How a 17-Year-Old Made Over GHS 1 Million During COVID and Never Went Broke Again

Summary

Konnected Minds Podcast with Derrick Abaitey

Episode Title: How a 17-Year-Old Made Over GHS 1 Million During COVID and Never Went Broke Again
Guest: Samiya J ("Medical Landlord")
Date: June 6, 2026

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Episode Overview

This compelling episode features Samiya J, known as the "Medical Landlord," who shares his inspiring entrepreneurial journey—starting from humble beginnings, navigating challenges during the COVID pandemic, and leveraging innovation, relationships, and credibility to build a multi-million-cedi medical supply and real estate business in Ghana before the age of 20. Host Derrick Abaitey steers an insightful conversation packed with practical advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, highlighting mindset, systems, and the power of mentorship in creating lasting wealth.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Humble Beginnings & Early Hustle

• Trading from Childhood:
  • With a mother as a trader, Samiya was immersed in entrepreneurship from a young age—selling pen drives, SD cards, and snacks at school.
  • “So at primary school I used to sell pen drives... I used to go out to go and buy subalu and groundnut for my meat and collect money, I wouldn't buy from the vendors. I'll add margins to it, come and sell to some of my friends.” (03:05–04:13)

2. Building a Business at University

• Solving Peer Problems:
  • Noted students’ difficulty in securing medical items, prompting him to supply essentials like stethoscopes, thermometers, and pen torches.
  • Financed the business with tiny loans (GHS 2000) and innovatively negotiated with the school to invest rather than pay fees upfront.
  • “I told him that I'm supposed to pay my fees... Please allow me to use the money to invest in the small business I have started so that by the end of the three months... I would have gotten the fees.” (06:15–07:36)

3. COVID Pandemic as a Turning Point

• Gambling with Opportunity:
  • During Ghana’s lockdown, friends trusted him with their fee money; he invested in face masks, tried exporting to China but failed, then rode the explosive price surge domestically.
  • “So at 90 CD I sold everything... The margins were crazy.” (12:33)
• Next Wave with Thermometers:
  • Pivoted into gun thermometers, leveraging Francophone supply—moved swiftly and reaped huge profits.
  • Expanded stock despite not even having enough place to sleep: “At the point I didn't even have a place to lay my head in the room. I mean, you're full of goods.” (14:38)

4. Credibility as Capital

• Building Trustworthy Reputation:
  • Emphasizes that credibility is more valuable than cash in the early stages.
  • “Credibility is your first currency before the capital comes. If you are credible, people give you your money.” (22:41)

5. On Partnerships with Friends and Family

• Directness and Boundaries:
  • Open emotional communication allowed him to work with friends and family; not shy about making tough decisions.
  • “If I have sacked my brother from my company before... My sister, one biological sister, didn't talk to me for about three or four years and I didn't care.” (01:31, 27:21)
• Value in Friends over Strangers:
  • “People who have disappointed in business are people I didn't know outside business... For me, families and friends rather help my business to work well.” (27:22)

6. Scaling the Business & Institutionalization

• Leveraging Alumni Networks:
  • Graduates spread across Ghana and beyond became his delivery and sales agents, expanding his reach nationwide and into West Africa. (34:00–35:32)
• Innovative Capital-Raising:
  • Advocates using “debenture certificates” and collective pooling from credible networks.
  • “If you want 1 million Ghana city today, 50,000 Ghana city from 20 people is 1 million.” (53:26)

7. Medical Real Estate—“Medical Landlord”

• Pioneering Model in Ghana:
  • Rather than only trading medical supplies, he now builds/sets up hospitals, pharmacies, diagnostics centers, sells partial ownership, or manages them to profitability before exit.
  • “If people can build hospitals, can build pharmacies... let me build the hospitals and sell it, or... let me build the hospital, and allow people to own part... just as the way people own Airbnb apartments in a big building.” (60:17–62:35)
• Structured Partnerships:
  • Joint venture and shareholder agreements underpin larger and more complex projects, preventing internal disputes. (62:50–65:00)

8. Mindset, Systems, and Education

• No Option B Philosophy:
  • “Me, I don't have option B. Any time you have an option B, the option A is not that sharp. Subconsciously, you know that, 'Oh, even if it doesn’t work, I have a job.'” (01:09, 35:39)
• Educational Reform:
  • Advocates for practical business education alongside professional training to foster true innovation and reduce youth unemployment.
  • “Three years to teach them the clinical side... One year to teach them how to start their own nursing home... pharmacy... school.” (44:05)

9. Mentorship and Learning

• Mentorship as Fundamental Capital:
  • “Mentorship is the number one capital you need.” (67:16)
  • Cites learning from books and real business leaders, e.g., Sam Walton's Walmart lease lesson.
• “Knowing Your Ignorance”:
  • “A lot of people don't know what they don't know, okay? We are ignorant of our ignorance.” (41:14)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Courage and Risk:

  • “If you want to make money, understand how money works. Not even 30 years yet, but he has built what many people will be proud of.” – Derrick Abaitey (01:55)

• On Difficult Discussions:

  • “Me, I talk my mind... I even forget when I talk my... I forgot. I'll meet you and greet you. If you don't respond, you will have your BP. I don't have any of those.” – Samiya J (27:22)

