Secondary school, I already had a business with over 20 staff and volunteers.” Guess Who? Ayeni Adekunle

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.

“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