August 1, 2025 • 72 mins
Ken Agyapong's life story reads like a master class in resilience, business acumen, and the transformative power of discipline. Sitting across from me in the studio, this titan of Ghanaian entrepreneurship radiates a quiet confidence born from decades of battling adversity and emerging victorious.
The man who now employs over 7,000 people across 16 companies began his journey in the humblest of circumstances – hawking goods on the streets of Accra as a secondary school student to pay his own fees. "I was sleeping on the porch," he recalls with remarkable candor. "I roll my mattress from one to upper six. In the morning if I don't wake up early, everybody will see me folding my mattress." Yet from these humble beginnings, Ken forged an unshakable determination that would become his signature trait.
What stands out most vividly in our conversation is his pragmatic philosophy toward wealth-building. Despite owning 277 properties across Ghana, he surprisingly considers many of these "a waste" compared to operational business investments. His counterintuitive insights challenge conventional wisdom at every turn. When faced with seemingly insurmountable setbacks – including being robbed in Lagos and losing nearly everything in America – he consistently rebuilt through discipline and strategic thinking. "The experience you acquire in business, the hardships you go through, the challenges you face, you don't find it in books in the classroom," he emphasizes.
For young entrepreneurs wondering where to begin, Hon Ken offers specific, actionable guidance. His "GOSPA" framework (Goals, Objectives, Strategy, Planning, Activities) provides a roadmap, while his seven qualities for success (vision, courage, integrity, humility, foresight, dreams, cooperation) form the foundation. His advice to study building materials as a first business venture in Ghana stems from deep market understanding: "Everybody who gets money wants to build a house."
Whether you're just starting your entrepreneurial journey or looking to scale your existing success, this conversation delivers wisdom earned through decades of triumph and tribulation. Subscribe to Konnected Minds Podcast for more transformative insights from Africa's most impactful business leaders, and join our live community event on August 29th at the British Council.
Watch the video episode of this on YouTube - https://linktr.ee/konnectedminds
Host: https://www.instagram.com/derrick.abaitey/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
If you're a young man and you say you want to be like
a Japanese, you have tosacrifice a lot of things.
Postpone your spending todayfor tomorrow.
In 1990, I had 11 houses but Ihad to sell six of them to start
life again In that time.
Anybody selling his propertymeans he's broke.
The experience you acquire inbusiness, the hardships you go
(00:24):
through, the challenges you face, you don't find it in the books
in the classroom.
Why did you think you needed togo back?
Speaker 1 (00:30):
It's a secret Bad boy .
Speaker 2 (00:34):
You should always make sure that your misfortunes
you turn it into blessing.
How do we do that Look?
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Top five businesses that young people can do today.
What would it be If?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
you want to succeed.
Don't be a myopic thinker.
If you want to succeed in life,you have to dream big, talk big
, do things big and challengeyourself.
I said I want to be presidentof this country and I'll
definitely be president of thiscountry and I'll definitely be
(01:12):
president of this country.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Welcome to Connected Minds Podcast.
My name is Derek Abayte and, aswe've said in the past, on the
29th of August at the BritishCouncil, we are doing our first
live event.
The community, everybody'scoming together, so you need to
be there.
I'm going to put all thedetails in the description right
here on this episode Now todayso I've got Honorable Kennedy
Ejapone in our studios.
(01:37):
This is because we've had a lotof our young people that are
requesting for him to share aword on business mindset and
success tips.
He has taken a lot of ups anddowns and many, much of our
works that we had to do, butthank God it's happening.
We're going to be speaking to aman whose entrepreneurial
(01:59):
journey spans many years.
He's dedicated his life tobuilding his businesses and to
instill quality entrepreneurshipin the people around him as
well.
This man employs a little bitover 7,000 people in the country
.
Now, any young entrepreneur,any aspiring entrepreneur that
(02:20):
wants to get into business.
This is the benchmark that weall need to look to and learn
from.
Hence he's in a studio.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
You're welcome to my studios, honorable thank you
very much for inviting me thankyou.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Thank you for coming, um.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Thank you for coming I I have admired your work, even
while I was out of the country.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Um, anytime you spoke , I could tell the fire that you
have in your eyes and yourdesire to help more people to
also chart this path ofentrepreneurship.
So when the opportunity came tospeak with you, I said this
would be amazing, you know.
So thank you so much for takingtime out.
Now my first question is I wantto take you all the way back to
(03:12):
Ase Ndompim in 1960.
Around that time, maybe acouple of years after that the
struggle, the pain, the trauma,everything that you had to go
through within those years, thathas made you the man that you
are to go through within thoseyears.
That has made you the man thatyou are today thank you very
much.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
If you want to know my background now, I was born
and bred at Asin Dompim inCentral region, but my parents
stayed in Wa Upper West.
That's where my mother gotpregnant and came back to
deliver us in Dombi.
At the age of eight I was sentto Kumasi.
(03:55):
I lived there the first timeuntil 1972.
Then I was a difficult boy somy father took me back to my
village and the following yearhe came for me again 1972 to
(04:18):
1974, I was in Kumasi again.
Then he brought me back again.
So I sat the common entrancewhen I was in Haseen Dombu.
I did it the first time when Iwas in elementary form 2 and I
(04:42):
got admission to Haseen MonsesAgung School.
My father said no.
When I was in elementary formtwo and I got admission to a
same-month secondary school, myfather said no.
I took the second chance.
I chose Dunkwa Onofim.
I got it.
My father said no.
You know why I?
chose those schools Becausethose days in the village you
were even afraid to choose afancy poem at the Saturday
(05:06):
college or Augustine's.
So the third time, when I was inForm 4, my father actually was
a teacher in Kumasi.
He came to Dompim and actuallyfilled the common and transforms
and you had three choices firstchoice, second choice, third
(05:29):
choice.
And my father filled the threechoices and all the three
choices.
He chose Addis Ababa College.
So I had no choice.
I went to Addis Ababa Collegein 1976, which means I went to
secondary school at the age of16 there and finished 1981.
(05:51):
Then went to 6th Form andWinnibar up to 1983.
So I left Ghana February 28,1984 to Germany.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Honorable if I pause you there a little bit and then
we still stay in there.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
The early years, the type of upbringing, that you had
the type of father, the type ofmother you had.
Let me tell you.
Anyway it's good informationthat I should share.
In fact, when I startedsecondary school, my mother and
my father had divorced and mymother had moved from the
(06:35):
village to Accra.
She happened to get a spot atOkanshi where she was selling on
a table.
So at the start of college,when I come to Accra on vacation
spot at Okanshi where she wasselling on a table, so at
Southern College, when I come toAccra on vacation I will pick
some of her items and put it ona board.
(06:56):
I'll be going around Accra beerbars and I'll be selling.
So I normally mention the itemson the board and when I see you
I'll say, yes, pk Chocolate,tatra Nazer.
Yes, rob, those are the itemsI've packed on the board, neatly
(07:18):
arranged, and I'll be selling.
I was hawking on the street andI graduated from there, started
selling cutlasses, lead bars,buckets.
You know, did you have to dothat?
Yes, but I needed to survive.
You know, at the start ofcollege is an affluent school
(07:41):
that time.
So a village boy, if you don'thave the means, you will not
survive.
So I had to do all this to makemoney for myself.
And again, my father at thattime went to Nigeria.
After I decided college firstyear, Form 2 to Form 5, I paid
(08:05):
my own school fees.
You know, on vacation I'll bewalking on the street and all
those things.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
During those times, what did you want to become in
life?
What were the dreams of theyoung?
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I actually didn't know then Actually didn't know
until I went to CISFORM.
I went there by that timeBecause in my neighborhood the
way I was doing business, peoplethought I wasn't smart, so they
were surprised.
I even went to CISFORM.
So there, young man, cisf man,since I was about 23, so I was
(08:51):
old enough to have a girlfriend.
You know, so I had a girlfriend,I cried.
But when you know just the namegirlfriend, nothing you know,
so don't get me wrong.
Right, and I was disappointedby her.
So that was the me wrong and Iwas disappointed by her.
So that was the first time Isaid to myself one day I'll be
somebody.
(09:14):
And it happened about two, threetimes.
So I will say that women thatdisappointed me also encouraged
me.
Then also at the start ofcollege, I saw rich kids,
affluent, I mean students fromaffluent homes.
So I challenged myself and saidwhatever I'm going through, I'm
(09:38):
not going to allow my childrenalso to go through.
It means I have to work hard.
So I graduated from walking onthe street and selling.
Also to go through it means youhave to work hard.
So I graduated from hawking onthe street and selling lead
baths, crocodile markets,buckets, to pidgeot paths.
I was going to Lagos to buypidgeot paths, come and sell it
(10:05):
at the broker that time thatlane you had Nigeria Airways
around that side.
So one incident that happenedto me in 1983, somewhere October
, I went to Nigeria to buy thespare parts and I was robbed.
(10:29):
Wow, I went to Jankara Marketto buy these parts.
Normally I take the suitcases.
Take the suitcases a lady,wokum Riku's daughter.
That lady will bring the bagsfrom London.
(10:53):
Then I will go and credit itand take it to Nigeria, go and
sell, then buy the pijopads andmake money.
So double.
So one of the days, somewhereOctober in 1983, I was robbed at
Jankara Market and I lost allthe money.
(11:19):
They took the money but theygave me the spare parts.
I bought some pidgeot parts.
They didn't take it.
They took the money, that, butthey gave me the spare parts.
I had bought some pijama parts.
They didn't take it.
They took the money that wasleft from me and I remember
asking them, for you know, theyput me in a taxi.
There were five people, two onmy left, two on my right, one in
(11:41):
front, wearing a police uniformor something.
So when they accosted me atJankara Market.
They took me all the way toMarina Beach and at Marina Beach
when they stopped the taxi andI was forced, they were going to
(12:04):
take me to the beach and I saidno, I won't go Openly.
About 2pm people were justwatching unconcerned and I was
struggling with them.
So they put me in another taxiagain.
Apparently it was the same taxithey used to accost me and put
me in.
It was the same taxi who wentround, came and they put me in.
(12:25):
It was the same taxi who wentround, came and they put me in
again.
Then one the guy in front askedme a question.
He said he's a custom officer.
So I asked him if you're acustom officer, what are you
doing in the Jankara market?
Then one guy on my right gaveme a slap.
He gave me a slap.
(12:47):
He gave me a slap.
So they searched me Do you havea gun?
They were lying.
They wanted to see the money.
So they were searching me Doyou have the gun?
This and that?
And they took the money.
One day the police officer orcustomer in front of the taxi
(13:07):
who were behind he took thepassport and they asked him to
tear it into pieces, but I had aGerman visa in my passport, so
I asked them to take the money.
And when they took the money,they asked the driver to slow
down.
When he slowed down, you knowwhat he did the two people on my
(13:30):
left first one pushed, then Ibecame the second on the left.
Then the other one also pushedand they opened it.
And when they were going toopen it I'll never forget it
they asked me to get out of thecar.
I didn't have any money, so Iasked them okay, make it, give
(13:53):
me five Naira for Damphu Damphu.
You know, damphu Damphu, damphuDamphu is like trot trot.
Then he said homo goana, go,don't punish you, uri uda, he
said.
Then they pushed me.
(14:13):
So I didn't know.
I was just searching my pocketand I got five Naira.
So I went to the airport.
Before I got to Accra, mymother was admitted at 37.
Yeah, when she heard that I'dbeen robbed, we were supposed to
(14:38):
go and pay for the bags.
But she didn't know, theydidn't take the bags.
Yeah, the pijopas for me.
I the the items, the pijopasfor me.
I managed to bring the pijopasso we sold it and paid the
ladies money, but I lost myprofit.
So, february 2028, it was aleap year I went to Germany.
(15:02):
I got to East Berlin around29th February, so it crossed
when they started hustling.
I stayed in Germany for oneyear, 18 months.
Then I left for America.
In Germany I was washing platesat a restaurant.
(15:24):
I can cook.
Well, oh yes, italian dishes, alot of Italian dishes, from
lasagna, pizza, totolini,fottuccine, alfredo and all
those things.
I can cook all of them.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Anapo do you think that the hardship you went
through in life inspired me, hasinspired you to be where?
Speaker 2 (15:47):
you are today.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Do you think is it always necessary for people to
go through that path before theycan become?
Speaker 2 (15:56):
great.
In most cases, those who gothrough hardships like that are
able to save money and investwisely Because they struggle to
get to where they are andtherefore they know how to
manage it Sometimes let's takeit for instance I'm not
(16:17):
disgracing my kids.
I went there.
They are doing well.
I'm just from one of thefactories.