• On Innovation and Gen Z:

  • “We are not lazy. We are not lazy. It's innovation we lack.” – Samiya J (38:55–39:20)

• Best Advice Received:

  • “He taught me how to live a very simple, very low life... Live very simple life so that big players, other people don't crash you out of business, like the way people get up to go and kill mosquitoes, even when they haven't done anything.” – Samiya J, quoting his mentor (81:07)

• On Building with Limited Capital:

  • “When one person does it with you... when you are credible enough, right? From school, and you pay—oh, and I pay? The customer gives. As soon as the customer pays, we share the monies, everybody.” (56:03)

• On the Power of Networks:

  • “We were sent to school to get this kind of mates that can give you the amount of money... Play at your size.” (57:49)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:05] — Early Trading & Entrepreneurship
• [06:15] — Starting Medical Supplies in School
• [12:33] — COVID Breakthrough & Profiting on Masks/Thermometers
• [14:38] — Risk, Scaling, and Self-Investment
• [22:41] — The Value of Credibility over Capital
• [27:22] — Working with Friends and Family
• [34:00] — Scaling Nationwide through Alumni Networks
• [35:39] — No Option B & Full Commitment
• [44:05] — The Need for Entrepreneurship in Professional Education
• [53:26] — Capital-Raising via Debentures/Pooling
• [60:17] — Medical Real Estate & The Medical Landlord Model
• [67:16] — Mentorship as the #1 Resource
• [81:07] — Best Advice: Simplicity & Avoiding Unnecessary Attention

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Final Takeaways

• Credibility and trust are the most critical assets for young entrepreneurs.
• Innovation is rooted in resourcefulness—not always needing resources but creatively leveraging what's at hand.
• Education systems in Africa need reform to integrate entrepreneurship and innovation for practical impact.
• Mentorship, humility, and a strong network are indispensable for scaling wealth and navigating challenges.
• Be bold in making tough decisions, even if it strains personal relationships.
• Stay simple, avoid unnecessary noise, and let your results speak.
• Be resourceful: The first “currency” in business is your reputation—“credibility begets capital.”

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For further details and to connect with Samiya J or participate in the upcoming Konnected Minds Live event, refer to the episode’s description and Konnected Minds’ social platforms.

Transcript

[Samiya J]

Dinner time. It's where little moments are cherished. With Blue cash preferred get 6% cash back at US supermarkets and bring everyone together. I did say everyone.

[Interviewer]

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[Samiya J]

cap Apply with Blue Cash preferred. After senior high school I taught in Kaaswa and I also sold laptops. I went to train as a phishing assistant. So I was trying to do something to keep me going in the school. Trying to buy food, fees, other things until I think the COVID came in. So the COVID that turned everything around. The COVID wars, they broke through. You want to hear that part?

[Interviewer]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The COVID messed up a lot of people's businesses. How did they help you fellow Ghanaians?

[Samiya J]

There was a lockdown. See, they told us to go to our various schools. All universities will be closed Monday 16th of March. Some of my mates gave me their fees that they don't want to go and spend them their parents had given to them.

[Interviewer]

How were you able to prove to people that you're not going to Jaquire with the money? So you started a business while you were in school? Yeah, finished. And you're still working in that business?

[Samiya J]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Interviewer]

You are not looking for a job?

[Samiya J]

Me, I don't have option B. I believe anytime you have an option B the option A is not that sharp. I had made up my mind that at west hey, you will give me underway. I will sell it. So I didn't even do national service. So it's when my company became big. That is when I decided to do my service. In my company

[Interviewer]

it can be very difficult to work with friends. How have you been able to do it?

[Samiya J]

Me, I talk my mind. A lot of people are not able to tell their mind in the face of their families and friends. They fear that gray area that there'll be some issue at home. Me, I want that issue to come. If I have sacked my brother from my company before. So my sister at the point, my sister, one biological sister didn't talk to me for about three or four years and I didn't care.

[Interviewer]

If you want to make money, understand how money works. The systems behind making money in Ghana, this is the conversation for you. Not even 30 years yet, but he has built what many people will be proud of. The knowledge he has, the experience he has is going to change the course of your life. On the 9th of September we are going to Kumasi Knust Great hall for connected minds. Live the day where all the aspiring entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs, decision makers come Together under one roof. You want to be in that room, the room that can change the course of your life. You can find your business partner there. You can create business conversations there and start a business simply by showing up. Sami Ajay Gigman Medicals. The medical landlord is in the studio today. Sammy, how are you doing?

[Samiya J]

I'm good. I'm doing well.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, man. You have an amazing story.

[Samiya J]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And I think if all of it doesn't come out, we'll do a part two. But I want everybody to really get to understand what you have built, how you built it. Talk to me.

[Samiya J]

When I had my first business, I was very small, like very young. I was a little boy, let me say around 12 years. Right. My mother was a trader. So I mean, you shouldn't be surprised. You, you'll be brought up in the trading way. You, they will psych you that if you don't sell. I mean, you have. It's like you're not part of the family. So. At primary school I used to sell pen drives. In fact, I used to go out to go and buy subalu and groundnut for my meat and collect money I wouldn't buy from the vendors. I'll add margins to it. Come and sell to some of my friends. I think she one of them, Philippa, she's married somewhere. Do you remember this story? I'll go and buy, come and sell to them and get some ideas. So it's something I was introduced to very early. Then along the line I started selling, I think pen drives were coming on. So I started selling pen drives and SD card too. Some of our tutors, those times, if you print exam papers, your exam questions, the master has to type them, edit them, put them on a pen drive. Then you go and submit at the school secretary and they print it for you. So I was provided with that pen drive.

