One On One with Ojonugwa

Hello good evening and welcome to another exciting and invaluable episode of One on One with Ojonugwa

Tonight we are talking business, how to make money, especially as an undergraduate,..

How can you manage school and business, how do you reduce the workload for parents and how should you do business as a Christian?

Yes, so tonight i have a very special guest in the house💃💃, an affiliate marketer who knows what he is doing, he dishes wisdom and value on a daily basis🙌( I am still very glad I have your contact)😅., A poet who surely knows his way around words. Join me as I welcome sir Aiyejinna Abraham Oshokunofa (I hope i got that right)😁😁

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Sir Aiyejinna; Ok. First of all, I am delighted to be here. And I give all glory to God who keeps adding meaning to my life.

Ojonugwa: Thanks for honouring

So can you let us in a little on your family and earlier years? What was growing up like for you?

Sir Abraham: I am Aiyejinna Abraham Oshokunofa, the first in five children. My parents are from Edo state, Akoko-Edo LGA to be precise. 

Well, my personal life has little drama: a boy growing up in the slums of Sokoto state, who knew his family (parents and siblings) are counting & investing in him.

Growing up, I cared less about what the future could hold. Funnily enough, I didn’t understand the responsibility that was coming upon me until a day in SS2 when a friend I usually frolicked with advised me. (I attended FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COLLEGE SOKOTO for secondary education.) He asked me what schools my siblings attended, I told him. Then, he said some striking words:

  He said (paraphrasing): 

“Abraham, your family put hope for your body, no let them down.”

I denied the impact of his words in his presence, but they sunk in.

I grew up having Godly parents, who disciplined at every sight of wrong…especially mom. Living in a compound of 16 families with daily contention for necessities. Trekking to and from school daily for 8 years. And also caring less about tomorrow.

Ojonugwa: I can imagine..

Looking at the stress in Nigerian varstities, what was the motivation for going into business, what made you feel you could handle this thing, how were you sure you could cope and not quit?

 

Sir Abraham: Truth be told, the government-et-economy made me start it. Things were getting hard for the present, leaving little hope for the future. 

I looked around. How many families smile? How many students have hope in what they study? How many graduates do we find in the nation’s workforce?

It is just the same circle the rich making public property an inheritance. 

Ojonugwa: Can you tell us more about your journey as an affiliate?

 

My journey as an affiliate can be likened to a man searching for a wife in a sea of women....

Ojonugwa: (the poet is rising😅😅😅)

Sir Abraham:...... He sees many but ends up with one. That’s me. I saw many online “businesses” & tried some. Even fell into ponzy schemes, crypto et al, just to ensure I had something doing now that I have strength and time to make mistakes.

I don’t know how, but the urge was immense until I found affiliate marketing. And when I found it, I knew it was for me even though different reasons came to make me abolish the thought (especially the financial reason).

 

 It was a random Facebook (Meta. Lol) user that added me as a friend. After accepting, we didn’t chat. I saw his post on my newsfeed about affiliate marketing (I was in my searching period then) & the whole thing beat my imagination. 

I did my private research about the business; saw the credibility and I knew something had to be right for once. I contacted him on WhatsApp and he told me all about affiliate marketing and the procedures needed to start. I joined his free seminar, too.

After knowing what procedures to meet, I felt discouraged. I was just a 100 level student…how am I supposed to raise the capital? 

Different thoughts rumbled through my mind (bad & good). But I got a better idea: I went to different friends and colleagues to see if I could borrow to start. Many couldn’t help (even my parents), but that didn’t stop me. 

I asked and asked and asked until I was able to raise the fund for starting. In the second semester of 200 level, I started, and today, I have paid off my debts and I am living happily.

Ojonugwa: One thing that caught my attention is when you said, you did your own research

That's honestly one of the problems we have, we just want to believe all we are told, truth is we are too lazy to research.., I have been a culprit once, I remember venturing a business and I was as confused as a lost puppy... Thank God we later found our way😅😅

Ojonugwa: So sir Abraham, how do you juggle business and academics?

 

Sir Abraham: It is not easy. It is also not impossible.

I face my studies and also my business. One thing I have learned is that Consistency beats duration. It’s not about how much time you spend on your business or academics, but being consistent in the little time you spend is what matters.

Whenever I am not in a lecture hall, I am on my phone tending to business. At night, I go to read with my friends, and when I return after 2-4 hours, I check my business before sleeping.

 

 Over time, my business became more fluid. I can do it anywhere, anytime, anyhow. It didn’t require whole attention like before (But I gave it full attention sometimes).

 

 And by God’s grace, my academics didn’t suffer as a result of my business.

