Serial entrepreneur and founder of Chicago-based Block 22 Realty, Aguda Olufemi Micheal―better known as Femi Aguda―has offered valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Speaking recently, he debunked the myths of entrepreneurship, by sharing some of the big lessons he learnt in his evolution as an entrepreneur.
“Most people go into entrepreneurship in order to have more time and more money. But from my experiences and others that I know or read about, this is far from the truth as the early years can be rough, being time-consuming and money-gulping. Most entrepreneurs end up working in the business instead of working on the business. Eventually, it will pay off if you remain consistent and put systems in place,” he said.
On the perennial debate over whether or not everyone will be better off by embracing entrepreneurship, Femi Aguda offered a perspective, saying: “I’ll say everyone is wired to be creative and enterprising. I am of the school of thought that you can be an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur. That is, you can either set up your own business with a new idea or concept (entrepreneur) or work in an organization as an employee tasked with developing innovative ideas/projects (intrapreneur).”
Femi Aguda, who had a measure of business success in Nigeria as co-founder of cokodeals.com and founder of leapbud.com, before relocating to America where he is thriving as a licensed real estate professional and investor, shared a few lessons on doing business in America.
According to him: “You must be licensed to operate most businesses here, for example, as Licensed Real Estate Agent, Licensed Barber, Licensed Nail Technicians and so on. Hence, you must follow the rules of engagement (un-learn and re-learn), especially in real estate. And in the USA, business registration is done on a State basis. So ensure you understand the way each state operates and the governing laws of the industry.”