[Interviewer]

Where did you get a pen drive?

[Samiya J]

Oh, I was getting from one. National service, in fact, for a very long time. I don't even know where he is. His name is Ato. He was a National service person living with us and he was in it. So he used to get those kind of things. And he gives to me. I go and sell and bring his money to him, keep my margins, that kind of things.

[Interviewer]

So what's the main activities of the business? What do you do?

[Samiya J]

When I started a gig, man, it was just gigman supplies and more like anything at all. I was just trying to sell literally everything. My inspiration is for my mentor, Captain retired Prince Kofi Abu Abe. When he started his business in the 90s at Kantamanto he sold air conditioners, he sold fridges, imported almost everything. He saw some until he found his feet in something to do. One of my mentors, Dr. Kab It when he started he saw so many bought so many things to sell until later he found his feet and that time is also a learning care for you to learn about something. So I was also selling laptop because proud that I had taught after senior high school I taught him Kasa and I also sold laptops before. So what happened was I at school I was still selling the pen drives and the laptops and other things. I went to train as a phishing assistant. That is what I learned at school. So I was trying to do something to keep me going in the school. Trying to find something so I could just work with. I mean trying to buy food, pick fees, other things I had to manage. It's not until I I mean I found that our mates were struggling to get clinical items. Pen, torch, stethoscope, thermometer, other thing I said ah, so we go all the way to Accra to go and get this. Then let me start selling some to them. So that is where starting medicals came in. We had to pick from other supplies Accra other places and then we supply to them. I didn't have big capital, you know, I just started small. I didn't have big capital. So I talked to one, I mean she's one of the most amazing people I've met. One of my lectures, her name is Madame Becky. I talked to her and the husband that this is what I've started and I want to do and I needed some money, they couldn't really get me. She said oh, she has bought fuel and it's like with this balance. So if I was going to take that balance because you know she was trying to please you. So whatever money she gives me, it goes and doesn't come back. That relationship she has with me doesn't end on rocks you get. So she gave me that money and then I thought what was the reason for taking the money. I told her that I needed money to pay my school fees to help me pay. I think that time it was 2000 Gana City she gave me. So I went to the that I was principal, deputy principal Academist. I told him that I'm supposed to pay my fees. This your staff Madame has given me some money to use to pay this fees. But even if I use this 2000G to pay the fees I will still owe you. It's all work. So instead of that, please allow me to use the money to invest in the small business I have started so that by the end of the three months you'll be in school I would have gotten the fees. And he said that if I'm going to do that I'm going that tangent then it will try some penalty. I asked penalty of how much? 100 city and I say in my head so because of that 100 city penalty I should give them all the money to you right now. Then I'll pay. So it becoming. It became intentional. Even after that particular semester I was still paying it lead just to be able to use the funds I have as as capital and trading with them. So I was. I started something small with it until I think the COVID came in. So the COVID that turned everything around. The COVID was the breakthrough. You want to hear that part? Yeah, yeah, yeah. How is that?

[Interviewer]

The COVID messed up a lot of people's businesses. How did it help you during the

[Samiya J]

