work
it more? Remember the principle of cause and effect. There was a time I
was told to put some of our books on some websites. I knew what the
outcome would be. Nevertheless, I tried it out. We placed advert and gave
people the options to purchase via the regular medium or via the website.
As expected, the regular medium yielded more than the website. If we
needed the website to work well, we would target a set of audience and
put the required structure in place.
 #46
Record Keeping

Evaluation and growth will remain a mirage if there is no proper record

keeping. As a business owner, record keeping is very crucial to your
business and you shouldn't trivialize it. It is as good as saying; if you
can't keep records, don't be in business.

Your sales records and customers' data are very important. If you stop
seeing a regular customer, check up on them. You might send them a
season's greetings in form of an SMS or a regular message even when
there is no festivity. Just ensure that you are always in touch with them.
That they patronize you once and didn't show up again doesn't mean
that they have stopped using that product or that service; it is just that
they aren't patronizing you.

There's a young man that once made clothes for me when he did not see
me for a while, He left a message for me on WhatsApp asking why I have
not being patronizing him. Out of sight, they say, is out of mind. Upon
receiving that message, I told him I am not the type that sews special
clothes for festive seasons (it was a festive season). But I assured him I
would call him soon, and I did. He could reach me because he had a
record.

There was a business man that told me how well his business was doing
one month and it suddenly went bad the following month. He expected
that I would pray some powerful prayers over him but I simply asked
him: where is your sales record? How about calling those customers that
reached out to you massively the previous month? Alas, he had no
record.

By merely keeping records, you will discover a lot of amazing things in

your business. You will let go of many of your assumptions and you will
see a new thing entirely. I have handled many excuses given by our
leaders in the ministry just by asking them to show their records. They
were surprised when record says the exact opposite of their assumptions
and excuses.

When people complain to me they don't know how they spend money, the
first solution I recommend to such people is to write down what they
spend. At the end of the month, they will see everything plainly there. At
least if it is a spirit, you will be sure. I usually add that with that record,
they can decide, evaluate and improve on their spending habits and that
is the way it works in business too.
 #47
Dynamics Of Time

Time is very crucial to any business, however; it is wide and complicated

than people think. In this section, I will explain the different aspects it
entails to you.

The first question is: how many minutes do you spend with your
customers daily? Yes, that is the question. How many minutes do you
spend interacting with a customer daily? If you sell goods, how many
minutes do you spend face to face or online discussing with a customer or
a potential customer in relation to your business each day? When you
know how many minutes you spend each day on the average, then, you
will know how many minutes you spend in a week, a month and
ultimately in a year.

Brian Tracy went to deliver a lecture at a place during recession. The

management had predicted that they were going to lose up to 30% of
their sales that year. He then asked why they were thinking of 30% loss
and not 30% increase. They were amazed at his question and couldn't
bring themselves to agree that they could make more profit instead of
loss. So, he told them that all they had to do was to increase the number
of time spent with their customers each day. Again, they were puzzled.
He added that after all, their sales persons were actually spending an
average of 90 minutes with the customers per day and all they had to do
was to increase it.
The Vice President of the organization disagreed with the statistics,
maintaining the fact that their sales personnel were diligent. So Tracy
proposed a way to find out. He advised that each sale personnel should
go out each day with a stopwatch and record how many minutes they
spend with customers. They realized that they spent an average of 90
minutes 42 seconds each day for an entire month. That day, the
management made the strangest discovery of their lifetime. They realized
that the company was paying sales personnel for 90 minutes whereas
they claim to resume by 9am and close by 5pm. That's why evaluation is
very important to any growing business.

By the time you set out to evaluate the number of minutes you spend
with your customers, you shouldn't be surprised if you realize that you
are not even spending up to 10 minutes on the average in direct talk with
them.

