1.

The Meet.

Some days ago I met a Millionaire.

A Real ‘’legitimate’’ millionaire. In dollars.

…and there is something that happens when I meet someone like this. I shut up.
And I listen. And I learn.

So for hours I listened to this guy speak and then when he was done I was
COMPLETELY mind-blown. Not everyone will understand this. But if you do, it will
do MAGIC to your mind.

Dude looks at me, and goes like:

‘’I like you, you are smart. But here is the thing. To be VERY rich, like very rich -
you need to change your words’’

My words? I thought. What the heck was this guy saying?

He opens his diary and writes two words: Deals and Contracts.

‘’Look at does words…those are the money words of the super-rich’’. He says to
me.

Then he drew a line down the page, then wrote another word on the other side
of the line:

SALES.

‘’Sales - These won’t make you rich, but it would help you raise the money for
Deals and Contracts. Deals and Contracts, those are the ones that would make
you rich’’
‘’How’’. I asked.

Then he went into detail.

‘’There are deals, ready right now.’’ He said. ‘’That will give you a return of 1
million dollars (335 Million naira) in just a week. But to get in you’d need 50
million naira down ready to throw in, before the guys on the deal would even let
you in’’

‘’Before shares are sold to the public’’. He said. ‘’deals are first made in the back
room, the big boys take the meat and then sell the bones’’

Then he goes on.

‘’Every day contracts get awarded to people round the country. One contract and
bam – 50 Million naira’’

When you hear that someone had a big break, it’s usually a deal or a contract he
landed himself. Maybe he cuts a deal with a major distributor or he gets a
contract for a major supply.

These are what big breaks are made of. Deals and Contracts. Sales sets you up
for the big break, but Deals and Contracts are what the deals are made of.

But then, to be able to get to this point you must first learn how to master the
art of making sales.

…sell a lot of stuff and then slowly build a business capable of going global on
the side, with what you make from those sales, then go hunt for a major deal or
contract that will blow that business up.

Now read this post again. Slowly this time. Digest it. And then share this the
moment you understand it so more people will see it.
 2.

The Second Chat

I had another chat with my millionaire friend.

…in his home this time…and he introduced me to his wife, and his kids. I think
he likes me. He says I remind him of his younger self.

Then we had a long mindgasmic conversation. This won’t make sense to

everyone, but if GET it – it will drop some scales from your eyes.

So he looks at me midway through the conversation, and shook his head and
then says.

‘’You should be making more. You know way too much’’.

Then he calls out to his son: ‘’Get me a pen and paper’’.

The plum boy runs down with the pen and paper. The millionaire scribbles on it.

‘’Dominance’’.

‘’Global View’’

‘’Continental’’

Then he drew a circle around each of the words. ‘’These words are the words of
the guys who make a lot of money, if it is not in your money vocabulary then
you are a small player’’

‘’You can’t make a million dollars solving a thousand naira problem’’. He says.
Then he points at ‘’Continental’’.
‘’If you can solve a problem Africans that have money to spend encounter, then
you will build a monster company. Problems that solve power issues, police
brutality, security issues…etc etc etc’’

But if you must solve that problem, and since it is your first company you are
going to need….

…to build a business with LOADS of leverage and a low Risk-Reward Ratio.

Then he circled ‘’Leverage’’ and then circled ‘’Low Risk-Reward’’ Ratio. Then
drew an arrow pointing the words ‘’Global View’’, ‘’Continental’’, and
‘’Dominance’’ to the two words.

These words will make you a lot of money.

I asked for more explanation and he went into details.

‘’Leveraged Business – a business you get into, and you require very little to
make so much. Example: Uber. They have no car of theirs. They just use other
people’s cars. Very little logistics…they can run it without an office or very few
offices. These helps you grow fast with little input’’.

‘’Low Risk Reward Ratio Business – a business that makes WAY MORE than the
money you put in. That is, 5 dollars would bring in say 20 dollars.

