Self-Devpt. Nuggets™

A client once said to me (not exact words):

“Tayo, over-invoicing will not reduce the money you make from a project. The person who requests that you inflate your invoice amount over your actual fee, simply wants a piece of the action. When payment is approved by the company, you still get paid what you charged.”

I replied to say I would NOT accept to put an amount on my signed invoice, that was different from my officially quoted fee for the job. Anyone who wanted that would have to get someone else to do the job.

I had just finished work on an Excel-VB application I built for his company…

It was an automated spreadsheet based version of a massive 2 part reference document used by professionals in a certain industry. He had engaged me to develop the app, branded in his company’s name, so he could sell it to a large multinational client of his.

As a consultant, he worked with client companies to make use of that voluminous reference document, in tackling a variety of work related crisis or disaster situations.

Due to the sensitive nature of the work to be done, it was imperative that each client’s responsible officers equip themselves with the ability to quickly find needed information in the document.  This was however quite difficult to do using the 2 volume paper version.

When he saw the cost-effective applications I’d built for other clients using MS Excel-Visual Basic, he asked if I could develop an easily retrievable dynamic spreadsheet database version. I told him I could. We negotiated, and he agreed to pay N100,000 in full upfront, so I could deliver the app in 10 days.

On the day our discussion happened, I’d delivered the completed app on CDROM to him. Before then I’d successfully completed a web development project for him, for the same amount.

However, before we parted, he noted that I was so good at what I did, but that with the views I held, it was unlikely I would get big client projects that would reward my skills handsomely.

We had been down that road before. I knew what he was getting at.

I had been with him, when a client representative called and demanded  “more” than had been originally agreed, before a discussed project he had put in a bid for, would be awarded to him. After he ended the call, he’d grumbled to me that the man was greedy, but that he had no choice but to give in.

I’d told him we all have choices, noting that personally, with faith in my abilities and the confidence that the creator rewards honestly and integrity, I would resist such advances. But I added that I was not judging him in any way, since we both knew what doing business in the Nigerian society was like.

He was however not satisfied – choosing to literally lecture me about over-invoicing, and why it was not as bad as I made it out to be.

That day, we parted ways smiling. But I’d stuck to my views.

You see, all my life I’d gotten ahead in every endeavour I ventured into, without cutting any corners.

And I was resolute in ensuring that I did that. Today, I remain resolute in ensuring I DO that!

This drive of mine comes from the VERY vivid memories I have of my pre-teen and teenage years when I repeatedly got into avoidable trouble, giving my parents a lot of heartache.

After I got suspended for 2 weeks, for abusing my privileges as Health Prefect, in secondary school, I vowed NEVER to knowingly do wrong again – regardless of pressures.

And I have stayed true to my promise.

But here’s the irony: The society which had rebuked me repeatedly in my formative years, for doing wrong, has dramatically evolved since then to one that no longer holds those values dear.

Back then, even though things were not perfect, people still prided themselves in making money via honest means. They still challenged their children for cheating, stealing, etc.

Today, in Nigeria, most parents do the exact opposite.

Click here to read a recent article I wrote that describes a shocking incident (during the 2014 JAMB exams) that symbolises the widespread decay in today’s Nigeria.

In virtually all facets of society today, it is now almost suicidal to openly or publicly adopt a stance of being incorruptible. And being willing to do the right and honourable thing has a way of making a person more enemies than friends – even among the Nigerians one aims to help by doing so.

A recent example would appear to be the bizarre result of the just concluded Ekiti state governorship elections. Click the preceding link to read a poem by Prof. Niyi Osundare, who ridiculed his fellow Ekiti kinsman (the “winner” of the election), in a poem titled “The People Voted their Stomach-Blues for an Arrested Renaissance”.

The above confirms what I’m saying, that those who do right, with honesty and integrity in Nigeria, (I mean those who actually PRACTICE what they PREACH!) often – though not always – end up being the ones who succeed the least.

Those who cheat, steal, lie, deceive, extort, exploit etc, are today the ones who make more money, who get high exams scores, who gain top admission slots, who pass interviews into the best paying jobs etc.

