At the age of 20, Boniface Ogunti would have been written off as a failure. He was an immigrant living in his girlfriend’s mom’s basement after dropping out of college and quitting his corporate job. A job he had worked for only 3 months. The future seemed bleak for him, at least according to an ordinary onlooker. However, two years later he became a self-made millionaire running a successful eCommerce consultancy business Current9. He made his first $2.5 million at the age of 21 and continued to help hundreds of people make millions a year. At only 23 years old, he has an estimated net worth of US $36 million. His ‘sudden’ success is an unexpected plot twist, which many people struggle to understand. With over 2 million followers across social media platforms, a lot of the people who slide into his DMs are curious about his success. They want to know his recipe and he surely does have four spicy tips to success picked from his humble beginnings.
Starting early
While many people are still trying to figure out what to do with their lives at the age of 20, Boniface Ogunti knew that he was not cut out to be in the 9 to 5 job system. He did not waste time participating in the rat race but rather went straight for his ambitions. Similarly, if anyone wants to be an entrepreneur, they have to start as early as possible. Starting early creates room for failure and mistakes. At such a young age, Ogunti had nothing to lose. He could afford to live at someone’s basement because he did not have a family to shelter. This, therefore, gave him enough room to be himself and experiment without dealing with unnecessary pressure.
Don’t give up – Learn from mistakes
Ogunti’s first business, Crown Recording-a recording studio and clothing brand failed miserably, after working on it for nine months. He directed all his savings into this business, yet it failed. This was the beginning of failure but not the end. He started two other business, which also followed suit. It’s like everything he touched was doomed to fail. Rather than giving up, Boniface took the route of self-evaluation. He questioned his ideas and tried to establish why they were rejected by his target consumers. He also took time to establish what he did right and what he did wrong. He then took the lessons he had learned from his mistakes and started Current9. This willingness to learn, according to Ogunti is what makes a refined entrepreneur. If you give up after every disappointment, you will never escape the mundane life and neither will you move past failure.
Establish your skill set and cut your niche
As a college dropout, Boniface Ogunti thrives solely on skills learnt from his experiences. Looking back at his beginnings Ogunti tried his hand in several businesses but he failed because he did not know his strengths. However, he thrived in consultancy because he discovered that his biggest weakness was also his strength. He had a tendency of starting businesses and walking away from them a few months down the line, whenever they failed. Kennedy Cowell, one of his clients started working with Ogunti after realizing that his business had stalled at $50,000 a month, Within a short span of 3 months, Ogunti had helped him scale the business to $160,000 a month. This is a reflection of Ogunti’s core skills and strengths- scaling fast. While growing his own businesses, Ogunti had a knack for new adventures. Working on new projects excited him and he focused on this strength to build a consultancy business – which calls for such a personality. He helps people unlock their potential and start businesses, just as he did for himself. Therefore if you want to thrive in business, you have to do some soul searching and establish what you can do effortlessly. Focus on your inner strengths as well as weaknesses and find a way to monetize them.
Dare to dream but have a plan
Boniface Ogunti would be described as a dreamer in layman’s terms. Working and living in his girlfriend’s mom’s house in Minnesota does not seem ideal for anyone hoping to make millions in the near future. Only a ‘joker’ would dare to dream that big when they can’t even afford basic needs. Interestingly, however, lowering his standards to live minimally was part of his plan. He was able to cut his living cost and focus on his plans. Starting out, he didn’t have much money to spend and neither did he have investors. His living conditions, however, propelled him to greatness. Often, at your lowest moments, you gain clarity on where you’d like to be and what you need to do to get there. However, when you’re comfortable, you barely think about your dreams. From Ogunti’s experience, it is clear that dreams are valid, but only if you have a strategy.
In a nutshell, Boniface Ogunti is living proof that age is meaningless when it comes to success. Unless you try and fail, you can never taste success. He only managed to succeed at such a young age because he accepted failure, not once or twice but severally. He had a clear goal – to escape commoners’ rat race and build his empire. He, therefore, kept his eyes on the price by bouncing back very fast whenever he failed, His, is not a story of quick and painless success, but a story of determination and hard work.