How to get career/business support from others
The older I get, the more I appreciate that phrase, “No man is an Island”. I am not even sure the origin but I’m sure it’s a wise source. Looking at my career and business journey so far, I can confidently share I couldn’t have done anything by myself. People have always been a huge factor in my journey so far, and I am referring to direct/indirect support from family, friends, mentors and fellow entrepreneurs who were just glad to offer a helping hand. But I’ve discovered something, it can feel awkward sometimes asking for help. Nobody likes to feel like a liability, neither does anyone want to hear the word ‘No’ when they ask for help. To set the context, I am referring to support you may need on your career/business journey, especially when you find yourself in situations where you’re stuck! Looking back at the last few years, I’ve learnt a few things which can help position us to get the support we need on our business/career journey. 1 – Don’t isolate yourself, connect with community My Alumni community has lots of WhatsApp groups, and I mean a very large number of WhatsApp groups. When I served as Vice President a few years ago, I found myself in 40 WhatsApp groups at some point. A lot, I know. You don’t have to join many WhatsApp groups, but you know what, a lot of people join groups so they can be a part of community. The benefits are uncountable. I’ve seen so many situations where job applicants and recruiters have met in the same group. In fact, I recruited recently from one of my Alumni WhatsApp groups. The candidate heard about the opportunity, reached out to me, got interviewed and landed the role. Imagine they were not in that group? Who knows! In another group I was in the other day, someone was looking for a flat to rent, and a couple of others had referrals. Can you imagine how many opportunities you miss by isolating yourself? One of the first things you should do is to connect with community. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a WhatsApp group. Whatever you do, don’t isolate yourself. 2 – Find someone who can help Help won’t always find you first, sometimes you need to take a step to find someone who can help you. A couple of years ago, I hit a huge roadblock with my business. We craved some ambitious business growth and it was clear we couldn’t go further without getting the right support. What did I do? I started looking everywhere to find someone who could coach/guide me. All effort to find the right person started looking impossible. I looked online, asked a few friends, and started to think I had hit a dead-end. Eventually, I stumbled across the website for Be the Business and discovered I could get a business mentor for FREE. For FREE? I applied, filled all the forms, and weeks later I was matched with a business mentor who turned out to be the exact person I needed, someone to challenge my thoughts and help steer our activities towards business growth. Finding someone who can help comes with a lot of determination though. You just keep searching without feeling discouraged, and hopefully you find the right person to support you on your journey. 3 – Be clear and vocal when you need support You have to be direct when you’re asking for support. If you’re not clear, you’re not going to get the support you need. If you’re not vocal, nobody knows. Even the closest people around you may be completely unaware of your needs because you’ve not vocalised your needs. I experienced this recently when I found out a cousin has been looking for his first job since graduating almost a year ago. I had no clue until recently. Hearing this, I quickly turned to my network to find who could support his career aspirations as he belonged to a very niche industry. And guess what? That same day, I was able to connect him with two people who may be able to guide him in landing his first job. One last example. I once worked on a project in a team of five contractors whose contracts ended when the project was delivered. We all kept in contact via a LinkedIn group and I recall mentioning I was looking for my next opportunity. One of the other guys brought my attention to a role she had seen on a LinkedIn page and I applied for it. Weeks later I was interviewed and got the role. Dear friends, there’s no need to be embarrassed if you’re looking for a job. Tell your immediate networks so they can also be on the look out for you. I’ve attracted recruiters and landed roles in the past by setting my LinkedIn profile/status to ‘Open to Work’. This is an example of being clear and vocal when you need support. It works! 4 – Be ready to invest time & resources Unless you are completely broke and financially incapable to pay for the support you need, sometimes you have to pay for the support you need. It may not always be available for FREE. Over the last few years, I have supported many people in their careers by helping them optimise their CV and prepping them for job interviews. This is simply part of my service to community. But guess what? I also know a few people who offer CV optimisation on a larger scale, and at a premium. They’ve built businesses on these services and do not offer it for FREE. As a candidate who may need support, you may find yourself on the doorstep of someone who will only support you as a paid service. Sometimes, you have no choice, especially if you have no one to offer it to you as a FREE service. The point is, don’t limit your quest for for FREE
My Adventure in Relocating to Another Country
