How I Lost 500, 000 Dollars – Saheeto
After several attempts, I finally secured an audience for an interview with him. I did everything I could to ensure that nothing jeopardized this opportunity. He is a bit difficult to see, not for any particular reason, but because of his busy schedule. Otherwise, Honourable Saheed Kekere-Ekun, widely known as Saheeto, is jovial, respectful, accommodating, lively, and generous.
On the day of our appointment with the king of Small Chops, I denied myself several things to ensure I arrived on time. I also managed to navigate the notorious Lagos traffic congestion I encountered on the way. A few minutes before our scheduled meeting, I arrived at Saheeto Place on Lewis Street in Obalende. While waiting in the front office to be attended to by the multiple-award-winning entrepreneur, I couldn’t help but admire the beautiful, world-class interiors of his office. The professional demeanour of his staff made the entire office atmosphere inviting and enjoyable.
After a brief wait, the Initiator of Finger Foods in Nigeria entered, and it was clear that he exuded motivational energy. I quickly utilized the few minutes he had allocated for the interview, as it was obvious he had a lot on his plate. Please take a moment to enjoy the excerpts of his interview with Entrepreneur Excellence.
Introduction
My name is Saheed Kekere-Ekun, popularly known as Sheeto worldwide, the founder of Saheeto Group Incorporated, United States, Saheeto International Limited, Saheeto Catering outfits, Saheeto Suites and Hotels and Saheeto Investments. I have been in business for about 30 years.
What Inspired You Into Small Chops Business
Before my offer to the higher institution of learning, I saw a colleague of mine with Forty naira; then, it was a lot of money; at the time, I was taking 30 kobo to school. I was curious to ask him where he got this huge sum of money from, he said he was waiting and I asked what was he waiting for, he said he was a Waiter and I said to myself that I better join this waiting for a thing too, in as much you are not stealing, so, I started the waiting job and the rest is history. So, that is what brought the inspiration. Number two is because I wanted to survive. Initially, It was just for survival, to be able to attend to my basic needs and to further my education, not knowing it was going to be a good turnaround and going to be my life. I thought I was going to do it part-time, but when God has His way, nothing one can do. I wanted to be a banker or a lawyer, but, God said Hey! Boy! That’s not your way. So, initially, it wasn’t a planned journey, it was a called journey. God called me and that’s why I followed my path. I thank God Almighty for what He gave me, the vision and everything.
What Are Your Initial Challenges
When I started, there were a lot of challenges like the fear of the unknown. When you are starting a business, you don’t know where it is going, and then there is the fear of failure. Another one was that you are new to the society, you are new to the clientele, they don’t know you, they won’t trust you as such. Then, I was going from house to house, but God has always been on my side with referrals; when people referred me to their friends and families, that’s how I started. Remember, there were no phones then, only landlines. No financial support. One-man business. No staff. No proper coordination. All those things were not there. So, those were the initial challenges. There were a lot of trials and errors because I was just trying to succeed, but in all, I thank God for those challenges because I put them together to make my strength. When you have challenges, put them together, and don’t run away from them. You face them, study them, look at what you have done wrong, and you should improve on it.
Saheeto Small Chops Is a household Name Today, Tell Us Who Has Not Eaten Your Small Chops
Even newly born babies I am sure they must have eaten it somehow right from the womb. I thank God Saheeto is now a household name; by now, I am supposed to be collecting royalties, but we thank God. God used me to invent a small chops business in Nigeria in the 1980s. Nobody knew of this. Do you know how many jobs that have been created now? Do you want to talk about the opportunities for the new entrants, opportunities for the new business owners and all that, in all, I thank God Almighty.
Talking About Creating Job Opportunities. What Is The Size Of Your Workforce
We thank God. We have a fleet of businesses, like I told you: we have hotels, we have catering, we have real estate, we have investments. So, the workforce is relatively big; we have both full-time and part-time staff. I mean, coming from one theory when this man was just standing alone by himself over thirty years ago. Now, we thank God and we will keep thanking Him and working harder.
Are You Fulfilled Today As An Entrepreneur
Well! Thank God Almighty that you are a fulfilled man because when you can take care of your needs, you know, human needs are unlimited. You have to look at the hierarchy of needs until you get to self-esteem. So, from one ladder to another. From one step to another, although I am not there yet, there is still a lot of work in progress.
As a Christian, you have a fulfilled life, most especially when you get to a certain age. Everything is not money, you have to look back at where you are coming from. Those days, I couldn’t afford some basic needs but now I can afford whatever I want. But, in business terms, we still want to touch everybody’s life, so I want to tell you that we are not fulfilled in business; we are still going bigger until we get there. Until we are number one in the world in providing finger foods, that’s our vision. At least in every part of the world you go to, you should be able to see small chops; it might not necessarily be from me directly, but if it is small chops, somehow it’s Saheeto. It is not how much money that is coming to your pocket, but, how many lives you can touch. So, directly or indirectly, if that can be done, it’s part of our mission, and God Almighty will guide us there.
What Is Your Biggest Disappointment
There are a lot of disappointments in business; friends will disappoint you, and business associates will disappoint you. Those days, I would work for people without being paid. But, the one I think was the biggest, and I need to mention it because whenever I flashback, it still pains me; it was when I had a catering contract to cater for a political rally across Nigeria; the job was going to about 500,000 dollars. So, I was giving about 40,000 dollars to start with, and all of a sudden the job was cancelled after the second supply. That was my biggest disappointment ever since I have been doing business. It was early in the year, and you can imagine when you get a 500,000 dollars worth of contract early in the year, and you lose it, I tell you, that will torment you throughout the year and even many years after. So, that’s on the financial aspect. On the human capital aspect, it was when I lost my staff in a car accident. That year, my staff were coming from Ibadan from a job, and they were involved in an accident, and their vehicle caught fire; I lost them. It was a very bad experience. I pray it never happens again.
Your Advice For The Young Nigerians
A lot of our young ones don’t want to work; they want to do Yahoo and all that. Perseverance is very important. A lot of them don’t have patience, they want quick money. Imagine when you are 25 years old and you want to drive a Phantom, so tell me, what do you want to drive at the age of 50? There should be stages in life. For the new business entrants, get to know that the first thing is fear of God. Whatever you want to have let there be fear of God. You don’t need to cut corners. The second one is determination to survive, you have to be courageous. There will surely be disappointments, and the third one is whatever you do, you have to do it well and make people look for you wherever you are, even if you are in a hole. I remember when I started, I was living in one local area and people were coming there to look for me. People knew what I was doing was great and they wanted to see me. I started a small chops business; there was no other small chops business in Nigeria; I started this business not only in Nigeria but in West Africa. I am not only the small chops king but the Inventor, the Initiator of finger foods in West Africa. The opportunities a lot of them have now I never had as the creator. Just like musicians, the ones that founded music, where are they? They might not make money like the younger ones who took after them. That is life; it’s in stages, some started, and some will take it to another level because it has to be continuous. So, whatever you do, do it well, be prayerful, be focused and be consistent, the sky will be your starting point. The young ones should be steadfast and know that miracles don’t come just in one day, you have to work for it.
Your Advice For The Government
Government needs to encourage small and medium businesses; it’s very key. When you support and fund those businesses because they are the heart of the economy. When there are small businesses there will be little pressure on the government. So, the government needs to support them. There should be accessibility to loans. There should be a proper credit check and all that. You don’t have to go through hell before you get support from the government or the bank.
