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My name is Richard. My page was set up to share experiences with friends, family and younger business students seeking a career mentor.
I work as an independent business analyst consultant, with over 12 years experience in the Telecom, Wireless, Banking & Insurance, Academia and publishing fields.
I attended college in 3 continents, specializing in the field of Economics and Management Information Systems at the undergrad and graduate levels, respectively.
My long term interest as Internet Access infrastructure worldwide develops is to set up business portals that can effectively plug needs in the global market place with opportunities in "emerging markets" with the goal of creating jobs and solving social problems in the process. In a sense, I am working towards social entrepreneurship initiatives.
Thank you for visiting my page and please feel free to visit other sections on this page and share feedback.
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FAMILY
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In West Africa and particularly in Nigeria, part of being successful in typical middle class families, included not only the ability to provide comfortably for one's family, but acquire landed property and to build a comfortable home for every family member to live in with their own rooms. These days of course, most children raised from middle class homes that I grew up with have set slightly higher expectations and aim to not only provide the best education possible for their own children, but to also leave a legacy to them for the next generation.
I was born at a time when my parents were at their peak of their professional careers, so they named me ILOME (my traditional name), "Our child, born in our first home", which in our custom, signified that I came to them at a time of "plenty". Their typical worries at that time included not only providing the best for their own children but also being a guardian (and somewhat "BIG Uncle/Aunty") to quite a few extended family relatives. Though this sounds almost ridiculous today, this was quite common with first generation educated Africans. They were expected to take on major responsibilities of mentoring and supporting multiple relatives through high school and college in some cases, with no expectations of being paid back. The mindset was quite different then in that when you help others in the family develop their gifts, you are not only a blessing to their lives but you hopefully impact the local community. This extended family set-up was quite characteristic of my childhood years. I grew up always having an older family member, in addition to my parents, to learn about life from. My mom and dad are thankfully both alive today and are retired from active service. My mom (Janet Namme), worked in education for over 35 years taking on many roles as a school teacher, principal and educational administrator. She is now retired and has been trying to institute a Non-Profit program to promote the study of English and Mathematics among high school students.
My dad (Chief Laban Omowale Namme) was in the media & publishing business for more than 45 years, and retired in 1991 as the Chairman, of the Daily Times Group of Companies. Dad, also served in various public service roles, including being a founding director of Nigeria's Central Bank in 1959. The have been married for 50 years.
By now, you may have already guessed that I must be the "baby in the family". Well you're right! I am the last of three sons from my parents. My elder brothers, Albert and my late brother Viv, who sadly passed away in January 2008.
 Mom and Dad at AVMC Church
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FRIENDS
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Most of my friends are scattered all over the world, since my educational pursuits took me kind of everywhere. However, I still keep in touch close friends from King's College Lagos, where I also graduated from in 1988.
More than 20 years after, we have successful remained in touch online through our 11year old community.
Most are already fairly successful in their respective careers. About 24% of our graduating set, trained as physicians (including 3 US trained surgeons), Another 36% of the members went on to do post graduate degrees in the sciences and in business. We attribute this to being the "guinea pigs" of the 6-3-3-4 experiment program the Nigerian Government implemented in the early 80's - now canned. In January 2001, I took on an initiative to set up an online mentoring program for younger Alumni grads so some of my classmates could act as mentors to others in similar careers. My goal was to get at least 150 Alumni's sign up. We currently have 209 members. I learnt to be patient and just let things grow with time.
Other friends are from NIU, where I last studied and was an active and influential student leader. They come from all over the world, unfortunately, I haven't kept close contact with them as I would love to.
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In terms of hobbies, I love to travel and to learn about the diverse world we live in.
I keep getting asked by friends, so what do you think of people in this city or that city?. My conclusion is that while there are a culture is likely to share common traits, people are indeed unique as you selectively get to know them better. Common traits are influenced by culture, economic environment and the Government/leadership. Unique traits tend to be influenced by actual life experiences, enlightenment and training. These vary from all ends of the spectrum, so it is difficult to lump people into categories. Many live in prosperous societies like the US, with comparitively more infrastructure and still "miss the boat," because of the distractions of plain everyday living. If you are caught up in a "rat-race" like everybody else, you may miss opportunities that are ripe for your time and season.
Looking back at my life so far, I think being the youngest in my family gave me a "great eye and ear" to observe and learn from capable mentors in various areas of my life. I also learned that behaving exactly the same way others did in certain areas of life, will only get me the same results they obtained. So my approach is to seek the knowledge of today and the wisdom of yesterday to conquer new challenges for tomorrow.
