The Entrepreneurial Barber's Tale: How To Invest in Yourself and Create Path to Success - Degree Barber

Ever wondered what it takes to turn a simple set of clippers into a sprawling business empire? That's exactly what Godwin Tetteh, our master barber guest, has done. His story is a vivid illustration of transforming a deep-seated passion into a lucrative venture and then pushing the envelope by reinvesting a staggering 100,000 Ghanaian cedis into his own business. We journey with Godwin as he recounts the strategies and philosophies that enabled him to not just survive but thrive in a competitive industry, proving that sheer perseverance and a dedication to quality service can indeed carve a pathway to success.

Godwin's narrative, though, goes beyond just the cut and thrust of the barbershop. It's a tale steeped in emotional resilience, adaptability, and the entrepreneurial spirit. He shares with us the raw and real side of his journey, from the challenges of leaving a stable job to the self-taught business acumen that saw him wearing every hat imaginable. If you're looking for a story that embodies the heart and soul of entrepreneurship, the kind that inspires you to invest in your dreams and the people who help build them, then this conversation is one you won't want to miss.

BarberWithDegree, as he's affectionately known, doesn't stop there. In a candid discussion, he dives into the importance of leadership, the value of investing in human resources, and the symbiotic relationship between a business and its team. Godwin reveals why he dedicates a significant portion of his resources to ensuring his staff's well-being, recognizing that they are the backbone of his success. Join us for an enlightening episode on Konnected Minds, where the power of investing in people and systems takes center stage, and walk away with a new perspective on what it truly means to drive your business to new heights.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Before you see a beautiful house. Okay, there's been a lot of work that went into it. But you know, the sad part is that many people don't see that. They always see that the marketing you do today okay, you tend to reap it in the next four or five years. I don't give up. I always like to bring out that kind of zeal and best in me. It's a surprise that I enrolled myself into high school. I met a school dad who was a barber. That was where everything changed for me. So anytime I was standing by him, I was looking at him. I was looking at him. I started studying by brain, but he didn't know. So I realized the part of me that could cut hair instantly. You know what I did with myself. I'm going to develop this and become the next barber if my school father graduates. Wow.

Speaker 2: 0:55

If you've never heard an episode from Connected Minds, well, today is your first time, and I know you're going to enjoy this conversation. Most of the time you see people come on this show speak about their tech businesses. They are fintech businesses, technology-based businesses that are changing the world in its own way. Today we have something different, in fact, the service he provides. As a businessman, you would expect he may want to do it a little bit differently, but he's taking the approach that we've always known over the years. A few months ago, he made 100,000 Ghana cities in one month and decided to reinvest all of that money into the same business. Now, today's conversation is going to enlighten you on his path and how he began to make those decisions that will eventually change his life. My man, how you doing.

Speaker 1: 2:02

I'm good, derek, I'm very good and I'm super excited to be here. Thank you, my name is Godwin, just like you mentioned, godwin Gofitete. But then, before we delve into me and all, I just want to speak about how excited I am to be here, because throughout my life, I've always been looking for opportunities like this to empower, inspire others. There are so many people out there who have not seen excuse me, to see the light. When I see the light decisions in life, that's going to make life very easy. That's going to help you make a lot of money.

Speaker 1: 2:43

There are so many hardworking people out there, like I always say, who are doing the wrong jobs Exactly because you have somebody investing so much of their time into something that I may think that it's not going to work, it's not going to make you the money you want to make, you get it. So the moment you spoke to me and was like, oh, godwin, we have to do this. Let's speak to the people, let's make the people understand that it is possible, regardless of where you find yourself, regardless of how hard the economy is and all that. So I'm very excited to be here.

Speaker 2: 3:19

Well, you know, thank you so much when I saw your post. I saw your post on Twitter and then I was like many people would do completely different things to what you did. Exactly, you made 100,000 in a month All the busy times where the aspirants and the visitors were in the country and you decided to reinvest all that money into your business. Now, I'm sure many people would have done that. You know they've made even more right within that time, but for me, the beautiful thing about this is the fact that you decided to post it to empower someone. Now that's what people don't understand.

Speaker 2: 4:08

That's the step you took to say I'm going to post this regardless of what people are going to think. Somebody may think it's too small, somebody may think it's too much, but I want to make an impact in somebody else's life. And then I saw it and I was like forget all the comments that are coming in. I want to speak to this guy. I want to be in the mind space of this young man who decided to do this to empower, because that's what I'm about Empowering people. That's true. What was happening in your mind?

Speaker 1: 4:39

There are a lot of things going through my mind right now Because, you know, even before we get to the 100,000 cities in a month, you know, before you see a beautiful house, okay, there's been a lot of work that went into it, from foundation, from electrical, from diggings. You know sleepless nights. But you know the sad part is that many people don't see that when they're working in a very nice neighborhood, what they see is the beautiful house. But the point is that before I go to that 100,000, I didn't even believe I was going to do that myself, because when you watch the progress of my business, it's been very slow and I'm highly, I'm so much more of a marketing person. I like to promote my business, I like to, I believe in quality and I like to always make sure that everything I give out is the quality, is the best. So they always say that the marketing you do today, okay, you tend to repeat in the next four or five years. So if I'm telling you that, oh, if I'm investing like a 50,000 cities into creating brand awareness for people to know my brand, maybe, probably I'm not going to reap that today in the near future. There's been so many things that I've done so many years ago consistency, discipline, making sure that everything is in place. When people come around, they're happy. Even times where you make, you do promotions, you promote your business, it's not working. You are still there, you still keep showing up for people.