You know my daughter at Lincoln.
I took her there to go and work.
She's 13 years but she's gonethere to work.
Even my grandchildren are thereworking.
Wow, okay, what happens isbecause of your background.
(16:39):
It always serves as a cautionto you that where you are, you
don't want to go back.
That alone helps you to makegood judgments, savings and all
those things.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
But don't you think there are two aspects to this?
For example, Donald Trump wasgiven some money.
Okay.
Dango Te came from a very goodfamily.
Okay.
These two people have stillbeen able to do very well for
themselves.
So how come you still seepeople who come from affluent
families?
They don't do great In fact, Ithink majority of them don't do
great but you still have peoplethat come from them that still
(17:15):
do great.
What's the difference?
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Yeah, the difference is, you know, the mere fact that
.
Let me use my son as an example.
You know Kenneth now is notdoing badly.
Look at his age and what he'sdoing now.
But I have to inculcatediscipline into, you know, in
him.
Because initially he would havebeen a wayward if I had not been
(17:40):
strict.
He got to a point where he eventold his friends that he
doesn't think I'm the realfather.
He wanted to be solelyinherited.
But what I have gone through, Iwill not allow my children to
misbehave.
If you misbehave, I'll cut youoff, because my success or
wealth doesn't come frominheritance, it's out of hard
(18:04):
work, struggle, god's blessingthat's taking me there.
So I will not allow any of mychildren to misbehave.
I will punish you well.
Well, I'm strict, no, but withthe question of dango tea and
the rest, they are exceptional.
It doesn't necessarily mean thatif you inherit something from
(18:27):
your parents you cannot build onit.
No, it's a jump.
Trump took money from hisfather.
He's built on it.
Yeah.
So it doesn't necessarily meanthat you should struggle before
you get your wealth or anything,no.
But why most of the successfulpeople, or the rich people,
(18:52):
their children, fail is thatthey do not go through hardships
, so when they inherit it theydon't even know how their
parents struggle to get that far.
Okay, so they become slowlyheaded.
And especially in Africa, theproblem we have is we take.
(19:12):
Why I took my daughter there?
I wanted to appreciate.
She's a 13-year-old girl.
I said you're staying homealways on TikTok watching you
know.
I said come on, go there, goand see how I work out to make
the money.
Now the problem with the richpeople and their kids are that,
(19:35):
for instance, in Ghana, here,they will take their children to
Oxford, cambridge, yale,harvard and they'll be proud to
see my son or my daughter fromYale or Harvard or Oxford.
But in business, the experienceyou acquire in business, the
(19:56):
hardships you go through, thechallenges you face, you don't
find it in the books in theclassroom.
Talk to me, okay, you don'tfind it in the books, in the
classroom?
Talk to me, okay, you don'tfind it in the books or in the
classroom.
So with this experience, ifyour child graduates from
(20:16):
Harvard and comes to work andyou don't let him go through the
ranks, he might not work.
And when Kenneth came, hestarted working with the
security guards, then workeddepartment by department and
because of that, in the TV area,say, when it comes to the media
(20:40):
, he knows almost everything.
Okay, he go.
I took him to this departmentprogram.
Go and work with them, do thiswith the producers, do this with
the uncle men and all thosethings.
And today they are doing theplastics.
We went to a meeting trying toacquire a new business.
Again, you have to get theminvolved.
(21:04):
In most cases, the successfulpeople, their children, tend to
fail or lose because they aresolely headed and they don't
even check them.
I'll give you one example, whenwe were going to Adesada College
or when we were in AdesadaCollege, I had a friend whose
(21:24):
father was very rich.
Okay, so I always have to carrymy trunk and chopbox from
Kokomolimli to Lagos now to geta ride to Adesado College.
And this guy because the fatherwas at the age 14 or 15, he was
driving from Accra to Cape Cuswhen we were in Form 1, yes, wow
(21:47):
.
So he was swollen-headed.
One day our headmaster told himsomething.
He was late, he was sleeping inthe morning and the protocol
prefect went and sucked him togo to Canterbury Hall.
He did not allow him to bath.
(22:08):
He went there.
So when the headmaster saw him,he said in front of the whole
school he said you, I hear yourfather is rich, but if you don't
stop this behavior, your fatherwill die and leave you the
whole world and you'll lose it.
And he's lost everything.
He got to a point where I hadto pay his children's school
(22:30):
fees.
But when it comes to taste I wasborn and bred in the village my
father I got to use fork andknife when I was going to
secondary form one.
Okay, but good food taste, itwas through these young guys,
(22:52):
kowoboys, who were going torestaurants at Okanshi and all I
got the exposure from them.
But one day my mother was justselling on a table in front of
somebody's shop, so in theevening she would pack the items
in the box and take it to myfriend's father's shop.
(23:15):
One day I was reading in theirshop I don't have any place to
stay.
I was reading.
Then he wanted to send me to goand buy fufu at Makola where it
got burnt the cell fufu and therest.
So I was still reading when hewas calling.
(23:35):
Then he just flipped the book.
So I told him one day you cometo my office and I'll ask my
secretary to delay you.
Wow.
Then the father said did youhear what your friend said?
Because the father was rich andthe money, the sales is in a
(24:01):
bucket.
He just goes there and dips hishands into it and say let's go
Do whatever he wants.
Yeah, he died and he's losteverything.
So that's the differencebetween a rich man's kid and a
poor man's kid giving a playingfield to survive.
(24:24):
In most cases about 80 to 20,the poor ones succeed better
than the rich ones because theydon't struggle.
Their parents have struggledand given them the whole wealth,
so they don't even know how tomanage it.
But some people too the 20% ofthe successful people's children
(24:44):
are also saying that look whatmy father has done.
I have to do better than that,and that they have a better
opportunity because they havethe capital.
That's right.
Some of us, we didn't have thecapital.
You know, my son, assuming I'mdead.
Today you have capital becausehe can dispose of some of the
(25:08):
properties in his name to startwhatever he wants to start,
whereas somebody like me, likemy beginning, would not have any
property because my father wasrenting one room in Kumasi One
One.
So where is he going to get aproperty?
That's the difference.
But because of hardships andchallenges the poor people go
(25:32):
through, when they get to apoint where they are doing
business, they are able to savemoney and invest wisely.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Let me stop you here for a minute.
If you've been watching thisshow, I want you to subscribe
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(26:02):
So today we live in a countrywhere we have a youthful
population as a matter of fact,the entire Africa, more than
anywhere in the world.
If you look at Ghana and thenumber of young people that are
looking for opportunities, lookat where they came from, their
circumstances.
A lot of them are struggling,but so what tips and tricks can
(26:26):
you tell them to set up, to saythat look, look at what you're
going through and this is whatyou can do to change your life.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
You see, first let me handle the graduates, Then I
will descend.
Okay, see, the graduates.
Some of them, most of them thatare suffering or are not
working is all because theythink they have a degree in
psychology and automatically hasto get a job in psychology.
(26:53):
He thinks he did economics andhe has to get a job in economics
.
He thinks he did philosophy,whatever political science, and
therefore he doesn't even wantto branch off.
Branch off meaning look, thereis nobody on earth that can make
(27:16):
me broke.
You know why?
Because even if you put himhere, I can sleep.
I don't think I've gotten there, that I cannot calm down.
I can go to any level and startlife again.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Let me tell you something.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
One day this, my friend Sule Muntari asked me a
question Honorable, have youfailed in business before?
I said yes.
I've failed a couple of times,but that did not deter me from
surviving.
Why?
Yeah, because, look, life isnever going to be smooth like
(28:03):
that, and when you fail and rise, or fall and rise, that is
where you become matured.
You become more experienced,because in the course of time
again you encounter suchdifficulties.
But because you haveexperienced it before, you know
(28:23):
solutions.
You have solutions to thoseproblems and you should always
make sure that your misfortunesyou turn it into blessing.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
That is the problem.
How do we do that?
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Look, you don't give up in life.
You always say that I'm goingto make it one day, by hook or
crook.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Is it mental work?
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Yeah, you have to psych yourself.
Look, I'm never going to bepoor.
I was sleeping on the we callit veranda porch.
I roll my mattress from one toupper six, from one to upper six
, kokumle, kokumle.
On the challenge bookshop road.
That's where I was.
(29:05):
I was sleeping in the couchporch in the morning a porch in
the morning.
If I don't wake up early and Iget up around seven, everybody
will see me folding my mattress.
But I said to myself thissituation, I mean, is not going
(29:28):
to happen.
I got to move.
So wherever I go, my poorbackground was at the back of my
head here that remember whereyou coming from.
Don't be swollen headed when youmake money, because you can
lose it anytime.
So protect what you have byliving first.
(29:52):
If you want to make good moneyor be rich in future, try and
live subsistent living.
Save the money for rainy day orfor investment.
You have to take risk andinvest the money.
But make sure, if you want tosucceed here, this side of the
(30:12):
world, especially Ghana, don'trely on your relatives.
No, don't involve your brothers, sisters, family members in
your business, except maybe yourchildren or wife, because this
side of the world your brotherwhen you set up your business
(30:34):
and leave it in the hands ofyour brother to manage.
He will then take the money andgo and establish his own and
yours will collapse and when youcomplain, your whole family
will go against you.
So please don't get theminvolved.
If you want to make money, youhave to work hard.
(30:54):
People work for eight hours.
They go out there, drink beerand all those things.
You can work 16 hours Becausethe income you make from eight
hours Let me tell you somethingA professional who makes, say,
$500 or $1,000 a week, a taxidriver like myself who doesn't
(31:21):
have any degree or whatever Ican put in more hours he works
for eight hours and make $1,000.
I can work 16 hours and make$1,000.
So you have to be hardworkingand sometimes people are content
with what they have.
They are content with what theyhave.
(31:41):
I say that such people aresometimes myopic thinkers.
They are not dreamers.
They have no foresight.
Instead of challenging yourself, they just become content.
They buy luxury cars here andthere.
If you see me buying luxurycars and you want to buy luxury
(32:05):
cars, do you know my worth?
You don't keep up the joneses,just manage the little you have
invested.
A time will come, that when youare spending you don't even
feel it, but the young men andwomen coming is like competition
oh Jojo has this, oh, I can doit, I'm also going to buy it.
(32:27):
You are not competing withanybody.
You know what you want in life.
Stay focused, and when you stayfocused and invest wisely, the
people or your friends who arelaughing at you oh, we go in
America.
The same thing.
In America, let me tell you, wehave four guys staying in one
(32:49):
room.
Myself, owusu, jonathan andElijah said we were in one room.
It was a one-bedroom apartmentthat I rented and I brought them
from America.
They all joined.
We were working In that room,one bedroom apartment.
(33:11):
The bedroom itself was lockedbecause the owner of the
apartment had bought a waterbedand that time it was a big deal.
So four guys were staying inthe living room alone and in the
night the guy had about eightlimousines working for him.
(33:32):
That time he comes on weekend,hide on cocaine with beautiful
black American girls and whilstwe are there and you know
crack-headed people when theyare having sex, you can imagine
screaming and all these fourguys sleeping in the living room
.
We cannot even sleep.
(33:55):
Sometimes you think yourbrother is sleeping or your
friend is sleeping, oh, you seethat he wakes up and he's going
to the bathroom.
But in the long run, evenmetformin the guy was diabetic
Metformin a man who had eightlimousines yes, he was solely
(34:16):
headed.
His brother, he was in Dumosiain the Bronx, he brought him to
America, he made the money andthat was it.
So sometimes it's you, theindividual, the way you perceive
life.
If you're a young man and yousay you want to be like in Japan
, you have to sacrifice a lot ofthings today, postpone your
(34:39):
spending today for tomorrow andwhatever you are postponing, use
it to invest.
You should religiously getinvolved in any business that
you do.
You don't live in the care orin the hands of friends and
brothers and sisters.
You have to be there 24-7.
Collect your money, put it in abank, because if you set up a
(35:06):
business and leave it to yourfriends, brothers and you are
here drinking, you are hereentertaining and tomorrow you
think you have money, you are inDubai, seychelles, whatever.
My brother, trust me, when yougo to proper meetings, the rich
people, billionaires, they arevery simple.
(35:29):
They are very simple.
They are in jeans.
One day we visited the king ofFugera.
When we were going, my wife hadto go and buy some expensive
clothes to go there.
We got there, the whole king,his palace.
He was so simple but veryintelligent.
He stays in a room but knowseverything going on in the
(35:50):
palace.
He was so simple but veryintelligent.
He stays in a room but knowseverything going on in the world
.
So I just snatched her and saidyou see, now she was in Dubai
more trying to get expensivewhite people.
