BOOK REVIEW: Offline and online business success blueprint

BY YUSUPH OLANIYONU

There are three considerations I usually apply to any book I come into contact with to determine if it is worth my time. They are: the background and antecedent of the author, the relevance of the subject, and the qualification of the author to treat the subject.

As expected, I applied these parameters to the two books that are being presented today. Mrs. Ronke Sokefun, the author of Online Business Success Blueprint: Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Profitable Online Empire During A Recession and Offline Business Success Blueprint: Step-by-Step Guide to Building A Profitable Offline Business Empire During A Recession, is a legal practitioner with over 35 years experience who has distinguished herself in the areas of corporate governance, legal consulting, and advisory, oil and gas as well as financial regulations.

Somebody who rose through the dint of hard work to become the Chief Legal Officer of OANDO Group. She also excelled in public service when she served as Director General of the Bureau of Lands Service, Commissioner for Agriculture, and Commissioner for Urban Planning, all in the Ogun State government where our paths crossed, and later served as Chairman of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

The versatility of her experience, the brilliance she has displayed in all the offices and assignments she has held and executed and her passion for making a positive difference have all assured me that not only is she somebody that one should take seriously on any issue she chooses to address but also that she is eminently qualified to treat the subject of how to conceive, start, nurture and grow a business, either online or offline. MRS, as we fondly call her, is such a person that if she chooses to write about spacecraft or how to build a ship, I would still take it that she has convinced herself that she would produce a brilliant work.

As to whether the subject of these books is relevant to contemporary development in our country or the world over, I am sure the issue of how to make a success of any business idea operated through any of the digital platforms or in a physical, traditional offline setting is as important in today’s world as having a meal when one is famished or surviving when there is a disaster.

Thus, let me congratulate all of us who are gathered here on this virtual platform for the public presentation of these books because what we are about to launch are treasures that we would not only find useful but which we would need to graciously extend to others who are not fortunate to be here.

The author has endeavoured to produce two books which are to guide us in navigating our way out of the economic recession that our country is presently experiencing. She has conducted comprehensive research, mainly practicable and experiential, to help us become masters of our fate, and how to be successful business owners who not only make money for ourselves but do so while providing quality products and services for our compatriots. The books contain recommendations, guides, and leads that will benefit the old and the young on how we can all confront the inevitable challenges arising from the poor state of our national economy.

While one book teaches us how to be self-reliant and earn money using online and digital methods and techniques, the other makes recommendations on how to conceive, plan, establish, operate, and grow businesses that require physical presence. Thus, each reader is primed to find what his or her interests are and how to make a success of what business platform and method catches his or her fancy. In other words, Mrs. Sokefun seeks to inspire, motivate, stimulate, and care for the preferences of both the Gen-Z group and the Analogue or oldies group. In fact, in a very simple manner, she tries to make the oldies group believe that their so-called brick-and-mortar, physical businesses can make use of help from the digital realm to achieve better and quicker success. She does so in a very persuasive and easy way.

The first book, Online Business Success Blueprint: Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Profitable Online Empire During A Recession is made up of 10 chapters and spread across 107 pages. It is therefore a book that one can go through in one day. However, you will find out that the value of its contents is something you should take time to study and determine which aspect you could make use of at a point in time. So, one must repeatedly return to the book. The book is about the numerous opportunities available online, on the internet, and the digital space to make legitimate money by offering goods, services, and spaces for people who need them.

The alliteration adopted in crafting some of the topics in the book is the first attraction for a literary-minded reader. Thus, you will read about topics like Freelancing Freedom, E-Commerce Evolution, Affiliate Advantage, Crafting Custom Creations, Content Creation Chronicles, Educational Empowerment, and Virtual Visibility. The author seeks to carry the readers along by giving simple, clear, relatable, accurate, and ‘seductive’ descriptions of the terms.

When you go through the books, I am sure you will agree with my use of the word ‘seductive’ when you read about how she has made complex terms appear very attractive and likable. For example, the way she defines “freelancing” as a “fundamental shift from traditional employment models…a transformational force in today’s economic landscape, offering unparalleled opportunities for flexibility, independence, and financial stability” shows how a professional can continuously offer his services to companies, firms or organisations, without being fully tied down as an employee.