Speaker 1: 6:11

Okay, so even before December, I gave about 150,000 cities into promotion. I invested 15,000 cities into promotion and when I was doing that, I told my employees that, yes, what it is, we are going to do this. The big snapshot promo. That's what we called it. In November, I told my people that we are going to do a promo called the big snapshot promo. We are going to give like 20% off our services Anybody who comes in. They're giving them money out.

Speaker 1: 6:50

These times are not normal times when businesses are driving so hard to make more money from their customers. We tend to be giving back and we've been running the business for like almost two years without raising prices, even when prices kept going up. So when I do my cost-benefit analysis and I see how much I invest into the business, how much I'm getting as profit, if it is not harming me, if it's going to help me break even, I don't mind. So I invested that money. I told them that that's what this is going to do for us. It's going to give us exposure, it's going to sell our objective and the kind of services we provide to our audience, and then we are going to get potential clients.

Speaker 1: 7:31

In December they were like, ah, degree, this is crazy, we need more money. Things are not going to be like, let's just hold on. When we did that in November, to our surprise November, when we thought we were giving out more money out to people, we actually made the best sales ever in the history of Reflex. Wow. Then the next month, getting into December, everything went wildfire. It was like, wow, it is very possible. So, yes, a lot of work went into it. So when you make a post like that, there is a burning desire in you to let others know, because naturally, that's me. I like people around me to see whatever light that I've seen. If today I see something that is going to help me and I have brothers, I have friends in my circle why not share it with them? So, basically, with regards to that post, that is just the degree of doing what the degree of dust always Sharing inspiration, motivating people to do more, and it's going to work.

Speaker 2: 8:43

This is the source that we probably should have left at the end of the conversation, but it's so good that we've started with that, because there's a lot more that is coming. I want to understand your app bring a little bit, because I know your name on there is what? Degree Baba, yeah, right, and then I know you went to UPSA as well. Exactly, but what was your app bring like?

Speaker 1: 9:09

OK, so I grew up in a very small town in this room called Asasawa. I never leave that out of my story. Everywhere I go, I talk about it because I see so many people like Messi. They come from a very small town and they always speak about it. Ok, so anywhere I go, I talk about my small town. So my app bring in.

Speaker 1: 9:33

I grew up in a family of five children who were all taken care of by just a single dad. So my mom eventually and my dad divorced and my dad was just taking care of all of us, so financial difficulties became like a serious thing in my family. I come from a family where education is intense. So unless it's your 10, regardless of your grades, somebody else has to go before you. So, yeah, right after high school, after GHS, had this kind of not giving up spirit in me when my daddy said there is no money for you to continue, I want to go out of my all my four siblings. I am always out there looking out to find money. So right after GHS, I started Space to Space 10 in 2009. You see this Ariba, space Phone, ariba, when mobile telecommunication came, where you have those small kiosks, people. Yeah, yeah, we'll go and make some phone calls. Yeah, I had credit and all that. I had to plead with my dad to just invest some money, some small money, into that business for me. And I started and it's a surprise that I enrolled myself into high school. When my results came, my dad was like, oh no, I have to attend the nearby high school in my time. Like, no, I want to go out there, explore, meet people, build my networks. So I left home and went to a Kaua Mai Senior High School. It will shock you when I go to a Kaua Mai Senior High School. This is a very beautiful story. I don't live out of my story. When I go to a Kaua Mai Senior High School, you have a queue, a queue of a lot of people with your words rich people, a pack nice cars. So I was in a queue. I was next to a lady called Portia. I was right.

Speaker 1: 11:21

After that process we met back in school and then I got to know her better. She went in and we have like Senior House Mistress, we have the headmaster, we have two assistant headmasters sitting there. Then she had a session. She came out. Could you imagine that I entered the room and nobody noticed I entered the room.

Speaker 1: 11:43

It was like next, the Senior House Mistress kept calling next, next, next. I was standing there because I was so short, so the almost like next next. Then I stood up. I stood up, so I was in a queue. I stood up and she was like where's your mom, where's your dad? I'm like I'm here alone, really, and I had this burning desire to attend the boarding house. My dad didn't support that idea, so I knew it was going to pop up, because they kept on telling me oh, you are too stubborn, you bring problems when you go to the boarding house Because of my life in high school. I don't give up. I always like to bring out that kind of zeal and best in me.

Speaker 1: 12:26

So I enrolled myself and started school at Aquaman Senior High School. Aquaman Senior High School. I met a school that was a Baba. See, that was where everything changed for me. My school dad was a Baba and he was literally taking care of us through the barbing he was doing Because I would go to school Then in 2009, I completed high school, so 2010, 2011, he was. I was being given like 15 CDs to school for the whole term. I always had Gary and Sugar in my job post, nothing else.