You know, yeah, she bought this, hermes, go back in or whatever
(36:10):
you know, go into a meeting.
The guys were very simple.
Other billionaires that I'vemet, they are always in jeans.
It's wannabe businessmen,wannabe billionaires, wannabe
rich men that you always seethem in suit and garner here.
One guy was talking to me andhe said he said you are not
(36:31):
presidential material becauseyou are not wearing suit.
But if you know the taste,sometimes a T-shirt that I'm
wearing alone can buy a wholesuit and you get a change.
But it's just a T-shirt.
That's right.
If you buy a Loro Piana T-shirtor Beluti t-shirt, it's more
(36:54):
expensive than some of the suits.
But because I try to be simple,they don't even know the
quality of things on me and theysaid I'm not presidential, but
I'm not even worried about that.
So in life, what you have to doas a person, you always have to
have a vision.
You always have to know whatyou want in life and you have to
(37:19):
dream big.
Don't be a myopic thinker.
If you want to succeed in life,you have to dream big, talk big
, do things big and challengeyourself.
Because here in Ghana, if youtry to say, oh, I'm going to
build this, oh, this guy, hetalks too much, he's too known,
he's this, they say things todiscourage you.
(37:40):
That shouldn't be your problem.
You know what you want in life.
You know what you want tobecome.
Stay focused and work hard andit will pay off one day.
But these young men, without alldue respect to them, if I don't
have a job, I can set up abakery or go for go to a bakery
(38:03):
and buy a few and go and standthere.
I can even package it and sell.
Can a Japan bread?
Pa pa pa.
I can sell anything.
That's why I'm saying thatnobody can get me broke because
I've not set any standard formyself.
I can come down at any leveland start life again.
(38:26):
Those who set standards forthemselves, as if they are up
there and they don't want tocome down.
Well, that is good.
It challenges you to do more.
But people who are up there andthink they cannot go down when
they are struggling, I'm sorry.
You can never get there again.
(38:46):
So you need to challengeyourself.
You need to stay focused.
You should have strategies Everyhuman being if you want to
succeed in life.
We call something GOSPA.
The acronym GOSPA is goals,objectives, strategy, planning
(39:09):
and activities.
Okay, and if you want to be agood leader or successful
businessman, you should have avision.
You should be courageous,because the future belongs to
risk-takers.
You should always take a risk.
Those security seekers cannever be rich, rich, rich to
risk takers.
You should always take a risk.
(39:30):
Those security seekers cannever be rich, rich, rich.
You know those who are securityseekers.
Let me give you an example.
People make money.
They don't take the risk toinvest the money.
They go and buy treasury bills.
They are comfort zone.
A bank is managing your moneyfor you.
(39:52):
Ask yourself how much is thebank making for him to pay you
that amount of money?
So if you had invested themoney yourself and run your
business, you would have madetwice as much as him.
So if you are protecting yourmoney, you are scared to take
risk.
You can't grow.
So the risk takers, the futurebelongs to them.
(40:15):
So you have to be courageous.
Then integrity you have to bevery sincere in life, in
business, everything.
When you are honest to yourpeople.
I say that even when you arewith your wife in an attempt to
make love or something somebodywill call you Ken your money is
(40:37):
ready.
You have to leave.
Whatever you are doing, go andpick your money, and when you
have the money, the excitementalone will make you a better man
than when there's no money andyou are thinking of what to do,
and maybe your wife also wantsyou know those things.
So you have to be honest.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Honorable.
There's a 20-year-old man whoasked me a question and I said I
would throw this to you.
He says ask, honorable Ken, ifhe was 20 years old today, what
steps would he take?
Now to become as rich as he'sbecome.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
Yeah, the same steps, because I've never regretted.
But this time I would have donebetter than that, because this
time you have technology,digitization and all those
things.
Those days that I was walkingon the street shouting, yes,
picky chocolate, this time I cango on internet and the same
(41:34):
product.
I will sell it, I will marketit on internet and make money.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
So if I ask, you your top five businesses that you
think young people can do todayto maximize their earning
potential in the future.
What?
What would it be?
Speaker 2 (41:50):
You know, sometimes the business comes with interest
.
Okay, but let me tell you, ifyou want to succeed, you're not
here Study the market and yousee that everybody who gets
money wants to build a house.
Yep.
So building materials, firstmaterials, okay, number one,
(42:12):
building materials.
Whether you're selling paintbrushes, cement, iron rods,
plumbing equipment, you knowthose things.
Okay, that's the first thing Ican think of.
Second, what else?
It depends on what exactly youwant to do.
(42:37):
Sometimes some businesses itcomes with interest.
If you don't have the interestwhen they ask you, you don't do
it.
But there are so many thingsthat I will do and it will not
help me, but you do it and yougain.
So it's a bit tough, but I cando anything.
(42:58):
I can sell bread okay, I'llgive you one example, there was
a guinean guy who was in newjersey when I had a surgery.
He visited me who was in NewJersey.
When I had the surgery hevisited me, gave me some meat,
pie and bread.
So I visited his bakery and Ijust did an advert for him So-so
(43:23):
and so bakery, pa-pa-pa.
You know, the day, the dayafter my advert he couldn't meet
the supply.
Wow.
Another one is a guy on theWinnebar Road up in between.
He was using potatoes for, Ithink, croissant and the rest my
(43:45):
program with Kweku Anan.
I advertise it for Sweat Row,winnebar Enclave.
It normally drives all the wayfrom Winnebar to Accra, medina
to sell it.
The day I mentioned it on TVthe next morning, medina
(44:06):
couldn't get it.
I'm giving these variousexamples because you asked five
areas.
That's why I said it depends onthe individual's interest, what
he wants to do and how hedevotes time and planning
(44:27):
marketing and all those thingsthat way.
But on top of my head, theeasiest way to go if you want to
build the materials first.
All other things comes withinterest.
Real estate.
You know where you are.
Okay, I have friends who builtthose houses.
(44:51):
Selling it is good, but rentingit is not.
Okay, yeah, you don't makemoney from rent.
I have apartment that can't donothing.
Yeah, you don't make money.
But those who are building toyou don't make money.
(45:13):
But those who are building tosell, they make money.
Speaker 1 (45:19):
But those who are buying, to rent is not a good
business, isn't it?
Because of the level ofbusiness you have and the sort
of turnover you've seen?
So when you see the numberscoming from the rental turnover
you've seen.
So when you see, you know thenumbers coming from the rental,
you don't think it's so much.
But if a young person, they say25, 30 year old, he's got a few
properties at in counterments,don't you think that is a good
(45:41):
start off?
Speaker 2 (45:42):
let me tell you, let me tell you when you have
property at country.
It's $500,000, okay, your rentWould not be more than $4,000 a
month, right, but if you use the$500,000 To do business and you
(46:05):
make 10% Cash flow, cash flow,cash flow, cash flow.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
Okay, I'm just drawing your attention.
Speaker 2 (46:12):
I have so many houses here that I've regretted Some
of them.
I don't even know, so I don'tremember, unless I tell my
cousin, and so let's go.
You know those things I'veregretted because if I had
invested that money in business,young man, I would have made a
lot of money.
I have over 277 houses in Ghanaand it's a waste.
(46:36):
It's a waste.
I've regretted buying thosehouses because I don't get
people to rent them.
Because you are keeping themyeah, because I'm keeping them.
But if you were selling, themyou would get a cash flow Right.
But I don't want to sell.
I want to give it to my kids.
I have many kids, so I want toshare it for them.
My plan is if you're a girl ora woman, you marry and your
(47:01):
relationship doesn't work, youcome back home.
You have your properties.
You can dispose of some of themto start business.
I mean, this is how I thinkaloud to help, but in actual
fact, if I have invested thatamount of money in business, you
know how much I'll be making.
So renting.
(47:23):
It's a bit dicey.
Yeah, because you see the houseat Cantonment, you can have one,
it's okay, no problem, as asecurity or backup in case your
business collapse.
Your property becomes afallback that you can dispose of
.
Because what Sule Muntari askedme, have you, I mean, have you
(47:49):
lost your business or collapsedwhatever?
Yes, I think in 1990, I had 11houses but I had to sell six of
them to start life again.
Wow.
Yeah, I disposed of all thoseproperties to start life again.
(48:09):
Wow, yeah, tesano, chemota yeah, I dispose of all those
properties to start life again.
And that time anybody who, withthe exception of the real
estate guy's building anybodyselling his property, means he's
broke.
That is the impression of thebuyers, so they can offer you
(48:34):
any price.
And sometimes one example wecall it Chikata Road on the
Tessano, one of my houses on themain road everybody who comes
that's the house he wants.
I wanted to keep it, but Ineeded money to do business, so
(48:55):
I had to dispose of it.
But I said to myself I'll buybetter locations than this.
And I've done exactly thatperiod.
Speaker 1 (49:04):
Let me stop you here for a minute.
If you've been watching thisshow, I want you to subscribe
and become part of the family.
We are on a journey of changingthe lives of people on this
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Hit the subscribe button Now.
Let's carry on the conversation.
(49:25):
You know you said this thingabout starting life again and it
just struck me very, veryquickly.
How many times have you had tostart life again as an
entrepreneur?
Speaker 2 (49:37):
Well, about three times I fell rise fall.
Speaker 1 (49:42):
rise In a span of about how many years?
Speaker 2 (49:44):
About eight years I had struggled.
You know, go down, come up.
Speaker 1 (49:49):
But obviously your go down is different from no no,
no, no, no, no, don't think,mind it.
Speaker 2 (49:55):
You see, you measure me to a certain level and think
I've never experienced poverty.
I have, and I've gone throughchallenges.
Look, let me tell you In 1992,I came here, helped Professor
Dubuahin, okay, and we lost theelection.
(50:17):
I stayed in Ghana for eightmonths.
When I went back my wife hadcollected 11 months rent and
never paid the mortgage.
So we lost that property.
My landlord, where my officewas 167th Street between Jerome
(50:44):
and Edward Grand Avenue.
My landlord took everythingfrom the shop, the office, and
gave it to the African marketagain to expand.
I lost that.
I was left with one car,lincoln Town Car so I started
(51:06):
using it, dollar dollar.
I moved to Co-op City.
I lost my house so I bought aCo-op from Barfo Edgar Place in
Co-op City and started lifeagain.
I was driving taxi, somebodywho had owned properties and had
seen money.
I lost everything and I had todrive taxi.
(51:29):
One dollar, one dollar.
We call it dollar doll.
You pick the people from Co-opCity to the train station so you
pick about four.
So one trip is $4.
Then you come back again in themorning.
That is when I decided to go touniversity at the age of 33.
(51:50):
Okay, so I used my dollardollar to pay my fees and
everything.
Speaker 1 (51:58):
Why did you think you needed to go back?
Was it because you wanted acushion, something to cushion
you in case this should happenagain?
Speaker 2 (52:04):
Okay, if you want to know why I went to university,
okay, let me tell you.
Today is a secret.
Bad boy Okay, let me tell you,today is a secret.
Bad boy.
Myself, dr Preku and lawyerKwajo Afra Mesudu my boss, may
his soul rest in peace werefollowing Professor Edubuahin
(52:26):
and the way the campaign wasgoing.
We thought we were going to win, got the euphoria and
everything.
So Professor Dubuahine wasstaying at airport.
So three of us went there andhe was fixing the positions.
You are going to be here, youare going to be there.
When it got to my turn, I wishthe man was alive.
(52:50):
I would have gone back to saybig thank you to him.
By that time I was offended.
He tapped me and said young man, you're going to be a good
businessman.
I was a cis former so I thought, maybe because I had not gone
to university, that is why hedidn't give me any position.
(53:11):
So when we lost, I decided togo back to investing.
Okay, so I invested a thirdyear.
I had $1,145,000 in my accountin a great bank here and Dr
(53:34):
Crunchy was the one who wasmanaging my account for me.
He was the MD and we were fromthe same place, so he saw me a
young, dynamic guy with this.
He was managing my account forme.
One day on campus I hadbusinesses here, but any time I
call complaints.
(53:54):
So I went home and told my wifethat I'm going, I'm going to do
my business Because Solomon andSolomon.
I was doing economics and myprofessor was Iranian guy who
recommended me to Solomon andSolomon.
(54:15):
When they came to the school tointerview me because I was a
mature student, they told methey were going to give me
$120,000 in 1983.
$120,000 was still very goodmoney 1983.
$120,000 was still very goodmoney.
(54:37):
But I had over 1.4, 1 millionaround 45 in my account.