Also, her definition of E-Commerce as the “buying and selling of goods or services using the internet…a paradigm shift towards entrepreneurship rooted in innovation, adaptability, and global connectivity” and her definition of “Drop-shipping” as “a business model where you sell products to customers without holding inventory, instead the supplier ships the products directly to the customers on your behalf” make them easy to understand and visualise.

The author itemized ten types of business that one can engage in online and on the digital front. These include offering services as a freelancer and starting an e-commerce business, among others. Each topic devoted to a type of business was elaborately treated such that almost everything one needs to know or do to begin and do well in the business is adequately covered. Topics like Social Media Mastery: Crafting Digital Presence, Enlightening Endeavours: Sharing Knowledge Online, and Precision Testing: Improving User Experience which form chapters 8, 9, and 10 are treated with such precision in a user-friendly manner that one will be prompted to want to immediately activate plans to put the recommendations into action.

Since it should be the intention of the author to challenge serious readers to engage in one business or the other as treated in the books, I am convinced she will succeed. Her style of making the measures appear very doable will motivate action. She even went into suggesting real platforms where interested people can operate, get functional ideas, and join existing operators to excel.

In the Second book which is OFFLINE BUSINESS SUCCESS BLUEPRINT:
Step-by-Step Guide to Building A Profitable Offline Business Empire During A Recession, Chapters one to four deal with enlightening us on general terms like what downturn economy represents to the citizens and residents of a country experiencing it, the factors to be considered in choosing a profitable business, how to get started with minimal investment and essential skills and the mindset for success. The author also selected ten types of businesses that a starter can venture into and not regret doing so.

She made the discussions of the topic so real and even supported her submissions with the experiences of the present operators who are doing well for themselves and their respective societies. Her discussion of this business will surely make many of her readers wonder why and how they have ignored, neglected, or looked away from the possibilities, potential, and positive promises that are abundant in these businesses. It is almost obvious that nobody who is not already operating a successful business and planning to start something will read these two books and not develop positive thoughts as to what to do and where to go.

It is the reason why the author while writing in the introductory part of the OFFLINE BUSINESS SUCCESS BLUEPRINT: Step-by-Step Guide to Building A Profitable Offline Business Empire During A Recession states confidently that “the book is for the dreamers, the doers, and those determined to carve a new path, even when the world seems uncertain”. I do not doubt that the author will achieve her aim of motivating, inspiring, and propelling this category of people into action after reading this book.

We could also see that Mrs. Shokefun is somebody who practices what she preaches which is why she has decided to make a virtual public presentation of the books which seek to promote and inspire online businesses. That is an audacious decision by her.

I believe that the two books will do better aesthetically with better typefaces and font sizes for the text and also the organisation of the topics, sub-topics, sub-themes, and such other considerations that can make the text more attractive and speedier to read. I also noticed a few typographical errors. For example, ‘Naira was misspelled as ‘Naura’ on one of the pages. However, I should state that what I read was just the soft copy of the books, before they went into print. I did not see the final e-copies or physical copies that are being presented to the public today. So, the issues I observed above may have been taken care of.

Finally, I boldly recommend that the two books being presented today: ONLINE BUSINESS SUCCESS BLUEPRINT: Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Profitable Online Empire During A Recession AND OFFLINE BUSINESS SUCCESS BLUEPRINT: Step-by-Step Guide to Building A Profitable Offline Business Empire During A Recession are ‘must have and must read’ for all of us who do not have some solid businesses we are operating now but have a plan to begin a small business that we can grow to a big concern. These books will challenge our minds, illuminate our thoughts, and propel us to move fast. Those who have existing businesses and looking for other areas to invest or diversify into will find these books very useful. The books should also be useful to all of us who today still work on an 8am to 5pm or 6pm job but hope to be on our own later.

These two books are for all aspiring business persons, those seeking to earn money from other sources apart from their current jobs, those who want to diversify their sources of income, undergraduates and fresh graduates thinking of what next after university education, youth corps members who are already thinking of the future, secondary school leavers who want to start some businesses early in life, and those teaching entrepreneurial courses in schools, at all levels. Retirees who are not too old to start some businesses, those who are close to retirement and planning not to stay idle, and all who desire to ensure that they become a player in the economy, even if at a small scale in the first instance, will find some of the guides in these books very instructive.

I hope that the books will realise the aims of the author to create an army of creative new players whose activities will multiply and help us grow the national economy beyond the reach of any recession.

Thank you, all.

Yusuph Olaniyonu is a communications strategist, journalist, lawyer and public affairs analyst