But The reason most people struggle is they get into a business that requires 20
dollars and then get 5 dollar profit’’.

Then he writes on the paper.

Leveraged Business. Low Risk Reward Ratio….then scale for global or continental
dominance.

So I asked him the next OBVIOUS question.

‘’Which business do you think I should start now that meets all this criteria?’’

He looked at me for a moment, then said: ‘’Figure that out’’.

 3.

The Visit.

My millionaire friend just left my house.

He had called me out of the blues, told me he was stopping by and just drove
into the compound in his white Range Rover Sport.

Stunned the hell out of me.

I had very little time to put my house in order.

And then the only alcohol I had in the fridge was just a bottle of vodka and a
half filled bottle of coke. This isn’t exactly the sort of thing you serve this kind of
guy.

Anyways, he turned down my offer to take something and just took a look at
what I was doing on my laptop instead.

‘’What’s this?’’ He had asked.

‘’Facebook ad, sir’’. I replied. Happy that for once I knew something he doesn’t.
So I quickly gave him a crash course on Facebook ads, how it works and all that.

If you don’t already know. Facebook ads are those sponsored posts you see on
your Facebook timeline.

He takes a look at the numbers.

‘’What is that?’’. He said, pointing at the budget column.

‘’The budget’’. I replied.

He looked at the budget for a while. Lost in thought. Then he looks at me.

‘’What happens if you double that budget. Does the result increase? Will more
people see and buy your stuff?’’

‘’Yeah’’. I replied. ‘’In an ideal situation that is how it works. Why?’’

‘’Because you should be spending more’’ He replied.

And then as usual he grabbed a pen and a paper and wrote one sentence.

‘’The person with the most cash wins’’.

Then he points at it and reads it out loud.

Then he scribbles something else: ‘’If you are not the guy with the most cash, be
the guy with the most leverage’’.

He waved the paper at me and then said. ‘’And if you are the guy with both, you
will be hard to be stopped’’

Then he crossed his leg and leaned back on his chair. Then looked at me intently
and began:

‘’Do you know what happens behind closed doors when the big boys want to
start a company?’’ He paused, like he wanted me to say something. But I kept
quiet and so he continued. ‘’First they set up a team, then they raise funds….’’

In that order.

They set up a team.

Then they raise funds.

There is always the main guy. But there is always a team behind them, and they
don’t run the business with all their money. They use mostly investors’ money,
and very little of their own.

They understand that they are not good at everything so they get people who
are good at what they are not, then they raise a lot of cash and go in very hard.
They don’t go half way, they push it all the way in.

Then he waved a t my laptop. What are you doing here? Running your own ad
on Facebook with a budget like that? Is this how you want to get big?

I did a double take. That really did hurt a little coming from him.

He leaned forward.

‘’Look son’’. He said. ‘’Read the news. There is a reason there is a board of
director in big companies. There is a reason the CEO doesn’t do the books. There
is a reason you hear Dangote say that they brought in a percentage of the
money for the refineries and then went out and got different banks to bring in
the rest of the funds’’.

….there is a reason you see him on the news and he is surrounded by all those
white people.

Team & Investors Money. That is how the big boys play.

If you must build a big business then you must master how to build a deadly
team, and raise a lot of money fast and then go in very very hard without
blowing everything. Do it at your level now. Practice.

Then he looked around my sitting room. ‘’You have a really nice place here’’. He
said. ‘’So when are you getting married’’.

We laughed, and our conversation drifted away from business.

 4.

The Phone Call.

I just got off the phone with my millionaire friend...

…and the moment I got off the call, I pulled up my laptop to type this.

I’m going to try as much as possible to put everything down the way he said
them.

EVERYTHING.

So the phone rings…I pick it up, it’s his number on the screen. This is actually
the first time he is calling. So I take the call and he is already talking:

‘’I read your post on Facebook. The one about our conversation yesterday’’.