So when they said they'll giveme $120,000 a year and they were
going to deduct Uncle Sam, Icame back home and told my wife
ah, so all this school that I'mstruggling, I'm going to get my
wife.
Ah, so all this school that I'mstruggling, I'm going to get
120,000, and these guys are justmismanaging my business.
(54:58):
I'm going, I'm going to run mybusiness.
She is from RP Buffo's family.
They are highly educated.
He was the first vicechancellor of KNUST.
Okay, so they are all educated.
She was a bit disappointed andI showed her Stella, I'm going
(55:20):
to Ghana and one day I willemploy doctors, masters, first
degrees, all of them to work forme.
And today I've done exactlythat.
Wow, I didn't finish theinvesting, I left and managed my
business today.
What I told my wife Stella thenthat I would do, I have done
(55:41):
everything.
Yesterday a friend of mine cameto my office and he introduced
some gentleman to me and saidI've been with Ken for so long
and everything that he has saidthat he would do it, he has done
it.
That's me.
I said I will never lose thismoney.
But I still lost some.
Speaker 1 (56:02):
But I picked the pieces.
It's the kick.
Where do you get that kick from?
Because sometimes people, youngpeople especially they say, oh,
I want to do this, I want to dothat, and then in the beginning
it's exciting and before youknow it, it they don't do it.
But where do you get that kickfrom?
Because you say I want to dosomething and then, as you say,
you get it done.
Speaker 2 (56:19):
Yeah, because I'm determined.
I said I want to be presidentof this country and I'll
definitely be president of thiscountry.
And the challenges coming fromall angles, I'm still not
prepared.
I'm still not prepared.
I'm going to do it.
Honorable, you are such a.
Speaker 1 (56:38):
You are a man to admire.
You know, and something that isnot very common in our society
is courage and being bold.
It's not very common among theyoung people.
Speaker 2 (56:49):
Don't blame them.
Where do you get yours from?
Don't blame them.
Let me answer that.
Let me give you this you see,in Ghana they misconstrue
confidence to be arrogance.
Okay.
Confidence.
They misconstrue confidence tobe arrogant.
So don't blame the youth.
When they have confidence, yousee that even their own
(57:11):
colleagues who says worsedescribe them here.
They shut their morals andconfidence and all those things.
So anybody who stands out anddamn the consequence is seen as
arrogant that's what I'm goingthrough, but how did you growing
up?
Speaker 1 (57:31):
how did you decide nah, regardless of what people
are going to say, I am stillgoing to be confident.
Go after what I want, bedifferent and then be me.
Speaker 2 (57:40):
Maybe I'll say that I was born with it.
You check from my village, myhometown, at the start of
college, Winnebago.
I'm a freedom fighter.
Speaker 1 (57:49):
But that also means that you have a very tight
circle of friends.
Not really, Because even someof us we see that.
Speaker 2 (57:56):
Not really.
You see, what I do is I don'tlike friends who gossip.
I don't like friends who arealways competing.
That is why most of the timeI'm home, where most of the time
I'm home, and if I go tomeetings and the way, the kind
(58:17):
of people I meet and the figuresthey mention, it humbles me
that I've not gotten anywhere,so I'm not solely headed.
When you come to Ghana and youmention Kanesha, mention, it's
like a blind man's world.
One-eyed man is a king, so theymake you feel you are big.
(58:42):
Go to meetings and see thenumbers they mention.
If you are not bold, you cannoteven talk.
So I get inspiration from that.
Speaker 1 (58:53):
Right, you think the circle matters?
Speaker 2 (58:55):
Yes, it's important, okay, and this kind of circles
we have most in Ghana.
Here they are just negativecompetition People.
They are friends, but they arecompeting among themselves.
I'm richer than you, you arepoorer than this.
I don't have the patience forthat that they are competing
among themselves.
(59:15):
I'm richer than you, you arepoorer than this.
You know I don't have thepatience for that, so I always
stay away from these kind ofassociations and all those
things.
Speaker 1 (59:21):
Honorable.
As an entrepreneur, what areyou most proud of?
Speaker 2 (59:26):
Oh in general, to be an entrepreneur is very exciting
.
What I'm proud of is when Ilook at where I was born, my
village and everything and I goto my business and see the
number of people that I employed.
It's self-gratifying andsometimes I say to myself ah,
(59:49):
kene, japun, why I do?
Speaker 1 (59:52):
Yes, Do you ever see your achievements and shed tears
sometimes?
Of course yes.
Speaker 2 (59:57):
Well, I don't shed tears, Rather excitement.
I put food on the table forpeople and all those things.
It's a joy to me.
So that's what I do, and I wantto create more.
Even today I was late becausethey're selling a steel plant
(01:00:20):
that I want to buy besides whatI'm building To employ more
people.
Speaker 1 (01:00:24):
To employ more people .
Speaker 2 (01:00:26):
That is why I was late.
I went there to negotiate withthem.
My joy is to create jobs forthe youth of this country.
I don't see why, as a country,we cannot develop it in such a
way that young men and womenwill come out of college and
they have already jobs.
It makes me sick.
(01:00:47):
So every money that I get, Idon't keep the monies in the
bank.
No Recycling it.
Whatever money that comes, Iput it in the business.
I put it in the business.
I put it in the business.
Speaker 1 (01:01:05):
You know, today the topic, the biggest topic on a
lot of our episodes, is thereDerek and many of the guests
he's had, they all went abroadto get a capital to come back,
yeah.
So the young people are saying,even though we are telling them
go into entrepreneurship,they're saying, well, but you
got a capital from abroad.
It's very similar to your case,you know.
Speaker 2 (01:01:27):
I was definitely going to be rich because what
I've told you I started hockingon the street selling, then
later graduated to selling leadbaths, bucket and all those
things.
Then later, even when I was insixth form, I was selling
pijopas and taking bags fromhere, from Kweku M Rikus'
(01:01:52):
daughter, to Lagos to go andsell and buy pijopas and come
and sell here.
It tells you that I was focusedand I knew what I was about.
Speaker 1 (01:02:04):
So location or mindset, which one do you think
is more important In terms of Interms of becoming successful in
life?
Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
Mindset, yeah, mindset, yeah.
Location is when you want toestablish business, then you say
location, location, location.
If you want to build, you saylocation, location, location.
But the most important thing isyour mindset, okay, how you
(01:02:33):
perceive life, your vision, yourdreams.
So mindset is way importantthan the location.
It is the mindset that givesyou the drive.
Okay, that somebody has boughtthis car, I can afford it, all
(01:02:54):
right, but I don't need to.
I need to put it in thebusiness, because when you drive
the car out of the showroom,the value goes down right there.
When I buy the business okay, Ibought a business for about 3.2
(01:03:15):
million and I tried to changethe place.
The last time, last one, theprofit was $273,000 from 2, from
3.2 million.
Okay, that's why I'm sayingthat buying properties and
renting them, have made amistake.
Speaker 1 (01:03:36):
Do you think it's the biggest mistake you've made on
Arvo?
Speaker 2 (01:03:38):
oh no, it's not a mistake, because it's still a
collateral.
I can use it as an equity andall those things.
But first money, or seeing bigmonies you put it in industries
you make more money than realestate that you are renting.
Or seeing big monies you put itin industries you make more
money than real estate that youare renting.
Speaker 1 (01:03:57):
Okay, that's what I'm saying.
Honorable, I want to test yourknowledge in your own business
Because I know you have a fewventures, so I would love you to
all the businesses throughwhich you are employing over
7,000 people in the country.
Can you take me through some ofthe names?
If you remember them, I cantake you.
Speaker 2 (01:04:15):
When you go to the media, you have the Kent City
media.
You have Netoo TV, oman FM, hfmand NAP Radio.
When you go to the coastal, youhave ASEMPA, adishimang, adipa,
agbinipa.
That gives you 61,000 tons.
(01:04:41):
I have a steel plant and I'mtrying to buy another one.
I have equipment, heavy-dutyequipment, adts for mining,
companies called CoastlineLogistics.
Okay, I have the platinumplastics.
I have companies that dealswith electricity cables,
(01:05:06):
streetlights and all thosethings Hibis, Magnoliaolia,
cactus all of them are there,but you might not even know that
it's for me.
So I have about in total 16companies.
How do you manage all of this?
If you know where I'm comingfrom, you will not ask this
(01:05:27):
simple question.
I don't want to go back towhere I was before, so I'm
always thinking about it.
You know, thinking about thebusiness, thinking about the
business.
Speaker 1 (01:05:42):
I kind of have the answer to this question, but I
still want to ask you, becausecoming from you would be much
better what legacy do you wantthe young and the average
Ghanaian to remember you for?
Speaker 2 (01:05:54):
Legacy.
There was one politician whowas a businessman that created
job opportunities for the youthof his country.
Speaker 1 (01:06:05):
Wow, that's a beautiful one.
That's a beautiful one.
The next question is is thereanything that I could have asked
you that we can still discussin terms of business and
entrepreneurship that I haven't,but you still think we can talk
about?
Speaker 2 (01:06:22):
Well, I think I've spoken at length, I've exhausted
it.
Maybe another time if you thinkof something else, but I only
want to give you how you'regoing to be.
I started with we call it sevenstrategies.
To be a successful businessman,you should have a vision,
(01:06:47):
courage, integrity, humility,foresight, dreams and
cooperation.
Speaker 1 (01:07:00):
You know, honorable for someone who where did you
learn?
A lot of this acumen from.
Is it on the job, or is itbecause you've acquired quite a
lot of?
Speaker 2 (01:07:12):
I read Tracy Bryan.
When you read Tracy Bryan aboutleadership, the seven qualities
of a leader is what I'vementioned to you, and we have
seven determinants of a businesssuccess Profitability.
There are so many things that Ican mention.
(01:07:36):
When customer satisfaction, allthese things come into play,
but that is not where we are now.
But you want to know how to besuccessful, then you need the
seven qualities first, or youneed a gospel the goals,
objectives, strategy, planningand activities.
(01:07:59):
When we have that, then forsomebody to know that you have
these qualities, you yourselfshould have a vision, you should
be courageous, you should behonest in your dealings, you
should be stay focused.
Okay, what now?
(01:08:23):
I'm mentioning and saycooperation and all those, the
seven qualities I mentionedearlier.
You know, if you are able tofollow it religiously,
definitely one day you willsucceed.
Speaker 1 (01:08:37):
If I ask you this question, what's the best advice
you've ever received?
You've met many entrepreneursbillionaires, millionaires.
What's the best advice you'veever received?
Speaker 2 (01:08:48):
Save and invest, whatever you make.
Okay, any businessman who goesto Dubai have a friend.
One area is it financial centeror something that they
introduce him to me?
One area he has 10 mostexpensive restaurants Right
(01:09:10):
there.
He goes to Dubai more,everywhere he's there.
And when you go to Dubai Mall,everywhere he's there.
And when we are talking to himyou get so inspired or motivated
that, look, I want to be abillionaire.
So when we come here and theyare mentioning these small,
small figures $1 million, $2million and they say my mind is
(01:09:30):
somewhere else.
One guy I met him and we werediscussing and I said the
projects with ethanol and allthose things.
Then he asked me how much doyou think?
Could he say about 800 million.
And all he did was harass His21 year old boy should deal with
me.
I said, ah, whoa, yes, he justsaid harass and told his son was
(01:10:00):
in a meeting and he asked himto deal with me.
Speaker 1 (01:10:02):
To him the number is $800 million my.
God Honorable, I think you'vealready mentioned the book, so
I'm not going to ask you torecommend the book again.
But our last question on ourpodcast today is motivation or
discipline.
Which one do you think helps alot in building wealth?
Speaker 2 (01:10:18):
Discipline, okay, discipline, you have to be
disciplined in all spheres.
Okay, discipline is saying thatyou have $20,000.
Your friend has $20,000.
Your friend has $30,000 or$40,000.
(01:10:41):
His capacity to spend is twiceas yours.
That's right.
He goes to buy a $20,000 carand your lender of last resort
is a $20,000 car and your lenderof last resort is a $20,000.
Then you're also competing withhim to go and buy the $20,000
car.
What have you left with Zero?
He has $20,000.
(01:11:03):
So you have to be disciplined.
You don't have to be envious ofhim.
You only have to be happy thathe's been able to buy it and say
that one day I'm going toinvest my $20,000 and I'll also
be able to buy this.
So that discipline will bethere.
Because you could have affordedthe $20,000 car, which you'd be
(01:11:30):
left with zero, but yourestrained yourself and invested
the $20,000 car, which you'd beleft with zero, but you
restrain yourself and invest the$20,000, which eventually you
can use the profit over time tobuy the car.
