We at the SuccessDigest are glad that you are here again. We are happy to see you because it is that month of the year when we get the rare opportunity of interacting with full-blooded entrepreneurs all over the country who converge on Lagos for their annual event…the SuccessDigest Entrepreneurs Conference.

 

Only in its third year, the SuccessDigest Entrepreneurs Conference is now a major event on the calendar of entrepreneurs in the country. The reason is not far-fetched. No other entrepreneurs gathering offers more value for the time and money invested. There are loads and loads of information packed into three exciting days.

 

Last year, participants went away with a box full of cutting-edge strategies, tips, and new ideas on how to get their business up and running. In last year’s water-tight package, they learned…

 

• How to come back from a career setback from the come-backing Executive Chairman of Tanus Communications Limited, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi

 

• Business ethics from Lagos Business School Director, Dr. Pat Utomi and

 

• How to bring a new product to the market from wave-making, multi-business owner Executive Chairman of Corporate Signature, T. K. Suleiman, to name just three out of 27 speakers.

 

This year, the conference is even more loaded. And the topics to be covered are those that will empower entrepreneurs to double their bottom line and give them peace of mind, Sample some of the exciting items on this year’s programme, which starts on Thursday, November 12, and ends on Saturday,

November 14 at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja:

 

• PASSING ON THE BATON:

Real entrepreneurs know deep down in their hearts that they want their business to live after them. But for most of them, it is heartbreak galore as they watch their business wither away even during their lifetime either because their heir apparent is not up to the task of continuing where they stopped or that they simply didn’t have a clue about how to pass on the baton.

 

Why should you sweat for years to build your empire only to live the last days of your life in misery because you didn’t handle your succession process as painlessly as you could possibly do? Why must you continue in business when your body is signaling to you that it is time to rest just because you don’t know how to plan for your retirement?

 

Is there no way an entrepreneur can overcome this problem’? There is. And that is what attendees will learn from the President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Goodie Abreu, who has the first-hand experience in how businesses should be structured to allow them to continue to flourish.

 

• WHAT IS RELATIONSHIP MARKETING?

And how can you use this new marketing buzz word to substantially comer business from your competitors’? Relationship Marketing evangelist, Oladele Akinyemi, is on standby to take you on an exciting trip into the world of win-win marketing. From this brilliant General Manager of One-to-One Nigeria Limited, a relational database marketing company, you will learn about Strategic Alliances, Data Marketing, and all those latest marketing ideas which turn losers into winners in today’s business world.

 

• MASS MARKETING

Have you ever thought of moving your goods or services faster than you can make them? Impossible? Then, you have not experienced the potency of mass marketing! With mass marketing, you can rapidly increase your volume overnight. How? That is one of the topics that Job Orjioke (remember him? He taught you the power of FOCUS at last year’s conference!!) is handling. The Managing Director of Salem Dynamics will also take attendees through the process of managing change in their business.

 

CHANGE? Did that strike terror in your heart? You are not alone. Change is like a gale (strong wind) which, if it hits your industry, can make you look like an 18th-century operation unless you learn to spot it from the distance and flow in its direction.

 

• THE INTERNET AND THE FUTURE OF YOUR BUSINESS

Talking about change, the one sweeping through every business worldwide right now is the internet. Are you connected yet? Where will your business be in the year 2000 without a website? Do you know the volume of business being carried on right now on the internet?

 

We have arrived at the information age. The information superhighway you heard about years back is right here now. Are you going to cruise on it with the rest of the world or will you be left behind? Get first-hand information on the superhighway and how to become a super-highway merchant at this year’s conference as I  take you through how to get into the net age with powerful business ideas to launch your web business adventure.

 

Want to know more about what will be happening at this year’s conference? Turn to pages 40 and 41 for more information.

 

MEANWHILE, I want to encourage you to book your seat at this year’s conference. Why? Because it’s the best investment you can make on your business at these trying times. Every topic has been designed to eliminate the hassle you go through in the process of running your business. Isn’t that exactly what you want?

 

Hurry now and take your place. You will be as glad as last year’s attendees whose testimonial you will find on page 42.

 

I am waiting to welcome you to the conference. And I will see you at the very top… soon.

 

 

First published in November, 1998.