I waited, trying to read the tone of his voice. I was unsure whether he approved
of me sharing our conversation in public. At first I felt it didn’t matter, but right
now I was unsure.

‘’I want you to share something else’’. He said.

I subconsciously relaxed a bit. His tone seemed alright. He didn’t seem angry at
all.

‘’Are you with a pen and paper there’’.

I quickly grabbed a pen and a paper. ‘’Yes sir’’.

‘’Good’’. He said. ‘’Now write this. Conventional wisdom isn’t always right’’
‘’What?’’

‘’Conventional wisdom isn’t always right’’ He repeated. ‘’Now close your eyes’’.

Huh?

‘’Have you’’.

I slowly closed my eyes. ‘’Yes sir’’.

‘’How much do you see yourself making this year’’. He asked. ‘’Do you see
yourself making 100 Million naira?’’

I opened my eyes. The sum sounded outrageous. 100 million naira. What.

He laughed, almost like he could see my reaction.

‘’That amount isn’t even up to a million dollars. But you can’t see it’’

Now write this; ‘’People will always be wise over the things they see’’. I scribbled
that on the paper. He continued quickly. ‘’If they don’t see it, then their opinions
are usually not wise’’

I didn’t get that.

He followed up quickly.

‘’What do you think. Is 1 million naira too much for a year’s rent?’’

I thought about it. ‘’Yes’’. I replied.

‘’No, it is not too much. You only say that because you don’t make 100 million
naira a year’’. He said.

‘’But sir, I can’t live above my means. I have no problem staying in a house like
that but I have to live within my means’’. I said.

He laughed. ‘’That is the problem. That sentence right there. I wanted you to say
it. Living within your means. That right there is the conventional wisdom I’m
talking about. It sounds wise but it is stupid’’

I heard a smack from the other end of the phone. He had probably banged on
the table as he said that.

‘’Now think about it’’ he went on excitedly. ‘’When you say I’m living within my
means, what you are actually saying is I can’t make more than enough in a year
to pay a million naira rent’’.

He paused.

‘’Don’t you see it, you are not living within your means. You just created a little
container and you put yourself inside. A year has 12 months. To hit a million
naira all you need to do is simply sell 100 units of a 10, 000 naira a piece stuff’’.

‘’…Just 100 units’’ he said. ‘’Sell 100 pieces of perfumes for 10, 000 naira each
and you have a million naira. But you just said now that you won’t be able to
make that number many times over IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS….you just put
yourself in a box…

….When you can make that amount pushing a huge volume of products in just a
single month. But with just one sentence you just put yourself in a container’’

He paused again…as if to let that sink in, then he continued.

‘’Most times when people say they are living within their means, they are
actually living within their reality. 1 million naira is less than 3000 dollars. You
shouldn’t make that number your means, you should ask yourself this
question…’’
‘’….are you writing this down’’. He asked.

I reached for the paper again. ‘’Yes’’.

‘’Write, How can I legally make as much money as I can fast, and keep doubling
it as fast as I can without breaking the law or getting into a get rich quick
scheme. No, don’t give yourself a target. There is actually no limit to how much
you can make’’

‘’…Did you get all that?’’ he asked. ‘’Don’t say anything. Just think about this –
deeply. Don’t put yourself within a number…the question is how do I make more
fast, over and over again without blowing everything. The more you think this
way the more you make’’

I kept quiet, allowing it all sink in. Breathing it all in. Christ! This was why this
guy has so much money, I thought, I thought in limits – and in his head there is
no limit at all. I couldn’t breathe.

‘’Now share this on Facebook’’, he said.

 5.

The Gift.

My millionaire friend gave me a gift yesterday evening.

An original Hublot wrist watch. Brand new.

Really meant a lot to me.

He had asked me to stop by the mall and pick up coffee seeds for him, I was
close to the mall so I drove in, quickly got them for him and drove to his house.

‘’Thanks’’. He said, when I brought them. Then he handed me the wrist watch. ‘’I
got two, I think you should have one’’.