So discipline, controlling yourexpenditure very, very
important if you really want tosucceed in life.
(01:11:51):
Then, of course, motivation,sharing my ideas and experience
with you it motivates you.
Oh, honorable Canadian, uponborn at a syndrome, him has been
able to do this.
If I follow his stepschronologically and religiously,
I'll be able to do it,obviously.
(01:12:12):
So if you follow all this andyou are not disciplined, you
can't do it.
You heard it so discipline comesbefore the motivation.
Speaker 1 (01:12:22):
Honorable.
We would all like to say thankyou very much.
You've shared so much.
I think people need to watch itthree, four, five, six, 7, 8, 9
, 10 times.
Thank you so much.
I really appreciate this you'rewelcome and to everyone.
If you made it to the end, canyou leave a note, a comment, and
let me know that you did?
Thank you so much for watchingand we are done.
(01:12:44):
Stay connected.
My name is Derek Abaite.
If you're a young man and you say you want to be like
a Japanese, you have tosacrifice a lot of things.
Postpone your spending todayfor tomorrow.
In 1990, I had 11 houses but Ihad to sell six of them to start
life again In that time.
Anybody selling his propertymeans he's broke.
The experience you acquire inbusiness, the hardships you go
(00:24):
through, the challenges you face, you don't find it in the books
in the classroom.
Why did you think you needed togo back?
Speaker 1 (00:30):
It's a secret Bad boy .
Speaker 2 (00:34):
You should always make sure that your misfortunes
you turn it into blessing.
How do we do that Look?
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Top five businesses that young people can do today.
What would it be If?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
you want to succeed.
Don't be a myopic thinker.
If you want to succeed in life,you have to dream big, talk big
, do things big and challengeyourself.
I said I want to be presidentof this country and I'll
definitely be president of thiscountry and I'll definitely be
(01:12):
president of this country.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Welcome to Connected Minds Podcast.
My name is Derek Abayte and, aswe've said in the past, on the
29th of August at the BritishCouncil, we are doing our first
live event.
The community, everybody'scoming together, so you need to
be there.
I'm going to put all thedetails in the description right
here on this episode Now todayso I've got Honorable Kennedy
Ejapone in our studios.
(01:37):
This is because we've had a lotof our young people that are
requesting for him to share aword on business mindset and
success tips.
He has taken a lot of ups anddowns and many, much of our
works that we had to do, butthank God it's happening.
We're going to be speaking to aman whose entrepreneurial
(01:59):
journey spans many years.
He's dedicated his life tobuilding his businesses and to
instill quality entrepreneurshipin the people around him as
well.
This man employs a little bitover 7,000 people in the country
.
Now, any young entrepreneur,any aspiring entrepreneur that
(02:20):
wants to get into business.
This is the benchmark that weall need to look to and learn
from.
Hence he's in a studio.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
You're welcome to my studios, honorable thank you
very much for inviting me thankyou.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Thank you for coming, um.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Thank you for coming I I have admired your work, even
while I was out of the country.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Um, anytime you spoke , I could tell the fire that you
have in your eyes and yourdesire to help more people to
also chart this path ofentrepreneurship.
So when the opportunity came tospeak with you, I said this
would be amazing, you know.
So thank you so much for takingtime out.
Now my first question is I wantto take you all the way back to
(03:12):
Ase Ndompim in 1960.
Around that time, maybe acouple of years after that the
struggle, the pain, the trauma,everything that you had to go
through within those years, thathas made you the man that you
are to go through within thoseyears.
That has made you the man thatyou are today thank you very
much.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
If you want to know my background now, I was born
and bred at Asin Dompim inCentral region, but my parents
stayed in Wa Upper West.
That's where my mother gotpregnant and came back to
deliver us in Dombi.
At the age of eight I was sentto Kumasi.
(03:55):
I lived there the first timeuntil 1972.
Then I was a difficult boy somy father took me back to my
village and the following yearhe came for me again 1972 to
(04:18):
1974, I was in Kumasi again.
Then he brought me back again.
So I sat the common entrancewhen I was in Haseen Dombu.
I did it the first time when Iwas in elementary form 2 and I
(04:42):
got admission to Haseen MonsesAgung School.
My father said no.
When I was in elementary formtwo and I got admission to a
same-month secondary school, myfather said no.
I took the second chance.
I chose Dunkwa Onofim.
I got it.
My father said no.
You know why I?
chose those schools Becausethose days in the village you
were even afraid to choose afancy poem at the Saturday
(05:06):
college or Augustine's.
So the third time, when I was inForm 4, my father actually was
a teacher in Kumasi.
He came to Dompim and actuallyfilled the common and transforms
and you had three choices firstchoice, second choice, third
(05:29):
choice.
And my father filled the threechoices and all the three
choices.
He chose Addis Ababa College.
So I had no choice.
I went to Addis Ababa Collegein 1976, which means I went to
secondary school at the age of16 there and finished 1981.
(05:51):
Then went to 6th Form andWinnibar up to 1983.
So I left Ghana February 28,1984 to Germany.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Honorable if I pause you there a little bit and then
we still stay in there.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
The early years, the type of upbringing, that you had
the type of father, the type ofmother you had.
Let me tell you.
Anyway it's good informationthat I should share.
In fact, when I startedsecondary school, my mother and
my father had divorced and mymother had moved from the
(06:35):
village to Accra.
She happened to get a spot atOkanshi where she was selling on
a table.
So at the start of college,when I come to Accra on vacation
spot at Okanshi where she wasselling on a table, so at
Southern College, when I come toAccra on vacation I will pick
some of her items and put it ona board.
(06:56):
I'll be going around Accra beerbars and I'll be selling.
So I normally mention the itemson the board and when I see you
I'll say, yes, pk Chocolate,tatra Nazer.
Yes, rob, those are the itemsI've packed on the board, neatly
(07:18):
arranged, and I'll be selling.
I was hawking on the street andI graduated from there, started
selling cutlasses, lead bars,buckets.
You know, did you have to dothat?
Yes, but I needed to survive.
You know, at the start ofcollege is an affluent school
(07:41):
that time.
So a village boy, if you don'thave the means, you will not
survive.
So I had to do all this to makemoney for myself.
And again, my father at thattime went to Nigeria.
After I decided college firstyear, Form 2 to Form 5, I paid
(08:05):
my own school fees.
You know, on vacation I'll bewalking on the street and all
those things.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
During those times, what did you want to become in
life?
What were the dreams of theyoung?
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I actually didn't know then Actually didn't know
until I went to CISFORM.
I went there by that timeBecause in my neighborhood the
way I was doing business, peoplethought I wasn't smart, so they
were surprised.
I even went to CISFORM.
So there, young man, cisf man,since I was about 23, so I was
(08:51):
old enough to have a girlfriend.
You know, so I had a girlfriend,I cried.
But when you know just the namegirlfriend, nothing you know,
so don't get me wrong.
Right, and I was disappointedby her.
So that was the me wrong and Iwas disappointed by her.
So that was the first time Isaid to myself one day I'll be
somebody.
(09:14):
And it happened about two, threetimes.
So I will say that women thatdisappointed me also encouraged
me.
Then also at the start ofcollege, I saw rich kids,
affluent, I mean students fromaffluent homes.
So I challenged myself and saidwhatever I'm going through, I'm
(09:38):
not going to allow my childrenalso to go through.
It means I have to work hard.
So I graduated from walking onthe street and selling.
Also to go through it means youhave to work hard.
So I graduated from hawking onthe street and selling lead
baths, crocodile markets,buckets, to pidgeot paths.
I was going to Lagos to buypidgeot paths, come and sell it
(10:05):
at the broker that time thatlane you had Nigeria Airways
around that side.
So one incident that happenedto me in 1983, somewhere October
, I went to Nigeria to buy thespare parts and I was robbed.
(10:29):
Wow, I went to Jankara Marketto buy these parts.
Normally I take the suitcases.
Take the suitcases a lady,wokum Riku's daughter.
That lady will bring the bagsfrom London.
(10:53):
Then I will go and credit itand take it to Nigeria, go and
sell, then buy the pijopads andmake money.
So double.
So one of the days, somewhereOctober in 1983, I was robbed at
Jankara Market and I lost allthe money.
(11:19):
They took the money but theygave me the spare parts.
I bought some pidgeot parts.
They didn't take it.
They took the money, that, butthey gave me the spare parts.
I had bought some pijama parts.
They didn't take it.
They took the money that wasleft from me and I remember
asking them, for you know, theyput me in a taxi.
There were five people, two onmy left, two on my right, one in
(11:41):
front, wearing a police uniformor something.
So when they accosted me atJankara Market.
They took me all the way toMarina Beach and at Marina Beach
when they stopped the taxi andI was forced, they were going to
(12:04):
take me to the beach and I saidno, I won't go Openly.
About 2pm people were justwatching unconcerned and I was
struggling with them.
So they put me in another taxiagain.
Apparently it was the same taxithey used to accost me and put
me in.
It was the same taxi who wentround, came and they put me in.
(12:25):
It was the same taxi who wentround, came and they put me in
again.
Then one the guy in front askedme a question.
He said he's a custom officer.
So I asked him if you're acustom officer, what are you
doing in the Jankara market?
Then one guy on my right gaveme a slap.
He gave me a slap.
(12:47):
He gave me a slap.
So they searched me Do you havea gun?
They were lying.
They wanted to see the money.
So they were searching me Doyou have the gun?
This and that?
And they took the money.
One day the police officer orcustomer in front of the taxi
(13:07):
who were behind he took thepassport and they asked him to
tear it into pieces, but I had aGerman visa in my passport, so
I asked them to take the money.
And when they took the money,they asked the driver to slow
down.
When he slowed down, you knowwhat he did the two people on my
(13:30):
left first one pushed, then Ibecame the second on the left.
Then the other one also pushedand they opened it.
And when they were going toopen it I'll never forget it
they asked me to get out of thecar.
I didn't have any money, so Iasked them okay, make it, give
(13:53):
me five Naira for Damphu Damphu.
You know, damphu Damphu, damphuDamphu is like trot trot.
Then he said homo goana, go,don't punish you, uri uda, he
said.
Then they pushed me.
(14:13):
So I didn't know.
I was just searching my pocketand I got five Naira.
So I went to the airport.
Before I got to Accra, mymother was admitted at 37.
Yeah, when she heard that I'dbeen robbed, we were supposed to
(14:38):
go and pay for the bags.
But she didn't know, theydidn't take the bags.
Yeah, the pijopas for me.
I the the items, the pijopasfor me.
I managed to bring the pijopasso we sold it and paid the
ladies money, but I lost myprofit.
So, february 2028, it was aleap year I went to Germany.
(15:02):
I got to East Berlin around29th February, so it crossed
when they started hustling.
I stayed in Germany for oneyear, 18 months.
Then I left for America.
In Germany I was washing platesat a restaurant.
(15:24):
I can cook.
Well, oh yes, italian dishes, alot of Italian dishes, from
lasagna, pizza, totolini,fottuccine, alfredo and all
those things.
I can cook all of them.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Anapo do you think that the hardship you went
through in life inspired me, hasinspired you to be where?
Speaker 2 (15:47):
you are today.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Do you think is it always necessary for people to
go through that path before theycan become?
Speaker 2 (15:56):
great.
In most cases, those who gothrough hardships like that are
able to save money and investwisely Because they struggle to
get to where they are andtherefore they know how to
manage it Sometimes let's takeit for instance I'm not
(16:17):
disgracing my kids.
I went there.
They are doing well.
I'm just from one of thefactories.
You know my daughter at Lincoln.
I took her there to go and work.
She's 13 years but she's gonethere to work.
Even my grandchildren are thereworking.
Wow, okay, what happens isbecause of your background.
(16:39):
It always serves as a cautionto you that where you are, you
don't want to go back.
That alone helps you to makegood judgments, savings and all
those things.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
But don't you think there are two aspects to this?
For example, Donald Trump wasgiven some money.
Okay.
Dango Te came from a very goodfamily.
Okay.
These two people have stillbeen able to do very well for
themselves.
So how come you still seepeople who come from affluent
families?
They don't do great In fact, Ithink majority of them don't do
great but you still have peoplethat come from them that still
(17:15):
do great.
What's the difference?
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Yeah, the difference is, you know, the mere fact that
.
Let me use my son as an example.
You know Kenneth now is notdoing badly.
Look at his age and what he'sdoing now.
But I have to inculcatediscipline into, you know, in
him.
Because initially he would havebeen a wayward if I had not been
(17:40):
strict.
He got to a point where he eventold his friends that he
doesn't think I'm the realfather.
He wanted to be solelyinherited.
