Mr. Ben Ofungwu founded ISN about forty years ago and has grown it to become one of the largest medical diagnostic supplies businesses in Nigeria, if not West Africa. ISN Medicals’ product suite includes Clinical Chemistry, Immunoassay, Tissue Diagnostics, Viral Load Monitoring, and Point of Care Systems. We recently asked Mr. Ofungwu to share his business wisdom garnered over 40 years in business and what you have below is a masterpiece learned from the trenches. Mr Ben Ofungwu writes …

One of my cardinal principles in business is my belief that the importance of capital (initial or working capital) in business is over-emphasized. Capital surely is a factor, but in my experience, it was never the overriding factor in entrepreneurial business development. Let me briefly discuss just five of the other factors that I consider quite crucial in business survival, more so as I have experienced these in the development of ISN.

1. KNOWLEDGE.

The first thing I consider very important to business and entrepreneurial success is knowledge, knowledge to do and be involved in whatever business you wish to embark on. Knowledge will include product knowledge, market knowledge and ability to be involved in continued information and training on what you do. I am by training and profession, a Medical Laboratory Scientist. I did my 4 year study at the University College Hospital, Ibadan and I worked at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu. These two institutions exposed me to all the rudimentary knowledge in medical laboratory science and medical laboratory diagnostics in particular. I was a consummate laboratory scientist.

I came into business as a Medical Diagnostics Sales Representative. I was very qualified in terms of knowledge of products that I was to sell and I was also well equipped to enhance the knowledge further in the area of medical diagnostic products. Medical Laboratory Science is a very broad field of study. Once you are familiar with the basics, you can add on to your knowledge while on the job and in your area of business specialization. So the first maxim is to go into business in your area of knowledge and where you are in a position to continuously improve on your area of expertise. Knowledge is king not Capital.

2. INTEGRITY AND HARD WORK

I came into business from the laboratory bench out of sheer necessity and I burnt my boats in laboratory bench work. I  had to succeed, so I gave it not just my best shot, but all the shots I had. I put in my very best and acquired knowledge of the business that I was into. I had great control of my market, customers and trends. I exhibited great integrity in all I did. I initially had no mind of venturing into entrepreneurial business. I was merely working myself up the ladder of the company. In doing all the hard work and creating trust with management in the company, I became a critical factor in the overall success of the company. Losing my services as an employee would pull the company back a few years in terms of revenue and growth projections. In ten years, I moved from being Diagnostic Sales Representative for the East to covering the country as National Sales Director and finally Executive Director for Anglophone West Africa.

When I was approached to set up a new company to handle agency and distributorship of a competing international organization, I was quite reluctant. I explained that I did not have the capital and wherewithal to set up and run a new company. Capital and operating funds were to the new company the least important factors. Banking on my knowledge of the medical diagnostic business in the Nigerian market, my proven integrity and my work ethics, this new international company I was to represent extended a huge credit facility that made working capital irrelevant. Integrity and hard work would take you to any height not capital.

3. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE.

Long before emotional intelligence became a buzzword in business circles, ability to get on with people, by being likeable, trusted and friendly in all ramifications has been a very important aspect of life and business. It calls for all the virtues of humility, generosity and genuine love of others. To be genuinely interested in people is a trait that all should aim to cultivate, but it should never be faked. When I talk of humility, I mean genuine humility that shows in your tone of speech, in your overall demeanour and in your aura. Generosity may involve putting in your time to help someone and not necessarily giving out money or gifts. When I started selling diagnostic products, our only line of products was urine analysis products. However, because of my knowledge in other areas of medical laboratory sciences, I was always willing and ready to set up basic laboratories for up and coming private hospitals and teach new laboratory staff how to run the laboratory profitably, all at no additional cost to the young doctors who were trying to start a hospital. The only thing for me in this was that they bought my urine analysis products and use these in their new laboratories. To this day, some of these doctors have remained my personal friends.

