(Vision 2006 White Paper written by Tayo K. Solagbade - Founder, Self-Development Academy Limited - Originally e-published 1st Jan. 2006)

I Have NOT Said It All, Here!

Let me quickly warn that even though I have tried – in this paper - to be elaborate in my explanation of how this proposed strategy can be implemented, I cannot possibly cover all the necessary aspects, nor can I cater for every possible scenario. This is why I offer to make myself available to speak to and/or work with ANY groups of serious-minded individuals who would like to make use of the ideas I offer. This way, I believe any peculiar issues that arise can be properly considered and useful adaptations evolved.

Important Requirements/Understanding For Use Of This Strategy

What I am about to propose is NOT in any way a plan that needs to be handed over to ANY national government, regional authority, foreign governments or their nationals to implement. It is imperative that I also point out here, that the strategy I propose for adoption in this paper has been deliberately formed to be usable by ANY INDIVIDUAL who is willing to make the commitment to sustained application of effort, till the desired results are achieved. Having said that, if they are sure of each others “reliability”, like-minded persons can also team up to use these ideas.

The Three Big Questions

1. How do we make it possible for any willing person(s) in our society (including the most disadvantaged e.g. indigent, poor, handicapped) to become capable of rendering economically beneficial products/services to others within and outside our countries and continents?

2. How do we ensure they do this in a way that enables them earn adequate remuneration to achieve financial independence so they are less vulnerable to being manipulated for their voting power?

3. How do we create a situation whereby opportunities for socio-economic benefits accessible to those in developing countries make the option of their leaving home to settle/work in developed countries far away from loves ones less compelling than it currently is?

My Answer - A Vision Statement

“The world's most successful entrepreneurs in the future will be Multipreneurs. That is why I believe our future economic (and sociopolitical) prosperity depends greatly on the creation, and evolution of INDIVIDUALS I call Digital (D) Multipreneurs™ in every society. They will be multi-skilled, independent minded thinkers, with a passion for creatively adapting technology and the Internet, to achieve sustainable economic (and sociopolitical) benefits.

These individuals will be notorious for depending MORE on their Creative Brain Power - and LESS on their Muscle Power - in working to ensure they can continually provide for themselves and those that depend on them. They will also be recognised for their ability to successfully coach willing others to become competent to succeed in society in the same way. In preparing themselves (and those they coach) to succeed, they will typically emphasise functional skills and knowledge acquisition, over formal schooling.

Most significantly, they will be known for earning income mainly while working from home, using digital technology and Internet resources, instead of being what Robert Kiyosaki calls "paycheck slaves". Their activities will ultimately have a multiplier developmental effect on their societies. Incidentally, such individuals already exist today, especially in developed societies – proving that this idea WORKS. That is why Self-Development Academy(SDAc)'s main objective is to actively promote the proliferation of D-Multipreneurs™."

In arriving at the answer/strategy I propose – described above as the active facilitation of the creation and evolution of Digital Multipreneurs™, I have considered a number of perspectives based on current realities in many societies:

Perspective A. Poverty & Self-Esteem :

For many countries, the main need is economic empowerment of the larger majority of the citizenry. No human being can survive for long in the absence of very basic necessities like food and/or shelter. Both are easily acquired when money is available. Eroded self-esteem/belief is gradually restored when the ability to EARN money that is to be spent meeting daily needs is realised such that dependence on the generosity of others becomes unnecessary.

Any answer/strategy to be adopted MUST address this most fundamental need if it is to be taken seriously by majority of the people.

Perspective B. Choice Unavailability:

More jobs would help, but even better will be the creation of a rapidly growing pool of multi-skilled people who understand that they have a choice to become (or remain) employees or to be self-employed and independent. And, who know HOW to go about it. Again the solution to be adopted MUST address this need if it is to be widely accepted.

Perspective C. Entrepreneurial Conviction:

For those who are self-employed or independent, they need a clear conviction about the value they offer their clients or customers. Most critical is the need for them to UNDERSTAND that a true entrepreneur DOES NOT NEED any Samaritans.