Speaker 1: 13:06

The provisions were not anything to write to my boss. So my school dad was taking care of us and I was doing those errands for him. He'd be like, oh Godwin, go and buy a blade, sweep the place, call the next client, blah, blah, blah. I was doing that, then realized that this guy was making so much money from Baba. Then I'm like Godwin, you need to do something. So I started studying him. He didn't know. So anytime I was standing by him, I was looking at him, I was looking at him. I started studying Baba, but he didn't know. So there was a time he needed to give a haircut to one guy. He was in a queue. There were a lot of people. That guy needed the haircut so quick for an SU meeting. Then I offered to give the guy a haircut and I was like aha, can you cut? I think, yes, I could cut your hair. So he was then clipper of a blade technique. Then I did the haircut, but I couldn't do the hairline. That's good. That came to finish the hairline and then boom, it's like how Godwin really. So I realized the part of me that could cut her instantly. You know what I did with myself. I'm going to develop this and become the next Baba if my school father graduates, wow. So anytime I'm on vacation, I go home.

Speaker 1: 14:18

My stepmom had a nanny that I was using as a canvas to get better on the job. My school dad left and fast forward. I became a household name on campus. I was cutting people for sardine butter trade. I was cutting people for 50 pesos. I was cutting people's hair for favors. I was cutting my senior house masters. I was cutting my teachers. I was cutting my headmasters. Like I had this name close up. That was my nickname. It was everywhere I went, from that boy who could not afford provisions to the guy who could take his friends to the cafeteria, spread them and buy food for them. Wow.

Speaker 1: 14:59

Then the very important part of it came financial prudence reinvesting back into your business. That's when financial prudence started. I realized that God win degree. This thing was doing more than survival for you. It's now touching other lives. What can you do to them?

Speaker 1: 15:19

The moment I mix more money from my brain. I called a friend. I've never been to a craft. Then I called a friend. I was like, bro, I want to buy a smartphone. That was when Nokia, asha, kim, asha 30, whatever. We came to circle and we bought the phone With all the money I had. We're not allowed to use phone in school. I see this kind of rich kids come from Accra. They're kind of lifestyle You're in school, you want to be texting your girlfriend in another school and all that. So I'll be using the phone. Then Somebody will come around oh Charlie, this phone is nice, I could sell it for you. I sell the phone Mix more money, go back to Accra again. So it was like me using the phone, hoping that somebody will buy it, and it was always working for me.

Speaker 1: 16:10

Can you imagine if I was your son and I graduated from high school? You gave me 15 cities for a term and after graduating from high school I came home, you gave me a room and the TV I buy for my room is bigger than the TV I offer. That was a shock my daddy had when I go back from high school. And then my stepmom was so envious to the point that she was like, no, not in a bad way, this guy, we need to take his TV and exchange it with ours. Ours is too small, it's going to be a bad boy. They don't know. You've worked for it. I actually worked too hard for it. Then you know, I wasn't a bad student. I was a very good student in class. I made good grades and the sad part was that I was watching my friends move straight to the university, where I had to wait for my big sister to finish her nursing school before I can continue.

Speaker 1: 17:15

You went back into the queue of the family Exactly Before I could continue. I was like no way. Then again, I had to go out, started working at a barbershop and you know how. I had the ticket to work there. The same spirit of not giving up when there is no money. You have to find ways, you have to find means, because if you want to follow the norm, okay, the norm is my staff definitely go.

Speaker 1: 17:45

I said no, I'm not going to follow that, because you know education in the same way that you go to school within the heat of the moment. It doesn't mean that when you wait for some time you cannot continue, but you go within the heat of the moment. I started cutting my friends house to house. Then there was a guy I gave a haircut. He was so happy about the haircut he went to me and his brother was like who did this haircut? It's like, oh, one of my friends in this town, assisawa. He actually traveled from Assisawa to Kufuwuiu, the original capital, to get a haircut every two weeks, right. And he's like if there is a barber in this town who can give me this haircut, he's going to see a lot of transportation cost.

Speaker 1: 18:26

Far from that. He wanted to open a barber shop for me. Wow, fast forward. He called me. He said if I was able to give him a good haircut, he's going to do that for me. I prayed, gave him a good haircut. I've never used the clipper before. I was using blade over comb. So you know what I did. I just watched and studied the clipper the very day he opened the fresh new clippers. I look at the clipper and realized that no, the technology behind the clipper, it's just an advancement on the clipper over comb. I had to study it for like 10 minutes and prayed. You know what I did? I did the haircut, used my comb, probably to finish, and the guy was like let's open a barber shop for you. I worked for a year, built the barber shop. It became the number one barber shop in town Before I left.

Speaker 1: 19:15

You know what I did with the money when my daddy said I was not going to school. To school and to my sister finish, I bought forms at UPSA. Wow, yes, I went to UPSA. Financing my education was a contract between my dad and I. My dad's contract, yes, it was a contract. He was going to help me pay my admission fees and you are going to take yourself in, take off yourself.

