I was reading about Aliko Dangote and I came across this. I learnt something. Hope you will too.
As
we approach the middle of the year, leaders, entrepreneurs and business
owners are looking for new and innovative ways to grow their brands.
Who better to turn to than one of the business leaders of our
time—Dangote Group CEO Aliko Dangote.
Principle One: Manufacture; don’t just trade
Aliko
Dangote started business as a trader of commodities; he gathered
business confidence and experience as he grew. In an interview granted,
he openly admits that one of his greatest business moves was moving from
being a trader to being a manufacturer.
He summed it up by saying,
“Manufacture, don’t
just trade. There is money in manufacturing even though it is capital
intensive. To achieve a big breakthrough, I had to start manufacturing
the same product I was trading on; which is commodities.”
Principle Two: Build a brand, and don’t destroy it
Aliko Dangote is one of the firm believers of the “Brand Power” and this is what he has to say about it:
“To
succeed in business, you must build a brand and never destroy it. One
competitive advantage I had when I ventured into manufacturing was my
brand “Dangote,” which I diligently built in the course of my trading
commodities.” – Aliko Dangote.
Principle Three: Start small but dream big
“I
built a conglomerate and emerged the richest black man in the world in
2008 but it didn’t happen overnight. It took me thirty years to get to
where I am today. Youths of today aspire to be like me but they want to
achieve it overnight. It’s not going to work. To build a successful
business, you must start small and dream big. In the journey of
entrepreneurship, tenacity of purpose is supreme.” – Aliko Dangote
Principle Four: Have connections and pray for a big break
Aliko
Dangote is respected for his strong network of business and political
connections. You can build your connections and strengthen your network
in the business world by increasing your corporate social
responsibility, signing joint ventures and partnership deals, forming
strategic alliances, attending business events and parties, making
political donations and paying courtesy visits to those at the helm of
affairs.
To survive in business, you must strengthen your
business connections and network. And most importantly, you must pray
for a big break. Big breaks are very vital to entrepreneurial survival.
In fact, I can hardly point to any successful entrepreneur that wasn’t
thrust upwards by a big breakthrough.
Principle Five: Believe there is money to be made in your country
Dangote
believes one of the main prerequisite to building a successful business
and ultimately becoming rich is developing a firm belief in your
country. Dangote is a firm believer in his country Nigeria. He believes
opportunities abound everywhere but it just takes a smart eye to see
them. He encourages everyone to seek opportunities in their own country
instead of seeking greener pastures in other countries.
Principle Six: All work and less play makes Jack a rich man
“I enjoy myself a lot but I derive more joy in working. I believe in
hard work and one of my business success secrets is hard work. It’s hard
to see a youth that will go to bed by 2am and wake up by 5am. I don’t
rest until I achieve something.” – Aliko Dangote
Principle Seven: Constant Learning
Aliko
Dangote has already emphasized the importance of learning new things,
he is an avid reader who consumes books everyday, to be successful you
must have the attitude of always learning and trying new things, you
can’t stay in your comfort zone and expect to succeed.
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