Getting repeat business or referrals from clients/customers MUST NEVER be about someone feeling sorry for you and doing you a favour by telling others to give you business. It MUST be about ONE(or more) happy, satisfied client(s) or customer(s) excitedly telling other potential clients/customers about you, such that the latter inevitably feel it would make sense to engage your services, over others, whenever they have a similar need.

Without this understanding, venturing into entrepreneuring (particularly in developing countries/continents like mine) will continue to be regarded as a dead-end rather than an avenue through which creative geniuses accumulate wealth (while making society better) by bringing their unique ideas from conception to reality. An example is the way Bill Gates has today made use of the PC easier for everyone using his MS Windows software. If Gates had not chosen to quit Harvard when he did, he may have NEVER gotten around to starting Microsoft.

Entrepreneurs are to be reverred, valued and encouraged. This is because they offer society an opportunity to make progress in quantum leaps (rather than by taking baby steps), through their selfless implementation of paradigm-shifting ideas and concepts. Wherever authentic (non-corner-cutting) entrepreneurs are able to proliferate, the inevitable result is a never ending cycle of innovation and creativity that makes society continually, and rapidly improve to the benefit of all its members. It is because MANY entrepreneurs in developing societies like mine do NOT understand the above that they allow themselves to be manipulated out of their earned income for work they have done (via the giving of percent cuts, and kick-backs etc).

Another reason why many such entrepreneurs lamely accept bad/shoddy treatment meted out to them is because they have no other skills, or alternative means of earning income. As a result, when threatened with the possibility of losing a contract or project they are bidding for, such entrepreneurs readily break down and compromise.

Ironically, the terms under which they then accept to work make it even more difficult for them to deliver satisfactory products or services, thereby damaging their future ability to secure patronage from the same or other clients/customers.

Multipreneurs™ Hold THE Key!

When you consider all of the scenarios discussed above, it becomes quite obvious that Multipreneuring offers multiple benefits that reward those who practice it in line with efforts they expend, while protecting them from the negatives typically visited on entrepreneurs and others.

For instance, I like to point out that a Multipreneur is less likely to bow to pressure to accept poor remuneration, shabby treatment, or demands to give cuts, kick-backs etc in exchange for contract awards, due to her ability to pursue multiple alternative avenues of income generation simultaneously.

Consider this true story. John, a Multipreneur, is asked - by the principal of a leading secondary school - to drop his fee for building one of his 6 gallon size custom natural self-cleaning aquariums (biologically balanced; use no electricity or air pumps – thereby giving long term savings) by almost 75%(!). When he explains to her that what she wants is impossible, she ignores his response and says: “go and think about it”!

That day, John left the principal’s office knowing he would not be going back. It was not that he did not need the business. He did. But he knew it would not make good business sense to take on an UNPROFITABLE client (one does not need a university degree to deduce this). More importantly however, he knew that as a MULTIPRENEUR, he had a CHOICE. This was because building low long-term operating /maintenance cost aquariums was only ONE of his income-generating competencies.

A few days later, he picked up a cheque for TWICE the amount offered by the principal, after delivering a one-hour talk to 14 new management trainees at the corporate headquarters of a leading fast foods company(he had been invited as an external speaker by a consultant organising a week-long induction for the new intakes). Some months later, he would build and install one of his 6 gallon size natural aquariums in the reception of the main premises of a large group of schools, for a discounted price which was FOUR times that offered by the school Principal – ALL of which was paid to him upfront.

The obvious learning from the above is that if an entrepreneur knows s/he can successfully pursue alternative avenues to earn needed income, s/he will be less willing to lower his/her fees to unprofitable levels that would most likely impair his ability to deliver results to the required standards. (By the way, that guy “John”, was actually this writer).