You might wonder; "but I don't have customers, who then will I spend time
with?" In a bid to increase the number of time you spend with your
customers per day, you will be pushed to increase your marketing
strategies. By the time you decide to increase the number of time you
spend with your customers every day, it will bring about a change in
your approach to business as a whole.
 #48
External Prime Time
External prime time refers to the best time you can get in touch
with your customers

There is something called external prime time. External prime time

refers to the best time you can get in touch with your customers.
And this varies from business to business. Some business experience
most sales in the morning time and for some it is the evening. It could
also be a season of the year. You need to pay attention to that time and
be available to attend to your customer.

A shop owner with a good sense of time management should have an

opening time and closing time. For some businesses, you ought to be
there as early as 7 am and close late at night. Your shop must always be
open if you will have your projected sales. You have to believe that every
passing minute your shop is closed, is a sales loss.

If you close your shop once in a week, that is 52 days in a year. If it is

closed twice in a week, which is Sunday and any other day, it means
your business is closed for about four months in the year. By now, as a
shop owner, you know why you are not selling.

With an organization, where you are not directly involved with the
customers, then you are to understand that the amount of time you
spend with your officials directly and indirectly has a lot to do with the
productivity of your organization. If you increase the time you spend with
them, your sales or productivity will also go up.

Have you realized that whenever the boss of an establishment is around,

the staff members concentrate on their work? Imagine how productive
they will be if that boss is always around?

If you increase the number of your face-to-face interactions with

customers, even if some of them do not buy, it will eventually increase
your sales. You may not make a sale with everyone you talk to, but you
will know why you didn't make a sale and improve on it. As a trader and
hawker, you shouldn't wait for customers; you should go to them.
 #49
Be A Believer
Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord-
Romans 12:11

The last principle I shall discuss with you is that you must approach
your business as a believer. There was a woman and shop owner who
complained about her business. I gave her two principles to use
alongside what she has been doing before. I told her to be a tither and to
be an honest trader. Prior to that time, she sold stolen goods and yet she
was getting poorer. She delivers less than what is requested by
customers and yet she was in debt. She changed her way and her sales
grew.

Do not compromise your Christian standards because you are in the

market world. You are not into witchcraft or voodoo. You said you are a
believer, then you should be a full-time believer. Others can make money
and sales through other ways, but since you have decided to make your
money in Christ's way then, you should stick to it wholly.

Be a good Christian and a prayerful one. Pay your tithes. Be honest in

your dealings. Be diligent.
 Conclusion
This book is a book of principles. Principles are like laws and they always
work. They work because they are not determined; they were discovered.
They were discovered and propounded after a series of event that has
proven their reliability.

You are to look into the principles I have introduced to you and apply
them to your business immediately. You may not need all of them at
once, but you will surely need a combination of some for maximum
effect. They will surely work if you work it accordingly, because they
always work.

I see you in high places.

BUSINESS SERIES
 INDEX

Receiving Salvation

You were born a sinner condemned to hell but Jesus Christ died for your
sins, gave you power to sin no more and to enjoy life here on earth and
hereafter. All you need to do is to believe and accept His works by
declaring Him as your LORD and Saviour. Do you believe this? Say: Lord
Jesus Christ, I accept that you died and resurrected for the remission of
my sins, I declare you as my LORD and Saviour. Amen.

Steps to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost

1. You are not to ask or beg God for it, just expect it.
2. Believe He has given you and you will manifest it.
3. Don’t hate tongues. That some people misuse it doesn’t mean it has
lost its power.
4. Don’t pretend not to need it. Holy Ghost baptism is not just about
tongues, it is about empowerment but tongues is the initial sign
that you are baptized.
5. Clear your minds of doubts. God will give you but if you think that
any sin can hinder you, ask for forgiveness now and now. (Isa
1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they
be red like crimson, they shall be as wool). And forgive everyone in
your heart.
6. As I pray for you, you will be baptized and you will speak in new
tongues.
 7. As I pray for you, the Holy Spirit will give you utterances and you
will speak it out. Note that utterance means any sound produced
with the mouth. That means the utterance could be one syllable or
two. It could be one word or more. Understand that you are the one
that will pronounce the utterance in anyway it comes to your mind
as the Holy Spirit gives you utterance.
8. When I pray for you, the utterance would come. Don’t think you are
the one thinking it, it is not you. Don’t think you will be
unconscious or lost, it is not so. Don’t be bothered if you don’t
know the meaning just speak it. And keep repeating whatever
comes to your mind.
9. Daddy thank you because you are a faithful God, you always hear
me and you are eager to give us more than we are eager to ask. I
pray for you: receive the Holy Spirit right now in Jesus Name.
10 .Open your mouth and began to speak those tongues.

