“The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” - Jesus
If it works once, well you were lucky. If it works thrice and some more, you have mastered certain principles required for your business to thrive.
Yahoo boys have mastered some core business principles that are applicable across multiple business domains. Here are some business tricks they get right:
- They have mad work ethic: while you’re snoring between midnight and early morning, they are up and “working”. They put in the required hours to get devilish results. Going very far in a short while requires pulling lots of all nights and working freaking hard.
- They treat their clients as kings: before most local Nigerian businesses adapted from “customers” to “clients”, fraudsters already had “clients” they treated cautiously and paid utmost attention to. You can’t go far if you treat your customers or “clients” like crap, at least in the short term.
- They understand the limitation of the Nigerian economy: most of the richest people in Nigeria, earn in Dollars. Or work for companies earning in Dollars. Politicians and Civil Servants at the apex get paid from oil sold at USD market rates. Software Developers and other Techies (Freelancers) are paid in Dollars. Oil workers get paid off oil Dollar earnings. If you service a market that is paid in Dollars, you stand remarkable chances of getting rich in Nigeria.
- They have an excellent ecosystem: As Steve Jobs taught us, you can’t do great things alone, you’ll need a great team and community. They have a strong eco-system that is expanding and catering for the interests of their members. They are ever willing to share information, experiences, and resources.
- They are great storytellers: They pique their “clients” interest through suspense conveyed by a fascinating story that hooks their imagination, weaving a plot that results in the “clients” parting with good money. They are excellent storytellers and salespeople.
- They are Go-Getters: Yahoo boys are alphas, who knows what is to be done, then go ahead and do the damn thing. They don’t wait to be helped by the proverbial Nigerian “Uncle”, they get what they want by themselves by learning and applying the required skills.
- They are short-sighted: They don’t think about their long-term future and the consequences of their actions, which is a recipe for a disastrous ending, both individually and nationally. They don’t end well, and their track records impede the progress of people trying to make money online through legitimate means. Success in business demands a long term vision of providing value for money at scale.
- Crime doesn’t pay in the long term: for a couple of years, Invictus Obi strutted the Nigerian entrepreneurial landscape, even making it to the Forbes under 30 list in Nigeria. But a day of reckoning came and the truth sent him behind bars. You could be the richest woman in Africa or the President of America, there is always a day of reckoning, integrity is the secret to lasting longer in the game.
Anticipate my book: Reverse Social Engineering, which will demystify the Romance and Business Email Compromise scams of Yahoo Boys from an insider’s perspective.
