Dedication — To my lovely cousin and an undergraduate of a university business school, Jessica Buah.
“Dangote” is almost a household name in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and it is also an increasingly influential brand on the entire African continent. This is due to the fact that Aliko Dangote is the richest black person and arguably Africa’s greatest industrialist whose net worth today is about $12.6 billion. Aliko Dangote is the brains behind the Dangote Group, an industrial conglomerate across Africa which is one of the largest privately African corporations. No wonder this certifiable business mogul is one of my topmost role models in the world. Therefore, I present some 5 powerful lessons young Africans can learn from Dangote’s success story.
(1) Start off very early:
I am a 19-year-old start-up writing entrepreneur. Some folks have advised me to wait and advance in age, or complete university before I start my own business. Well, that is simply ridiculous to me. I have started off very early because Aliko Dangote, my role model, did same. He was about 21 years old when he established his enterprise. Even Jobs, Gates and Zuckerberg all started off in their late teens.
Starting off very early gives you some form of competitive advantage over your older competitors. Forget the maturity argument since maturity is never about age but rather percipience. Besides, when you start off very early, you are foolishly determined to succeed that nothing can stop you. Your youthful exuberance will drive you to press ahead with your ambitions regardless of difficulties.
(2) Follow your heart not the crowd:
Hey, just because my path is entirely different does not mean that I am actually lost. Most people have expressed strong dissatisfaction with my very unusual path to success, but that makes me extremely happy. For I always follow my heart not the crowd; everything else is just secondary. You have to do same and you will be heading towards greatness and prosperity.
When young Aliko Dangote completed a university in Egypt with a business degree, he did not become an accountant, a banker, and the like, as most of his programme mates fantasised about and sought for. He ventured into commodities, which was quite a strange thing for a university graduate to do. Yet he worked on his merchandise until he emerged filthy rich years later.
(3) Be prepared to wait for many years:
Aliko Dangote in an interview admonished the youths who aspire to be more successful like him but prefer quick riches, by emphasising that it took him 30 years to become the richest black person on earth. He started as an entrepreneur in the late 1970’s and he emerged as Africa’s richest man in the late 2000’s. Indeed, true success never happens overnight; if it does then it is actually fake success.
You cannot become a legitimate multi-millionaire or even billionaire in the twinkling of an eye. It will definitely take you several years — 5, 10, 20, or 30 years — to reach that enviable status after starting from scratch. Remember, any incredibly wealthy person who seemed to have gotten his huge fortune very quickly, say one year, hustled in silence for some years we never knew of.
(4) Branding is more important:
Anyone who labels a branding oriented professional as proud, arrogant or cocky is practically ignorant of the very essence of branding. People call me a damn braggart who needs to be humble; I will only respond by saying that it is all about brand positioning, and not mere bragging or show off. My brand value is absolutely important since it will largely determine the level of my fortune.
Moreover, “Dangote” is an extremely valuable brand in Nigeria and beyond because it is well and exceptionally built. Aliko Dangote has developed a rare brand identity for his companies, which most of his competitors lack. The Dangote brand was designed to represent first-class quality with relative affordability. Aliko Dangote is not anti-competition as his critics claim; the nature of the Dangote brand image is the big secret.
(5) Be truly hard-working:
If someone tells you that hard work is never a factor in the achievement of success, you have to understand that the person is a phoney. Hard work is not the ordinary application of physical energy; it is all about persistently learning from one’s struggles in order to improve and progress towards success. Yes, work with all smartness, yet work really hard too.
Mr. Dangote once stated that most contemporary youths are fond of goofing off, but they pray and expect a miraculous success. He even said that he is a very hard-working entrepreneur who never rests until he achieves something great and uncommon. That is how Aliko Dangote beats his so-called smart rivals.
Number 2 is my most favourite lesson; what about you?