My trip to the UK Home Office in Lagos precisely July 2008 was nerve-wracking. My usual optimistic self suddenly felt so pessimistic, wondering what I’d do if I wasn’t granted a student visa. I remember picking up the envelope and walking to a corner of the building to reveal the truth inside the brown envelope I had just picked up. “THEY GRANTED ME A STUDENT VISA”🕺🕺🕺 the exact words I screamed on the phone call to my parents that afternoon. Finally, I would travel to the United Kingdom🇬🇧 to embark on my Masters’ degree🎓. But you know what, as I write this article, I am reminded of the numerous emotional highs and lows leading to this moment. Even after 14+ years, there’s always something new on this incredible journey. It’s exactly why I’ve written this article, to share some of my biggest lessons, hoping it’s worth your read. 1 – Never forget your Enablers 🙏 My first student visa application was actually denied for financial reasons. To my surprise, the 50% tuition paid to Loughborough University was not enough proof to the UK Home Office, for financial sustenance. Following the advice of a Loughborough University admissions officer, my parents paid the rest of the fees. Yup! My school fees were paid in full. I am just too super-thankful and forever indebted to my parents for this opportunity. My dad paid a huge part of my fees despite losing so much money in the 2008 stock market crash, and my mum sold her shares to complete my fees. Like me, everyone has a story, and we all have enablers that made it possible for us to achieve our dreams. The professor who gave you a solid reference letter, the parents who paid your fees, family who encouraged you, the uncle who gave you a £100 note to add to your funds, and the friend who gave you a loan to pay up your fees. No matter how far you go, never forget who enabled you. Remain thankful and don’t forget to thank them for their contribution to your journey. 2 – Don’t be entitled. Don’t be! ❌ I landed at the London Heathrow Airport in 2008, and for the first time, no one came to pick me up from the airport. It was right in the middle of a working day, so no uncle, no aunty, no friends showed up at the airport. I got phone calls instead, but they were very welcoming and supportive. It was a new adventure for me and I quickly had to find the right train travelling to the UK East Midlands. Intro to Kings Cross St. Pancrass Railway Station 101! Loughborough, here I come! Why am I sharing this? A lot of people expect the world when they arrive – someone to pick them up from the airport, a free room in a friend’s flat, etc. Always remember that those you’re looking to rely on are probably navigating their own unique circumstances. So before you travel anywhere, take responsibility for your travel and avoid placing surprise demands on anyone. You may end up being your own surprise. Don’t get me wrong, there’s really nothing wrong in asking for help to be honest (you should ask for help), but don’t be entitled, and understand if help isn’t forthcoming. Move on! 3 – Make friends fast 🤝 The best time to make friends in a new environment is immediately. Making friends doesn’t have to be forced. It’s more about being friendly and allowing friendships to take place so you can start to build genuine connections, allies and a support network around you. Why is this important? A huge part of your experience in a new environment depends on information. Information is so powerful. Where to go, how to get a job, how not to get a job, how to get specific things done, how things work around here, how tax works etc, may not be very clear to you. Some connections have landed others jobs! When you’re surrounded by supportive friends, they look out for you and share information that can help you on your journey. Not only that, it can unlock opportunities for you as well, even right there as a student, or in a workplace. I am forever thankful to my classmates and faculty who honoured me to serve them as Student-Staff Representative for the Computer Science postgraduate class. Are you one of those people that like to isolate themselves in a new environment? I understand you’re not a social butterfly but don’t hide yourself away. You need people around you to support you. Making friends, makes it possible! Not just in class, but also your halls of residence, church, clubs and everywhere you find yourself. 4 – Get it while you can ⚡ One of my friends Akin Odedina mentioned something that resonates a lot with me. If you’re eligible for anything, get it immediately. Let me break this down. When you relocate to the UK, there a number of things that are optional. Examples include a National Insurance number (only needed if you’re planning to work), a Provisional Drivers’ license (only needed if you’re planning to drive, or learn how to drive) etc. When you apply for things like these late, rules, processing timelines and costs may have changed against your favour. You may end up waiting longer, or paying much more. The worst example happened in 2012 when the UK Post-Study Work (PSW) permit which was abolished. Until then, you were eligible to the 2-year visa after completing your degree in the UK. Unfortunately, many students (including a few I know) didn’t apply for the PSW visa while they were eligible. They found themselves without a work permit and had to leave the UK unplanned. That’s what happens when you act late. You put your circumstances at risk. 5 – Maintain good history ✅ You’ll be surprised how much data is accumulated from your activity alone. Travel history, visa applications, tax
My top 3 business mistakes and why you should avoid them!
