Let your outputs identify you
By EveEden
It is quite astonishing to see how the thorny economy in Nigeria has led to everyday sprouting of business ventures. Everyone is chanting business. Almost all the residential abode in my vicinity has been transformed to money making hive. From private schools, pharmaceutical shops, caterings, motels, cybercafés etc. More persons are rescuing themselves from the chains of no job; lest they may grow wrinkles while waiting for the government. I noticed this driven change is not only in my high brow neighbourhood in Lagos but also in one of the rural-urban places I travelled to; a week ago.
Amazingly, social media is a good companion to business enterprises. With it, business outfits are known more widely more than what words of mouth and physical contact could earn. With online visibility, our start ups are publicized seamlessly. It helps business individuals in branding, creating awareness and contacting wider audience. Notwithstanding of these benefits to our dreamy business empires; most times especially among young minds they fail to put the horse before the cart. They place the cart before the horse; beating tumultuous rhythms about the offers of their business without establishing an unshaken foot stand or at least a sustained business.
Our social media feeds are not void of friends and foes who are engaged in various businesses. Every day is a reminder popping on our Instagram, Face Book pages that we have more make up artistes than there are. Our male youths are swamping in for photography and graphic designing than ever. Anyone who knows how to stitch up a style from any outfit material is branded a fashion designer. With the internet everyone can be a video-comedian (I guess this word describes those who chase on our social accounts with funny skits).
The internet has definitely empowered youths and helped in making most fantasises a reality. Everyone is a CEO of one of these overcrowded ventures – photography, make up artists, fashion designers which in reality is a tailor or a seamstress. If everyone becomes any of the trendy businesses mentioned, who would be a driver, an accountant, a receptionist, a caterer, a school proprietor, a teacher, a lecturer, a janitor, a dealer in automobile parts, a waitress, a farmer, a sales agent a cook, a civil servant, a military personnel, a greengrocer, a florist, a plumber and many laudable profitable occupations. We have concealed our eyes to these occupations, merely because its nature does not welcome the social scenes. Social scenes are in for the glamour and glitters which make up, photography and fashion got. These ventures exude the perfect world aura which can’t be found in sitting down and sorting out some files or juggling some sums.
Don’t perceive me to be jealous or frustrated that I am yet to be a CEO of EveEden beauty glam or better still Edengraphy signature. I am not; I just feel we need to be in tune with reality, embrace other ventures that is not in the limelight and should we want to be in the limelight? Let’s set our foundation solid before engaging in the extravagant online publicity that finally chokes up businesses in the long run. When, we are in a haste to advertise to the online community, we coat what we put out there like our services match up to Practer and Gamble, Coca Cola, Dei foods and other big brands when truly our businesses are just toddlers if not infants. We seek attention. We relish in the glory of the how many likes and comments we get on our social feeds. We want to be perceived to be productive at all times. We need validation from others that we are contributing in the lives of people or economy and yielding more bacon to make our living standard. Farewell to the yester years when we allowed people to sniff out our successes and do the telling for us.
I bet if you an observant mind, you would notice big names don’t beat so much drums on social scenes as these trendy mushrooming sprouting enterprises do (for a lack of a better qualifying words). Dangote is yet to embark on the type of social hype and visibility that most start-ups are engaging in; regardless that he has the money that we are chasing after. Check out for the popular Nigerian minimee chin chin, publicity ensued when they were ready to deliver. I am not advocating that you should only roll out your drum only when you have a national target. My sermon is creating a solid foundation before sounding your tambourine.
We should not allow the availability of internet for wider reach conceal our eyes from starting from our closer nooks. I can remember the old fashioned way of spreading the niche of business customers. You start from the family, friends, church, neighbours and before you blink; a brethren has told another brethren and a neighbour has spread the good news to a colleague who would request for your service. With this if you are a baker who started with ten baking pans, with this mere oral task from your clone, more baking pans would be needed in no time. Of course, that’s if you are great with the baking. Sadly we neglect those around us who can help us grow and reach for the distant online community who mostly does nothing other than clicking the like button and gushing over what we do.
We don’t need the praises of friends to enjoy our lofty achievements. Even if they must be praises which is unavoidably; let’s not be the one craving for that with constantly trumpeting what we do, who we are and how we live our lives.
Let them fish that out. Let your outputs identify you. Self praise is irritating (my opinion, anyways).