And then I noticed something interesting. These millionaires who make money
from scratch love to teach & share information…especially when you show
promise and you are willing to learn.

He had looked at me as I was about to step out. Then went: ‘’Do you want to
learn something new?’’

Hell yeah, I thought.

‘’Yes sir’’. I said quietly.

He pointed at some cash on the table. About a couple of one thousand naira
bills.

‘’What is the fastest way to withdraw money?’’ He asked.

‘’Like, withdraw cash?’’ I asked.

He nodded.

‘’ATM?’’

‘’Yes’’. He replied. ‘’You are correct’’.

He picked a note, and crumpled it into a ball then looks at me.

‘’Here is a quick fact. Before the ATM made it to Nigeria it was already in the US
for more than ten years…’’

Then he sat back and his face broke into a wide grin, like he had shared a big
secret with me.

I stared, not getting it.

He saw my confused expression and grinned more. ‘’You don’t get it?’’

He sat forward, raised his finger and began.

‘’Round the world there is a time capsule and if you start picking on lapses in
those time capsule you are going to be VERY rich’’

‘’Look at it this way…for 10 years people were withdrawing money over the
counter in Nigeria, and in the US the ATM was already in existence’’.

Slowly, he brought the finger on the arm of the sofa he was sitting on and drew
an imaginary line down the cushion.

‘’Now imagine if you had closed a deal to bring in and install ATMs for banks
within those 10 years the ATMs were not in Nigeria. Imagine if you had built a
company around ATM purchase and installations…’’
He stared hard at me, and continued: ‘’Imagine if you had gone in so hard that
you were the sole guy who purchases and sets up ATMs for at least 5 of the
major banks in Nigeria, round the nation…in all their ATM outlets…’’

‘’…. If you had made that move in those ten years no ATMs were around, you
would have made a lot of money’’.

My eyes lit up.

He grinned again. Then he said two words:

‘’Time Capsule’’

He flattened the crumpled naira note on his palm and quietly said.

‘’Time capsules will make you very rich, if you look out for them and move in on
them – hard’’

‘’Look son, there are a lot of things, a lot of gadgets and a lot of technologies
abroad that has not made its way down here yet – stuff we need. There is a time
gap between the developed nations and Africa. Everyone is complaining about
it…very few are taking advantage of it…’’

‘’…little things that should be here that is not already, but are needed badly.
Look at the power bank, it has always been in China long before the first guy
brought them in and got mad rich selling them in DROVES’’.

My eyes widened. This made a lot of sense. Why the heck have I not thought of
that?

He continued, almost as if he had heard my thoughts: ‘’You are so lost chasing

little change when you can build monster companies off time capsules and make
a lot of money’’

I winced. That hurt a little.

He looked at the Movie showing on the TV. It was a scene where a sick man had
all those wires stuck into him and connected to a monitor where you see his
pulse as lines on the screen:

‘’It’s just too obvious’’. He said. ‘’Nodding at the big curved TV. Take that pulse
monitor for instance. How many hospitals have those around here? And it is
obviously so badly needed’’

The guy in the movie developed complications and nurses and doctors had to
rush in to resuscitate him with that electric charger thing they press to the
chest.

‘’Clear’’. The actors screamed and placed it on the patient’s chest. The patient
jerked.

‘’And that too.’’ He said quietly. I haven’t seen them much around here.

He looked at me and his eyes lit up.

‘’There are Shoprite malls, Mr. Biggs and Cinemas scattered around the country.
Why is no one building franchise hospitals just like the one in the movies, with
all those gadgets and scattering them round the country like the Cinemas and
shoprite?

‘’Let that sink in’’. He said quietly. ‘’Alright, that would be all for today. Go look
out for time capsule businesses. Drag them here and build a company around
them’’

I nodded. And walked away. Stunned. This guy was something else, I thought.
 6.

The Blunder.

I made a BIG blunder around my millionaire friend last week.

...it’s actually a bit embarrassing.

