Business mogul and Co-founder of technology firm IrokoTV has advised aspiring entrepreneurs not to prepare a business plan before they start their business.
This controversial assertion stands contrary to traditional thinking that a business plan is a springboard to translating an idea into reality.
Jason Njoku, speaking to Citi Business News said business plans don’t really work.
According to him “if your business is not successful, then that paperwork did not matter. If it is successful then you can hire people who are smarter than you, who know more than you in those domains to improve your business anyway.”
“So it is almost like “what is the point?””, he questioned.
“At the beginning, your time is like the only resource, so you have to spend it wisely. The more time you spend on the business, the better business you build forward”
According to the UK-born Nigerian millionaire he made some business plans which did not do him any good.
“I have done ten businesses, I did two business plans in the beginning. It literally made no sense. I don’t believe that at all. You learn businesses by doing it. I studied chemistry. I have never done a business course.”
He advised the key to being a successful business man is to start and learn on the job.
“You need to start. You need to work on it for a very long time and you must not think about money, not at the beginning. Just think about building and creating value. That is the most difficult thing to do. If you create value, you will make money.”
Jason Njoku, a world renowned expert in online media technology in Africa was the speaker at the 13th MTN Business World Breakfast Meeting under the theme “Building Great Technology Companies out of Africa”.
Having grown his business from his London bedroom, to a YouTube channel then to a standalone venture capital backed dedicated movie platform, Njoku has built one of Africa’s most talked about and arguably one of the well funded Internet companies on the African continent today.
He is pioneering the African digital content market by bringing previously unobtainable content to a global Diaspora audience.
He has been recognized by CNBC Africa as the 2013 West African Young Business Leader and is also one of Forbes’ Top Ten African Internet Millionaires to Watch.
Earlier this year he was recognized as one of Fast Company’s Top 1000 most Creative Person in Business.
Njoku has been described by the media as a pioneer in African technology start-up.
The Executive Breakfast series which is in its fourth year, has become the leading platform for executive briefings, networking sessions and business matching platform for CEOs, Senior management professionals and Entrepreneurs in Ghana.
By: Kwaku Anim Boadu/citifmonline.com/Ghana