Ojonugwa: are y'all even taking notes down?

"Consistency beats duration".., show up everyday!!!

I am definitely getting value, don't know about you...

 

 

Ojonugwa: So have you any had challenges so far? 

 

The only challenge I face as a student entrepreneur is time. I have other functions in school (an exco), and combining three time-demanding exercises is a thing of wisdom.

Ojonugwa: Is online business for a set of people? What do I need to possess to become one?

 

Sir Abraham; On the internet, everyone has equal opportunities. 

Online Businesses is for everyone provided the person has some traits like discipline, determination, focus, character, and a will to learn. The only set of people excluded from online busunesd are the lazy and those with a get-rich-quick mentality.

To become an affiliate, for example, you need an android phone (or laptop), internet connection, and knowledge. (You will acquire this knowledge, which is your capital investment).

Ojonugwa: So as a Nigerian youths, the advice you get quickly is to get a "handwork"; tailoring, hairdressing, etc, how did you not follow this trend?

 

Sir Abraham: Before I got into the university, I had a ‘hand work’. I framed photographs. 

But my problem with this set of ‘handwork' is that ONLY A FEW BENEFIT FROM THEM & they are capital intensive. Can you start a good tailoring business with 50,000 naira?

How many tailors earn 10,000 naira weekly? Not to talk of the fact that their business runs periodically.

So I followed this trend by getting a ‘hand work’ that brought something into my account frequently. And with affiliate marketing online, I get money (25,000-45,000) weekly as a student. After 4 months of business, I had a net sale of 400,000 naira, as a Nigerian student. My parents were proud of me, I tell you the truth.

Also, I am a kind of person that's not inclined to 'hand work' . Two of my immediate siblings are tailors, superb tailors. My mom sews, too, but she never forced me to become a tailor—as if she understood my life.

Some parents lack these traits. They just want their children to stay busy, as if busyness equals productivity. The truth is: if you don't love what you do, you won't get anything from it happily; you'll always force yourself to perform tasks.

Also, I will advise that people study the times. We are in an era of technology, and things we did physically are no longer existing. So, get your hand on something that flows with the times to avoid getting stuck.

Ojonugwa:Now as a Christian, should I be an affiliate for just any kind of product, when I need the money, or should I be disciplined and set boundaries.., how did you get this far?

Sir Abraham: THIS is where many go wrong. As a human with beliefs, I have made it a promise not to compromise for the money-no matter what.

I don’t affiliate products I can’t use or allow my family to use. I do not want to know how much it will bring. So as a Christian set boundaries for your business reach. Know your faith and look for ways in which your business can thrive without compromising it. I always tell my group of affiliate marketing students this.

Ojonugwa: How will you advise someone out there, a student probably, who also wants to be less dependent and more independent but is thinking: "Where is the time"?

Sir Abraham: The time is there. The right question is: what am I doing?

 

 You see, we all have 24 hours in one day. But what you do in it determines what you get out of it.

 

 

Come to think of it, some medical students are affiliate marketers. Soldiers, too! I don’t believe your schedule is as tight as theirs.

 

 

My dear, get a book. On a page, create 3 columns. 

The first column should be titled TIME SPENT.

The second should be titled ACTIVITY 

The third should be REMARK (what did you gain/learn/fulfill with the activity?)

Take a record of the minutes you spend on every activity you do for 3 days. When you are done, analyze the results.

 

 

 

You will see that you spend the most time doing nothing, or useless things.

(Do the assignment).

In business, which is more important, learning or earning?

 

Sir Abraham: There is this slang: LEARN AND EARN.

You can’t EARN in business, or increase your earnings if you don’t LEARN. Learning is the bedrock of business.

So, don’t think of earning when you know nothing. 

(That was why I said KNOWLEDGE is the most important thing an affiliate needs to thrive).

Ojonugwa: Any last words sir?

 

I want to thank you for hosting me on a vital discussion like this. I also loved your questions; I know I may not answer them correctly, but I hope my answers help. Thank you.

Ojonugwa: There you go..., You know if I don't trust in my oga's abilities, he wouldn't be here..., I learnt time management, I learnt discipline..indeed the world has moved, some still think like we are in the stone age. It would be wrong to go through this interview and still regret few years from now that you didn't make the right move

If you are thinking you don't have time now, you might never have time in the future cause this is the time of your life where you still have for yourself...

Thank you so much Sir Abraham, I feel so excited, thanks for your time, you will do greater things

You can also follow our guest on Facebook, for all you need to know and to get daily dosage of wisdom and value

@Aiyejinna Abraham Oshokunofa

Until next time, where we will be talking about offline businesses, this remains your favourite show.. and I love you all❣️❣️