In business, I consider generosity as giving more to the customers than they have actually paid for. Once you get this knack for giving or doing more for your customers, it invariably extends to family and friends and you cultivate a life of giving. In time, you begin to feel uncomfortable when you have not given out materially or in goodwill to all the people you encounter. Giving is a great attribute to have.

Genuine interest means that you identify with people’s aspirations and be ready to advise and offer help. When I sold Diabetes monitoring products, I registered and became a full member of the Nigerian Diabetes Association. I was not diabetic and I am not diabetic, but I attended their meetings as a member and listened to their plight and difficulties in managing their disease. They knew I was not diabetic and they were glad that I identified with them and became friends with most of the members.

It is definitely not everyone that finds it easy to make friends and blend into a group, but it is a very important trait that we must aim to develop and continuously improve on. Emotional intelligence has nothing to do with capital.

4. LUCK.

I am a firm believer in luck, good fortune and breakthroughs. I am however also a firm believer that our behavior and actions attract luck and good fortune. You don’t expect to have good fortune if you are always wishing others ill fortune. You don’t expect to be in good luck if you are not investing in helping others to have good luck. Hard work, genuine love of yourself and others, happy disposition towards all, willingness to assist, these are some of the actions that attract lucky breakthroughs. These are prayers. In Latin we say “Laborare est orare”. It means “To work is to pray”.  Not all prayers are in churches. Investing your time and energy conscientiously in what you do is a prayer sacrifice. Good fortune and good luck follow good prayers.

I had a doctor friend, a top Professor of Medicine who set up an evening clinic towards his retirement. Everything about this doctor was disciplined. He was working full time at the Teaching Hospital and comes to his clinic at 6pm every day, Monday to Friday. He was there on Saturdays from 9am to 6pm. Nothing takes him out of this schedule unless there is an emergency at the Teaching Hospital that requires his attention. When he started this clinic, initially he had very few patients coming to his clinic. He never ever attempted to lure his patients coming to the Teaching Hospital to his evening clinic. He meticulously kept the two apart. He was at the evening clinic at 6pm and even when no patients showed up, he never left the clinic before 10pm. It was clockwork. When eventually this clinic exploded with success, I congratulated him and told him that his success was well earned. He paid his dues. Discipline and hard word are investments to good fortune and good luck.

We can’t predict breakthroughs and success in terms of time frame.  We owe it to ourselves and to the gods of fortune to put in our best in all we do at all times, with due dedication and discipline. Luck and good fortune usually follows. This has little or nothing to do with capital.

5. SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE

This is an area I touch whenever I am discussing business and personal development. It is a difficult topic to dwell on because there is nothing empirical on this. It borders on faith and belief and I am a firm believer in this.

Let me state here that this has nothing to do with religion. This is rather a firm belief and commitment that as you put in the hard work with discipline in whatever you do, you dedicate it to God or the Infinite Being. Whatever you believe in, say a little prayer to go with your toil. Even the very thought of prayer, dedication or wish is enough. Accept the fact that all you are doing is all you can humanly do. What you get out of your toil is beyond you. The result will surely come, but as Christians say it is by his grace that we are blessed.

Let me also state here that there is usually no time frame for results too.  Don’t ever get despondent and check this mindset. You may have to do this prayer of faith and hope for just a short while and the results will show, or for years, but please don’t ever stop hoping. Know exactly what you wish to achieve, have it in front of you mentally at all times and have unflinching faith that this will surely come through. Don’t ask how. Asking how is creating doubt. No one knows the how of it.

Let me say it again that there is nothing empirical about this, in that it cannot be proved scientifically or any other way. It has worked in all I have done. I am sure it will work for you in whatever your desires are in climbing the ladder to success. Stay spiritual and watch your dreams come through. Capital may even be an impediment.

*Mr. Ben Ofungwu who contributed this piece is the founder and Chairman of ISN Products Nigeria Ltd. Medical Lab Science is vast. Do you know your numbers? One of the things I learnt when I first met Mr. Ofungwu was the need to “know your numbers”