Steps to Receive Healing

1. 1Peter 2:24 says: He personally bore our sins in His [own] body on
the tree [as on an altar and offered Himself on it], that we might die
(cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you
have been healed.
2. You have been healed. You have been healed even before you had
that illness, what I’m about to do by praying with you is to proclaim
your healing.
3. As I do that, the pains and symptoms will be no more.
4. After I pray for you move that part of your body just as though it
was healed already because it is an instant healing.
 5. I proclaim you healed and whole right now in Jesus Name. The last
time you had that illness is the last you will ever have in Jesus
Name.
6. Check it out and share your testimonies.

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1. Mocking the Devil

2. The Pentecost Volume: Speaking in Tongues
3. The Communion of the Holy Spirit
4. Prayer that Works
5. Roaring Faith
6. Beyond Purpose Discovery
7. CDA: Unlocking the Supernatural
8. Time and Task Management
9. Understanding the Call and the Five Fold Offices
10. Money and Human Management
11. Impartation for the Gift of Prophecy
12. Impartation for the Spiritual Gifts
13. Healing Mantle
14. Healing Power
15. Living Without Drugs
16. Anointed to Heal
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18. Discover Your Purpose in 2 minutes
19. You Are Not A Bonus
20. Clarifying Purpose And Ministry
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24. Arousing the Leader in You
25. Developing the Leader in You
26. Exceptional Leadership
27. Secrets of Successful Business
28. Understanding Business and Capital Management
29. Tithing Testament
30. Biblical Business Sense
31. What Can I Sell: How Can I Sell
32. Ending Low Sales
33. Winning Customers Always
34. Extraordinary Marketing
35. Selling Fast with Pricing Techniques
36. More Profits With Freebies Marketing
37. Biblical Route to Mental Health
38. Cultivating Healthy Emotions: Self Esteem, Assertiveness, Coping
with Stress, Purpose & more
39. Defeating Negative Emotions: Anger management, Guilt, Suicide,
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40. Healing for Depression

CONCEPTS
41. The Office of the Prophet and The Teacher

42. The Office of the Apostle and The Evangelist

43. The Office of the Pastor and The Help Ministry

44. The Revelational Gifts

45. The Utterance Gift

46. The Power Gifts

47. Discerning of Spirits

48. The System of Prayer

49. New Testament Review On Prayer

50. Getting All Your Prayers Answered

51. Anger Self Control

52. Coping with Stress: Physical, Psychological and Emotional Stress

53. Curing A Depressed Mind

54. Dealing with Mental Health Spiritually

55. Developing Self Esteem

56. Faith Boosters

57. Faith Killers: Worry, Anxiety, Doubt

58. Overcoming Anxiety and Worry

59. Overcoming Fear and Guilt

60. What Faith Is What Faith Is Not

61. CDAplus: Commanding the Supernatural

Books by Elizabeth Ife-Adetona

62. You Can’t Pay the Price of Missing God’s Will

63. Breaking the Yoke of Wrong Relationship
64. Dream Spouse at your Doorstep
65. Proper Relationship Approach
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67. The Opposite Sex and I
68. Beyond I Do: What Next After Proposing
69. Communication, Conflicts and Courtship
70. Dealing with Challenges in Your Courtship
71. Principles of Courtship

Books by Abegunde Damola Samson

72. Fortified Health

73. My Bible, My Friend
74. Prayer Energia
75. Discipleship Mandate
Fountain Series (Mini Books)

76. Romantic Romans (Exposition on the book of Romans)

77. Ojuju (Dealing with Bad Dreams)
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79. Every Name Named (Unveiling the Power in the Name of Jesus)

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