Speaker 1: 19:38

In school I came to a class not knowing where I was. So mostly when you're going to the university, probably your parents are going to pay for your hostel fees, they're going to buy your books, health, clothes and all that. Mind that, and it's not his fault. It's not his fault because the pressure coming from whom? My kid's sister was in the high school, my big brother just completed his university, my big sister was in the nursing school and all that. Then I started to UPSA. So this is just a small story of how I went from where I'm coming from as a sour, through high school, university and I know, as the conversation keeps going on, we are going to get to where business started for me and all that.

Speaker 2: 20:18

Wow. So you, first of all, you got yourself admission Exactly and then, secondly, you went on to you had a contract with your dad to get into UPSA. That's crazy. That's crazy. You've really hit the nail on the spirit of not giving up, and that's very important in any person who wants to make a change in their life to not give up.

Speaker 2: 20:54

There was a story I was sharing on this program with someone I was speaking with about a business partner who I was supposed to do some business with regarding our pharmaceutical services in the US and I'd never met him. And then I sent him several messages on Skype for about five years he didn't respond. On the fifth year he responded and most people would have given up Exactly Right, but that conversation that I kept emailing him, skyping him, what's happening in the end? My goodness, you don't understand the path it created for us. Now, you as an individual, these things you're saying is amazing. Look, a lot of people have all of this inside of them, but they decide to use the energy for the opposite things either to dupe people, steal, lie to people and all sorts of things. And for me, I say that the power that God has given us whenever we direct that power into positive things, it becomes bigger and larger, but once we use it for negative things, then we lose it, very true, and all things go bad. I want to hear about this contract, that conversation.

Speaker 1: 22:19

How did it go on with it? Mind out and deny the contract. Okay, so when I finished the high school, when I was at home working at the barber shop I always come back from work and I locked myself up in the room. I wouldn't eat. I'll be crying. Every time I'll be crying.

Speaker 1: 22:38

I cried almost every night because I loved school, regardless of my hardship. I loved school. I loved to be in class and there was one thing about me even in high school and GHS, the day I'm sick and I'm not present in class and the teacher teaches something, I come back the next day and they are moving forward. They are progressing on my absence, the lessons they learned in my absence. I don't allow the class to continue. I'll keep crying, keep crying, keep crying. Sometimes my teacher instructs somebody to help me on the past lesson so we can move on. Sometimes he revises the previous lesson, so that should tell you how much I love to be in school. So I kept crying.

Speaker 1: 23:20

My dad knew that and you see, you have that son Assuming I was a bad student. I wasn't having a good grade. If you were a dad, you feel like you would forget him. He would cry. I would now have to go and pay some money to get him admission. But this guy has good grades, Right. I had a great 10 for my GHS, Same for my high school. So my dad was always worried. So you know what he did. He borrowed some money and I made 1200 seats, but then my admission fees and everything for year one was 2400 for UPSA. So he was like my son, you are really pressuring, you want to go to school and I knew if I had the means I was going to help you, but this is how far I can help you, so I'm going to pay part of that fees. So he paid 1200 and he was like the rest I don't know how you are going to survive this, Don't worry. Then I had a friend who knows my story. He comes to the Baba shop all the time. He bought me a clipper.

Speaker 1: 24:28

I left my hometown after I had admissions and everything and I came to a crowd. The very first day I stepped in a crowd. I didn't know anything about marketing and promoting yourself, but you see, naturally when you are doing something, you would want people to patronize you. You don't need to go to class and learn about it, no, but fear OK, and the thought of what are people going to see, the thought of rejection, the thought of no. I always had this spirit in me that tells me that if I'm looking for a yes, right, and you tell me no, it means that I should keep pursuing. I've not found what I'm looking for. Galam say if you are digging for good and you keep digging, you keep digging. You're not finding the good. You have to keep going. You are looking for good. Until you find the good, you don't stop. So I didn't have any fear in me. I had that courage to be able to speak to anyone, regardless of what response you are going to give me. So I came to stay with my uncle at Ashi. I run around the entire area.

Speaker 1: 25:33

The first weekend I took my clipper, started moving from house to house. I would knock on their doors. Oh, my name is Godwin, I live around. I'm a barber. In case you need a barber, please call me. That's my number. I did for like three to five houses. Then I came back home the next three days.

Speaker 1: 25:55

There was a guy. I never forget that guy because that was the guy who gave me the opportunity to make some money in a crowd the very first day I stepped in, his name was Kelvin. He called me and he was like bro, I like what you did. I have a barber, but I would like to try you. You know, when the guy called me, I was like, oh my God, this is an opportunity to make some money to compliment whatever money my uncle gives me every day to school. We can.

Speaker 1: 26:24

I went to cut his hair. He liked it and he was like, oh, he kept calling me. Every two weeks he calls me to come. Then he introduced another friend. Then the very first day I stepped into class. One thing about me that kept going. I always talk about what I do, and that is also a point to address the fact that that's it. People are just too shy to get the tea. Because my story speaks about the guy who doesn't care what you say, who doesn't care what you feel. He's just thinking about ways to survive, and if there is something called shyness to prevent it from making it in life, he has nothing to do with that.

