“You cannot sell much when your branding is poor” - Obanor

 

Ik Obanor is a graduate of English from the prestigious University of Ibadan. He is the President and Founder of the Catalyst, an organisation that provides Branding and Printing solutions for organisations. In this interview with JOY NGWOLO, he shares his journey of starting out as an employee with no pay to owning his business, he also highlights some problem-solving tips for entrepreneurs.

What led you into the Branding and Printing business?

After youth service, I decided that I was going to stay in my place of service which was Akwa Ibom state. And way back in school, I had always had this interest in printing and branding but I had not really gone into it full time. When I decided to stay in Akwa Ibom, I considered the option of venturing into printing and branding. So, one of those days, I stumbled on a printing and branding firm, I went in and asked that I wanted to work, and that I had just finished service and would like to work. They told me that since I did not have a vast knowledge of branding and printing, they might just get me to do a few things and pay me N15,000. When I saw the ridiculousness of the fee, I decided to give them my own ideal, I told them I was going to work for free which was surprising but I took that decision understanding that it would afford me the time to understand the business well and it would give me the opportunity to explore basically and I did. I worked there for a year and six months without pay. The quest to earn a living and my passion for branding and printing, were one of my motivation. After that, I became the manager in the same company where I worked for two years before I decided to work for myself and be on my own.

What makes your brand different from others?

I do quality jobs, I pay attention to details of the jobs that I do, with the mind-set that it is mine and not just for a client. It makes me give in my best because I have a very huge taste for excellence so most times I do not leave any stones unturned when it comes to delivering good services and I have integrity of business. I do what is asked and what is paid for.

How did Covid impact your business?

Covid-19 affected a lot of businesses, for some positively, for others negatively but I would say it did affect my business positively and negatively. Positively in the sense that I am now beginning to see the possibility of doing my business by proxy owing to the advent of the lockdown and the pandemic, I started making contacts and connects with people who do the same business as me across different states in Nigeria and the essence is that if for any reason I have a job in any of these states, I do not need to travel down, I just make contacts with them, let them know what I want to do but primarily I would always work with people who would deliver the same excellent job as myself. Secondly, for many businesses who before now would rather do hard copy fliers and share them, most of them are now seeing the need to take their businesses online, do fliers and disburse them on social media. That has reduced the number of fliers that are printed and that has reduced production but in all of that, God has been helping, we are still in business and we are waxing strong.

What is your advice for businesses struggling to survive the impacts of the pandemic?

Any business that is struggling at this time, it is normal but you cannot fold your arms and watch your business crumble before your very eyes so what I would advise is that everybody should get their business online and push publicity and adverts on social media, get a website, get everything you do online so that whether or not there is a lockdown, you can deliver your services in the country and any other part of the world. One of the core of some businesses is not just because they are on the internet, they are making lots of money. For some, it’s just because of God’s grace and that’s why as a business owner, I am very prayerful. So I would advise that every business should be very prayerful and trust God for growth.

What is the importance of branding for a business?

Branding gives you the opportunity to create an impression that you want to give to people that are going to come in contact with your brand. Branding goes in tandem with selling, you cannot sell much when your branding is poor. Imagine that somebody has a very good product but the branding of that product is sub-standard so putting that product beside other product that are well-packaged and well-branded on the shelf, there is every tendency, considering the consumer’s behaviour, that someone would rather trust the well-packaged product than the low-budget branded product because it appeals to their eyes and minds and already their satisfaction without using the product because it is well packaged. The most important thing is that it gives you an edge and a fair playing ground with other products regardless of whether they are locally produced or they are produced outside the country.

Where do you see your business in the next five years?

The vision is to render services to direct consumers and middle-men, to have a world-class branding outfit that would deliver the best of services wanted. One of the challenges we face as business owners is that many of these products that we would have wanted, are not available in Nigeria. However, by the grace of God, in five years we should have bridged that gap when it comes to branding, there is nothing we cannot do here in Nigeria. I look forward to attending to all my customers’ branding and printing needs. These services are not just restricted to my current state which is Akwa Ibom, Uyo, we are looking at having branches all over the country.

What is your advice for young graduates?

It’s good to apply for jobs, it is good to want to work in an office where you can be paid salary ones in a month. What every individual must know is that you cannot become wealthy by working for someone else because your time is limited. You are paid for your time. Imagine you are doing your own job and you have time to do other important things that you would have wanted to do but because you work for someone, those other things would rather stay where they are until you have the time. That is if you ever do. Like they say, it is good that you work for a couple of years, raise funds and start your own business because being an entrepreneur is key. But on the other hand, just like I did, I didn’t wait to work anywhere, I only paid the price which is somewhat stupid in the eyes of some persons, I decided to work for a company for one year and six months without salary but in that period of time, I knew I was getting equivalent knowledge and exposure into the brand and the printing industry, so it was not long before I understood it perfectly. And coming to manage the same business for them, gave me a clearer picture of what branding and printing is about. Deciding to stay on my own is not about coming from nowhere, I started from the bottom and I learnt the basic rudiments and the core of the business so today I am not into the business for sheer interest, I am into the business because I have learnt and paid my dues and it’s also a passion for me, I love branding and I love printing.

 

How were you able to cope without pay for the period when you had to work without pay?

For that period, I was doing project analysis for students in the University of Uyo and I got paid for it. I had close to 10 students every year, sometimes more, so that was what I was sustaining myself on and it was a very interesting business. The other thing was that as I was working there without pay, I kept telling people around me the place where I live, that I am into printing and branding and so some of them trusted me enough to give me their jobs. So I would bring those jobs to the office, pay the appropriate price and get my own commission on the job, that was a source of income and also a means of building my own client base. When I decided to be on my own, it became easier because these people knew me and I was basically learning the business step by step, so that’s it.