Multipreneurs are entrepreneurs who avail themselves of the above wisdom by harnessing a variety of skills and competencies to generate multiple income streams. It is for this reason that I believe Multipreneurs hold the key to future prosperity anywhere in the world. As we progress, I will explain in more detail who a Multipreneur is, how/when he can be called a Digital Multipreneur™, and HOW the strategy of Digital Multipreneuring can help any willing person(s) – and the society at large.

I define a Multipreneur formally, as a person who uses a variety of marketable skills to earn income as the opportunities present themselves in the market place. To learn more about Multipreneuring, contact me for a copy of my article titled “If You Lack Capital, Intelligent Multipreneuring Can Help You Get It!”

A Multipreneur can be looked at as many entrepreneurs rolled into ONE. This therefore means that the benefits of entrepreneuring will become even more available, to a society in which Multipreneurs flourish. Not everyone can be a Multipreneur however. Few people are willing to commit the energy and time required to LEARN HOW to do many things at the same time – and do so successfully, on a long term basis.

But the few who are, can make life better for the rest of us. Think about Richard Branson and his empire of affordably priced Virgin products and services, and you will immediately see what I mean.

The Strategy of Digital Multipreneuring™

This strategy is what I believe is the ultimate workable plan. And I have held this belief for many years. Back in 2003, I wrote in my personal philosophy paper titled “Why I Do What I Do, The Way I Do It” as follows:

“People with mental attitudes and skills that enable them to take control of what happens to them daily, are unlikely to be seriously(if at all) negatively affected in the long term by the vagaries of their countries socio-economic circumstances. They are likely to make the best of them rather than fall apart. It is my conviction that knowing how to ADAPT to inevitable changes that could make your survival skills obsolete, is of crucial importance.

…The foregoing is one of my motivations for being a Multipreneur. To succeed more frequently, one needs a multiple-career strategy i.e. have a variety of skills to generate income and capture opportunities in today’s fast-changing market place – leading to prosperity and fulfillment independent of economic fluctuations."

The foregoing is an excerpt from a one-page Acrobat PDF document I wrote back in March 2003. My vision and conviction has not dimmed or waned since then. Not only that, my achievements since that time have given further verifiable proof that what I said can indeed be made to work – for ANY individual who is willing to put in the required effort and time.

A Digital Multipreneur™ will be a person who deliberately acquires a variety of inter-related competencies in different vocations which he then cost-effectively combines to earn multiple streams of income by leveraging PC and Internet technology.

A Multipreneur who is PC/Internet illiterate will struggle to compete favourably with one who IS literate. The former will therefore not enjoy the degree of competitiveness of the latter in terms of pricing as it relates to maintaining steady or increasing profitability. Note also, that examples of possible areas of vocational interest I have given in this paper are those I have personal bias for, and experience in. Any interested person can choose to adapt the wisdom offered here for use in other areas that they find suitable.

Lastly, I must state very clearly here that your ability to function effectively, successfully and profitably as a Digital Multipreneur, does NOT require that you have anything more than a secondary school education! Once you can read and write proficiently, you will be able to acquire many practical vocational skills, including using a PC and the Internet.

So, What Makes A Multipreneur “Digital”?

As far as I am concerned, a Multipreneur can only be called Digital, if she KNOWS HOW to use PC and Internet technology to :

a. increase the quality and value s/he delivers to her customers or employer.

b. dramatically cut down expenses incurred in delivering the product(s)/service(s).

c. significantly increase the marketing and advertising reach impact of her work in a way that complements her use of conventional methods.

A Multipreneur CANNOT be called Digital simply because she can use the PC or Internet. No, that would not be enough.

To be a Digital Multipreneur you need to:

a. be competently skilled in multiple vocations that your target audience will be willing to pay you for.

b. KNOW HOW to intelligently apply relevant computer and Internet resources to improve your ability to do the different things you do, in a way that makes it easy for you to operate profitably for the long term. Note that many income earning opportunities exist on the Net alone.

For anyone to succeed as a Digital Multipreneur requires a very clear understanding of the above distinctions.

Example: A self-employed person who works on a PC at home offering various PC based services such as graphic design, Excel spreadsheet programming, freelance writing, Website Design, Automation, Web marketing strategy development, and other related services for individuals and businesses.

