In business, everyone comes with his capabilities and competitive advantages, as we juggle for opportunities in markets. Some come with endorsed business cards. Some come with their degrees. Some come with celebrated family names. Some carry iconic brand names. You must find your own and use it. When I was starting, I needed to break-in into the heart of Nigeria. Yes, the people who make decisions.

I knew I had capabilities in my firm but I did not have the network to connect with decision makers. So, I developed a plan. I was over-educated and Nigeria likes that. For three months, I offered and spoke in many institutions for FREE under capacity building [he came from U.S. and was offering free courses]. Interestingly, if there is no money involved, you can organize one within days.  Just like that, I made friends and connected with leaders. I sold my education before them. You possibly have something else.

Do not be depressed that your friend had a networked uncle that introduced him. I want you to use what you have NOW to kickstart that open door. Your background must not hold you back if you believe you have something. Pursue excellence and weed your mind the poison that you have no privileges because you came from no-name family.

The progress of tomorrow is only made possible by the capabilities of today. If you develop a habit of respecting people despite your skills, Nigeria would reward you irrespective of lack of big parents or uncles. People would discover you. And once people like you, opportunities would open. But where you want to insult people on the way, you have lost your call.

Visit Nnewi and see men who did not even enter secondary school as MD/CEOs of big factories.  Have you asked yourself which Ivy League school founders of Chisco, Young Shall Grow, etc attended? But they have the most advanced transport logistics in Nigeria with decades of success. The same happens in Kano with merchants trading from Mali to Sudan. Visit Osogbo, the same story. It is latent but our nation has opportunities.

This month, the modern Igbo language is 40 years. In 1978, renowned Igbo scholars like Prof F.C. Ogbalu called the first Igbo Convention. They laid the foundation for Igbo Izugbe (the General Igbo). Over the years, they simplified the writing of Igbo. With Tony Ubesie and others, they built on previous efforts, transforming the elements from A B Gb to A B Ch in Igbo alphabets.  I enjoyed Ubesie’s classics like “Isi akwu dara nala” and “Ukwa ruo oge ya”.

As a village boy that came to Owerri (Imo State Nigeria) for university education, I used to camp to listen to these legends during the Ahiajoku lecture, then most important academic gathering of Igbo scholars. Prof Chinua Achebe had edited Okike – the journal of creative writing. Reading Okike as a university student was liberating. These men did a lot of work, and there was intellectual rivalry on the harmonization of Igbo language. The scholars continued working until late 1980 when they ratified many things [it never stops, Igbo continues to advance]. Where they could not agree or find a decent local equivalent, they igbonized, spelling English word with Igbo characters.

Achebe was always supremely iconic in Ahiajoku. Ogbalu was eminent. You learn about Pita Nwanna – the author of Omenuko [the man that builds during scarcity]. Omenuko was one of the earliest works on Igbo that chronicled trading, documenting what frameworks which legends like Nnanna Kalu used to build empires in Aba and other cities. Mazi Kalu was the Aliko Dangote of his time, controlling most sectors in eastern Nigeria and beyond.

Achebe spoke last time in Ahiajoku on Jan 23 2009. I was in Owerri from America. Few weeks later, I returned to give FUTO’s 15^TH Public Lecture of the University.

I know they say those things [language, culture, tradition] do not matter – we just have to learn apps and computers. Yes, education is no more the liberation of the mind, but going to school just to find jobs. Sure, computers are good. But context matters. I am hoping they put Ahiajoku on TV. It is good for the mind because the quality is peerless.

It does happen – you spend on Google and Facebook adverts and your site sees heavy traffic. Then you stop, and the traffic goes. And when you check the sales unit, nothing has changed. So, even when the visitors came, they did not buy anything. What could be the reason? You did not give them any reason to take action when they landed on your site.

Depending on the nature of your business, you may expect visitors to arrive with expectation to take action. One way of doing that is not to send them to a homepage or contact us page but to a specifically designed page that offers a clear demand for action.

Look here and here to get the idea. These sites have clearly explained the businesses and then asked you to take action [Call to Action], if interested in what they do. When next you have money to spend on digital ads, make sure you build a page that is uniquely customized for the visitors. When you do that, you improve conversion rate – turning visitors into paying customers.

COMMENTS ON LINKEDIN

Ndubuisi Ekekwe. The solution is deeper than a specialized landing page. I find that many advertisers don’t understand HOW advertising works and consumer motivation.Consumers are not in the market to buy everyday. Purchases have a time-frame, usually a future date. Depending on the product category, this future date may be in a few days, a few weeks, months or even years. This is empirically proven. (Effective) advertising therefore seeks to influence future purchases. If I’m not ready to buy yet, I most certainly won’t click through and buy. Only thing that will likely get me to click through out of purchase cycle is if a deal is on offer. If you want immediate conversion, you should probably offer an incentive. The primary role of advertising is to build consideration, remind and ultimately build preference. Expecting instant gratification/sales from it is expecting the girl to jump in bed with you on a first date.

[..], you are right. Advert goals are for Long term purchase ,repeat purchase and constant reminder to purchase. This is why some big brands in the country are still advertising despite the fact that people are already aware of their products.

Actually the Call to Action depends on the immediate need. You may advertise to have brand awareness. But for most Nigerian advertisers, the main focus is CTA. Coca Cola does not need CTA but “EducateALL” would expect you to open an account

The market is crowded. Any day a Nigerian graduate fails to land a job, the chance reduces. Yes, with more people graduating and few companies creating opportunities, the market is saturated. In that sea, you need to find a voice – a separation from the multitude. My first colleague in our Nigerian business was discovered on Facebook when I was there. He posted 100% purely on electronics. I hired him; he is still with us. Our Engr demonstrated a clear separation on his feeds. He likes electronics and that was key to us.

Our best software developer was brought it after I saw a website he built. We acquired him and his small firm; shut down the site. When he joined, I did not even know if he finished university. We never advertise any job with any academic qualification [an irony for a guy with 7 degrees!]. To deal with the English issue, we hired an English graduate to police the grammar; the engineers are liberated.

The web is here for you to tell people what you know. Forget what Buhari and Goodluck are dealing with [you would have time to help government. Now, you just need a job].   Focus on the little you know. The employers will find you. We’re hiring guys from Ikeja Computer Village. None has even an OND but they can make electronics behave.

I had my own experience – in 2011, Harvard Business Review invited me to Cambridge. I wanted to know how they found me. They showed me a piece I wrote in my generic WordPress page which one HBS professor printed and commented, passing the info to the HBR team.

I cannot understand how you claim to be a brilliant Economics graduate and yet have zero articles online? I cannot even imagine how you expect a policy NGO to hire you? NGOs feed on reports. It is easier to onboard someone that has a history of generating contents.

You need a strategy to get a job. It goes beyond sending CVs. You need a separation from the multitude to show employers you are different. Go and summarize your final year project and post the summary online. Find companies that could benefit from your works. Share the link with them, not your CV [look for HR on LinkedIn]. If they read and link it, you could get an invitation. For technical guys, maintain a small online presence and document your solution journey.

The best innovation you need now is one to get a job before you can have the opportunity to innovate for any firm. I want you to find a way to create a space and build a small separation. I have a reseller hosting service which I pay yearly to give hosting support to people who need space to show their works online. If you need one, email tekedia@fasmicro.com but you would have to pay for domain registration.

I wish you good luck.

Nd