Real estate entrepreneur, Amb (Dr) Babatunde Adeyemo, has advised the Youth Corps members serving in Ogun State to start ruminating on how to become entrepreneurs and not to fall into the error of searching for white collar jobs like he did 20 years ago when he could have created one by himself at the time.
Adeyemo who recalled that he was quite a resourceful and creative youth during his service year in Niger State, lamented that the valuable seed money – N400,000, he saved while the exercise lasted was squandered afterwards on printing CVs and hunting for jobs that were no where to be found.
He said if the money had been deployed into any worthwhile business then or if he had ventured into entrepreneurship early enough instead of job – hunting after his youth service year, his success story would have been more fast – paced today.
The realtor who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited, a foremost Nigerian real estate firm behind the Pelican Valley Estate Laderin Abeokuta, Pelican Valley’s Brief Estate, Pelican Ecostay Apartments and Pelican Greenish Acre Farm Estate at Kobape axis of Ogun State, spoke on Wednesday, February 14, when he received some Youth Corps members in The Podium within the Pelican Valley Estate, Laderin.
The Corps members who were at the Pelican Valley on courtesy visit to the CEO were led by Mr. Idris Kevin Abu, the state Coordinator of Organisation of Peoples Voice and member of the ICPC National Anti – Corruption Coalition.
The visit also afforded the corps members the avenue to seek collaboration with Ambassador Adeyemo on the possibility of initiating and executing a community based project for the benefits of villagers in the area.
The realtor also advised his guests to consider the real estate sector as one area they can venture into as aspiring entrepreneurs, urging them to leverage on their contacts at home and abroad to market real estate products and get reward for their efforts.
He recalled that he started his Pelican Valley real estate business over 14 years ago with barely N2million, stressing that the firm has now become a household name with a huge property portfolio without stealing from anyone, without litigations and indebtedness to any bank.
Adeyemo expressed the confidence that if he could start a little and achieved so much years later in Nigerian business environment, it shows that any Nigerian youth can succeed as well in the country without cutting corners.
And drawing from his experience further, he warned the male corps members against the temptation to seek life partners from among the class of ladies who would turn out to be a huge weight on the shoulder through expensive taste for Brazilian hairs, phones among others, urging them to go for the modest and humble ones and grow with them patiently through the journey of life.
He said, “Exactly 20 years ago, I was like you guys, I was a Corps member serving in Niger State but I used to be a focused, determined, energetic, creative and strong Corps member. At that time, I was able to save 100 percent of my ‘allowee.’ I was so creative to the extent that I bought rams and goats and loaded them into a truck carrying yam tubers. I spent three days on the road with my NYSC Kaki on while getting them to Lagos.
“Fortunately, those rams and goats I bought at N6,000 and N7,000, per head, I sold them as high as N18,000 each. So, by the time I was through with Youth Service, I was having over N400k in my account but let me shock you where I got it wrong. You know an average Youth Corps member, once you graduate what will be on top of your head is using that certificate to look for White Collar job. That is a very very wrong impression and I got it wrong. I don’t want you guys to get such impression or fall into such situation. Would you believe that I spent that N400k that I made hunting for job. I spent everything hunting for job from.Lagos to Abuja, the job that was not there to be found. At the end of the day, I got the journalism job through my late Dad, after spending all that money.
“I don’t want to bore you guys with long story. What I realised is that, had it been that I didn’t squander that money printing CVs, looking for jobs that were not there, my success story would have been more fast-tracked today. The only regret I have is that I didn’t start this real estate business so early. Now, you guys have a wonderful opportunity to start something, the earlier the better for you. The earlier you start your journey of entrepreneurship, the better for you.
“You can always be what you want to be in life and you can start as low as having zero capital. If I could start a real estate business with N2million over 14 years ago and today, we are household name in the real estate business with a huge property, without stealing from anyone, without litigations and without being indebted to banks, it shows that anyone of you can also achieve that. It is very very possible.
“Let me tell you how it works. If you are a university graduate and you are telling me that within a month you can’t convince someone to buy a product and get a commission on that product, it shows that you went through the university but the university didn’t pass through you. That is a fact. It shows you are not employable. All you need to do is to have integrity, liaise with someone that has a good product,. I’m not trying to convert you to Pelican Valley marketers, it could be any product and there are many people with products out there looking for someone to market it for them. Just put that into test, before you know it, you are there.
” For example, in the real estate business I have paid people commission that is double the amount with which I started the real estate business. I said earlier that I started with N2million but today I have been paying people commission worth N10million . The simple logic there is that you can start real estate business, as capital intensive as it is, with zero capital. All of you have big contacts in your phones, especially Nigerians in diaspora who are looking for right plots of land to buy. All you need do is to show them the landscape of any of the Pelican Valley Estates, you can show them our reviews and testimonials and Once they show interest and buy, you get your reward.”