Here is what happened. First, he called me and asked me whether I would want
to see him close some deal up close.

I was a bit surprised. But then I recovered and I jumped on it – Real FAST.

So he asked me to come around to his office so we can go together. ‘

’5 Pm’’. He said. ‘’Don’t be late’’

At first I was surprised because I thought the deal would happen in his office.
4.34 PM I was already in his waiting room. A little after 2 he walked out of his
office briskly, looked at me and said:

‘’Let’s go’’

I followed him out to his car, we got in and he pulled out and….wait for it…we
drove to a high end restaurant. I don’t know if restaurant is the right name for
the place. Those who stay in Enugu would know the place – Voodoo Lounge.

Which is something I have come to notice about these big boys. Funny enough,
contrary to what I used to think, some of the biggest deals are not closed in
offices…

…they usually do it in bars, clubs and restaurants, over cat fish and a bottle of
Hennessey. They hang out, and in very normal conversations big deals are
closed – right under your nose. It isn’t as glamorous as we think. Just simple, I
have this – see how much I’m selling it, you wan buy?
This particular deal was over some real estate. There was laughter, he simply
introduced me as Nonso (my Igbo name) and I stayed in the background most
of the time – quiet, listening and learning.

What I learnt from that conversation alone is a subject for another post.

But here was where the blunder happened.

I had just watched this man close a 14 million naira deal, over cat fish. Dude
wasn’t even excited - but my blood was pumped. I was MAD with excitement.
What!

And as we were leaving I said:

‘’Baba, Please show me the way. I want to be like you’’

He turned, and gave me the nastiest look I have ever gotten from ANYONE in
my life. I did a double take.

What did I say wrong? Why was he looking at me that way.

‘’Show you the way?’’ He began, his voice ice cold. ‘’Show you the way? This is
the thing about you youngsters’’

‘’You feel there is a way’’. He opened his car and got in, still talking.

‘’To you people it’s blow. I wan blow. I wan hammer. You all think it’s just a one
deal thing’’. He put the car in reverse and pulled out of the parking lot. Then
turned and looked at me.

‘’With legitimate money, you never blow. Or hammer. You grow. Blow is a quick
money mentality. Show you the way is a shiny object chaser vocabulary’’

He put the car in drive and gunned for the gate.

‘’Look. This money thing is a process. Before you can have that one deal that
changes your life. That contact that changes everything, you must first build up
momentum in whatever field you go into over a period. Then you shake some
trees, and shake some trees and then people start taking notice of you, and then
one day that deal comes up and you move in on it’’.

He looked at me briefly.

‘’I brought you to tag along because I feel you are smart. What you need is the
mindset, not a way. Because even if I show you the way and your head is
messed up the way will take you nowhere’’.

He took a turn and continued driving.

‘’There is no way. There is just you, and your ability to choose a field and keep
asking yourself how can I make more, very fast from this stuff I’m doing and
keep doubling that money without blowing everything’’.

Then push all that money first into something that makes your life stable, not
rich; stable, son. STABLE – Businesses, assets and investments that make sure
you don’t go hungry, or have to worry about school fees or when your
grandmother suddenly gets a heart attack and you need to show up for her….

…when you are stable, then it’s time to be rich. This is when you start building
that major business. The time it takes to get here is dependent on how fast you
make more.

‘’You Grow, son’’. He said. ‘’You don’t blow. Sometimes you get lucky and get
rich while building stability. But when you want to blow, and you chase crazy
quick money schemes that is how you blow everything. The money game is like
chess. It’s a progression game’’

…you start with one shop, son. Then you grow sales, then you start another one
elsewhere – your income jumps. You open another one. Then another one. And
another as the business or your investors slowly starts paying for that
expansion. But you youngsters want 5 shops at once when you don’t even know
how to run one, and that is how you lose everything’’.
I was quiet. Thinking about it all. But one sentence kept ringing in my head –
‘’You start from one shop’’.

That was the last time I asked him that question.