Speaker 2: 27:06

You know that's something we share in common, which is knocking at doors. So this is what I say If you knock at one door and it gets shut in front of you, well, try the next door. Now, if they close that door in front of you, you only have one option Get a carpenter and create your door and hold the key. Nobody can take that key away from you. True facts, and that's what you're doing Exactly. You've watched someone cut hair and you've internalized. That process is almost becoming yours now. Now you've set up a business in that same field. Now, all the people that give you opportunity in your way of becoming an entrepreneur today have done amazing. However, you're holding a key so many people who don't have any belief at all in themselves when it comes to starting a business or charting a path of individual development. What do you tell?

Speaker 1: 28:21

them Never give up. So you see, the fear of failure which is no two is about it. It is just. But the point is that you actually feel, when you fall and don't rise up, that is a true failure and most of the times we may we may construe it to be like oh, if I'm doing something that doesn't work, it means it will never work.

Speaker 1: 28:48

I had a lot of comments after that post, people saying that there are a lot of people trying so hard on the street. There are a lot of people doing that to work. It's not working. Yeah, but the point is that you see, when you try something and it is not working, it means you're not doing something right, exactly Because there are some people who have tried and it's working. The point is that you start asking questions, start looking for people who have done it and it's working for them and learn from them. For God's grace, you have somebody who has done that before and you feel like, oh, I'm doing the same thing. It's not working. The very best thing you could have done was like, oh, hi, bro, I saw this post. How did you do it? You know?

Speaker 2: 29:28

what. That's why we are sitting here today. Right, Because I know somebody out there needs to hear this conversation. Somebody is amazing. Right now. He's been able to save up, let's say, 10,000 cities to start his own small company to build for people and they don't know how to go about it. Or, you know, they're completely confused. They don't know the path they should take and by listening to you today, hopefully they will get that fame Exactly Now. Many people. I think you've seen what's happening in a country where a lot of people are moving out. I slept in another country, True, In that conversation we can have.

Speaker 2: 30:09

No, when I saw the post what came on my mind is that this guy could easily give this money to someone and he would travel out of the country.

Speaker 1: 30:15

What the hell is he doing here? What is he doing here?

Speaker 2: 30:17

Why didn't you take that approach? It's easier, isn't it? Yeah?

Speaker 1: 30:21

It's a very good question. You know, I also have this. I say that success and making it in life, it is not assured. Okay, you have to work for it. And if you are not hardworking, excuse me to say, if you are lazy, if you are reserved, if you don't want to push hard in Ghana, okay, there's no way a magic will happen for you in the UK.

Speaker 2: 30:55

Yes.

Speaker 1: 30:56

It's true. Yes, it's true. Wherever you go. Wherever you go, you need to push limits.

Speaker 2: 31:01

Look the individual is more important than the surroundings. The surroundings is okay, it plays a little part, but the individual? Because I say, when I was traveling abroad, there were three of us that were going. I had a backpack, a backpack, I took a backpack and I was wearing a tie and that was my journey. Okay, the people I was with, they all had their suitcases, massive suitcases full of clothes. I had one jeans and one trousers. Okay, now, I was an individual and there were other individuals. Today, by the grace of God, our paths have become clear.

Speaker 1: 31:44

He didn't sleep in London or UK. No, no, the thing is that I want to ask you a question. I don't know, maybe you can share an opinion about it, but you have had a travel experience before. You've been to probably two or three countries.

Speaker 2: 31:57

More than that, more than that.

Speaker 1: 32:00

Don't you think that people suffer in the UK or in America, plenty, or in Germany, plenty, yes, why?

Speaker 2: 32:09

The individual, the system.

Speaker 1: 32:12

There's a system that is very good for them to make it, yes, but it is not working for them.

Speaker 2: 32:17

Look the individual must be built. Mindset, yes. So if right now, I've got something, though I've got something. You see the individual, if you get the same opportunity as I did, you probably do better than I have, or do equally well, or maybe worse, or maybe worse, Depending on who. However, the difference, though, between you and most people I've met in the UK and other parts of the world, especially Netherlands, is that you have a different mindset the mindset of growth, discipline, independence, self-reliance. Now, that's unique in any environment. To succeed. To succeed, yes, true, you know what. I've got the post and I want us to go through it very quickly. So, you said, before you think of quitting your job and starting your own thing, bear these in mind. The first one you had was not easy from the start.

Speaker 1: 33:20

Yes, it's not easy from the start. Right, you don't think maybe quitting your job and starting a new thing is going to solve your problems? Okay, honestly, entrepreneurship comes with certain skills and characteristics of an individual. Not everybody can become an entrepreneur. Okay, you get it. So the point is that entrepreneurship alone is not the way to making it in life. It's not only the way to making it in life.

