Dear Friend,
How do you do?
Today’s letter is from Seyi Olaniyan, a multi-talented doer. He is a brand expert, the creative lead of 99broad, and the brand manager of Yellowlyfe Travels.
In this letter, Seyi shares his journey from struggling to make ends meet to building a lasting legacy through his works.
Learn!
What was the turning point for you in your life/career choice?
It began a while back. I had gone back home from school. A young man approached me, he asked ‘hey, what do you do apart from school, I answered and told him that I was just a regular student. After my conversation with him, it dawned on me that ‘was I serious’. My first result in school was like 1.67 GPA, and then I said to myself, ‘If I continue this way, I am not sure heaven is the goal o.
Then, I decided to go and learn design. My first tutor didn’t pay attention to what I needed, so I left. I had to pay for the design class with my money because, honestly, I just wanted to try something new and different. From there, I started watching Youtube, and I wanted to be better than how I was.
However, I would say that the entrepreneurial spirit has always been part of me for a long time. When I started designing, I didn’t do it the usual way. I started an agency, and I had team members. I approached people involved in students’ politics, and my team and I ran marketing campaigns. From then on, I started seeing things from the perspective of problems, and I am on the lookout for solving them.
In 2014, I lost my dad, and to make ends meet, I became an amateur businessman. Since I was left to fend for myself, I started organising parties and trying my hands on jobs to earn a living. This also led me to create a lifestyle magazine during my industrial training in school, and this was where I found my love for the lifestyle brand. Unfortunately, I was not able to pull it off. I focused on my final exams, and I had an insecure business partner. If my partner had not been insecure, the magazine launch would have been a seamless journey because we put in a lot of work to create the magazine. Although I am always scared of failure, I would rather do it than not do it. I would rather risk it all than not risk anything at all. If you don’t risk anything, you don’t know what will work or what won’t. If it works out well, that’s fine, and if it doesn’t, we’ll keep building till it does. It is just all about trying different things. I also try to upgrade myself. I believe that one should not talk too much. Get to the doing part. My journey started from trying to make something different and survive since I didn’t come from a wealthy background.
What was that one piece of advice that changed your life?
I might not be able to pin on one, but while growing up, I attended many conferences. I used to travel down to Lagos to attend these conferences to listen to people’s experiences and navigate their growth. I am also not an avid reader. I am just trying to learn the habit.
However, one thing that guide me till date is the phrase ‘Die empty’. I came across it somewhere and it stuck with me.
I have decided that even if I do not become a billionaire, I want to pour into people’s lives. Since then, I have been striving to ensure that I impact people with the capacity I have. It might not be huge, but I want to be present in people’s lives as much as possible and give the little I can to help the person.
My philosophy is that when I think of an idea, I go for it. I believe that talking too much and overthinking something can give room for stress and procrastination.
How do you deal with setbacks?
Sometimes you just feel like giving up. You want to go back and start questioning why you started. One of the things I do is step back and consider why things went wrong. Some situations happen that might not figure out why things happened the way did. At that point, what I do is go to God. Due to the political context that we are in, the odds are not in our favour as young people. You have responsibilities everywhere, from families to team members. It feels like you don’t own yourself. So, I deal with setbacks by praying and then going back to the drawing board to see what we can do differently to move forward.
What good news/thing in the world is being overlooked?
Our resilience as Nigerians and our adaptability. I think why people are ‘scared’ of us in the world is because we never give up. We are business-oriented, 'Nigerian be like, “give me one, I will make it two.”
What are three things you have done over the years that have made a big difference?
Being more intentional about my relationship with God.
Travelling: Seeing life from different perspectives. Understanding that life is beyond the way we see it. You get the point and see that there is a level at which you will live to, that you will realise that you have not started living and there is more to life.
Saying No: Saying No to a job that is going beyond my limit. It was an enormous challenge, and it took me a month to decide this. I confess that it is a lot, but I have gotten the courage to say no to other things since then. I have learnt to manage the expectations of people around me. You have learned to say no to little something before you start saying no to big things. You build your courage from the ground up, and you get to a point to can say, “This is not for me.”
What is something that makes you feel hopeful for the future right now?
One of the things that keeps me optimistic for the future is that I understand that God'swill for my life is to be wealthy. I believe that I am a brilliant person. I know what I am doing and what I have done. I know God’s plan for me is really amazing. I have not seen it yet, I am not there yet, but I can feel it. I am so sure of it, and I am anticipating it. I am optimistic that tomorrow will be really awesome. Everything I am doing will thrive. It is just about being consistent and believing, which can be a hard thing to do. But, We keep on Believing.
What is the one piece of advice you will give to someone just starting (in your space?)
One thing I always tell people is that you have to start. You have to be willing to take the risk. You cannot let your ego affect you while you are growing. You have to be willing to learn, be humble and give your all to what you do. Fancy doing, than talking. I know that not everyone can execute, but everyone has an atom of execution in them. So, stop talking, start doing.
How did you manage a brilliant 9-5 and run two successful businesses?
E choke o, There are times I felt it was like I would run mad. But I will have to say that I didn't run it myself. I had someone managing it while I had to supervise and ensure that things were done smoothly and getting clients. I had to learn the habit of delegation and division of labour, which really helped. I knew that you couldn’t do it alone. Above all, it has been God's grace to have started Yellowlyfe in 2019, and it has grown to be what it is now. The interesting is that half of Yellowlyfe's brand growth happened while I was working at Red. So, I will say it is grace and me learning to delegate.
How do you find the right people?
You can get the right person who agrees with your vision, but it will not be easy. Everyone has different career objectives, some might just want to tap into your growth and leave in a month, but I want someone who sees long-term because I am building something that is long term. One thing that I care about is my people genuinely. Once you have worked with me once, I always come through for you for life. If you can give your all to whoever is working with you, they are ready to give their all too. Although some people will still do whatever they want to do, and it is okay, you can't always be lucky with people.
What are you reading or listening to currently?
I am watching Inventing Anna, a mini-series.
My final words…
Enjoy life, Problem no dey finish. As you solve a problem, another problem will most likely come up. The little time you have, enjoy life, have fun, spend time with your family and friends.
Video of the Week
Opportunity Desk
Here, you will find opportunities around the world for professional development and access to funds to push you closer to the future you desire:
See you next week.
Your friends,
From AllforDevelopment.
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