COVID I think there was a lockdown. So they told us to go to our various homes. The students they were to vacate the hostels and other things. I wasn't living in the hostel. I was living in a normal household with other tenants that because I could not afford a hostel that time I was living it and closer to my madame so I could go and eat. Their family is the mommy. They fed me the whole five years I stayed. I wasn't buying food so I wanted to be closer to them. Some of my mates gave me their fees that they don't want to go and spend them their parents had given to them. So when school we get back to normal and school resumes then I pay for them and help them with the registration before they come. I said no problems, I get the man. Because one thing I've always believed in is honesty and credibility and trustworthiness or trustworthiness. That is one where we all need to start businesses. So they trusted me, gave me the money. They knew I was not going to spend the money. I kept it with me. It's when I got a contract from a friend. He was a doctor training in China. When the COVID came, Chinese people were on lockdown already. There's something they call Chinese New Year and all factories closed down as apart from just few essential services. All factories it's compulsory. They have sold nose masks and other things to the rest of the the world. Such that when the COVID came to their end, they were struggling to get newsmas. So At a point, those who remember will remember at the point they were exporting those masks, especially the Ghanaians living in China. They were buying those masks from other places that already they had already exported. Some of the nose masks there they were sending back to China. So this my friend called me that I should get funds and buy new smarts and export to China for him. And I asked permission from my friends. They are still with me. One of them even, I mean it's one of my investors. Now my meat that I use is fees. What about some are doing well now. I told them this is what I've gotten on offer, let's do it and share the process. They accepted it. So I sent one of them to. I think there's a market in Accra somewhere in Accra, not so popular. He went to get some. One of them went to a doom to also get some. And we added everything about 200 or so boxes of the nose mask. That time was 16 cd pair box of nose mask. And we are trying to send it export it back. I didn't have an export license so the regulator didn't allow me to export the newsmas outside. And I called my friend, this is what had happened. So. But because you made me buy it, the export wasn't part of the contract. So means you have to pay for your cost, right? Very good. The newsmas he said no since I couldn't export the nosemaster he is not going to pay the cost. I grew lean, it's faithful school fees. I mean, what trouble have I found myself? But I mean, I don't feel risky. So I just called them back and told them this is the challenge, my friends. These are the challenges I am facing. Now you all know the nose mask. I haven't, I mean sent it anywhere. In fact it's one or even the the guy that I use his face. One of them that tried exporting for me in Accra. So we found a place somewhere in East Lagoon and kept the nose mask. One week passed, two weeks. I was praying, I was just praying that. That we will resume school and I don't have the fees. I was only praying for the lockdown to be extended and extended, extended. I mean, so I was happy anytime. And they are doing. They call it a state of the nation address. My heart will be beeping because I don't know what else is coming. Then after about three weeks to one month, no smarts price rose to 90 cities. It went to 20, 25. I don't know if you remember that story, no smarts it even crossed. I even looked like I sold my early because after, when I saw that 90 CD after a week it was still going up. But I feared that it can drop down. We had not seen a surge in prices like that before anyway. So I feared that if I had not sold the newsman I could run out losses. So at 90 CD I sold everything. So that became there because I shared some to my friends, other things. Then my next move. I went to buy Gante mutas, I think thousand pieces. 4, 130. Ghana City that time you see the francophone countries even before COVID they were using nose mask. They were using sophisticated machines like G thermometers. For us we are not used to that unless you travel outside Ghana. We're using the amp we call auxiliary thermometers and the ear thermometers. Other things, not the forehead, non contact ones. So they had done the lockdown to go border close. But I think the Ivorian border was slow. They didn't close it early. So I had a friend who is still with me now, he's still my friend that I'm. I'm investing some of the business who led me to someone that gave us Gantas thousand pieces of gun thermometers. We did that. I mean duty payment, other things. And we brought it in that one too. The gun thermometer prices started shooting apart to a point. It got 20001500 Ganachi. Everyone, everybody remembers this story. And I sold mine was I think 900 or 950 for Tupi. So it means from just hundreds thousand or eighty thousand something that I got from the nosemarks. Now I'm jumping to almost 900,000. The margins were crazy.

[Interviewer]

I get it.

[Samiya J]

So that is where the breakthrough came in. So I went to my madame about four of them and I asked them that this is how much money I have. I'm buying goods, more of the medical item, other things to equipment, supplies for my school, other things to sell. How should I do? Should I go for a shop or I should go and buy a van and do deliveries. I had two options that I gave them. Would you believe that my madame went inside the day after, gave me 11 reasons why she thinks the shop is better than the bank. I see. Including the risk of travel, the risk of, I mean accident, a lot of things. So when I added that, it was like a simple savvy when I added up or you see, you had been taught research method. So I knew something later about how to pick this service and other things. When I Added all those. It made sense for me to start a shop than to buy the van. But I was still in school, so I mean, starting a shop would have been challenging.

[Interviewer]

Look, just. Just pause it there. When you made all that money during COVID how did you. How did it make you feel?

[Samiya J]

Oh, I felt good at a point in time. Tertiary is like that. If you have money, you have many friends, you understand? My childhood taught me how did they brought me up? I. I was taught to be very simple. Like we live very simple life. So I was still living my simple life with my bicycle, doing my deliveries,

[Interviewer]

making over a million guys.

[Samiya J]

Yes, yes, yes. I plunged all my money into buying inventory stock. So that at the point I didn't even have a place to I placed lay my head in the room. I mean, you're full of goods. I just me. But you see, because it happened in Kintampo. Kintampo. I had to then broaden my supplies. So what I did with. I went back to some of the tutors who had a C. That this time I don't want to be doing my sales independently again. I want the school to accept me as the supplier for the school. So that my goods become part of the prospectus for new applicant. You get it? So they over 2000 or 1500 or whatever population, new entrance students. They were buying my goods on the registration table.

[Interviewer]

Man, you are very courageous on the

[Samiya J]

registration table, you understand? So they were renting me the space. I thought to all the association leaders that you need igf, you need money to run your association. Then I can pay you some money into your coffee. As my contribution, you give me a slot in your registration table. You see? And this is how parents think. Parents even no matter how poor they are, when they are sending their children to medical school, clinical school, nursing school, physician assistant, they have made their mind that at least they have to buy for them some essential items that are prerequisite for their stay in the school. So the thermometer status of other things. The parents even feel proud that they are able to buy. That is what they used to call you a doctor or a nurse. So we make it available on the table. I was getting the money up front. If somewhere paying money, why I didn't have stock. You get it? So it became part. Then some of the students were referring us to some other universities, other people. They became award. I mean initialized supply. But Kentampur as a town played a key role. Okay, Is the center of Ghana and the center of the world. So all the cars coming from Burkina, Togu, Wa Boko. There's a rest stop for them in Kintapo. That depot just like in that. All of them stop before they proceed to wherever they are going to. T other places from all over the north, they stop at Kentampo. There's a place they call Market. So there's a man that sells breakfast and cocoa, tea, other thing at in the morning and at night I didn't have a shop. So I told him that. That he should give me a place in this because he was.

