Ayo Makun a.k.a AY, has always been an entrepreneur ever since and this distinct him from couple other comedians. You see, being an entrepreneur is beyond just having gift and talent, talent isn’t enough. You’ve got to be skillful, enlightened about your line of business and know how and when to divert for more productivity.
Just few days ago I was at the cinema to see the movie, “A trip to Jamaica” and in less than an hour it was sold out, and as a sharp business guy, I started calculating (I estimated a daily selling-out of 5 million naira but guess what, I was wrong! Just this noon, AY posted on his instagram page of the same movie grossing 80 million naira in 10 days! Whoop!! That’s a whopping 8 million naira daily on the average, the highest grossing Nollywood film in 2016. So I started strategizing out things..
Now this should ring a business sense to every aspiring and existing entrepreneur. I mean, AY has been known to be doing well, coming from the AY Live comedy and music show and now, taking over in Nollywood and don’t even start thinking towards him using some superstitious something, because some lazy people can always find excuse for their mediocrity lifestyle.
After some dose of rumination, I came up with 10 lessons we can all learn from Ayo Makun, AY. Below are 10 Business lessons we can learn from AY’s mega success.
- Sell product(s)/service(s) with huge audience base
One of the fastest ways of making it big in business is ensuring there are huge demands for your products/services. This is the same model multi-billionaires use. What can you offer at a very affordable cost that has got huge demands in the market? AY has huge audience for his jokes and comic movies which goes for as low as 500 to 5,000 naira. Everybody wants to ease out stress, everybody wants to laugh and trust me, if they are satisfied, recommendations will keep doing the selling.
2. Leverage on your social capital
Social capital has become easier to acquire these days with the help of social media. What are you doing on social media, how are you maximizing it to your business success. AY created various sensitizations prior to the release of “A trip to Jamaica” on Instagram , facebook, twitter, etc. That gave us a serious anticipation of what is coming next after 30 days in Atlanta, the movie. You see, aside from having fun on social media, learn how to maximize it for your business earnings.
3. Innovate! Dont just sit on same trend.
AY started out with comedy, launched AY live, which has become one of the biggest comedy shows in Nigeria. He didn’t settle there, he delved into the movies, all in same entertainment industry. It’s a free world, innovate, expand and spread your tentacles preferably in the same line/industry of your business, but then, know the right time to expand.
4. Packaging
Have you ever studied a typical product or event from AY..? It is always well packaged and branded to worth even more than the demanded price. Truly, AY is not the funniest comedian, but he has been able to, with his entrepreneurship skills, gather better comedians, packaging it as premium events. His movies are well packaged that you’d want to see it even if it’s just all about comics with no serious story lines, but then, its still entertainment. So how are you packaging your products/services? Some people have quality product but WRONG packaging. This tends to drive away your potential customers even before they test your products.
5. Deliver Quality
A typical AY event gathers a whole lot of top A-list artists coming to entertain you, giving you value for your money. Likewise in his movies, good picture quality and locations you need to see the movie, A trip to Jamaica if you haven’t. As much as you can, invest in the quality of your business. When people get good quality, they will be willing to pay more and even patronize your next product(s).
6. Expand your customer base
AY through his movies has been able to increase his customer base beyond the Nigerian borders. A 30 Days in Atlanta movie doesn’t sell to only Nigerians. Citizens of Atlanta and the US at large want to know what happened in their state in that 30 days, thereby increasing his patronage, likewise A Trip to Jamaica. Always come up with strategies to increase your customer base beyond the borders of your street, community, state and country.
7. Handle critics professionally
Yea, so many people will criticize you; they will question your expansion and establishment of something different. They will even give you visible reasons why your new project won’t work (who dem epp anyways). Even in this same recession, AY is shooting a new movie and now he’s turned out millions in same movie. My dear, believe in your action, and yes, listen to critics but handle them professionally, to your favor.
8. Dare something different – Ignore fear
Right now I’m imagining the several contemplation AY might have made before shooting his first movie. Of cause, as human being there is always this fear when starting out something new BUT that shouldnt stop you from daring it out! There is always a 50-50 chance, but I tell you, this is better than not trying at all. Dare something different in your business, ignore FEAR!
9. Use bigger corporates money
If you watched A trip to Jamaica closely, you will discover that two brands were advertised in the movie, if not more. That’s not for free bro! It’s been paid for. In your business line, learn how to engage in partnership/sponsorship deals with bigger corporates especially when your product/service will be of benefit to them. Engage them and let them see reason to sponsor/partner with you, trust me, if they can see earnings from it, they will be willing to do business with you.
10. Get up and do the Necessary!
Now, enough said! Becoming a mega success in your line of business won’t come by reading these tips or day dreaming about it. You’ve got to put in the work, strategize, get your facts and research right, implement and see yourself/business becoming the next great brand.
Your comment is most appreciated, drop them below.
-Abbey Oyetunji
AY is not an opportunist as most people actually said. He’s a creative enterpreneur with discerning eyes to read and respond in timely and professional manner to “market trend and demand”. Thank you Abbey for the article.
Thanks for stopping by Ayo.
woww good article from good source i think i need to add this steps to my business and see how it goes
thanks abbey for posting this.
Thanks Amaka. Happy you enjoyed it!