In my life, I have realized that business has 4 modes.

1. Struggling against obstacles mode.
2. Breakthrough and money-making mode.
3. Stability mode.
4. Sinking and losing money mode.

1 and 4 are somehow related but different. The lossmaking may not be due to an obstacle.

The breakthrough mode is interesting. You are in your element but you also realize that there is luck largely involved. I was selling canned tomatoes in the market at 11 and met my mother’s former colleagues. She was in school in England. They bought many out of sympathy.

I realized that I could capitalize on the sympathy and raised prices. They didn't haggle and bought them. Other people saw them buying a lot and decided to buy too. The rush is indescribable as you count the profit from each purchase. That is what drives the entrepreneur.

I decided to find ways to milk the same sympathy. I didn't look dirty like other boys in the market, I made sure I wore clean and newer clothes. I sold closer to the road where more people in cars could see me. I didn't realize that I was figuring out marketing as an 11-year-old!

I also discovered branding. I was selling only DeRica tomatoes as it was the highest quality. It went with my image.

Once I started doing good numbers, I discovered my limitation was supply. I struck up a credit arrangement with the biggest seller of DeRica tomatoes.

The other boys in the market didn't understand how I was doing it until holidays were over and I had to go back to school. I entered the market selling chinchin snacks which we made at home and discovered more margin in canned tomatoes. I made enough pocket money for the year.

The next holiday was rough. People had figured out my model. I then understood competition. I also discovered that cleaning my neighbor’s poultry had more margin and less effort. I also discovered the eggs market from doing that. The problem was that it was limited to one poultry

Before I was able to build my poultry cleaning and egg selling empire, my mother’s uncle put a stop to it. I was always smelling of shit and it was risky. I also had the best grades in my secondary school life as I was first overall student of all the entire arms of my class year

He didn't want me to jeopardize academics but didn't realize business was what taught me discipline. I remembered that mode again when I started selling second-hand clothes in University. I also sold textbooks until I met a criminal who had tried to fence a stolen book.

That was my first fight in school and my introduction to the dark side. I discovered the protection racket of confraternities and that a roommate was the largest weed dealer on campus. He brought it from Sapele in sacks of garri.

Him and his best customers later went into 419 then politics. They are still in local politics till today. Nigerian politics is largely a criminal enterprise.

Religion saved me from crime. I was an Atheist at the time but somehow rediscovered religion and didnt join them.

I left school, learned about accounting, banking, and eventually tech. I was confused as to which path to choose. I discussed it with my uncle and he suggested an MBA. I started trying for the best MBA of all, Harvard. I wanted to get a scholarship too. I couldn't even pay TOEFL.

Settled for a Commonwealth scholarship as @HerbertOWigwe had done and they told me I was too young. I was 20 then. They said I should come back at 25. Scored high in all the tests at the British Council. My aunt was also in charge there. I suspect my mum got her to discourage me.

Ended up at UNIBEN MBA which was a blessing as my cofounder got back to school at the same time after we had both worked at GICEN. We started this business and I got this same rush again when we started making money. I felt I would never be poor again. Until we made a blunder.

We dabbled into networking while led by a friend who was an amateur. We lost all the money we made in months. Greatest learning experience at the time. I saw how easy it was to also make losses. I decided to counter with making money and was saved by Y2K paranoia.

I went through all the 4 modes of business I described in one year. There is a 5th mode I forgot to mention and that is ”Black Swan Mode.”

The dot com crash was a black swan. It helped others to kill us and we didn't survive it. The internet ate our business.

Coming back again from humilation, I discovered the book by Andy Grove titled ”Only The Paranoid Survives.”

It made me understand sigmoid curves and the wave nature of business. It is the best business book I ever read. https://www.amazon.com/Only-Paranoid-Survive-Exploit-Challenge/dp/0385483821