But what I have gone through, Iwill not allow my children to
misbehave.
If you misbehave, I'll cut youoff, because my success or
wealth doesn't come frominheritance, it's out of hard
(18:04):
work, struggle, god's blessingthat's taking me there.
So I will not allow any of mychildren to misbehave.
I will punish you well.
Well, I'm strict, no, but withthe question of dango tea and
the rest, they are exceptional.
It doesn't necessarily mean thatif you inherit something from
(18:27):
your parents you cannot build onit.
No, it's a jump.
Trump took money from hisfather.
He's built on it.
Yeah.
So it doesn't necessarily meanthat you should struggle before
you get your wealth or anything,no.
But why most of the successfulpeople, or the rich people,
(18:52):
their children, fail is thatthey do not go through hardships
, so when they inherit it theydon't even know how their
parents struggle to get that far.
Okay, so they become slowlyheaded.
And especially in Africa, theproblem we have is we take.
(19:12):
Why I took my daughter there?
I wanted to appreciate.
She's a 13-year-old girl.
I said you're staying homealways on TikTok watching you
know.
I said come on, go there, goand see how I work out to make
the money.
Now the problem with the richpeople and their kids are that,
(19:35):
for instance, in Ghana, here,they will take their children to
Oxford, cambridge, yale,harvard and they'll be proud to
see my son or my daughter fromYale or Harvard or Oxford.
But in business, the experienceyou acquire in business, the
(19:56):
hardships you go through, thechallenges you face, you don't
find it in the books in theclassroom.
Talk to me, okay, you don'tfind it in the books, in the
classroom?
Talk to me, okay, you don'tfind it in the books or in the
classroom.
So with this experience, ifyour child graduates from
(20:16):
Harvard and comes to work andyou don't let him go through the
ranks, he might not work.
And when Kenneth came, hestarted working with the
security guards, then workeddepartment by department and
because of that, in the TV area,say, when it comes to the media
(20:40):
, he knows almost everything.
Okay, he go.
I took him to this departmentprogram.
Go and work with them, do thiswith the producers, do this with
the uncle men and all thosethings.
And today they are doing theplastics.
We went to a meeting trying toacquire a new business.
Again, you have to get theminvolved.
(21:04):
In most cases, the successfulpeople, their children, tend to
fail or lose because they aresolely headed and they don't
even check them.
I'll give you one example, whenwe were going to Adesada College
or when we were in AdesadaCollege, I had a friend whose
(21:24):
father was very rich.
Okay, so I always have to carrymy trunk and chopbox from
Kokomolimli to Lagos now to geta ride to Adesado College.
And this guy because the fatherwas at the age 14 or 15, he was
driving from Accra to Cape Cuswhen we were in Form 1, yes, wow
(21:47):
.
So he was swollen-headed.
One day our headmaster told himsomething.
He was late, he was sleeping inthe morning and the protocol
prefect went and sucked him togo to Canterbury Hall.
He did not allow him to bath.
(22:08):
He went there.
So when the headmaster saw him,he said in front of the whole
school he said you, I hear yourfather is rich, but if you don't
stop this behavior, your fatherwill die and leave you the
whole world and you'll lose it.
And he's lost everything.
He got to a point where I hadto pay his children's school
(22:30):
fees.
But when it comes to taste I wasborn and bred in the village my
father I got to use fork andknife when I was going to
secondary form one.
Okay, but good food taste, itwas through these young guys,
(22:52):
kowoboys, who were going torestaurants at Okanshi and all I
got the exposure from them.
But one day my mother was justselling on a table in front of
somebody's shop, so in theevening she would pack the items
in the box and take it to myfriend's father's shop.
(23:15):
One day I was reading in theirshop I don't have any place to
stay.
I was reading.
Then he wanted to send me to goand buy fufu at Makola where it
got burnt the cell fufu and therest.
So I was still reading when hewas calling.
(23:35):
Then he just flipped the book.
So I told him one day you cometo my office and I'll ask my
secretary to delay you.
Wow.
Then the father said did youhear what your friend said?
Because the father was rich andthe money, the sales is in a
(24:01):
bucket.
He just goes there and dips hishands into it and say let's go
Do whatever he wants.
Yeah, he died and he's losteverything.
So that's the differencebetween a rich man's kid and a
poor man's kid giving a playingfield to survive.
(24:24):
In most cases about 80 to 20,the poor ones succeed better
than the rich ones because theydon't struggle.
Their parents have struggledand given them the whole wealth,
so they don't even know how tomanage it.
But some people too the 20% ofthe successful people's children
(24:44):
are also saying that look whatmy father has done.
I have to do better than that,and that they have a better
opportunity because they havethe capital.
That's right.
Some of us, we didn't have thecapital.
You know, my son, assuming I'mdead.
Today you have capital becausehe can dispose of some of the
(25:08):
properties in his name to startwhatever he wants to start,
whereas somebody like me, likemy beginning, would not have any
property because my father wasrenting one room in Kumasi One
One.
So where is he going to get aproperty?
That's the difference.
But because of hardships andchallenges the poor people go
(25:32):
through, when they get to apoint where they are doing
business, they are able to savemoney and invest wisely.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Let me stop you here for a minute.
If you've been watching thisshow, I want you to subscribe
and become part of the family.
We are on a journey of changingthe lives of people on this
channel and we appreciate youfor being here, but if you
haven't become part of thefamily, connect with us, hit the
subscribe button and let'scarry on the conversation.
(26:02):
So today we live in a countrywhere we have a youthful
population as a matter of fact,the entire Africa, more than
anywhere in the world.
If you look at Ghana and thenumber of young people that are
looking for opportunities, lookat where they came from, their
circumstances.
A lot of them are struggling,but so what tips and tricks can
(26:26):
you tell them to set up, to saythat look, look at what you're
going through and this is whatyou can do to change your life.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
You see, first let me handle the graduates, Then I
will descend.
Okay, see, the graduates.
Some of them, most of them thatare suffering or are not
working is all because theythink they have a degree in
psychology and automatically hasto get a job in psychology.
(26:53):
He thinks he did economics andhe has to get a job in economics
.
He thinks he did philosophy,whatever political science, and
therefore he doesn't even wantto branch off.
Branch off meaning look, thereis nobody on earth that can make
(27:16):
me broke.
You know why?
Because even if you put himhere, I can sleep.
I don't think I've gotten there, that I cannot calm down.
I can go to any level and startlife again.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Let me tell you something.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
One day this, my friend Sule Muntari asked me a
question Honorable, have youfailed in business before?
I said yes.
I've failed a couple of times,but that did not deter me from
surviving.
Why?
Yeah, because, look, life isnever going to be smooth like
(28:03):
that, and when you fail and rise, or fall and rise, that is
where you become matured.
You become more experienced,because in the course of time
again you encounter suchdifficulties.
But because you haveexperienced it before, you know
(28:23):
solutions.
You have solutions to thoseproblems and you should always
make sure that your misfortunesyou turn it into blessing.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
That is the problem.
How do we do that?
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Look, you don't give up in life.
You always say that I'm goingto make it one day, by hook or
crook.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Is it mental work?
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Yeah, you have to psych yourself.
Look, I'm never going to bepoor.
I was sleeping on the we callit veranda porch.
I roll my mattress from one toupper six, from one to upper six
, kokumle, kokumle.
On the challenge bookshop road.
That's where I was.
(29:05):
I was sleeping in the couchporch in the morning a porch in
the morning.
If I don't wake up early and Iget up around seven, everybody
will see me folding my mattress.
But I said to myself thissituation, I mean, is not going
(29:28):
to happen.
I got to move.
So wherever I go, my poorbackground was at the back of my
head here that remember whereyou coming from.
Don't be swollen headed when youmake money, because you can
lose it anytime.
So protect what you have byliving first.
(29:52):
If you want to make good moneyor be rich in future, try and
live subsistent living.
Save the money for rainy day orfor investment.
You have to take risk andinvest the money.
But make sure, if you want tosucceed here, this side of the
(30:12):
world, especially Ghana, don'trely on your relatives.
No, don't involve your brothers, sisters, family members in
your business, except maybe yourchildren or wife, because this
side of the world your brotherwhen you set up your business
(30:34):
and leave it in the hands ofyour brother to manage.
He will then take the money andgo and establish his own and
yours will collapse and when youcomplain, your whole family
will go against you.
So please don't get theminvolved.
If you want to make money, youhave to work hard.
(30:54):
People work for eight hours.
They go out there, drink beerand all those things.
You can work 16 hours Becausethe income you make from eight
hours Let me tell you somethingA professional who makes, say,
$500 or $1,000 a week, a taxidriver like myself who doesn't
(31:21):
have any degree or whatever Ican put in more hours he works
for eight hours and make $1,000.
I can work 16 hours and make$1,000.
So you have to be hardworkingand sometimes people are content
with what they have.
They are content with what theyhave.
(31:41):
I say that such people aresometimes myopic thinkers.
They are not dreamers.
They have no foresight.
Instead of challenging yourself, they just become content.
They buy luxury cars here andthere.
If you see me buying luxurycars and you want to buy luxury
(32:05):
cars, do you know my worth?
You don't keep up the joneses,just manage the little you have
invested.
A time will come, that when youare spending you don't even
feel it, but the young men andwomen coming is like competition
oh Jojo has this, oh, I can doit, I'm also going to buy it.
(32:27):
You are not competing withanybody.
You know what you want in life.
Stay focused, and when you stayfocused and invest wisely, the
people or your friends who arelaughing at you oh, we go in
America.
The same thing.
In America, let me tell you, wehave four guys staying in one
(32:49):
room.
Myself, owusu, jonathan andElijah said we were in one room.
It was a one-bedroom apartmentthat I rented and I brought them
from America.
They all joined.
We were working In that room,one bedroom apartment.
(33:11):
The bedroom itself was lockedbecause the owner of the
apartment had bought a waterbedand that time it was a big deal.
So four guys were staying inthe living room alone and in the
night the guy had about eightlimousines working for him.
(33:32):
That time he comes on weekend,hide on cocaine with beautiful
black American girls and whilstwe are there and you know
crack-headed people when theyare having sex, you can imagine
screaming and all these fourguys sleeping in the living room
.
We cannot even sleep.
(33:55):
Sometimes you think yourbrother is sleeping or your
friend is sleeping, oh, you seethat he wakes up and he's going
to the bathroom.
But in the long run, evenmetformin the guy was diabetic
Metformin a man who had eightlimousines yes, he was solely
(34:16):
headed.
His brother, he was in Dumosiain the Bronx, he brought him to
America, he made the money andthat was it.
So sometimes it's you, theindividual, the way you perceive
life.
If you're a young man and yousay you want to be like in Japan
, you have to sacrifice a lot ofthings today, postpone your
(34:39):
spending today for tomorrow andwhatever you are postponing, use
it to invest.
You should religiously getinvolved in any business that
you do.
You don't live in the care orin the hands of friends and
brothers and sisters.
You have to be there 24-7.
Collect your money, put it in abank, because if you set up a
(35:06):
business and leave it to yourfriends, brothers and you are
here drinking, you are hereentertaining and tomorrow you
think you have money, you are inDubai, seychelles, whatever.
My brother, trust me, when yougo to proper meetings, the rich
people, billionaires, they arevery simple.
(35:29):
They are very simple.
They are in jeans.
One day we visited the king ofFugera.
When we were going, my wife hadto go and buy some expensive
clothes to go there.
We got there, the whole king,his palace.
He was so simple but veryintelligent.
He stays in a room but knowseverything going on in the
(35:50):
palace.
He was so simple but veryintelligent.
He stays in a room but knowseverything going on in the world
.
So I just snatched her and saidyou see, now she was in Dubai
more trying to get expensivewhite people.
You know, yeah, she bought this, hermes, go back in or whatever
(36:10):
you know, go into a meeting.
The guys were very simple.
Other billionaires that I'vemet, they are always in jeans.
It's wannabe businessmen,wannabe billionaires, wannabe
rich men that you always seethem in suit and garner here.
One guy was talking to me andhe said he said you are not
(36:31):
presidential material becauseyou are not wearing suit.
But if you know the taste,sometimes a T-shirt that I'm
wearing alone can buy a wholesuit and you get a change.
But it's just a T-shirt.
That's right.
If you buy a Loro Piana T-shirtor Beluti t-shirt, it's more
(36:54):
expensive than some of the suits.
But because I try to be simple,they don't even know the
quality of things on me and theysaid I'm not presidential, but
I'm not even worried about that.
So in life, what you have to doas a person, you always have to
have a vision.
You always have to know whatyou want in life and you have to
(37:19):
dream big.
