3 Things I’ve Learned Since Coming Online

"You gonna learn, and you gonna learn the hard way..."😁
I've been online for a very long time and I have learned a lot of things and I do mean a lot of things and some, I had to learn "the hard way" in the famous words of VDM.
Should I talk of the times I was scammed online or the time when I almost lost access to my Instagram account, or maybe the time when a hacker somehow managed to get access to my ATM card details which he used to make an online purchase that wiped my bank account instantly. Lol, I really learned some things the hard way, that will be a story for another day.

Right now, I want to summarize some things that I have learned that pertains to entrepreneurship on the online space, under three subheadings:

1️⃣ Know your niche:
The online space is a really big place but it is not really complicated and that's a fact. Most people who have a hard time navigating the online space and finding their place usually have this problem because they lack direction. The internet is a really big place and it's easy to get lost, jumping on trends and following the crowd.
You need to find your place you need to make a decision on what you want to do on this space. Find a niche, master your craft and grow your brand.

2️⃣ Be Consistent:
One of my favorite quotes says "Consistency Is De Key" and this is very true. I have come to learn that consistency brings results and if you are consistent, people tend to remember you because you're always showing up. You build discipline within yourself and you build a system for your business. If you're always showing up, always putting yourself out there, with time, there will be guaranteed results.

3️⃣ Build connections:
A successful Nigerian entrepreneur, Princess Nwokoma said "Don't create content, create connections"
I have learned that it is very important to build connections and collaborate with your colleagues in your field, thereby growing in knowledge, in skills and growing your network. Though it may not be as easy as it seems, especially to people who are more introverted than others; it may seem like an uphill task to make new connections, but trust me, practice makes better. Don't give up on yourself, try reaching out to people in your industry whom you admire and would like to collaborate with. Start with a simple greeting, let them know that you admire their work or their methods, follow up on their contents and just like that, you'll see yourself growing closer to them.

We can all attest that there are a lot of things, people and contents on the internet and it is very easy to get distracted but despite that, it is important to remember that you must remain focused as an Entrepreneur or Creative that is determined to build and to grow a successful brand.
Above all, put God first and–like it is written in the scriptures–He will direct your path!

Thanks for stopping by.
Let me know in the comments, something that you have learnt on the online space as an online Entrepreneur that was inspirational to you
Cheers 🥂


#day 5
#brandevocreator’squestchallenge25
#thecreatorsquest

A LESSON LIFE TAUGHT ME THAT APPLIES TO BUSINESS

...And she whispered softly into my ear "Dream about me"

It was a new academic session and we had just resumed uni as freshers. Students were getting to know each other and some were catching up with their friends from high school. Shantel was my coursemate, she was what I usually thought to myself, 'a goddess in human form'
She was a very pretty, classy and intelligent young lady and later on, when I got to know her, I realized that she was really down to earth as well.

Now I had seen her several times, but I never said a word to her, but that was about to change.
At this point, inasmuch as I was a very introverted person, I had made a few friends, and the one I was closest to, Kelvin, was a real extrovert. He got around well with people and he made friends easily.

One day, after our first practical in a lab, I walked up to meet him so that we could start going home, and when I reached where he was, guess who I met him talking to, it was Shantel. Kelvin used that opportunity to introduce me to Shantel and then he left us both to talk. A real bro.
Shantel and I started talking and I couldn't help but admire her beautiful smile and sweet personality. From that day, we became friends.

We talked often and we grew close. I liked a lot of things about her, not only was she beautiful, but she was also responsible, jovial and open-minded. Another thing that stunned me about her was that she could read me like an open book and no matter how much I tried to hide it sometimes, she could tell when I was going through some personal challenges or when I was having a bad day and she would offer to help in any way she could. That was endearing to me. I didn't need to think deep to know that I was in love with Shantel and I could tell that she felt the same way about me. But there was a problem, I wasn't good at expressing my feelings. At that time, I had never been in a serious relationship before and I used to feel kind of awkward when it came to professing my feelings or expressing romantic love. Shantel had given me signals, but I guess my lack of self expression was interpreted as unseriousness and she wasn't sure if I really felt the same way about her.

To cut the story short, she met another guy and after some time, they started dating. When I knew about this, I was heartbroken, I felt depressed, I was angry and sad all at the same time; but I knew that it was my fault, if only I told her how I felt.