As a start-up entrepreneur, back when this client of mine spoke with me, I recall many others I interacted with offered me “wise” advice against continuing the way I was headed.

He’d told me I would find it hard to breakthrough. He’d asked me to think of how that would affect my family – in terms of my ability to earn enough to care for them.

The others echoed his “wise warnings” as well. And that included relatives and friends.

One person, a fellow volunteer with an NGO had bluntly told me “Tayo’ people like you end up being frustrated out of Nigeria!”.

[NB: Hmmm…maybe he was right. I am actually doing better today because I moved out of Nigeria. But contrary to conventional wisdom/practice, I did not have to relocate to Europe or America. Just a short trip to neighbouring Benin Republic was enough to enable me get better results for my efforts! And here’s the irony of it all: Over 80% of my clients/buyers are Nigerian CEOs based in Nigeria!]

If truth be told, none of what they said has turned out to be a lie.

I have experienced the full treatment. 99.95% of Nigerians I have had to do business with have displayed the habits I was warned about.

As a result I have suffered great bouts of severe cash shortages, and experienced countless heart-breaking struggles. All because I chose to be upright in my business dealings.

Now, some people will read this article and argue that I’m trying to make myself look like a saint.

They will also claim they have done what I say I’ve been doing.

Well, I can only speak for myself.

However, if you have boldly insisted on not doing any of the dirty nonsense that quietly goes on in the business world and general society of Nigeria, then you cannot deny that those who follow that path often suffer great hardships, and most fail as a result.

Only persons with a rare brand of courage and persistence (to paraphrase James R. Cook, author of The Start-up Entrepreneur), can survive doing business in Nigeria, without cutting corners of any sort.

And they will be people willing to endure humiliation and deprivation on many fronts, for prolonged periods.

In my experience, such people are hard to find in Nigeria. Or indeed across the African continent.

I’m not judging here. Just stating my observations based on 12 solid years of relating with people across this geographical space as I have pursued my dream.

Yet, my success today, proves it can be done: And that my approach ensures LONG TERM repeatable achievement of authentic success.

The only challenge adopting it may pose is that it is SLOW. Often it can be VERY slow…

…Most people out here don’t like THAT!

I still recall my above mentioned client gleefully driving down to show off a new (imported second hand) car he’d bought just after getting paid by his multinational client company.

It amused me to see that he thought doing so would impress or sway me. He did not say so. But his body language shouted it so loud it was deafening.

I felt so sorry for him – because past experience had taught me that anytime one gets something one had not earned, universally applicable laws begin to SILENTLY exert their influence to redress that imbalance.

You may not know it, but one way or another, you will eventually pay the penalty for it. What’s more, since you did not earn it, you will perpetually lack the competence to repeat that “success”.

And so, to record more of such successes, you will be forced to do the crooked things you did before. Sooner than later, you will be unable to do without doing it.

You will effectively become a phoney.

It does not matter if only you know it. What matters is that in your heart the truth will be obvious – and of course your creator will be just as aware as you.

I do not do religion. But I have a VERY close relationship with my creator. And it is with his guidance that I have found the direction to build my brand, and succeed progressively – in spite of great adversity – the way I do today.

My faith keeps working for me. And the results are obvious.

The resulting competence I have, enables me bounce back from setbacks to new heights of success.

This is why I am literally unstoppable today!

And now, more people are discovering me, and reaching out to benefit from my knowledge and expertise, by inviting me to speak to their team members.

They invite me unconditionally. I never need to offer them any gratification, and they readily pay my fees to hear me speak, or to hire me to implement solutions for them.

That says it all doesn’t it?

Final Words: That is what I like to call being AUTHENTICALLY successful!

I’d rather take 12 years to achieve that, than do over-invoicing, or any other naughty things, so I can build a house in 5 years.

Many people do not realize it’s futile to be in a hurry to succeed. There’s no point competing to get to “success” before others.

Life is NOT a competition you have to win ahead of others at all costs.

We all have our roles to play in this world. Be it in business or society at large. What another person does cannot stop you doing what you are meant to do.

I wish you well as you pursue your definition of success in life – and I hope your faith in the creator will make you take the honourable path to achieve it

Good luck!