Don't be a myopic thinker.
If you want to succeed in life,you have to dream big, talk big
, do things big and challengeyourself.
Because here in Ghana, if youtry to say, oh, I'm going to
build this, oh, this guy, hetalks too much, he's too known,
he's this, they say things todiscourage you.
(37:40):
That shouldn't be your problem.
You know what you want in life.
You know what you want tobecome.
Stay focused and work hard andit will pay off one day.
But these young men, without alldue respect to them, if I don't
have a job, I can set up abakery or go for go to a bakery
(38:03):
and buy a few and go and standthere.
I can even package it and sell.
Can a Japan bread?
Pa pa pa.
I can sell anything.
That's why I'm saying thatnobody can get me broke because
I've not set any standard formyself.
I can come down at any leveland start life again.
(38:26):
Those who set standards forthemselves, as if they are up
there and they don't want tocome down.
Well, that is good.
It challenges you to do more.
But people who are up there andthink they cannot go down when
they are struggling, I'm sorry.
You can never get there again.
(38:46):
So you need to challengeyourself.
You need to stay focused.
You should have strategies Everyhuman being if you want to
succeed in life.
We call something GOSPA.
The acronym GOSPA is goals,objectives, strategy, planning
(39:09):
and activities.
Okay, and if you want to be agood leader or successful
businessman, you should have avision.
You should be courageous,because the future belongs to
risk-takers.
You should always take a risk.
Those security seekers cannever be rich, rich, rich to
risk takers.
You should always take a risk.
(39:30):
Those security seekers cannever be rich, rich, rich.
You know those who are securityseekers.
Let me give you an example.
People make money.
They don't take the risk toinvest the money.
They go and buy treasury bills.
They are comfort zone.
A bank is managing your moneyfor you.
(39:52):
Ask yourself how much is thebank making for him to pay you
that amount of money?
So if you had invested themoney yourself and run your
business, you would have madetwice as much as him.
So if you are protecting yourmoney, you are scared to take
risk.
You can't grow.
So the risk takers, the futurebelongs to them.
(40:15):
So you have to be courageous.
Then integrity you have to bevery sincere in life, in
business, everything.
When you are honest to yourpeople.
I say that even when you arewith your wife in an attempt to
make love or something somebodywill call you Ken your money is
(40:37):
ready.
You have to leave.
Whatever you are doing, go andpick your money, and when you
have the money, the excitementalone will make you a better man
than when there's no money andyou are thinking of what to do,
and maybe your wife also wantsyou know those things.
So you have to be honest.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Honorable.
There's a 20-year-old man whoasked me a question and I said I
would throw this to you.
He says ask, honorable Ken, ifhe was 20 years old today, what
steps would he take?
Now to become as rich as he'sbecome.
Speaker 2 (41:12):
Yeah, the same steps, because I've never regretted.
But this time I would have donebetter than that, because this
time you have technology,digitization and all those
things.
Those days that I was walkingon the street shouting, yes,
picky chocolate, this time I cango on internet and the same
(41:34):
product.
I will sell it, I will marketit on internet and make money.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
So if I ask, you your top five businesses that you
think young people can do todayto maximize their earning
potential in the future.
What?
What would it be?
Speaker 2 (41:50):
You know, sometimes the business comes with interest
.
Okay, but let me tell you, ifyou want to succeed, you're not
here Study the market and yousee that everybody who gets
money wants to build a house.
Yep.
So building materials, firstmaterials, okay, number one,
(42:12):
building materials.
Whether you're selling paintbrushes, cement, iron rods,
plumbing equipment, you knowthose things.
Okay, that's the first thing Ican think of.
Second, what else?
It depends on what exactly youwant to do.
(42:37):
Sometimes some businesses itcomes with interest.
If you don't have the interestwhen they ask you, you don't do
it.
But there are so many thingsthat I will do and it will not
help me, but you do it and yougain.
So it's a bit tough, but I cando anything.
(42:58):
I can sell bread okay, I'llgive you one example, there was
a guinean guy who was in newjersey when I had a surgery.
He visited me who was in NewJersey.
When I had the surgery hevisited me, gave me some meat,
pie and bread.
So I visited his bakery and Ijust did an advert for him So-so
(43:23):
and so bakery, pa-pa-pa.
You know, the day, the dayafter my advert he couldn't meet
the supply.
Wow.
Another one is a guy on theWinnebar Road up in between.
He was using potatoes for, Ithink, croissant and the rest my
(43:45):
program with Kweku Anan.
I advertise it for Sweat Row,winnebar Enclave.
It normally drives all the wayfrom Winnebar to Accra, medina
to sell it.
The day I mentioned it on TVthe next morning, medina
(44:06):
couldn't get it.
I'm giving these variousexamples because you asked five
areas.
That's why I said it depends onthe individual's interest, what
he wants to do and how hedevotes time and planning
(44:27):
marketing and all those thingsthat way.
But on top of my head, theeasiest way to go if you want to
build the materials first.
All other things comes withinterest.
Real estate.
You know where you are.
Okay, I have friends who builtthose houses.
(44:51):
Selling it is good, but rentingit is not.
Okay, yeah, you don't makemoney from rent.
I have apartment that can't donothing.
Yeah, you don't make money.
But those who are building toyou don't make money.
(45:13):
But those who are building tosell, they make money.
Speaker 1 (45:19):
But those who are buying, to rent is not a good
business, isn't it?
Because of the level ofbusiness you have and the sort
of turnover you've seen?
So when you see the numberscoming from the rental turnover
you've seen.
So when you see, you know thenumbers coming from the rental,
you don't think it's so much.
But if a young person, they say25, 30 year old, he's got a few
properties at in counterments,don't you think that is a good
(45:41):
start off?
Speaker 2 (45:42):
let me tell you, let me tell you when you have
property at country.
It's $500,000, okay, your rentWould not be more than $4,000 a
month, right, but if you use the$500,000 To do business and you
(46:05):
make 10% Cash flow, cash flow,cash flow, cash flow.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
Okay, I'm just drawing your attention.
Speaker 2 (46:12):
I have so many houses here that I've regretted Some
of them.
I don't even know, so I don'tremember, unless I tell my
cousin, and so let's go.
You know those things I'veregretted because if I had
invested that money in business,young man, I would have made a
lot of money.
I have over 277 houses in Ghanaand it's a waste.
(46:36):
It's a waste.
I've regretted buying thosehouses because I don't get
people to rent them.
Because you are keeping themyeah, because I'm keeping them.
But if you were selling, themyou would get a cash flow Right.
But I don't want to sell.
I want to give it to my kids.
I have many kids, so I want toshare it for them.
My plan is if you're a girl ora woman, you marry and your
(47:01):
relationship doesn't work, youcome back home.
You have your properties.
You can dispose of some of themto start business.
I mean, this is how I thinkaloud to help, but in actual
fact, if I have invested thatamount of money in business, you
know how much I'll be making.
So renting.
(47:23):
It's a bit dicey.
Yeah, because you see the houseat Cantonment, you can have one,
it's okay, no problem, as asecurity or backup in case your
business collapse.
Your property becomes afallback that you can dispose of
.
Because what Sule Muntari askedme, have you, I mean, have you
(47:49):
lost your business or collapsedwhatever?
Yes, I think in 1990, I had 11houses but I had to sell six of
them to start life again.
Wow.
Yeah, I disposed of all thoseproperties to start life again.
(48:09):
Wow, yeah, tesano, chemota yeah, I dispose of all those
properties to start life again.
And that time anybody who, withthe exception of the real
estate guy's building anybodyselling his property, means he's
broke.
That is the impression of thebuyers, so they can offer you
(48:34):
any price.
And sometimes one example wecall it Chikata Road on the
Tessano, one of my houses on themain road everybody who comes
that's the house he wants.
I wanted to keep it, but Ineeded money to do business, so
(48:55):
I had to dispose of it.
But I said to myself I'll buybetter locations than this.
And I've done exactly thatperiod.
Speaker 1 (49:04):
Let me stop you here for a minute.
If you've been watching thisshow, I want you to subscribe
and become part of the family.
We are on a journey of changingthe lives of people on this
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Hit the subscribe button Now.
Let's carry on the conversation.
(49:25):
You know you said this thingabout starting life again and it
just struck me very, veryquickly.
How many times have you had tostart life again as an
entrepreneur?
Speaker 2 (49:37):
Well, about three times I fell rise fall.
Speaker 1 (49:42):
rise In a span of about how many years?
Speaker 2 (49:44):
About eight years I had struggled.
You know, go down, come up.
Speaker 1 (49:49):
But obviously your go down is different from no no,
no, no, no, no, don't think,mind it.
Speaker 2 (49:55):
You see, you measure me to a certain level and think
I've never experienced poverty.
I have, and I've gone throughchallenges.
Look, let me tell you In 1992,I came here, helped Professor
Dubuahin, okay, and we lost theelection.
(50:17):
I stayed in Ghana for eightmonths.
When I went back my wife hadcollected 11 months rent and
never paid the mortgage.
So we lost that property.
My landlord, where my officewas 167th Street between Jerome
(50:44):
and Edward Grand Avenue.
My landlord took everythingfrom the shop, the office, and
gave it to the African marketagain to expand.
I lost that.
I was left with one car,lincoln Town Car so I started
(51:06):
using it, dollar dollar.
I moved to Co-op City.
I lost my house so I bought aCo-op from Barfo Edgar Place in
Co-op City and started lifeagain.
I was driving taxi, somebodywho had owned properties and had
seen money.
I lost everything and I had todrive taxi.
(51:29):
One dollar, one dollar.
We call it dollar doll.
You pick the people from Co-opCity to the train station so you
pick about four.
So one trip is $4.
Then you come back again in themorning.
That is when I decided to go touniversity at the age of 33.
(51:50):
Okay, so I used my dollardollar to pay my fees and
everything.
Speaker 1 (51:58):
Why did you think you needed to go back?
Was it because you wanted acushion, something to cushion
you in case this should happenagain?
Speaker 2 (52:04):
Okay, if you want to know why I went to university,
okay, let me tell you.
Today is a secret.
Bad boy Okay, let me tell you,today is a secret.
Bad boy.
Myself, dr Preku and lawyerKwajo Afra Mesudu my boss, may
his soul rest in peace werefollowing Professor Edubuahin
(52:26):
and the way the campaign wasgoing.
We thought we were going to win, got the euphoria and
everything.
So Professor Dubuahine wasstaying at airport.
So three of us went there andhe was fixing the positions.
You are going to be here, youare going to be there.
When it got to my turn, I wishthe man was alive.
(52:50):
I would have gone back to saybig thank you to him.
By that time I was offended.
He tapped me and said young man, you're going to be a good
businessman.
I was a cis former so I thought, maybe because I had not gone
to university, that is why hedidn't give me any position.
(53:11):
So when we lost, I decided togo back to investing.
Okay, so I invested a thirdyear.
I had $1,145,000 in my accountin a great bank here and Dr
(53:34):
Crunchy was the one who wasmanaging my account for me.
He was the MD and we were fromthe same place, so he saw me a
young, dynamic guy with this.
He was managing my account forme.
One day on campus I hadbusinesses here, but any time I
call complaints.
(53:54):
So I went home and told my wifethat I'm going, I'm going to do
my business Because Solomon andSolomon.
I was doing economics and myprofessor was Iranian guy who
recommended me to Solomon andSolomon.
(54:15):
When they came to the school tointerview me because I was a
mature student, they told methey were going to give me
$120,000 in 1983.
$120,000 was still very goodmoney 1983.
$120,000 was still very goodmoney.
(54:37):
But I had over 1.4, 1 millionaround 45 in my account.
So when they said they'll giveme $120,000 a year and they were
going to deduct Uncle Sam, Icame back home and told my wife
ah, so all this school that I'mstruggling, I'm going to get my
wife.
Ah, so all this school that I'mstruggling, I'm going to get
120,000, and these guys are justmismanaging my business.
(54:58):
I'm going, I'm going to run mybusiness.
She is from RP Buffo's family.
They are highly educated.
He was the first vicechancellor of KNUST.
Okay, so they are all educated.
She was a bit disappointed andI showed her Stella, I'm going
(55:20):
to Ghana and one day I willemploy doctors, masters, first
degrees, all of them to work forme.
And today I've done exactlythat.
Wow, I didn't finish theinvesting, I left and managed my
business today.
What I told my wife Stella thenthat I would do, I have done
(55:41):
everything.
Yesterday a friend of mine cameto my office and he introduced
some gentleman to me and saidI've been with Ken for so long
and everything that he has saidthat he would do it, he has done
it.