Speaker 1: 33:47

If you don't have the qualities, all you can do is make money from your nine to five job. Find a way to invest in an entrepreneur who knows the way, who can guide you. To that way, you'll be making some money elsewhere and making some money on your investment. That knowledge that took from the financial quadrat I don't like to read, but I like to read highly recommended books. Reach that board, that right, that books divides assets and liabilities On the left side and right side, and you also have the self-employed, the entrepreneur, the businessman and then the investor. You get it. So that's the sole proprietor, the businessman and then the investor, so you can make some money. Invest in somebody who knows who it is Like they always say. So it's not going to be easy from the start.

Speaker 2: 34:45

And then you have your second point, which is friends will see you as a failure, but when you win, they tag along and sing your praises.

Speaker 1: 34:55

Yeah, You're working with a friend in, let's say, ghana ports, in Harbour. Yeah, they're a limited cookbook probably. They are giving you 15,000 CDs a month at your level. Whatever level you find yourself. I'm like, no, charlie, I'm quitting this job. I want to go and start my own thing. And you start and it's not working. Well, you are failing. They are seeing you as a failure, right, yeah, but you don't have to give up. But when you win. I know this guy Because working with him at Ghana port in Harbour, we went to the same high school.

Speaker 2: 35:35

Because now it makes sense, yes, it makes sense to associate with him.

Speaker 1: 35:38

So you have to bear this in mind. Don't be surprised when you meet them, because I've gone through all these things. When I started, friends were making fun of you, like who that Baba forget them? I wasn't, I wasn't even having. I could even have like maybe a Good relationship, because girls are too shy to be around the Baba on campus.

Speaker 2: 36:01

So right. So now you've changed the term from a Baba to a business man. Yes, adley, you were once a Baba, but now you are business man. Yes, you created business out of it. That's beautiful man. Now, the third point you had was you regret quitting your job, but remember winners never give up. Yes, Winners.

Speaker 1: 36:23

They never give up. You keep trying, keep trying until you win. You have to have that spirit as an entrepreneur. You need that spirit because there was a time where all my Babes left except one and the workload was more than just two people we had. We had to work overnight. There were times where we had to close the shop because power was not working. For like two, three, four days, everything was crashing. But I sit back and tell myself that if I look at what people say about me, no, I don't want to be a failure, and failure is actually when you fall and you don't get up again.

Speaker 2: 37:09

Otherwise then you know all the times that you fail. There's a lesson in there for you. That's why this journey is. It's an individual journey. It's a lonely road. It's a road that sometimes, when you don't have money, you don't have any help from anyone. You need to make it work. But those of us that have a family, you need to make it work to be able to feed your family. Exactly Now, your fourth one you have is you may fail, but you have to bounce back.

Speaker 1: 37:45

Find the strength pretty much. We spoke about it. Yeah, don't don't lie there. Yeah, don't stay with Ali, for my leg break.

Speaker 2: 37:53

No, keep going, yeah. And then the fifth one was you'll be a CEO, accountant, hr, pr, procurement, Marketing, sanitation, business development, customer relations, etc. Manager, literally, you'll be doing everything.

Speaker 1: 38:10

No, no, no lies.

Speaker 2: 38:11

No, lies Okay.

Speaker 1: 38:13

I've done. You played a role, everything when we started, when we started, the one day one when we started. Reflect. I'll come to the barbershop early in the morning, sweep, cut people's hair, take money's, keep accounts, go back home, put all the videos together, advertise them, go for meetings, go for interviews. Bro, if you don't have that energy, you don't have that. You should be able to multitask as a startup entrepreneur. It is, it is, it is highly required.

Speaker 2: 38:51

One of the things, though, is that people also need to be ready to make a change, because we started our first pharmacy in the UK was a care homes pharmacy, so we're dispensing for care homes, I Think a year after we realized that, no, that market wasn't working as well. We had a business plan, we had all the plans together, so we changed to private services of the government system, and that worked. You need to be flexible enough.

Speaker 2: 39:20

Yes, ali, you know to realize that you know this may not be working, so let's try something else as long as you have it within you, you know, because there are certain people who just they just want to do it because everybody else is doing it, true, right, and then you have, when you grow bigger, the government will come for you. In fact, it's not just the government, everybody, everybody comes from, from competition To maybe this part of the world, maybe your landlord weaving or a landlady waving comfy, because now they're seeing that something is working in the game and then they may want to, you know, capitalize on that, yeah.

Speaker 1: 40:03

That's, you have actually explained that, so we can. We can still keep, keep, keep going.

Speaker 2: 40:08

And then you have the survival of every business is partly dependent on ideas. Yes, you must not like that. You must not like ideas. Yeah, I think that's what we just said.

Speaker 2: 40:22

You need to be able to switch as quick as you can, because sometimes, you know, people hold on to you long. You know, even if you have an apple which is not heavy and you hold it for too long, your arm is gonna hurt. True, and sometimes that's what happens in business you are holding on to something that is not working. You hold on for so long that it begins to hurt, you know. And then you said don't forget to nourish your business as you keep milking it.

Speaker 2: 40:55

You mentioned that yes same principle applied in Breeding a dairy cattle. You mentioned that, yes, and then you said a business is a system that operates in your absence. Find a way to build that system Now. This is so key and that's what I was trying to do. Yeah, with you know, coming in with my friend, to be able to build a business that can work without me. Yeah, I mean, it's already working in the.