This painful experience taught me something about life that I also endeavour to apply in my career business today; it taught me the importance of expressing yourself.
As an Entrepreneur, it is very important to let people know who you are and what you have to offer, you may call it marketing or advertising.
Somebody close to you may be in need of a product or service that you render, but because you don't talk, that person will go seeking in _Sokoto_ , what is available in his _shokoto_ and you'd be losing a potential client.

The need to market yourself and your services as an Entrepreneur or young creative cannot be overemphasized, and as it is said, 'a closed mouth is a closed destiny' if you don't show or tell people about your services/products, nobody will know what you have to offer and consequentially, you won't make sales.

There are so many Creatives out there who are very good in their crafts and Entrepreneurs who have quality products and ideas to offer, but yet wondering why they are not making sales, or why clients who have patronized them before don't come back.
The truth is that 80-90% of the time, it's because you don't market your business, so nobody knows of your services and if nobody knows you, you won't get patronage.

So I want to encourage you to show up today, show up tomorrow, show up regularly, even if you don't see comments or reactions, but trust me, people are seeing you and your consistency is being registered in their mind. Even your old clients will remember you. Consistency is magnetic. So let the world know what you have to offer today!

Thanks for stopping by.
Let me know if you have had a similar experience and feel free to share in the comments, what products or services that you render.
Cheers🥂

(PS: Actual names were changed for privacy reasons)

#day3
#brandevocreator'squestchallenge25
#thecreatorsquest

A TIME I HELPED SOMEONE

He was beaten half to death and robbed on his way to who knows where. He was left on the ground unconscious and in a lot of pain. After probably hours of people passing by, seeing him but ignoring him, a certain stranger stopped to help him, he cleaned his wounds carried him to hospital and paid the bills.

I was in Primary school, Primary 2 to be precise, when I first learnt about the Good Samaritan. I remember that bright, sunny afternoon very clearly, when my teacher was teaching us in CRS class about the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible. I remember that story very clearly because it's one that resonates with me very much till this day and I think it was one of my major inspirations as well.

I've been trying to pin down a memory of a moment when I helped someone and frankly speaking, I had a tough time doing so and it wasn't because I don't help people enough but it's because just like the Batman, I prefer to help and forget. The Batman is a very iconic and inspirational movie character to me, he has resources at his disposal, he has affluence, influence, riches, wealth and connections, yet he is concerned with a troubles of the little man, the nobody out there who nobody cares about. He leaves all his possession and everything he has to serve and to protect even a town that villainizes him sometimes. He is always there to help and after that, he disappears, not caring for any glory or fame. To me, the Batman is not just a movie character, but an inspiration, a symbol of selflessness and love for humanity.

Though I may not be as rich as Bruce Wayne(Batman) right now, but I am a man that tries to be there for people who actually need me, even if they didn't ask. It's a life principle of mine and though I fall short sometimes, but I still try daily to live up to that principle.
Honestly, sometimes I ask myself "Why?" I know that I don't do it for glory, neither for recognition, so why?
I believe that one of the reasons is that I am so inspired by the lifestyle of Jesus, He was so selfless that He agreed to lose His own life to save us from eternal doom; That's really grand, for real.
I believe that God has helped me, and so I should help others.

Also, there is a certain joy that comes with putting a smile on someone's face or helping a person solve a problem, a unique joy that money can't buy. This is what keeps me on on that track.

Thanks for stopping by, and let me know in the comments, a time when someone helped you that you can't forget.


#day 4
#brandevocreator’squestchallenge25
#thecreatorsquest

WHAT I DO

You couldn't talk about addicted mobile gamers without mentioning my name. I was addicted to mobile games and I was always on a quest to explore and discover new games to play, everyday, like a wildlife explore would seek new fauna for his documentary. Then one day, on one of my expeditions, I discovered the genesis of my true passion.

I would say I've always been intrigued by science, arts and of course, technology, but initially for a large part of my life I wasn't doing anything tangible but things changed shortly after I finished my secondary school.

After my secondary school, I had a lot of free time on my hands. I used to play games all the time, I would go to Google Play Store, download a game and play it and when I go to tired of playing the game, I would delete it and then download another one.
One day while I was searching for a new game on Google Play Store, I stumbled across an app called flyer maker and stopped and I looked at this app, thinking to myself, "wait so I could actually just create a flyer with my phone, really?" I wanted to the see how it worked, so I download it ASAP, opened it and saw a lot of templates and I started to play around with them. I was really engrossed in it for hours and from there, a new creative passion ignited in me.

