"I almost gave up on my dream,"John Ajayi, CEO Marketing Edge Magazine

 

Dreams are beautiful no doubt but how many people are willing to endure the pains of now for the enjoyment of tomorrow---the failures, disappointments and the tenacity that orchestrate the small wins before the big ones. This is exactly the story of Mr John Ajayi, the CEO/Publisher of Marketing Edge Magazine. In this interview with Yamilenu Bamgboye, he relives how his business started and the attendant challenges that almost made him throw in the towel. Do enjoy. 

A lot of young people have troubles finding their feet after school. How was it for you sir, what’s your story?

Yeah… the story is a mishmash I must confess to you. The journey has not been too smooth and it has not been too hellish. Like I always like to say when I share my experience, life particularly in Nigeria, may not be all roses but yet it is not all hell. And of course, my story has been quite exasperating, interesting, challenging and engaging. It is still a story I don’t want to tell but the truth is yes, it’s been a roller-coaster life filled of, you know, surmounting challenges, overcoming challenges and continually daring. It’s all about the audacity of hope. I am someone that is highly philosophically rooted. I don’t look at life in a very simplistic form like many do. I look at life from the point of view of philosophy and the belief in some basic fundamentals that shape humanity or one’s career. If you want to get to the top, you should not mind the pains you’ll encounter on the rungs of the ladder.

Some people say they just know what to do by intuition while some say they pray to know. Would you say you knew it was journalism all the way or something else?

I’m a very definitive person and very strategic and I’m driven by passion and vision. I don’t just do things on happenstance or intuition, no. I’m highly visionary. And of course, like I said about philosophy. I am an ideas person. Journalism didn’t happen to me by accident. I wanted to do journalism or law but it was journalism t h a t c a m e i n b e c a u s e o f m y passion and I’m cool with it. When we started our magazine some 18 years ago, it was just like play, like play. I can tell you that we are the pioneers of brand journalism in Nigeria. The initiative came in my days in This Day Newspaper when I w a s w r i t i n g a c o l u m n o n m a r k e t i n g a n d advertising and when I got that beat, it was a very new beat that no one had been covering before. I t w a s n o t common in the n e w s p a p e r houses. We started it a n d f o r y o u t o e x c e l , you need t o understand t h e language of the industry people. I h a d t o begin to a t t e n d conferences, seminars organized by APCON and all that; I also read a lot. I’m a very v o r a c i o u s reader in fact, that is one hobby I don’t have enough time to do know you know when you are the CEO and you have so many things to attend to. They say reading m a k e t h a f u l l m a n , confluence a ready man. If you read, your knowledge will be broadened and be ready for any situation.

So, how will you describe those early days?

T h e early days of o u r m a ga z i ne w a s q u i t e challenging, that is just the truth. But everyday was always a greater day for me even when things were terribly rough. I could barely print at a time or get money to pay staff salary and it used to give me concern when I was not able to pay my staff or print because every edition of our magazine is an improvement of the previous one. So for me, starting it was really daunting and challenging but it was exciting. I loved it. I used to sleep in the office for four or five days every week, writing stories, producing magazine. And when I needed to hit the road for adverts, I went all out whether it rained or not. I was determined, I won’t lie to you. I also wanted to make a statement. In those days, the beat was quite new and some of the editors didn’t even believe in marketing/advertising beats when there was politics, banking, capital market, maritime, entertainment, etc. then what is marketing advertising? But that was too m u c h o f illiteracy and ignorance you k n o w meanwhile, one of the publications we are affiliated w i t h that is a global publicat i o n Adweek h a s been in existenc e f o r about 58 o r 6 0 years. That means that b r a n d journalism has l o n g b e e n i n e x i s t e n c e i n d e v e l o p e d societies. But because the market h e r e i s p o o r , undeveloped, people were like what is marketing advertising? 

So, when I fell in love with it, I chose to become distinct. I have covered practically all beats. I started as a proofreader in the News and Tempo in the days of guerrilla journalism when the media was part of the instrument used to dislodge the military. The passion was so much that we slept in the office and ate only eba Ibo everyday. Then to This Day where I became a staff writer, a state h o u s e correspondent … I ’ v e covere d a l l but the only one left out iscapital market.

Was there no time you felt really frustrated and almost gave up?

Of course… in those days when I started, my friends never believed me, even my wife did not believe in the vision because it got to a point that things became critical and there was no money to pay my bills and all that. My wife once told me that ‘Sebi you went to school and you have very good grades and you even did masters. Go and dust up your masters and look for a job’. Sometimes, I would doubt and ask myself if I was in the wrong field but each time I slept after such thoughts, I would dream of a greater future and a clearer vision about the business. We are not done yet, we are engaging the industry, the society head on and we thank God. The feedback we are getting is that we are on the right track. 

That must have been divine if you let me.