S/he would easily maintain a homestead Catfish Farming and/or other livestock ventures in the back yard, which would constitute a significant addition to the income stream from the computer services delivery. She could also have an aquarium construction and ornamental fish breeding homestead business alongside the catfish venture.

Her PC based services would be affordable because she would have fewer overheads, and would not be working for an employer who would have gotten a part of the money to be paid by clients.

As a result, her clients would also benefit, because this highly skilled professional would offer relatively lower fees (or more value for the same fee) compared to her counterpart employed in an organisation with overheads to cover. Consequently she would be in a position to command more frequent patronage(in both local and foreign currency), and be able to retain more of her revenue as tangible profits, which can in part be channeled to her other income generation ventures to further increase the flow of multiple income streams.

If s/he were to be employed under the current situation extant in a developing society like mine, the employer would balk at paying her the kind of rates her clients would offer her as a self-employed, independent contractor. Also, s/he would have less free time of her own (on a 9 to 5 job for instance) to pursue other income-generating interests. Most importantly, as an employee, the volume of work she does will not necessarily directly translate to a proportional increase in money s/he gets on a salary!

As you can see from the foregoing there are huge potential benefits to he reaped from becoming a self-employed Multipreneur.

However, even if you decide to be a salaried Multipreneur, with the intention of using your after-work hours and free weekends to nurture your additional income stream generation ventures, the pros still far outweigh the cons.

The bottom line of all that I am saying here is that depending on a single source of income for the long-term in today’s world can only be described in one word: STUPID.

Key Benefit Of Digital Multipreneurs™ To Society

The proliferation of financially independent and socio-politically aware/empowered persons in society, functioning as Digital Multpreneurs, with an enduring passion for cloning themselves will bring multidimensional benefits to the society as a whole.

Digital Multipreneurs™ will ideally be self-motivated INDIVIDUALS who see an opportunity for financial liberation of themselves and those they love using their unique abilities. As they increase in number over time, the problems highlighted at the start of this paper(i.e. "The Three Big Questions”) would progressively suffer diminishing relevance, due to increasingly influential positive Social Change Agent roles that will be assumed by many Digital Multipreneurs, in their bid to give back to society. Take a look at what Bill Gates is doing with his foundation, and you’ll get an idea of what I mean.

Summary Of Digital Multipreneuring(DMg) Features/Benefits

1. Digital Multipreneurs(DMs)™ can be self-employed or paid employees.

2. There is almost no age limit. Once a person is capable of creative, value-adding, income-generating effort – especially using PC/Internet resources - s/he can become a DM.

3. DMs can work for longer periods daily, and will have no need to retire formally.

4. They do NOT need any formal qualifications or education beyond being schooled to upper primary or secondary levels and being able to read and write competently. Everything else can be learnt through diligent self-effort and access to appropriate resources.

5. A true DM will easily integrate her online and offline income-generation activities.

6. DMs, for the most part will not be limited by physical handicaps or social status. Hence disabled persons, housewives, orphans etc can successfully become DMs.

7. Activities of DMs will create multiple income opportunities/jobs for others.

8. This strategy of DMg will dramatically increase chances of micro/small business startup survival since very little startup capital is required. Also multiple income generation opportunities will help DMs keep going for longer periods till they break through.

FINAL WORDS: My Vision Statement - Again

Let me now end by asking you to re-read my earlier outlined vision statement (above) of how Digital Multipreneurs™ will determine our future prosperity. Hopefully, you now understand it better.

I would be glad to take on any questions you may have on HOW this idea/strategy can be successfully implemented by interested, adequately motivated individuals, groups and/or organisations.

Thank You.

Tayo K. Solagbade
Self-Development/Performance Enhancement Specialist & Multipreneur
Mobile: 234-803-302-1263

GET THE ACROBAT PDF VERSION!
The World's Future Prosperity Depends On The Creation And Evolution Of Digital Multipreneurs(9 pages) Download Now