[Interviewer]

Good during these times. How old were you?

[Samiya J]

20, 17. 16. 1718. I was 1718 years. Yeah. 1718.

[Interviewer]

Did you have a mentor at that time?

[Samiya J]

17, 18 years. Yes, yes, I've always had.

[Interviewer]

Who was your mentor at the time?

[Samiya J]

So it was a distance mentor. Okay. One of them is woozy that I used to watch those times. I used to watch him a lot. Then there's one Danlock, he's into sales. I used to watch him. There's a book that I had read. The book is Made in America. Okay. It's written by Sam Wharton of Walmart.

[Interviewer]

At 1718.

[Samiya J]

Yes, yes.

[Interviewer]

You had read these books. You were following these guys. What about them made you follow them?

[Samiya J]

So it's hunger. It's hunger.

[Interviewer]

You were hungry?

[Samiya J]

Yes, I was hungry.

[Interviewer]

Let me stop you here for a minute. So if it's your first time watching Connected Minds or you have been here before but still have not subscribed, do us a favor because majority of the people that watch our videos have not subscribed. This doesn't help us grow beyond what we expect. So help us by hitting the subscribe button. Thank you. Now let's get back to the conversation.

[Samiya J]

I thought that if my father were alive, there are a lot of things I wouldn't have done. Perhaps my life would have been very comfortable. Do you get my point?

[Interviewer]

Do you think hunger enough was enough? Hunger alone was enough.

[Samiya J]

It's one of the. One of the most influential. I mean one of the most pivotal, I think reasons. But beyond.

[Interviewer]

Don't you think there are people more hungry than you and not in the position you are?

[Samiya J]

Yes, I think there are people.

[Interviewer]

So what is stopping them?

[Samiya J]

Well, I think. Should I call it systems and the people they meet? I think that I meet right people at the right time. This is one of the things I meet right people at the right time. Coincidentally, the people I meet are mostly people who can lead, but they can support. There are people like that?

[Interviewer]

No, no. What's the difference?

[Samiya J]

There are people. Some people, the. The way they Are they are their Persona, their lifestyle, everything about them. They can't lead. They are not to be leaders. They are too soft to be leaders. But they can support, okay, they have all it is the managerial acumen to support you for you to achieve your dream. But if you say they should lead, they may not be able to. And I meet a lot of those people so they help me as soon as they see my vision and hear of what I want to do. So I can help you. They know that I later on I can become like a bridge for them to cross to wherever they want to go to. But they themselves cannot be the bridge. Yes. So why don't you help you achieve? And it's true now a lot of them perhaps even though for this system we are bought a lot of the things they own now. Perhaps, I don't know, I'm not God. But perhaps they wouldn't be able. God couldn't have, I mean they wouldn't be able to achieve that. But now God has used us to let them get the things that they get. So some people could be more hungry than we are, you know?

[Interviewer]

Yeah. There are people in worse situations than you are.

[Samiya J]

Yeah, that's.

[Interviewer]

Than you were. That's true, you know, you can't be that special.

[Samiya J]

That is true. I didn't go to health because I wanted it. It's just now that I have passion for people who are suffering the healthcare and I've decided to expand more in the health. I wanted to be an engineer up to now. I still have my UMAT admission letter. I still look at it. I wanted to be a telecom engineer because I liked it. I wanted to work in the engineering space and I had. I didn't have anybody to send me to school after senior high school. I got an uncle who was. I think he was in a full time ministry that time and he said oh, he could help me to tertiary but if not health and clinical side, he can't help because he needed someone that when he's old and he can't take care of himself, someone can. We'll be able to understand his condition and care for him to have his health. So I said well then let me take it up because that was the only opportunity. So sometimes there are approaches to solving so I mean to solving problems. Sometimes there's what we call the top down approach and there's the bottom up approach. Okay, the top down approach. Top down approach is that you look at the solution, the final destination and use it to plan what you want to do to get There, right? Let me give an example. You are hungry, you want food to eat. You may decide that I want to eat rice. You have established the final destination. You want to eat rice. Because of that, you will start calling potential people that you think can help you get rice cooker or something to plan it and get there. That is there. That is the top down approach of solving the issue. And there's the bottom up. That one you look at the cause and effect, right? So in that scenario what you do is I'm hungry. But what is available now? I have rice cooker available, I have oil. Then let me cook rice. Do you get it? Those are the two scenarios. In my case, I knew what I wanted to do, but the things to get there wasn't available. So what was available? It was health. So then why don't I tell you this Health as a stepping stone to get to where I want to get to. That's why I have a problem with those who say they want to start business but they don't have a capital. You want to start a hotel, you don't have a capital. Yes. Why don't you sell flowers to hotels? Because you still learn something in running the hotel business. In the hospitality space you learn something selling flowers to hotel.

[Interviewer]

But they said that what money are they going to use to buy the flowers?

[Samiya J]

Oh, they are drop shipping.

[Interviewer]

Okay, talk to me.

[Samiya J]

Drop shipping means that we go to people who have flowers. All you need is credibility. That's why we were sent to school. School. I mean we were sent to school to get mates who can look at our credibility. We built with them in the school to give us something in called leverage.