Whenever I think of some of the mistakes I’ve made in business so far, I laugh! Not exactly the funniest of jokes, but I often wonder what was going through my head in those times. Despite that, I’ve come to realise how inevitable it is to make mistakes in business especially if you’re new to business. It’s how we learn isn’t it? That said, avoid costly mistakes at all costs. Some business mistakes come with huge regrets and I am hoping you don’t make these same mistakes. Dear Entrepreneur, I’ve got 3 interesting experiences to share with you, so take a seat and let’s hear get into them quickly. 1 – Underpriced, undervalued! My first gig offered web design & development services, it’s the first business I registered in the United Kingdom. I would get a brief from a client and build them a new WordPress website at a very affordable price. During this time, precisely 2012, I had the opportunity to bid for a contract – to build a new website for a Church in Lagos. I was so excited. It would be my first time submitting a business proposal and I was hopeful for positive news. But it wasn’t so simple putting a first proposal together. I had to describe the services I was offering and it became even more challenging putting prices to my services. I looked and the first draft and thought, “Hmmmm! Looks expensive”, so I reduced the price. After hovering over the document multiple times, I felt so undecided and eventually reduced the price much more. Why? I thought it was best to drop the price to boost my chances of getting the contract. Then I had to wait several months for a response as all I heard back was radio silence. After waiting impatiently, I pushed for updates and eventually got some feedback, but not the news I was hoping for. My proposal had been turned down because the price I quoted in the website proposal seemed too low and unserious. They didn’t think it was possible to build a website at such a low price point, especially in comparison to other service providers who applied for the job. Too bad! It was at that point I learnt a major lesson, “Never underprice yourself out of a potential sale”. Probably a blessing in disguise anyway, as it may have been too much for me to handle, especially at the low price I was looking to charge. Lesson – Know your value, know your worth and charge what you deserve! Dropping your prices significantly or offering your services for FREE doesn’t necessarily attract customers. It may be a turn-off as customers hinge value on price. 2 – Verbal promises are not contractual My first argument with a customer was the last one I had, thankfully it’s over a decade ago now. This happened many years ago and it was down to my own carelessness, I hadn’t documented the agreement. It didn’t seem necessary to make a clear list of deliverables and timelines for my customer to sign-off before building their new website. Weeks after, here I was chasing for a verbally agreed deposit payment which was due 3 weeks ago. Unfortunately, nothing there was no signed agreement. I found myself in a continuum of ringing the customer, but landing on their voicemail message. Eventually they picked up, but it wasn’t the best of news. It got super-frustrating when the client informed me there were some additional web pages that were needed, only after agreeing to these terms would I get my deposit payment. While I was 100% sure this was not part of the agreement, I had nothing documented for reference. After a lot of back and forth, we came to a reasonable agreement and I ensured I got it all signed. It cost me more time, and a lot of friction with the customer. Looking back now, it was definitely very careless of me not to get written agreement from the customer from the beginning of the project. Lesson – Verbal promises are never the same as documented agreements. Protect you and the customer by putting agreements in writing. It removes conflict from the equation, brings transparency in to your business engagements, sets correct expectations and gives you something of reference. 3 – Trying to do it all by yourself It’s understandable to wear multiple hats when you start a new business, after all, you may not initially have the funds to hire anyone, let alone build a small team. This was my situation in 2011, but the mistake I made was stretching this too far many years after. I really thought I could continue to do it all by myself until it started to really wear me out. I wore held the role of developer for the business, and deprived myself of sleep a lot. During a specific season, my average sleeping time was 2.00am. Bad idea! I would wake up a few hours later to continue my work, only to repeat the cycle later at night. Asides being Mr Developer, I was also Mr Accountant, Mr Sales & Marketing, My Customer Service and so much more. When you’re serving a few customers, these don’t matter so much but it will start to impact your health if you’re not careful. I didn’t realise how my health was being affected until I started noticing changes in my behaviour – my sense of judgement was getting weak. Can you see why you need to prioritise your health and wellbeing? Lesson – You need to stay healthy. If you don’t look after yourself, you’re going to struggle to run the business anyway. It’s fine if you’re a one-man-band running your own show in business, but once you start growing/scaling, start considering building a team you can start to delegate responsibilities to. You can’t do it all by yourself especially if you want to grow your business. But you know what, business is a rewarding journey, not just
