MAGA ACHIEVER

I PUT IN ALL EFFORTS TO SUCCEED

- Prince Okechukwu Okafor, Okay-God Group CEO

He spent about nine years learning the art of furniture making and business, he was given a token after the completion of his apprenticeship by his master, Prince Augustine Okechukwu Okafor never allowed the initial setback in life to discourage him. Today, this Prince from the Eastern part of Nigeria is the CEO of Okay-God Group of Companies; in this closed-door interview with our Managing Editor, CHRISTIAN OZURUIGBO, he reveals how it all started, the challenges, what is keeping him going, the next level and many more. Excerpts

 

Brief history on how you started your business

I started my business between 1999/2000 after my apprenticeship as a furniture maker. I started very little by the grace of God, help of God and commitment. We have been able to get to where we are today.

What have been the major challenges since you started till now?

No business strives without challenges, but most of the challenges, being an entrepreneur are funds. Raising funds to embark on one or two projects, and also the condition of the country we all find ourselves. For example, at least we started building our factory about three years back which we are yet to complete; again electricity supply is the challenging thing to our effective production. But in spite of all these challenges, we are still, by the grace of God making it.

What advice can you give to those trying to get to the level you are now?

The advice I will give to anyone that wants to go into any business first is to trust in God; God is the one that is behind the progress of any business. Apart from that, you have to be committed to whatever you are doing. Always be punctual at your business place, be passionate in whatever business you are doing, because when you have passion for what you are doing, you will be committed to it. Right from the beginning, I have passion for good furniture that was why I ventured into making good furniture. We started, then moved to importing good furniture and now we are moving to making quality furniture locally. We want to get to that level where we will be competing with the Italians. Another important thing is being honest, because honesty has a very big role to play in business. If you are honest, you will gain trust from people and it goes a long way to help with those that will partner with you, and it will go a long way in making you to succeed.

(when you have passion for what you are doing, you will be committed to it)

Since you started this business, have you had any time you consider quitting?

There is no time I have ever considered quitting; I was an apprentice for close to nine years after my schooling, after I was through with my apprenticeship, my master settled me with a token amount, which could not even get me a shop let alone starting a business. But because I know I have to succeed, I put in all effort with the little token given to me to start and be contended with what I was doing. What kills most people in business today is spending more than their gains; then I can remember vividly that after close of business each day, I used to trek from my business place to my house, not that I didn’t have the required N20 to transport me back home, but I wanted to conserve it so that I will know I really suffered for it. The next day if I am coming to work, I will know I cannot be sweating; I will just use that N20 to transport myself to my business place. Again, any little money that comes my way goes into my business. That was how we started and I have never had any regret whatsoever.

 

(But because I knew I have to succeed, I put in all efforts with the token given to me to start and be contented with what I was doing)

Despite all the challenges, what really motivated you to make success out of what you are doing?

I know that there is no business that is not good and there is no business you cannot make progress out of it once you are determined. I determined to make progress because I found out that if I persevere, I will make progress. I was also committed to what I was doing, that was why I committed my youthful energy and time into it. I could remember that when I was on my apprenticeship, I was honest, that was why many people we were doing business with then used to entrust some of their goods into my care to sell and return their money because they have full confidence that nothing was going to happen to their goods or money. That was basically one of the things that helped in making me who I am today; from there I started saving on my own, and then I was able to rent a business place of my own.

(I determined to make progress because I found out that if I persevere, I will make progress)

As a very busy entrepreneur, how is your normal day routine like?

It depends on what comes in a day, because now I have many outlets where my businesses are located; like on Mondays, I do go to any of the outlets to oversee what is going on there. But I always go for exercise every morning, after family prayers, then after the exercise I will prepare to come to the office. Once it is 5.30 to 6.00pm, I will close for the day.

What kind of advice would you give anyone with the thinking that most business men and women in Nigeria are not honest?

The Bible said that promotion cometh neither from the North nor East, but God Almighty is the giver of promotion. If any business man or woman who is honest and knows that God is the giver and follows Him, He will give you whatever you want in life. Therefore, I will say there are a lot of genuine business people in Nigeria; as it is in other countries about genuine business men or women, so also it is in Nigeria. One important thing anyone should know is that corrupt people are everywhere, since out of twelve, one must be a Judas. I can confidently tell you that there are still honest business people in Nigeria.

(One important thing anyone should know is that corrupt people are everywhere, since out of twelve, one must be a Judas)

What are those things not in place in Nigeria today that will enhance the growth of your business, you would want to see?

In my own line of business and other businesses in Nigeria, what will make business to grow are the right infrastructure; the road network is the country is in deplorable conditions, coming to work from house, I spent close to three hours on the road. If any customer is coming around here and knows that he or she will spend three hours to where we are, such a person may not want to come because they know the roads are not good. Another one is electricity, like as we are going into manufacturing now, if you look at China because I visit the country on a regular basis, they have regular power supply everywhere. Let our government improve on the provision of power supply, if that is done, I assure you within five years, Nigeria will compete favourably with China because a lot of people are eager to start one business or the other, all these challenges are really discouraging them. The factory we are building, we are going to install some heavy machines which only a three-phase light can power, that a 100KVA generator can’t power. Why goods in China seem cheap is because their government provides good infrastructure for them, the only thing they need is to buy their raw materials and machines to start production because the electricity supply and market are already there for them. During my apprenticeship era, we did local furniture and we had customers from other West African countries coming to Nigeria to patronize us, but today they are not coming again because they now go elsewhere to get it cheaper. Security is another important factor, because many people outside Nigeria think that no part of the country is safe, so if we want to be like other developed countries, security, constant and uninterrupted power supply coupled with good road network are what our government should endeavour to put in place.

(Let our government improve on the provision of power supply, if that is done, I assure you within five years, Nigeria will compete favourably with China because a lot of people are eager to start one business or the other, all these challenges are really discouraging them)

How do you manage your staff in line with the vision of the business?

If you are a good manager, you will be a good teacher and you practice what you teach. That was why I mentioned earlier that I do visit my various outlets on a regular basis. You teach people, not necessarily ordering them, but let them always see you do what you are teaching them, and then they will follow. In fact, I lead by example.