Demonstrate your capacity, by Ola Emmanuel

In deploying your skill or talent, you need to think more from a business point of view freely and confidently if you will ever earn profits from it.

You need platforms to demonstrate your skills; but you shouldn’t expect a smooth sail as you set out.

Where you are embraced by already established platforms, your rise to good performances may be swift but if you are have to start on your own, the journey to good business may be rough and tortuous.

If organizations or persons deny you the chance to use their platforms to hone your skills or demonstrate your capacity to display your talent, you don’t have to quarrel over this. It is not a leeway for violent conduct or a licence to engage in behaviours that are detrimental to the society (with injurious consequences to your well being). A platform owner has the right to decide who to allow on his platform. But you also have the right to decide what should happen to you next. If you can’t get the chance to use other people’s platforms to demonstrate your capacity, it is a wake-up call that you should create one yourself.

Ayodeji loves working closely with pre-teens and teenagers. No other job seems to be able to give him satisfaction and joy. He works with them in church, in a school where he works part-time, and on the streets. Clearly he is an underemployed who really love to work with teens. This is where the issue lies. How would he do it and eventually turn this passion to a business, a source of livelihood with good income flow. He made some proposals to some schools on career/counselling talks that he does often, but none of the schools showed any positive response. He understands God has a thing or two for him with teenagers, but he is confused.

Clearly, Ayodeji is very thirsty to operate what he is passionate about as a business. However, what may not be clear yet to him (and many others) is the manner of response the environment may give when attempts are made for performance. Nigerians operate on the fast lane and most times don’t have the time to accommodate greenhorns. Especially in the area chosen by Ayodeji to operate, most Nigerians look for big names, pedigrees and experience, someone well known. We may say the maxim, ‘you can’t give what you don’t have’, is fully followed to the extreme by Nigerians. We hardly accommodate or exhibit patience towards beginners. Before you are allowed on someone’s platform, especially in capacity building, Nigerians want you to have become known in that field – an expert of sort. It is therefore your responsibility to develop yourself to the height where you become a household name. This may not be that easy, and this is where entrepreneurial skills come in.

There are several ways someone like Ayodeji can turn his passion to profit and yet still enjoying working with pre-teens and teenagers. It may be by packaging excursions and tours for this group of people, organising social events, combating social vices among the teens, or by focusing any area of myriad teen-interests. If he focuses on areas of needs of the people he had identified to work with, I think they may willingly pay tokens for addressing their needs and for his knowledge.  Soon, he may begin to enjoy great followership as an expert in the area of his focus. When you become known for working and focusing certain area, you become recognised; and invitations may begin to chase you from platform owners who want your expertise rather than you writing to be allowed to use their platforms.

Beware, It Is Not Just About Your Passion: It is not just about satisfying and enjoying yourself. It is about using your passion to make positive difference in other people’s lives – positively impacting your environment and the world at large. It is very important therefore that you determine the purpose of your passion. When you are driven in this manner, you will be able to seize opportunities that will offer you good remuneration for what you know how to do better – what you enjoy doing. Added to the above, it shouldn’t be about money alone. Quality of service is very important. You owe it a duty to give the best service. You must also overcome fear of failure. Fear always hinders commitment of resources. It is very easy for a gift to be used for free but when it comes to committing other resources, one may tend to be over-cautious. Please bear it in mind: if you don’t venture (inject resources), you can’t gain anything in return.

. Emmanuel is a business planning and cooperative consultant. He works with a team of international consultants to conceptualise and plan agribusiness and housing projects. As a certified trainer authorised to use the International Labour Organisation’s enterprise development modules, he trains entrepreneurs and organises workshops and seminars for potential and practising entrepreneurs as well as business managers and cooperatives. He also speaks and facilitates at leadership and management workshops on invitation. His book, Business Planning Made Easy: Step by Step Guide On How To Turn Your Idea To Profitable Business’ is the latest of the books authored by him. Tel.: +234(0)9068602954 (call and sms), +234(0)8023257707 (whatsApp only).