[Interviewer]

This one will shock you. The comment said that what money would I use to take transportation to go to that flower supplier?

[Samiya J]

Oh my. What are they doing with their, their air times or they don't have phone too? If they don't have phone, I, I, I'll.

[Interviewer]

They don't have a phone.

[Samiya J]

Okay, no problem. But you, you have access to the hotel already, right?

[Interviewer]

In a there is no hotel.

[Samiya J]

Okay, so you see this? I use the hotel as an example. Look at what is available in your area. What is available? Is it palm one tapping or is it's fisheries? Because it's fisheries. Go to the fishermen that. Oh, you know someone who sells fishing net. How much are you buying fishing? Oh, we are buying it 100 CD in Accra. Oh, I know someone who can help you get. I mean someone get it at 70 but before they give it to you, give me this money to it but why would they give it to you unless you are credible with them? Credibility. You don't use money to build it. We use friendship, school, classmate, work, meet, farm meet, whatever the credibility. So build the credibility. Credibility is your first currency before the capital comes. If you are credible, people give you your money. Like someone the Madame gave him their I washed their cars, I used to mop their floors. But they are not giving me because I mob their floor. So I was mopping it just be family because that's where I eat from. So I was just like a normal young student. I mean working for my Madame as Norma. When they bring exams, I have to help them arrange their sheets. I do for them normal. But that's not why she gave me that. She gave me that because I mean I was becoming assistant with oh persistently always asking. I think it was becoming a little. Let me take this one and go. You get it. If it doesn't come back right, she's okay. But then I, I managed and you see, one begets two, one brings two. So when they give you the little and you are honest, you are credible with it, they will build on it. You don't expect that someone should just get up and give you 1 million Ghana city when he hasn't given you 100 city before. It doesn't work like that. So you see the Kintan Post scenario that was discussing how he contributed to the whole journey. The man selling the porridge. Yep. When he got a shop, gave me the space that I should keep my goose. When people place orders in Kumasi Accra, other places is if you buy from any big supplier it may take them two hours, three hours for them to get to the station, give you the delivery details. But me, my stock, small stock I had was at the station. That's where the cars were already packed. So as soon as you give me the order in five minutes I'm giving the driver details. It was like magic to them. I wasn't telling them I was doing it but I had kept my goose in the station with the man selling the porridge. That thing give me the order. Sellotipe is there. I had done a small branding for my polybags. Makai is there I guess. Right. I have those pictures so it's on my Facebook page. I mean although it goes as far as 20. I mean those times you give me the order, I write your name, I give it a driver, give driver details. So it was becoming swifter. You see the way we beat competition. If you want to beat the competition, either you Are cheaper than the market, you are faster than the market or you are better. Better than the market. So I was becoming faster than the market and maybe you can see cheaper. I'm. I can't say I was better in terms of quality or whatever, but faster and maybe cheaper that one. And they like the speed. So as soon as I give them the order, they give as soon as they give the order. So I mean it was spreading. Kintanpo was doing the work. You give it a bus driver, they take something small and the bus is moving out. It's not like it's at park waiting for it to get full before they should fail or the driver moves it out. No, it was already full. They stop for them to just buy food and continue their journey. So as soon as I give it to the bus is moving the next morning they have their goods. So it became big until one of my brother, I mean the one I came here with, he decided to stop his work. He was working with someone as a hotel staff stop his work and start riding a motorbike as a despite rider in Accra. So that my all my bulk orders will come in bulk to him. Then he will take you and distribute. You get it? So I've moved with him for the past since that time, I mean we have been friends. We have been friends since 2010. That time I don't start a business. We are just, I mean little boys friends. And then he moved in. Look, and then I said so I just convinced them. Okay.

[Interviewer]

You know when. When something you've mentioned where it can be very difficult to work with friends, how have you been able to do it?

[Samiya J]

So a lot of people say they can't work with families and friends. For me it is the opposite. If people have given me issues in my business, mostly are people that I got to know through the business, not people I knew outside the business. Yeah, it's not something that works for a lot of people. For me, families and friends rather help my business to work well.

[Interviewer]

Really?

[Samiya J]

