OKECHUKWU ONWUKA

The Risk Professor Series

How much money is Enough?
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and
sells itself.”

Peter F Drucker

We all can do with a little extra money. Some might say, not just little but lots of it. I had a
friend who said all she wants is a simple life with simple things. She’s not asking for too much.
And I would respond by saying that I agree. Only that simple things like a house in a cool
estate, a brand new car with less mechanic stress, a good silent Diesel generating set with
enough capacity to power all the Air conditioners in the house, a good job or thriving business,
a loving and supportive spouse, a yearly vacation to one choice holiday resort in the world, fly
conservatively at Business class, a spare brand new car for the kids, a loyal dedicated driver,
enough savings in the bank to guarantee retirement peace may not be that simple to achieve.

May be it is the desire for such ‘simple’ things that drive many into the frenzy of wanting more
money. So we find ourselves pushing, plotting and scheming for the next promotion, the next
pay raise, the next bonus. We want to move to the next level. Buy our first brand new car.
Build a house of our own. Run a bigger more visible company. Buy a second car for our spouse.
Travel more frequently. Eat better, dress better. Wear designer labels. Be the envy of our
friends. Show them that you have arrived. Or better still; show your enemies and all those who
said you’ll not make it that they are wrong. That the only reason you are not Bill Gates is that
you were unlucky to be born a Nigerian. How can those boys you were much better than in
school be the CEO of banks and multinationals, you’ll show them. Your best friend just bought
a Hummer Jeep or is it a Range Rover Sports utility and came to your house to make sure you
see it and your emotions go into overdrive. You must buy the same vehicle or better still, a
more expensive one.

As an entrepreneur, you start looking for ways to grow your profits overnight to give you the
opportunity to satisfy your immediate craving of simple life or “levels”. Your competitor has
made the top 200 lists based on asset value and you must make the same list.

When these emotions take hold, the quest for more money enters into overdrive. Ironically,
history shows that no amount of money or growth is ever enough for those who enter into such
quests. There will always be a new financial status to be attained. Richest man in your family,
richest in your village, richest man in your state, country and finally, maybe richest man in

© 2009 The Risk Professor

world. Even the position of the richest man in the world is constantly changing hands. History
and statistics have shown that the quest for more money, for the sake of more money can be
very frustrating as there is usually no end in sight. Is there a better way then, since we all need
money for the basic, simple things of life? The answer is a resounding YES.

"I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give
others... I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent."

Thomas Edison

Take a cue from Thomas Edison, the inventor and entrepreneur. He identified problems within
his society and the world and then focused all his energy, passion and commitment with
patience, diligence and tenacity to develop affordable solutions. He loved his pursuits so much
that the monetary rewards were only a secondary benefit. One day he is celebrated a hero for
one good invention, the next he is castigated for being too slow in delivering the goods but he
was not deterred because his passion was not a result of public opinion but a personal
commitment and drive. For this reason he was able to overcome several failures while enjoying
the many small incremental successes that led to the big ones. Even when the financial
manipulators forced him out of the Company he co-founded, Edison General Electric Company
on the strength of his inventions in Electricity including the incandescent lamp, he sold all his
10% shares out of frustration and proceeded to form a new company which produced the First
Operable Motion Picture Camera. His conviction was that if he produced solutions to human
needs, people will patronize you and the profits are bound to follow. He was a passionate
inventor, not a money growth fanatic.

With this approach, you’ll find that solving people’s problems, delivering services that meet
their needs produce a satisfaction in the entrepreneur that is deeper than what money alone
brings. This is also much more rewarding if you utilize your training, talent, passion and
experience to produce and deliver your products and solutions. There are several other
benefits to this approach. They include

• You enjoy your work. While many consider work suffering or labourious, each minute
you spend working is tremendous fun.

• You look forward to the satisfaction in the eyes of your customers. The positive
feedbacks. No amount of money can equal the feeling.

• You have several positive memories as you grow older that makes your life ever so
richer. You can see around you the effects of the positive contributions you have made
to quality living in your community, family, state and country.

• Even if you hate money, people will pay for things they need. The wider the spread of
the solution you provide, the richer you’ll become. TATA, the big Indian carmaker has
just introduced a $2000 car into the market. Now, that’s a solution.

© 2009 The Risk Professor

 • Value-addition brings fulfillment. Money chasing brings constant stress and tension.

One of the primary failings of the Nigerian banks has been the very low interest in adding real
value to the country. Their focus has simply been to attract deposits without having any plan,
product or service that really shows care and value-addition to customers and entrepreneurs
beyond the fancy slogans and colourful logos which they confuse with the real meaning of
branding which remains image of the value and quality that you deliver in the mind of the
customer. Unfortunately, our creditable Information Minister, Dora Akunyili has been
hoodwinked into adopting this peripheral concept of branding because those we expect to
know better as experts have been blinded by greedy pursuit of lucre at the expense of sound
values. Instead of developing sustainable sound strategies for customer outreach, the trend is
to use Promos which promise depositors various awards such as cars, motorcycles, generators
etc. This I consider a tragedy.

Marketing officers from several banks have visited me in my office seeking account opening
and deposits. All have failed to provide an answer when I ask them what they think their banks
offer or can do better than other banks. In only one case, I met a young manager in charge of
SME Operations and he is the only one to date I have met in the bank who showed an interest
in adding value first before receiving. He has referred a number of clients to us after taking the
pains to review our history, performance and service provision. It was no surprise that he
called me last week to tell me he has been forced to resign. I was not surprised because he did
not share the ‘bring the deposits in, we don’t care how you do it” mentality. After all, some
marketers are successfully bringing it fat deposits, so why should he not perform. I have
reassured him that his future is bright. The future of this country belongs to ethical, principled
value creators and solution providers. If you are making a living now selling diesel or
generators, my advice is to start a rethink. Nigeria will have stable power supply someday
sooner than you expect. Our refineries will work including private refineries. We shall export to
other countries. Generators as major power supply items will be history. Portable water is
coming too. All those who are focused on more money will continue to chase the shadows
while the committed visionaries provide cutting edge solutions that will etch their names into
history books. Air-Conditioned buses have come to Lagos State. It started with BRT lanes.
Shortly, the fast trains will come. More Tinapa-like concepts will be built. Great hospitals are
being built. The efforts might not get popular appeal or applause at first but surely as the
results come, even the most incredulous will become converts.

The pessimists will continue to doubt but we are moving ahead. We’ll confront the issues with
resolve and tenacity powered by passion and commitment. There is no time to blame people,
others or the Government. Ill-gotten wealth hardly produces any enduring legacy. By the
collective action of ethical business people, someday, one of such people will become
Governor, President, leader of Mega corporations, social entrepreneurs, etc.

© 2009 The Risk Professor

If you are currently employed, look for a business or operating problem facing your company or
department and find a solution to it. Get your boss to buy into it. Even if you don’t get
promoted or rewarded immediately for it, the knowledge will remain with you. And it will come
in handy some day.

Decide to use your passion and talent today to solve a need, at whatever level you find
yourself. As an entrepreneur, chase value creation and leave the money to chasing you.

© 2009 The Risk Professor