Well, anything I do too is God. There is the hand of God in everything I do. I cannot refute that. When you say divine, you mean a greater power and God indeed is involved in all that I do. I won’t doubt that. 

When the business was at the seedling stage, how were you able to manoeuvre?

Let me just say this. When I conceived the idea of Marketing Edge, I planned to sell the idea to about five of my friends who were big guys and thought could invest. But the first guy was already part of a business group (agency) that is now defunct though. They were into PR and when I was a reporter, I used to do some stuff for them in the media for their clients. So, my friend convinced them and they bought the idea. But when they got in, there was no funds. We started in their board room and I thought they would put in some funds and all that… in fact, they were micromanaging the business. Later, they rented an apartment for us, gave us some furniture, helped us go to the press but when the profits were not forthcoming and they felt they were not getting results, they pulled out. It was a devastating experience for me. At the time they pulled out, I was owing my staff (about three months) and there was no kobo to print. That afternoon, I was so saddened and I asked one of my staff to buy me alcohol and I drank silly that day because when I get into a critical situation, I always look for a temporal relief. I left the office, went to a joint to meet another friend, I didn’t tell him anything. I just drank silly again. When I got out of the bus on my way home, I staggered and fell into a gutter that was filled with muddy water. No one around knew what was responsible for that madness but when I slept that night, the vision became clearer, that there was no looking back and here we are today.

How would you advise young entrepreneurs who don’t have access to funds and are just trying to stabilize their businesses?

Thank you for that question. If there is any reason I appreciate your coming, it is because I want to encourage younger people to grow. If this is your business, I want to encourage you to keep it up, don’t give up you know. Ehm… it may be rough, that it won’t be rough abinitio is a lie. You also don’t need big money to establish a big business, it must start small. If you are born into the family of Abiola or any billionaire family, you may not be able to manage the funds and the resources. But when you start gradually, you keep doing what you’re doing and you forge ahead, you’ll definitely get there. It only requires vision, focus, determination and hard work. I always tell my team here that no one can be more hardworking than me. I’m not praising myself no… it is because I commit myself, my all to everything I do. It’s a popular saying that in life, you may not have godfather, godmother, mother-luck, father-luck or natural luck but what no one should take away from you is hard work. It’s only natural that you’ll breakthrough. People are saying ‘John, do you know how many publications that have come and gone in brand and marketing? Today, we are raising the bar. Yes, we are raising the bar! I was in the church yesterday and one of my church members said ‘Mr Ajayi, you have done well oh. I go everywhere, I see marketing edge on bill boards even on radio’. You know we had a virtual summit and as I speak with you, we have more than t w e n t y partners across industries… radio stations, tv stations, organizations that are into auxiliary businesses and all of that. It is because they see the value we deliver; we give God the glory. But we are not there yet. So for young entrepreneurs, keep doing what you’re doing and one day, you will smile.

What motivated the marketing edge awards?

We launched and initiated the marketing edge awards to celebrate our award decade operation. When we attained age 10, we felt that we must be having a yearly event meant for industry people to relate, network, share ideas and rub minds. It is also to lead conversations, boost healthy c o m p e t i t i o n a n d i n s p i r e professionalism: having covered the industry for over two decades, we felt we needed to reward outstanding brands, players and industry gladiators. 

Which of the memories would you say you cherish the most in your university days?

Practically, all the activities in my university days are memorable I won’t lie. But the most memorable is that my entrepreneurial journey as a dynamic young man started in my days at UNILAG. You know, most UNILAG people are action guys, you know… anywhere you see an average UNILAG person, it must be happening (laughs). I w a s t h e president of t h e E k i t i / O n d o S t a t e S t u d e n t U n i o n . I s i n g l e handedly initiated an idea that resulted in over 5000 scholarship awards to Ekiti/Ondo students and the one I still feel passionate about is the fact that I was able to assist indigent Ekiti/Ondo state students and other new comers who knew no one in Lagos to secure accommodation in UNILAG. I used my link with our patron and matron the then registrar, Dr Oluomo and his wife and the lecturers from Ekiti or Ondo. Also, I successfully led a tribal association Ekiti/Ondo Student Union by organizing a yearly show we called ‘Iyan Night’. We were doing a lot of activities, giving awards to the likes of Sunny Ade who came around to perform for us. Even Jimoh Aliyu and his wife also performed for us. My university life was full of activities and fun. I was very popular too. 

At this time, what do you deliberately avoid like plague? 

I hate controversies and I try hard to avoid them. I don’t run though, I just like to avoid them. I also hate mediocrity and I try to avoid mediocre people. I have learnt some lessons, I’ve been betrayed over and over I watch the kind of friends I keep. There are some friends that are basically your competitors but come around as friends. Some even use you to measure their own progression. Some have the capacity to help but won’t. So, I have cut down the number of friends I have. I used to have a crowd, a very empty crowd.