By Martins Itua
When you take a close look at all the world’s billionaires, you will notice that every one of them has a product or service that is used or purchased by millions or billions of people. A few years ago in Nigeria, Powerhorse and Redbull were the only known energy drinks. But today, there are many others that have been brought into the market. People saw an opportunity in the market and brought them in and they are making a kill. The fastest way to be a millionaire is to spot a gap in the market, bring in a product or service and make it available to the mass market. The mass market is the billionaire’s secret to his billions. It is often easier to sit down and earn a monthly pay-check even when you have the potential to be a billionaire. You have a 9-5 job that pays you 150k monthly. But if you were selling only 5,000 sachets of pure water daily with a margin of only 5 naira, you will be making 25k daily and you wouldn’t need to buy expensive suits and shoes to impress your customers.
Bill Gates, the world’s richest person sells Microsoft products to billions of people all over the world. Can you imagine how many people use personal computers and need to install Microsoft office in the millions of offices, schools and homes? Do you still wonder why he’s the world’s richest person? Aliko Dangote sells virtually everything that every household needs and participates in every sector of Nigeria’s economy. He is now moving into other African countries and establishing his brands in those countries. The only reason why Aliko Dangote is Africa’s richest person is because he sells his products daily to over 200 million people across the African continent. The mass or retail market holds the key to understanding how or why certain people become billionaires. There is absolutely no way anyone can become a billionaire if they do not operate in the mass market. It is a game of numbers: the more people buy your products, the richer you become.
The challenge a lot of people have is the fear of failure and unwillingness to try. Several other people are too comfortable earning peanuts at their jobs and are not willing to step out of their comfort zone. Some others would rather wear a nice suit and be poor than step out in the sun even with the possibility of making so much more money. There is a story of a bank staff who had been hired as an auxiliary staff with her OND by a particular bank over 14 years. Although she obtained her BSc over 9 years ago, the bank refused to convert her to full staff status. But when asked to consider a job of selling puff puff to construction workers and earn so much money, she declined the offer because she was ashamed of selling puff puff.
The retail space offers the most opportunity to be financially successful and to be wealthy. So you need to find that one thing that you can do efficiently and find a way to make it available to millions of people. If you are in the confectionary business, you must devise a method to make your cakes available to the mass market. If you concentrate only on people who get married or celebrate their birthdays to buy your products, yes you will make some money but not nearly as much as you would make if the whole world had access to your products. The concept of the mass market has been fully understood by all the ‘Iya Amala’ joints across the country. You need to visit their shops in all Nigeria’s major cities to appreciate how many people visit these eating joints on a daily basis.
The Internet and social media provide you the cheapest and most effective way to make your products available to the mass market. No matter how good your products are, it is of little use if people do not know about them. If you are not proficient in using the social media, engage the services of someone who does and let the whole world have access to your products and services.
Nobody has absolutely no excuse in this Internet and social media dispensation to operate in a cocoon. If you can sing, sing a song and put it out there. Somebody might spot your talent. If you can dance, do a self-audition and put it out there and let the whole world see it. If you cook very well and want the whole world to know and patronise you, put it out there. The world is increasingly becoming a global village and you cannot afford to be left out. The Internet has made available to everyone the singular biggest mass market to showcase products and services. Take advantage of the opportunities and start your journey to financial success.
Martins Itua is the founder/CEO of Financial Freedom Ng.
He is a banker, Financial planning and Business advisor.
He is on a mission to inspire entrepreneurs to take control of their financial future.
Email: info@financialfreedomng.com