Yes. People who have disappointed in business are people I didn't know outside business. Now I'll tell you why. Maybe it's because I'm able to talk my mind in their face. A lot of people are not able to tell their mind in the face of their. Their families and friends. May I talk my mind? So my sister, at a point, my sister, one biological sister didn't talk to me for about a little four years. And I didn't care because I took my mind and I even forget when I talk my. I Forgot. You know. I'll meet you and greet you. If you don't respond, you will have your bp. You understand? Your. Your BP will rise. Your. Your article. Your. You call it baroreceptors or your aortic arch and carotic artery. It will rise your bp. It was sensing to your brain to raise your bp. I don't have any of those. It's you who struggle to me. I talk my mind. So I have at a point in time. If I have sacked my brother. My little brother from my company before, right? I told him that my brother. You can't be here. Because he was taking work matter to the house. There are some people who. Who owe our appearance. And he has money. The person has money with us in a business. You go and tell our parents that this person has some money in somebody's business. You know, it doesn't work like that. I have to let him now. My brother is doing so well. Me at his age. He's like. He just turned maybe 20 or 21. He's doing so well. To a point. Even when we are locked out at the port or something. He's able to lend us 80,100 000. He's my little brother. I still equipped him. He doesn't cease to be my brother. It's just the business spirit. I think you don't belong here. You get it? Yes. So I think it's something a lot of people who are not able to work with their families and friends are not able to do. They are not able to talk their mind in their face straight away say this man. What. What you did is nonsense. Yeah. They are not able to say those things to them that this doesn't make sense. But me. I'll talk my mind to you. So if you. If you. You. You vest fine. If you. You keep it and you move forward. If you talk your mind to me too. I'm okay. I'm okay. I. We all. So if. I mean. There are a lot of times even my. My. My. My company right now. People tell me that Sammy. I told them no boss. Sami, this. Your shirt is dirty. You can't take it. You. You'll be. You'll be swearing our reputation, the company, our stuff. And I go home and go and change. They took me a lot of time. They took me this. What you're saying doesn't make sense. I accept it. It doesn't make sense. There's no big deal about. A lot of people who feel working with families and friends are not able to talk their mind they fear that gray area that they'll be some issue at home. Me, I want the issue to come, you understand? I want that issue to come. And I've encountered it before. My sister wasn't talking to me for a very long time. Yes, it's fine, you understand? So that is how come I'm able to deal with families and friends. It's fine.

[Interviewer]

Now talk to me. Then you started working with this, your friend. He set up a logistics company based essentially in Accra to distribute your products. Talk me through that.

[Samiya J]

So when we went there, I mean with the logistics now, I was expanding at a point in time. Then I took the Madame's advice, okay? The people, the women advice, pick some of the money to go and rent a store. And I took, I think it's for three years. But I couldn't get money to pay everything and pay even the rent agent. The rent agent. I didn't get money for him. His name is Kwame Igudu. Now he's still my friend. He's my very good friend. Now we are together. But he told me one thing, that one day he was a hospital driver to hospital. So he told me that one day he may hold the nephew's hand and come and look for work. And it's true. Now, I mean, we have done a lot for. I mean, a lot for. We are able to, I mean, help him as our friend. Get it? I mean, he did it for me. And I cherish so much. We rented a place we couldn't do much. I will share some of the pictures with you. It was total mess. We had to turn the place around, other things, put some of the goods inside. I was still in school. So who will be taking care of the shop? So during the painting, mind you, the one who came to paint it was a physician assistant, my senior who had stopped practicing in the consulting room to go into his full time painting job. Karma Deco, that's the name of his company. There were no problem I'll do it for even if I don't have money. I like a vision. So he did it for me. He didn't take money, he painted it for me. Then when I was doing the painting, one of my shs meets now the families and friends again. SHS classmate was party too. Sami. I was working for some electrical shop. But now it's no way in this existence. The woman has been relocated abroad by the husband. I don't have any work. So if you have any place to give me. And I asked him how much is he going to Take do you know how much he quitted? Is it 180 or 200 city? That's 20 Is it 2021 or 2020 yes, around that 20, 21, 200 city I said no problem and now he's doing well he's still in my space I have helped or we have helped him start another business similar to our students that's what we do with some of our sometimes we realize that you are doing well we want you to establish yourself so we help you grow so he came to join us he became our first manager he was the cleaner for the shop dispatch rider he was the accountant he was everything at the show while I was still in school I was guiding him Small, small I mean he was doing most, most of those he was coming to work on Saturday on Sunday so sometimes I call him to our office tell me that you, all of you are enjoying now people are being paid 30 months salary which I do now I pay 30 months salary leave encouragement I do all those things this is the person that started the work that you are enjoying he was taking 200 city yes and they call him he comes to my office all of we are friends all of me I don't you see I don't suck people I unless the system will let you leave my I don't suck but he, I mean we never had any issue he's been my friend till now he tell them to do so the work was going on from there One thing that did the turnaround for us is that you see when you're in tertiary school at any point in time if you're in level 100 and let's say you are 3000 people in level 100 there are 3000 people in level 200, level 300, level 500 so at a point in time my seniors were leaving school and when they are living to some are coming level 100, level 200 when they leave school they get posted to all over the country like all so my customers were getting scattered all over the country so I'm not surprised that all businesses that started from tertiary like like Chris business that's doing so well I even bought some yesterday pizza man and chicken man that started from tertiary and you get your customers from tertiary build your credibility trustworthiness from there When a customer gets cutted your business gets wider with small cash input, right? Credibility is built from there yes so when I wanted to sell someone wants to buy medical equipment my friends will tell them that because somebody are very good with them they say oh, we have this friend in school who used to say, let me contact him and see if he's still in that business. So I can. Even those I couldn't supply, I can supply. I take the contract, look for help and let some people help me. I supply the contract, get another bigger supply or something help me. We all share the money somewhere small. That is how it was growing. Sometimes if someone wants to buy something from me or from my Facebook ad bell for something. So. But we haven't seen you before. I asked them, where are you located? So I'm in Burger. Then I go to my school page. We have a general school page with about 20000 people. 10000 people. I put, who of you is in Burger at this moment? Then someone will reply, oh, I'm in Burger now. Okay then if it's not someone I know, I'll find out from someone I know that, oh, you know, this person is incredible. So it's incredible. Okay, then someone wants to buy something for me in Burger. I want to send you the product. He will give you the money. When it comes to pick it up, then you send me. You pick. Let's see this percentage of the money and send me the balance. So when they were doing that, they were doing those deliveries and other things for me. So now it means that I have a rep anywhere in Ghana, anytime. Unless there's no hospital, there's no chips compound, there's no clinic or medical center. I have reps there who know me. And what I. So that is how the company turned around. Because of that, it became nationwide, even to Nigeria, some other West African countries because some of the universities and mates after completion, they were foreigners. So after completion, some went to Africa back, someone to Nigeria back. So I mean, that is how.

