When Ikechukwu Kalu left the shores of Nigeria to assume duty as a marketing director of a telecommunications company in Tanzania, he did not realise how much that move would change the course of his profession in future.It was supposed to be a new beginning with new experiences and challenges outside Nigeriathe beginning of a new era. Then suddenly, what looked like a good move seemed to turn sour. The contract was reviewed unexpectedly, and Kalu had to make new decisions.Having worked for various blue chip firms for 28 years in Nigeria, this marketing expert felt it was the right time to start off on his own. Customer Passion Point Limited, a value creation consultancy firm in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, was born.Having opened shop in Tanzania, Kalu needed to prove himself quickly. Customer Passion Point struck a partnership deal with SOS Childrens Villages, providing public relations and media support for their activities in Tanzania. This was the starting point for many other business partnerships that were later born in the process.Having achieved these milestones in Tanzania, Kalu felt a need to also open shop in Nigeria to enable him maximise the opportunities in the emerging economies that could benefit from his wealth of experience.When we say value creation, we mean working with our customers end-to-end. We help them to discover their business issues, proffer solutions, agree and implement action plans to grow volumes and value for the businesses we work with, he says.Kalu adds, We believe our customers should not call us again for the same problem. So, we help our customers build the required capacity to enable them deal permanently with identified issues. We are committed to building capacity to enable growing businesses understand and leverage the passion points of their customers to create value.That is why we focus on three core areasmarketing advisory services, training and development, and management of brand assets/value added services.Kalu says Customer Passion Point, his firm, works with clients to understand the specific needs they have and provide the right solutions, while also following through to ensure success is achieved and learning documented.According to him, the business goal is to provide practical solutions that are tailored to the need of clients. Staying with them through implementation, he says, is another aspect of the companys mission.We are only satisfied when our client is making good progress, when every investment made creates value for their stakeholders, he stresses.Regarding the primary target of his firm, Kalu says the firm tries to build big African brands, as there are a lot of businesses that have immense potential to become mega brands in Africa, but are currently operating as small or medium enterprises.He, therefore, points out that such businesses will require wealth of experience to grow. According to him, conscious and planned efforts are required, if it must be realised.Kalu explains, I am one of those who believe that marketing is the engine of any business. If you get your marketing right then your business will grow. That is why I decided to start this consulting firm here in Nigeria; to help SMEs and other organisations, which have no marketing departments.Having practised out of Nigeria, I feel there is a need to integrate my experience to serve Nigerian businesses also. The ultimate plan is to serve African businesses at large and grow into an African brand. Starting here at home, especially being the land of vast opportunities is the wise thing to do at this time; and people of like minds should learn from this.A motivational speaker and image grooming consultant, Mr. Oladele Olanike, says if one is endowed with the gift of singing or humour, entertainment, organising events, fashion design and art work, one can turn any of these into a stream of incomes, making millions of naira in a month, almost effortlessly.Some of the talents or skills that can turn your life around are singing, comedy, writing, speaking, marketing, organising shows/entertainment, art and crafts, and beauty enhancing.Others, as listed by an online specialist on personal finance, nairabrains, include copywriting, data management, money management, fundraising, music production, cooking/catering, herbal knowledge, fishing/fish care, pet grooming, mechanical repairs, gardening and martial arts.With all these skills available, nobody should have any excuse for not making enough money for himself, it says, adding, The most important thing is to know that you can make money from almost anything.Almost any skill or talent can be turned into a goldmine, says nairabrains. It, however, notes that this will depend on how you package yourself and the skill.It cautions that no one should not take anything he or she knows for granted because what you know might be a revelation to others, who do have the talents.Similarly, a group of experts, writing under wisebread, a website devoted to personal finance issues, says those things one does as hobbies, can be turned into means of boosting ones financial position.
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