Toni Kan emphasizes the need for training for young entrepreneurs

Toni Kan.

By Amechi Obiakpu

Writer, Journalist and Public Relations expert, Tony Kan Onwordi has emphasized the need for training for young entrepreneurs who aspire to be successful in the world of business.

Toni kan, who co-owns Radi8, an advertising firm and The Media Training Room (TMTR) with Peju Akande, an advertising expert, said Nigerian entrepreneurs will do better in business if they are trained in the basic rudiments of business that include financial discipline.

In an interview with Espi News in his Anthony Village, Lagos office, recently, Kan said the forces against doing business in Nigeria are numerous and anybody who wants to be successful must be discipline in the area of finance.

“Everybody wants this start-up mentality. So, I think young people in Nigeria are financially illiterate and they don’t have structure- they don’t know how to make money and keep money,” Kan said.

“In a Rotary event I gave a talk recently, I said everybody can be successful but very few people can succeed because of the way they manage their finances”.

Continuing he said: “How we react to money is very important. See the thing about business people in Nigeria is that, the first money they make they want to buy new car, new clothes, move into a nice office and spend N10 million furnishing the office. Its not your house, its not your building- you have not even paid next year’s rent, you haven’t even made any money. Yes, an office should be habitable; it should be comfortable that is it.

“But, Nigerian young people have no idea of how to save money”

He said most of the young people who have cars don’t even have insurance, stating that, “if you want to buy a N2 million car, save N2,200,000, so that you can insure the car. They will be like, insurance no dey pay. But its stupid.

“So they don’t understand what that means and if you take it into business life, they will fail. I have had business people who I asked how much they earn, and their responds is, they don’t earn salary but only take money from the business when in need.  How can you do that?

“Why don’t you give yourself salary? When it comes fine, the period it doesn’t come pay yourself in arrears,” the Delta State born said.

He however advised that before venturing into business, aspiring entrepreneurs should pick up work experience first, especially those in the creative sector who need to be inspired.

“Go and work somewhere where the inspiration is like ‘Mr. man you are late and the time is just 8:02, you say oga there is traffic and he says and so what? Why didn’t you leave early? Even though, you try to come to work early, the man will still curse you out. I think that young people should first go and learn discipline – how to wake up early and how to meet deadlines.

“Again, they should learn how to make money, how to spend money and how to manage it, it is very important,” he added.

Note: Watch out for the full interview.