Speaker 2: 41:28

UK, where my business partner is doing also exactly, but I was trying to do the same thing here and then he decided to disappoint me. Most of the time, we build one man businesses and we call it business. We call it a business.

Speaker 1: 41:42

It's not. It's a form of business, but just Proper system. Look if you drop dead.

Speaker 2: 41:47

Today. That business is over. It's good, it's over, and and I'm not cutting- you shots.

Speaker 1: 41:53

That's actually works In the bar brain industry. Most barbers feel like, oh, I'm, that's the Baba, I'm cutting all the celebrities we find pleasure in Doing home calls. Oh, I want to be like a freelance Baba, moving from one space to the other. There was one Baba who came to me sometime and he was like, oh, I've stopped working at the shop, I want to be going around and cutting people, say. Then I asked him one question bro, if today and you're sick, you don't have any business, you could have saved a lot of money for yourself, right, but that money cannot Survive you for the rest of your life.

Speaker 1: 42:32

But if you are able to create a system where you are sick and people are still working on your making money, your system is working. That's what you call business. Yes, that's a business and it's very difficult to create that and it's expensive to create a system that works in your absence. Don't think it is cheap. Same as building a brand. It is very expensive. That is why you have to keep plowing back your profit into the business. Create the business the way you want it to look. Until you are satisfied, don't stop investing in it. Wow, I bought an accounting system. Probably I would have been hiring an accountant to be taking off my records. I bought an accounting system with 12,000 ganas in this. It does everything for me Payroll, income and expenditure, profit and love, cash flow, everything it balances for you.

Speaker 1: 43:28

Yes, that is an investment, but Not everybody wants to put that money in there. If somebody will feel like you are crazy, how can you be doing all this? But it is a system you are trying to create. You don't need an accountant to be there. Right, business is growing. Yes, you are being innovative.

Speaker 2: 43:51

All this is part of the system you need to build for us.

Speaker 1: 43:54

So find a way to build that system. It's very important in business, last but not least, in business.

Speaker 2: 44:01

Lastly, there is competition everywhere. Make sure you look different Into bracket branding. I think he spoke of that as well, yeah, which is why I'm saying that I'm going to rebrand some of the Businesses we have. If, if, that amazing. Now I've got a question, okay, which is Motivation or discipline. I've kind of deduced it from the conversation we've had, okay, but I would want to hear your answer on that.

Speaker 1: 44:32

Discipline, discipline for me, because you Not everybody would want to Show up every day, regardless of all the odds. So for me I've been very, very disciplined, very, very disciplined. I got my work. I come to work in the morning, make sure I show up for every customer. There are times where I would even be tired from work, but I feel like there is no one day yet To make that customer satisfied, so I have to come back and finish it. If work is not done, I'm not going home. I close Later than my employees, at nine o'clock when we are supposed to close 9 pm. We are supposed to close. Everybody place like, oh, degree, I'm off. Like I'm off, I'm off, I'm off, everybody goes. Then I would have one last person working on that, that person's hair and somebody else works in.

Speaker 1: 45:36

Oh, bro, tell you, I have this wedding I need to attend tomorrow morning. Please, I need you to clean me up. Then I'll be like in my head I'm so tired. But you know what comes into my mind. When I started the work, when I started that business, there were times where I needed people to be coming in. Now I have these people. They are begging me to cut their hair. If not for discipline, I'll push the customer away. You know what happens when people are in tight corners like that, and because you are disciplined and you save them, they tend to become a lawyer customer. They feel like they owe you. If, taking them out of a tight condition, tight situation, you save them from something and they build a lawyer to feel you. So for me, discipline Inasmuch as motivation is also important. You need something to motivate you regardless, but if you are not, if you are motivated, you are not disciplined.

Speaker 2: 46:31

You know, jim Rohn said the motivated idiot. You know, yeah um. What's your favorite personal development book?

Speaker 1: 46:45

two, no, two ways. Rich, that poor dad. Yeah, the financial quadrants. It made me see life and success in a different way. It advices you to move away from being employed or self-employed to creating a system that works in your absence. And when you make that money, invest that money and talk. Most, it tells you that real estate investment is the end goal, and that's exactly what my life has been. You know the post on Twitter somebody came was like eh, this is the same story. People tell you, eh, despite to come and tell you I sold cassette and today I'm a rich cleaner. They will never show you the way, but trust me, bro, that is the true way. Why am I saying that? Yes, if I make money from babbling and tomorrow I invest my babbling money into a microfinance, I invest that money into real estate. And you ask me to tell you my story. You want me to tell you that I make money from real estate. No, you don't just jump from being a barber to real estate. You don't just get up and say I want to do real estate. It involves a lot of money. You get it. So I'm going to tell you that I started as a barber. I did ABCD. Abcd got me this. I took this and invested it in real estate. You get it.

