Ayeni Adekunle CEO Black House Media(www.bhmng.com) & NET Newspapers Limited grew up listening to
a lot of music as a result of his father, who collected music from everywhere.
As a science student at the college, he was very interested in the literary and
debating society, and language. His mother also exposed him to many of Wole
Soyinka and Chinua Achebe’s literary works. Unknowingly, they were preparing
him for a future in entertainment and literature that he will later live to
relish; a passion that will become a source of livelihood.
Today, Ayeni, as he is popularly
called, runs two businesses in media and entertainment industry. “It was not
until after secondary school,” he says, “while waiting to get university
admission that I found I had deep love for the media and for entertainment.
Those five years I spent at home waiting to get admission were some of the
greatest period for me, in terms of self-discovery and personal development. By
1998, three years after I left secondary school, I already had a business with
over 20 staff and volunteers.”
Ayeni now runs two different
companies. The first one, called Black House Media (www.bhmng.com) is a public
relations company he founded in 2007. The second is NET Newspapers Limited,
owner of Nigeria’s first-ever weekly entertainment newspaper, called ‘Nigerian
Entertainment Today’ (www.thenetng.com). Both companies have combined staff
strength of over 30, with outside team of freelancers up to 10. Both companies
have grown from zero staff, zero capital, zero turnover, zero office, and zero
patronage, to become relatively successful and respected in the different
industries.
Black House Media works for clients
in the banking, telecoms, media, IT, FMCG, education, entertainment, and
hospitality industries. Some current clients include Hennessy Cognac, Viacom
(BET, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central), Spinlet and The Headies.
The challenges facing emerging businesses in the country are numerous and Ayeni’s BHM and Net are no exceptions. “There’s the problem of human capital. It is very difficult to find people with the kind of skills required for our work. Very difficult to keep them focused and dedicated. Then, of course, as every business will tell you. There’s the problem of funding. How do I access the required capital? How do I make sure I can continue to pay suppliers, staff and all, even when clients and customers are yet to pay up? Most banks will not give you facilities, and those that do, are asking for interest rates that can give you a seizure.
The challenges facing emerging businesses in the country are numerous and Ayeni’s BHM and Net are no exceptions. “There’s the problem of human capital. It is very difficult to find people with the kind of skills required for our work. Very difficult to keep them focused and dedicated. Then, of course, as every business will tell you. There’s the problem of funding. How do I access the required capital? How do I make sure I can continue to pay suppliers, staff and all, even when clients and customers are yet to pay up? Most banks will not give you facilities, and those that do, are asking for interest rates that can give you a seizure.
“Finally, we have to battle with the
usual Nigerian problems: generators, diesel, instability and all. The success
of the business depends on how well one is able to manage all these factors
effectively, and I’m glad I have a team that has helped me make the best out of
the situation. So much that, today, we face a different challenge: how do we
grow our revenue in 10 folds? How do we surpass our own achievements? How do we
guarantee our future as an organisation, and that of those who work here? How
do we deliver services and products that compete globally, in spite of the
unfavourable conditions we face locally? Those are the kind of challenges
driving me now.”
Ayeni says he wouldn’t say it’s been
very easy breaking even, yet it’s also not been very difficult. “I have a
strong background in the media,” he explains, “it was kind of easy getting
business when we started the PR company. And because our needs were basic and
we stayed within them, we were recording profit early. For the newspaper,
because we also started small, starting first online, before debuting the print
version, it was easy to grow and get steady. And we’ve been blessed with great
friend, family and partners who have been strong pillars of support.”
Ayeni started the PR business with
his desktop computer, a N15, 000 table, and another N15, 000 to register the
business name; nothing more. “The newspaper NET, with about N200,000, was given
by one of our directors to build the website. Then five months later, we got a
loan of about 200,000 from another director to print the first edition of the
newspaper. So, I tell people anywhere I speak, that lack of capital cannot stop
a determined businessman. I was carrying business plans around for years,
looking for N10 million to start a newspaper. But when it was time, the project
kicked off, even with a paltry N400,000.”
In addition, Ayeni believes God and
the fact that he knows that what he is doing is not an accident, and that is
what has been sustaining him. “This is what I’m here on earth for,” he says.
“This is all I’ve always wanted to do – right from college. Not many people get
the privilege of ending up doing what they dreamed of as a child. So, doing
this everyday is very fulfilling for me, because I remember praying for years
that this is what I wanted to do. And I remember how many years it took me to
be able to get a leg in the door.”
Asked what was his next big move, he
says: “My next big move? If I tell you, I’d have to kill you! But seriously, as
I said earlier I want to deliver excellent service and world-class products
into the hands of clients and consumers - products that’ll make life fun and
fab. The ideas are plenty. And they’ll reach implementation stage soon, God
sparing our lives.”
In the next five years, Ayeni sees
himself becoming great friend with his daughters, and hopes he will be able to
spend more time with them, and his wife. “Interestingly, I also see myself
handing over BHM and NET to younger, more brilliant people to run while I go
face something else – I’ve always wanted to try my hands at a retail business.
Who knows? But I sincerely believe that in five years, our companies BHM and
NET would be strong market leaders on the continent.
“Africa is getting smaller by the
day, as far as entertainment and media are concerned, and we have our eyes on
the whole market. It’s a nice way to start capturing the world. Africa is the
world’s second-largest and second-most-populous continent, with a population of
over one billion people! So- Grab Africa first, and the rest shall be added
unto you!”
He describes himself as “a simple
boy from Oka-Akoko in Ondo State who is seeing all his childhood dreams come
through, wishing he had dreamt bigger things when he was a child.”
He grew up in Okokomaiko, a Lagos
suburb, and went to public schools all his life. He attended F.O.A Primary
School and Aganju Aka Primary School, both in Okoko. Then Awori College Ojo,
before attending the University of Ibadan. As a boy who grew up in a polygamous
home, with the greatest father ever, he believes not starting with the right
capital is not an excuse to fail. “We’ve been able to build both businesses
stably, and grown profit over the years. I’m an apostle of starting small and
growing steadily. In fact, I think when you have ‘too much money’ you stand the
risk of squandering it. I’ve seen many businesses start with so much resource,
and before you know it, they’re entering troubled waters,” he states.
Source: http://www.businessdayonline.com