Fast forward to today, I create unique, creative visual designs and digital Arts. I design functional and beautiful designs for businesses brands and programs. Designs that are created to attract and inform the audience and in turn, drive sales and patronage to the business and programs.
I want to help individuals, companies, businesses, brands, etc to scale up their businesses, to boost up and drive sales through the roof with functional and aesthetically appealing visual designs.

I am also an intermediate video editor, leveling up my video editing skills consistently, so far, I have worked on several videos, including video ads, which were used for online and TV adverts.
And on the side, I edit audio, especially jingles. I also have a track record of jingles and radio programs that I have worked on that have been aired severally across radio stations.

I am also leveling up my digital arts creation, specifically animation.
I want to be able to help people tell their stories and express themselves through animation.

So if I were asked what I do in one word, I would say that I create, I build, I invent, I innovate.
I desire to be able to bring ideas and imagination to life through my visual designs and artworks.

And in case you are interested in working with me, I am available, contact me, let's collaborate 🤝

Thanks for stopping by
And let me know in the comments if what you do is related to anything I have mentioned, I enjoy connecting with my fellow creatives✨
Cheers🥂

#day 2
#brandevocreator’squestchallenge25
#thecreatorsquest

WHY I CAME ONLINE

The secure comfort of my room, my comfy bed, my books, pencils, pens, my crayons and the universe of my imagination; what more could an introvert ask for?

When I was much younger, back then when the internet wasn't fully explored, when Android phones weren't a thing yet and a lot of young people were onboarding on the online space via chat rooms like 2go and the rest, I was just a kid who was satisfied just being on my own, keeping to myself. I didn't really care about being online like my mates, I didn't care about chatting and in fact I didn't even have a phone.
It wasn't that I wasn't opportuned or that I wasn't informed about what the online space was about, no, I just didn't care, or so I thought.

Sitting here right now and thinking back, I've come to realize that it wasn't laxity or lack of concern that kept me away from the online space but it was anxiety, that's right, anxiety, uncertainty, fear even; that was what kept me away.
Take this walk with me down memory lane.

I was a young introverted person and I did not like to show myself. I used to keep to myself a lot as most introverts do and I had a very active imagination. I spent a lot of time in my amazing fantasy world but the thought of putting myself on the scary, public online space filled with strangers and having them see and judge my pics and vids was unnerving. Yeah I was pretty sure my imagination was just perfect for me.

Growing up, I saw a lot of my mates going online, joining chatrooms like 2go, joining social media platforms like Facebook, deep down I knew I had an interest to be a part of it too. It's not like I wanted to do anything there, I didn't have any plans or visions, I wasn't even thinking about creating content of any sort, but as I began to learn about Facebook, especially I just thought it would be fun to come online and just watch people's pictures and videos and that would be fine.

I remember that I signed up for my Facebook account first on my mom's phone, I can't really remember the name of the phone but it was a small, red phone with buttons. I created my first Facebook account and well, it was fun scrolling, viewing people's pictures and videos and with time, I became interested in Discovering more. I became curious to know more, to understand more about the online space and I began to explore.

That was how I came online, really. Not out of curiosity, neither due to vision or desire to create anything online, no, I just wanted to pass time and have fun, watching other people's lives. I came online because I just wanted to have a good time, that's it; but after all these years, a lot has changed and now, not only am I contributing to the online space but I'm building my brand as well as a freelancer, I'm contributing to causes, learning, expanding my knowledge, my skills, my experiences and I am building.

Knowledge that I've gotten from the online space has led me to improving not only my online persona, but also my personal life offline. I have come a very long way.

And so now I ask myself "what am I doing online now?"
I am building online, I am growing and I am learning new skills, connecting with people, expanding my knowledge, my reach, my experiences and I am improving in my personal life as well. Though still very much a private person, I have learned through the online space, skills that have helped me to grow in my interpersonal relationships and to build even more connections.
I never could have thought that things would turn out the way they did and I'm grateful, certain that it'll only get better.

So, Cheers to passing time😁, Cheers to fun and most importantly, Cheers to growth!!🥂

Thanks for stopping by
Let me know if my little story resonates with you in any way.

#day1
#brandevocreator’squestchallenge25
#thecreatorsquest