Let me start with a story. I will tell you the moral of the story and how you can make 100m.
There's this restaurant in Yaba area of Lagos called White house. Their amala and pounded yam are made in heaven. (I am not a foodie by any chance).
There was this day I went to eat and after paying for my food, the guy responsible for collecting cash (there's no cash register) didn't have change. He gave me a square cut cardboard measuring about 3 by 3 inches with N100 written on it. Said I could use it to pay for my water. The guy selling water in the section of the restaurant where I ate collected the cut cardboard without any qualms.
It sort of dawned on me that while that cut cardboard was totally useless outside white house, it was actually currency and a representation of value inside white house.
Money isn't paper or the numbers in your bank account. Money is a representation of value. Money is an exchange for value that you create through building something, being something or knowing something that others want and are willing to pay for.
That said, earning 100m especially if you were earning say 10m or less doesn't require ten times more work, just a change in mindset and approach. Will give you two real examples.
I have a friend who builds websites for usually between 50k (if you are his person) to about 250k. He always told me the small jobs gives you the most stress. So he stopped taking those jobs and started going after Requests For Proposals from international agencies wanting to build tech solutions to solve local problems. Now his least invoice is 5m. Same skills just different customers.
Another person I know who runs a real estate business and basically did lettings of two to three bedrooms in middle class neighborhoods of Lagos decided to switch his focus to selling houses in the same neighborhood. He had to change his network in the process. He changed his place of worship. Joined a club where you had many "old money" people, changed his dressing (strictly natives) and his car as well. His commission went from 100k there about that he earned renting out flats to sometimes as high as 6m when he sold houses.
My point being these guys started earning twenty times more without necessarily putting in twenty times more physical effort.
I will give you four hacks that can put you on a path to earning 100m.
1. Start a business: I was having a discussion with a friend at the beginning of the year and we both have goals to buy a house this year. He works a 9-5 and I run two businesses. He wants to get a mortgage and I am thinking cash. Nothing wrong with both strategies. Only thing is his required equity contribution to the mortgage for the type of house he wants to buy is about 8m. He's yet to figure out how to raise 8m.
It is easier to earn 100m in a business than on a job.
1b. If your currently run a business, what would you do if you had to generate twenty times your current revenue.
Three things can impact that.
a. Distribution.
b. Customer segment
c. Product or service offering.
(I could tell you how but then I'd have to bill you).
2. Government Contracts: Not sure about the exact figures, but most of the "big men" in Nigeria are government contractors. One government contract can put 100m in your pocket. And the fortunate or unfortunate thing is (depends on how it affects you) you don't even need to be qualified to execute the contract. You simply need to know someone or know someone that knows someone. Your best shots are state governments, government parastatals such as NNPC, NIMASA etc. You rarely get contracts here on merit so forget your proposal. Focus on building relationships that can get you through the doors.
3. Start a Startup: While this might not put 100m directly in your pocket, it easily can put it in your startup's account. What differentiates a start up from a regular business is growth and scale. There's a lot of money waiting to fund the right startups.
4. Solve industry specific problems: Recall I mentioned that money is exchange for value created. There are three industries where urgent interventions are needed and have the capacity to return 100m or more for you.
A. Power. I don't see our government solving the power challenge over the next four years. It might happen but I won't bet on it. Create an alternative to PHCN and generators and you are in business. Inverters have solved power needs for small homes. Find power solutions for estates and manufacturing and large commercial businesses that doesn't put you in direct competition with the Discos.
B. Food Preservation: more than 70% of produced food in this country is wasted. This industry is literally begging for someone to save it.
C. Cyber Security. We are starting to create databases in this country. FRSC has got their database and several other government and private agencies. If it's the country I know, most of our data infrastructure won't be the best they should be. Simply hack these databases to show the loop holes in the system and offer to sell them solutions so it doesn't happen again. (I will deny you if you say I told you this).
There are two things I should bring to your attention though.
1. You will require some money to do most of the things I mentioned. If you are hungry enough and you have got hustle, money won't be what will stop you from doing what you need to do.
2. If you don't solve what I call transactional expenses, expenses such as car maintenance, basic bills, rent, health, school fees, you will stay stuck trying to get out of this level. Couple of suggestions. Know what those costs are and provide for it. Have your spouse pick up these bills till you land the 100m, have a side business that doesn't require your input to bring in this revenue.
Hopefully this helps and remember to send me a bottle of champagne when you hit your mark.