Don't limit yourself by not having a plan for each phase of your life. I know this because I have worked for some of the largest companies in the world and can say, I have seen what they can do at their best and at their worst, and have learnt from it.
So here's what can I share so far at a really high level:
- Task 1: Tackle your ideas in a systematic way, i.e Write them down, develop simple steps and processes(how to's) to accomplish them, analyze how they fit with the vision you have, analyze your current situation - family, finances, and commitments, and please BE REALISTIC.
- Task 2: Seek to Acquire Knowledge & Skills to accomplish your plan - This is where education, training and work experience is critical. In the information age, there's a lot of stuff out there, remain focused on studying what is relevant to your plan. I recall going to my professors and proposing a project topic that I felt was relevant to a future business idea, which has continued to evolve each year. It kept me motivated to research it further and even while in college earned me all A's in my final semester. Find a reliable mentor who you can share your goals with and who will ensure accountability for milestones you commit yourself to. Being "book smart" is one thing, getting your hands dirty a little running a business is very essential. A business venture I was involved, didn't make any money in its first 18months, operated successfully for 2 years and then folded up 9months later. I learned in the process to manage employees, maintain cash flow reserves and manage customer relationship effectively. After 4+ years it closed shop, but I learned valuable life lessons as an entrepreneur and will never repeat those mistakes again.
- Task 3: Cut off all unnecessary baggage that puts a drain on your life & finances. Seperate wants from needs and unhealthy relationships from those that help you realize your dream. For me this involved not only cutting excesses with what I spent money on, but also time and the scope of things I embark on at each stage of my life. Cut off things that are a mental or physical drain and focus on what you are good at. True, this is easier said than done, when you are not debt FREE. So first strive to be Debt free. It is essential. A debtor remains a Slave to his/her lender and please don't buy that crap out there of being a good debt manager. My principle is to only borrow funds when I have proven to myself that my business idea can work on its own, irrespective of any loans I may get. When I do borrow for business, my rule of thumb is 30% of my networth at any point in time. There is nothing wrong in sensible leveraging as long as you can account for where the funds are going at all times. The truth is if your business idea is proven and you are reliable. Everyone business out exists to make money, so if you establish the credibility,the money will come. Sometimes, this takes time, and you may have to start small.
- Task 4:Take stock and assess your current stage in life and how much time you can realistically commit to running a business. This is one of the most difficult steps.
- Task 5: Finally, leave a legacy for the next generation. A favorite quote I like to share is from King Solomon -the wisest King that lived. He said "Of what use is money in the hand of a [self-confident] fool to buy skillful and godly Wisdom- when he has no understanding or heart for it?" (Proverbs 17:16)- AMP version. To paraphrase, of what use is money in the hands of a fool, if he/she has no desire to gain wisdom". It is not uncommon to see people fail to plan for the next generation. Most times, we are caught up in the endless rat-race cycle, leaving the hope for tomorrow (our children) with the mundane task of "reinventing the wheel again.
There are a lot of distractions - TV or print media Ads about making quick money etc. Think deeply about this and ask yourself "what do I really love to do, that I already have the skills and training for and can solve other peoples problems". If you can't solve problems for others, then people (the market) will not pay well for your product/service. Fine tune your idea and address the question again. For me, I love to solve business process problems, so I transitioned from working as a systems engineer to working as a business analyst. I also see a lot of social issues that way. i.e. What problem can I solve in society, that creates a situation for an investor or a business to make money, in the process.
To summarize it all, the wealth building process starts with you believing in your idea, acquiring the right knowledge and skills, and then critically evaluating what value you can create for stakeholders who can influence your idea. Finally, plan to transfer knowledge to others, so you are creating a system that adds new value to all stakeholders at each stage. When you really think of it, this is how successful businesses and countries actually operate. Economists refer to this as "creating a multiplier effect. I am sure there are different ways to describe this concept. The concept is simply that each additional unit of work or resources added to a business venture MUST be able to multiply profits in significantly greater units than its initial input/materials.
I end here, by saying that the most important part of my life so far, has been learning to find some peace in the midst of "life's noises". My search to understand my purpose in life led me to a closer relationship with God. With all the challenges that life is sure to throw at you, it is important to develop yourself spiritually. I certainly cannot tell you who to believe in, I can only share with you the source of my peace and joy. I am sure everyone's story is different because the Creator made us all unique and our experiences have shaped us differently. I hope at the end of my life, I would have found all my unique "talents," applied them and left the world with a better understanding of what it means to "live more abundantly".(John 10:10).
This is my life so far and my story. I hope that I have inspired you in my own little way. May you be blessed richly to touch the lives of others in your own journey.
Please feel free to email me at any time.
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