Speaker 1: 48:12

That was the book that saved my life not only my life. I never stopped recommending that book. I gave it to my sister. My sister owns a home salon right now. I gave it to my friend who was supposed to move out of Ghana into UK. Right after our service I met him at National Service. He has his own brand, now everyday items. That book changed so many people's life in my circle and I know there are so many people out there who share the same story.

Speaker 2: 48:37

I've been working to stay months out of that book as well.

Speaker 1: 48:39

That book is going to change your life. It's going to make you understand that, bro, the day I read that book I was like I wasted all my life. But I didn't feel so bad about it because I'm like, oh, it was a journey for me. It only came into enlightening me.

Speaker 2: 48:55

I think people should get it. People should get that book. We spoke about it in. They think Kiyosaki or something, robert Kiyosaki I've mentioned it in one of the segments, segment number one on our podcast, so please go and listen to the segment. That book also has a game. It's called the Cash Flow Quadrant. I have it, I play it every now and then, where it shows you how to invest. It's monopoly, however, in investments. So, again, this is why this podcast, this show, is on to let people know what the way is. Many people ask what's the way Now? What's the best advice you ever got? Best advice I ever got.

Speaker 1: 49:42

Who advised me? My friend, okay, the CEO of Everyday Items.

Speaker 2: 49:47

Okay.

Speaker 1: 49:49

He tells me that degree don't let anybody change you because of their personal reasons or personal understandings of life. Yep, okay, that advice came when I keep doing so much for people and all I get is let me see disappointments. Okay, so I'm that type who wants everybody around me to grow. So I go the extra map because I've been through the hardship. When I see somebody going through hardship like I feel it and I want to help, and you do that and trust me, human nature, people take advantage of that. So my friend Mills tells me that degree.

Speaker 1: 50:31

I know sometimes you feel like no, I want to stop helping people. But he keeps telling me that don't ever stop. And you know what that brings to me. It always brings blessings. Anytime I give a hand to somebody, right that day I never go home sad. It's like my degree works, works. For instance, I'm coming to work and maybe I'm buying, let's say, coconut by the roadside and I give somebody something small. I come and somebody dashes me money that is way, way, way bigger than what I've given out. So he keeps telling me that do not let people's attitude change you, and I'd always live by that.

Speaker 2: 51:18

What you've just said is beginning to change my mind on three things. I've been disappointed by it, friends, twice, one in the UK, one in Ghana, and there's several people that we've given a hand to who've just squeezed us really hard. But some of the things you've just said. Now I may have to go back, because this year I was activating the wicked mode, yes, but maybe I shouldn't.

Speaker 1: 51:44

You have to be wicked, but principled. Right, you have to have a way of dealing with people, and that shouldn't also take the fact that you are a human, are we?

Speaker 2: 51:56

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 51:57

You understand, there are some people who are supposed to be dealt with Like. I'm someone who always like to give out, but excuse me to say I'm not a fool. I know when somebody is trying to play a fool out of me. You would have to be smart at it. There are some people you can even be having a conversation with and the way they are talking can infer that now this guy is just. Maybe probably somebody has told him oh, go to the degree he will give you, he will give you, he will come and tell you some story. Try and investigate and understand. That's what makes you smart.

Speaker 1: 52:28

Yeah, and as a leader? Okay, as a leader of a business, you should be able to one perform. Yes, right, I started as a barber. Today, I'm able to do a pexy cut, I'm able to do certain calls and all those. I never knew all those things, but because I always perform in the shop okay, productive being productive, my employees look up to me. They feel like there's so much to learn from this guy. And motivation is not always about money, okay, it's about making people understand and see the future Like ah, being with this guy can change my life. I can, there's a lot to learn from this guy. So even when he gives me money, there's still something more to learn. Right, you get it, advising them, making their problems your problem.

Speaker 1: 53:17

There was a part I think you omitted it in the point. You hire people right, especially in Ghana, but unfortunately you're going to hire their problems too. That's true. You get it For a young entrepreneur in Ghana who needs somebody to work with me. This person comes. The first thing he tells you is that accommodation. Yes, I rent for almost 70% of people I work with.

Speaker 1: 53:41

Wow, exactly, that's how your business will thrive. Is it somebody who see the nice building out there and come like I want to do the same business, but you don't see any reasoning in it to rent for an employee? You get it. That is investing in my human resource. Same way you invest into cost price minus selling prices, you go to profit. You need to also invest, okay, in building your system. The backbone of every business is your customers, your employees, your suppliers, this story, all the other ones who come ask what supplementary and push your business forward, but this story, especially your customers and your employees without one, one doesn't work. And if A, b works and there's no supplier to keep the business running. You have no business, funnily.

Speaker 2: 54:43

We've just enjoyed an awesome conversation on connected minds with Godwin Tete. People call him Baba.

Speaker 1: 54:52

Tete.

Speaker 2: 54:52

Green, tete Green.

Speaker 1: 54:54

Tete.

Speaker 2: 54:55

Green. Now, what an awesome conversation. Now, if you haven't subscribed to any of our networks, please do become part of the family, because connected minds is on a journey to change lives and power lives. Be connected. Have a Thanks for watching, guys.