That's me.
I said I will never lose thismoney.
But I still lost some.
Speaker 1 (56:02):
But I picked the pieces.
It's the kick.
Where do you get that kick from?
Because sometimes people, youngpeople especially they say, oh,
I want to do this, I want to dothat, and then in the beginning
it's exciting and before youknow it, it they don't do it.
But where do you get that kickfrom?
Because you say I want to dosomething and then, as you say,
you get it done.
Speaker 2 (56:19):
Yeah, because I'm determined.
I said I want to be presidentof this country and I'll
definitely be president of thiscountry.
And the challenges coming fromall angles, I'm still not
prepared.
I'm still not prepared.
I'm going to do it.
Honorable, you are such a.
Speaker 1 (56:38):
You are a man to admire.
You know, and something that isnot very common in our society
is courage and being bold.
It's not very common among theyoung people.
Speaker 2 (56:49):
Don't blame them.
Where do you get yours from?
Don't blame them.
Let me answer that.
Let me give you this you see,in Ghana they misconstrue
confidence to be arrogance.
Okay.
Confidence.
They misconstrue confidence tobe arrogant.
So don't blame the youth.
When they have confidence, yousee that even their own
(57:11):
colleagues who says worsedescribe them here.
They shut their morals andconfidence and all those things.
So anybody who stands out anddamn the consequence is seen as
arrogant that's what I'm goingthrough, but how did you growing
up?
Speaker 1 (57:31):
how did you decide nah, regardless of what people
are going to say, I am stillgoing to be confident.
Go after what I want, bedifferent and then be me.
Speaker 2 (57:40):
Maybe I'll say that I was born with it.
You check from my village, myhometown, at the start of
college, Winnebago.
I'm a freedom fighter.
Speaker 1 (57:49):
But that also means that you have a very tight
circle of friends.
Not really, Because even someof us we see that.
Speaker 2 (57:56):
Not really.
You see, what I do is I don'tlike friends who gossip.
I don't like friends who arealways competing.
That is why most of the timeI'm home, where most of the time
I'm home, and if I go tomeetings and the way, the kind
(58:17):
of people I meet and the figuresthey mention, it humbles me
that I've not gotten anywhere,so I'm not solely headed.
When you come to Ghana and youmention Kanesha, mention, it's
like a blind man's world.
One-eyed man is a king, so theymake you feel you are big.
(58:42):
Go to meetings and see thenumbers they mention.
If you are not bold, you cannoteven talk.
So I get inspiration from that.
Speaker 1 (58:53):
Right, you think the circle matters?
Speaker 2 (58:55):
Yes, it's important, okay, and this kind of circles
we have most in Ghana.
Here they are just negativecompetition People.
They are friends, but they arecompeting among themselves.
I'm richer than you, you arepoorer than this.
I don't have the patience forthat that they are competing
among themselves.
(59:15):
I'm richer than you, you arepoorer than this.
You know I don't have thepatience for that, so I always
stay away from these kind ofassociations and all those
things.
Speaker 1 (59:21):
Honorable.
As an entrepreneur, what areyou most proud of?
Speaker 2 (59:26):
Oh in general, to be an entrepreneur is very exciting
.
What I'm proud of is when Ilook at where I was born, my
village and everything and I goto my business and see the
number of people that I employed.
It's self-gratifying andsometimes I say to myself ah,
(59:49):
kene, japun, why I do?
Speaker 1 (59:52):
Yes, Do you ever see your achievements and shed tears
sometimes?
Of course yes.
Speaker 2 (59:57):
Well, I don't shed tears, Rather excitement.
I put food on the table forpeople and all those things.
It's a joy to me.
So that's what I do, and I wantto create more.
Even today I was late becausethey're selling a steel plant
(01:00:20):
that I want to buy besides whatI'm building To employ more
people.
Speaker 1 (01:00:24):
To employ more people .
Speaker 2 (01:00:26):
That is why I was late.
I went there to negotiate withthem.
My joy is to create jobs forthe youth of this country.
I don't see why, as a country,we cannot develop it in such a
way that young men and womenwill come out of college and
they have already jobs.
It makes me sick.
(01:00:47):
So every money that I get, Idon't keep the monies in the
bank.
No Recycling it.
Whatever money that comes, Iput it in the business.
I put it in the business.
I put it in the business.
Speaker 1 (01:01:05):
You know, today the topic, the biggest topic on a
lot of our episodes, is thereDerek and many of the guests
he's had, they all went abroadto get a capital to come back,
yeah.
So the young people are saying,even though we are telling them
go into entrepreneurship,they're saying, well, but you
got a capital from abroad.
It's very similar to your case,you know.
Speaker 2 (01:01:27):
I was definitely going to be rich because what
I've told you I started hockingon the street selling, then
later graduated to selling leadbaths, bucket and all those
things.
Then later, even when I was insixth form, I was selling
pijopas and taking bags fromhere, from Kweku M Rikus'
(01:01:52):
daughter, to Lagos to go andsell and buy pijopas and come
and sell here.
It tells you that I was focusedand I knew what I was about.
Speaker 1 (01:02:04):
So location or mindset, which one do you think
is more important In terms of Interms of becoming successful in
life?
Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
Mindset, yeah, mindset, yeah.
Location is when you want toestablish business, then you say
location, location, location.
If you want to build, you saylocation, location, location.
But the most important thing isyour mindset, okay, how you
(01:02:33):
perceive life, your vision, yourdreams.
So mindset is way importantthan the location.
It is the mindset that givesyou the drive.
Okay, that somebody has boughtthis car, I can afford it, all
(01:02:54):
right, but I don't need to.
I need to put it in thebusiness, because when you drive
the car out of the showroom,the value goes down right there.
When I buy the business okay, Ibought a business for about 3.2
(01:03:15):
million and I tried to changethe place.
The last time, last one, theprofit was $273,000 from 2, from
3.2 million.
Okay, that's why I'm sayingthat buying properties and
renting them, have made amistake.
Speaker 1 (01:03:36):
Do you think it's the biggest mistake you've made on
Arvo?
Speaker 2 (01:03:38):
oh no, it's not a mistake, because it's still a
collateral.
I can use it as an equity andall those things.
But first money, or seeing bigmonies you put it in industries
you make more money than realestate that you are renting.
Or seeing big monies you put itin industries you make more
money than real estate that youare renting.
Speaker 1 (01:03:57):
Okay, that's what I'm saying.
Honorable, I want to test yourknowledge in your own business
Because I know you have a fewventures, so I would love you to
all the businesses throughwhich you are employing over
7,000 people in the country.
Can you take me through some ofthe names?
If you remember them, I cantake you.
Speaker 2 (01:04:15):
When you go to the media, you have the Kent City
media.
You have Netoo TV, oman FM, hfmand NAP Radio.
When you go to the coastal, youhave ASEMPA, adishimang, adipa,
agbinipa.
That gives you 61,000 tons.
(01:04:41):
I have a steel plant and I'mtrying to buy another one.
I have equipment, heavy-dutyequipment, adts for mining,
companies called CoastlineLogistics.
Okay, I have the platinumplastics.
I have companies that dealswith electricity cables,
(01:05:06):
streetlights and all thosethings Hibis, Magnoliaolia,
cactus all of them are there,but you might not even know that
it's for me.
So I have about in total 16companies.
How do you manage all of this?
If you know where I'm comingfrom, you will not ask this
(01:05:27):
simple question.
I don't want to go back towhere I was before, so I'm
always thinking about it.
You know, thinking about thebusiness, thinking about the
business.
Speaker 1 (01:05:42):
I kind of have the answer to this question, but I
still want to ask you, becausecoming from you would be much
better what legacy do you wantthe young and the average
Ghanaian to remember you for?
Speaker 2 (01:05:54):
Legacy.
There was one politician whowas a businessman that created
job opportunities for the youthof his country.
Speaker 1 (01:06:05):
Wow, that's a beautiful one.
That's a beautiful one.
The next question is is thereanything that I could have asked
you that we can still discussin terms of business and
entrepreneurship that I haven't,but you still think we can talk
about?
Speaker 2 (01:06:22):
Well, I think I've spoken at length, I've exhausted
it.
Maybe another time if you thinkof something else, but I only
want to give you how you'regoing to be.
I started with we call it sevenstrategies.
To be a successful businessman,you should have a vision,
(01:06:47):
courage, integrity, humility,foresight, dreams and
cooperation.
Speaker 1 (01:07:00):
You know, honorable for someone who where did you
learn?
A lot of this acumen from.
Is it on the job, or is itbecause you've acquired quite a
lot of?
Speaker 2 (01:07:12):
I read Tracy Bryan.
When you read Tracy Bryan aboutleadership, the seven qualities
of a leader is what I'vementioned to you, and we have
seven determinants of a businesssuccess Profitability.
There are so many things that Ican mention.
(01:07:36):
When customer satisfaction, allthese things come into play,
but that is not where we are now.
But you want to know how to besuccessful, then you need the
seven qualities first, or youneed a gospel the goals,
objectives, strategy, planningand activities.
(01:07:59):
When we have that, then forsomebody to know that you have
these qualities, you yourselfshould have a vision, you should
be courageous, you should behonest in your dealings, you
should be stay focused.
Okay, what now?
(01:08:23):
I'm mentioning and saycooperation and all those, the
seven qualities I mentionedearlier.
You know, if you are able tofollow it religiously,
definitely one day you willsucceed.
Speaker 1 (01:08:37):
If I ask you this question, what's the best advice
you've ever received?
You've met many entrepreneursbillionaires, millionaires.
What's the best advice you'veever received?
Speaker 2 (01:08:48):
Save and invest, whatever you make.
Okay, any businessman who goesto Dubai have a friend.
One area is it financial centeror something that they
introduce him to me?
One area he has 10 mostexpensive restaurants Right
(01:09:10):
there.
He goes to Dubai more,everywhere he's there.
And when you go to Dubai Mall,everywhere he's there.
And when we are talking to himyou get so inspired or motivated
that, look, I want to be abillionaire.
So when we come here and theyare mentioning these small,
small figures $1 million, $2million and they say my mind is
(01:09:30):
somewhere else.
One guy I met him and we werediscussing and I said the
projects with ethanol and allthose things.
Then he asked me how much doyou think?
Could he say about 800 million.
And all he did was harass His21 year old boy should deal with
me.
I said, ah, whoa, yes, he justsaid harass and told his son was
(01:10:00):
in a meeting and he asked himto deal with me.
Speaker 1 (01:10:02):
To him the number is $800 million my.
God Honorable, I think you'vealready mentioned the book, so
I'm not going to ask you torecommend the book again.
But our last question on ourpodcast today is motivation or
discipline.
Which one do you think helps alot in building wealth?
Speaker 2 (01:10:18):
Discipline, okay, discipline, you have to be
disciplined in all spheres.
Okay, discipline is saying thatyou have $20,000.
Your friend has $20,000.
Your friend has $30,000 or$40,000.
(01:10:41):
His capacity to spend is twiceas yours.
That's right.
He goes to buy a $20,000 carand your lender of last resort
is a $20,000 car and your lenderof last resort is a $20,000.
Then you're also competing withhim to go and buy the $20,000
car.
What have you left with Zero?
He has $20,000.
(01:11:03):
So you have to be disciplined.
You don't have to be envious ofhim.
You only have to be happy thathe's been able to buy it and say
that one day I'm going toinvest my $20,000 and I'll also
be able to buy this.
So that discipline will bethere.
Because you could have affordedthe $20,000 car, which you'd be
(01:11:30):
left with zero, but yourestrained yourself and invested
the $20,000 car, which you'd beleft with zero, but you
restrain yourself and invest the$20,000, which eventually you
can use the profit over time tobuy the car.
So discipline, controlling yourexpenditure very, very
important if you really want tosucceed in life.
(01:11:51):
Then, of course, motivation,sharing my ideas and experience
with you it motivates you.
Oh, honorable Canadian, uponborn at a syndrome, him has been
able to do this.
If I follow his stepschronologically and religiously,
I'll be able to do it,obviously.
(01:12:12):
So if you follow all this andyou are not disciplined, you
can't do it.
You heard it so discipline comesbefore the motivation.
Speaker 1 (01:12:22):
Honorable.
We would all like to say thankyou very much.
You've shared so much.
I think people need to watch itthree, four, five, six, 7, 8, 9
, 10 times.
Thank you so much.
I really appreciate this you'rewelcome and to everyone.
If you made it to the end, canyou leave a note, a comment, and
let me know that you did?
Thank you so much for watchingand we are done.
(01:12:44):
Stay connected.
My name is Derek Abaite.
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