[Interviewer]

So you started a business while you were in school? Yeah, finished. And you are still working in that business?

[Samiya J]

Yeah, I'm still working.

[Interviewer]

You are not looking for a job.

[Samiya J]

Okay. So I have this philosophy I picked from Pep Guardiola. Me, I don't have option B. I believe anytime you have an option B, option A is not that sharp. Subconsciously? Yes, Subconsciously, that's my belief. I don't know for others. So this is my belief. I know that subconsciously, anytime you have a second option, an alternate option, the option A loses its potency. Because subconsciously you know that. Oh, even if it doesn't work, I have a job. So I didn't even do national service.

[Interviewer]

I see.

[Samiya J]

I didn't do that because I knew if I had done National. Even though, you see, I completed with first class. It was awarded by UCC first class. Even I didn't like the health. However, I find myself, whether I like it or not, I do it well. So instead of going to do national service. Oh, my mom. My mom is in. My mom. And those people, they have the pride, the joy that they are. Their son is being called, oh, a proficient assistant. You are in the consulting room where this. They call it. You see how they. They treat clinical people. They want to have that kind of pride. I told them, well, I'm not in for that. I didn't. I did it because that was the only available option. So right now that I'm. I'm not going to do the practice, what should I do? If I had done the service, I'll be forced to do the. I mean, go and work. So I mean, I just wanted to have an excuse to give to everybody who asked me. I didn't do the service. So it's when my company became big. Then I registered with National Service Secretariat. I don't know if their name is still nss. That is when I decided to do myself in my company instead of going to do the service elsewhere. I didn't do it because I. I mean if I've gotten the service and then everything, but I wrote my license exams and got my. My license.

[Interviewer]

How many people are you employing now?

[Samiya J]

Directly, like a little over 30. Indirectly, it's at 54. Indirectly, 54. Addition to the. The direct staff. Right. If the option A doesn't work. The option you work. If it doesn't work, I'll still force it to work. I mean, well, if. What about if it doesn't work? It will work. If it doesn't work, I'll still let it work. I had made up my mind that at West. Hey, you give me underway. I will sell it. I mean there's no, there's no embarrassment in selling, bro. I was brought up with tomatoes and other things. Selling. That is not. That's not what I used to be the business. But it built me on how to sell elsewhere.

[Interviewer]

So I'm not sure. I think you must be agency, right?

[Samiya J]

Yeah. Yes.

[Interviewer]

But you're a different type of Gen Z kind of.

[Samiya J]

Yeah, that's true. I think it's true. It's true. It's true. Yeah, I'm a different. I'm different normal. My vibe.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, you remind me of a millennial.

[Samiya J]

Well, well, that is okay. I. Most of my friends are. Most of my friends and mentors are old. Last week or Last two weeks I was going to give one mentor Captain Retail Kum I was going to give him my document to review for me My strategy to review for me. When I sent him a s copy he said Sam, are you out of your mind? Do you know I'm over 70 years you are bringing me a s copy. How many pages? One hundred and something pages say no print hard copy and bring me I want to write inside. You see the kind of people I move with they are old, they host folks so I blend how they do their things other things with how I mean we as gener do you definitely

[Interviewer]

see the difference between you and some of your classmates?

[Samiya J]

Yes, I do.

[Interviewer]

What's the difference?

[Samiya J]

Risk appetite 1 I never, never think that generation we are lazy. I don't think that way. I think that we are not innovative okay, that one I'm permitted full test to see that our generation we are not innovate, we are not lazy, but we are not innovating.

[Interviewer]

Gen Z's are not lazy.

[Samiya J]

No, no they are not. We are not lazy.

[Interviewer]

They are not.

[Samiya J]

No, no. It's innovation we lack. Innovation means that we are trained to write bec that is our upbringing and senior high school. We are trained to write wasi like perform well in wasi. There are a lot of things that I think that we could have shaped our children from their infancy which I'm currently doing with some of them. Some people that their kids are with me Sometimes when I'm going to bank I take some young, very young people to the bank. I tell them that when someone we say someone has his check has bounced. This is what it means at a very young Yes, I let some of the kids, some 13, 14 I let them write my check for me Then I will do the signing part just to introduce them to how the banking system works.

[Interviewer]

Okay?

[Samiya J]

Because I feel that a lot of things that we could have it's just innovation and it's not our fault. That is. I mean I don't blame us does how just the system has been designed to be and I have a problem not long ago I was talking about it that for example if you pick children a lot of children are going to school and they don't really know what they want to do with their lives. Okay? Oh, I want to be a former Sometimes they even go to senior high school before they know they want to become a pharmacist. I want to be a pharmacist. Do you know what it takes to become a pharmacist? They don't have Any idea about it. So they would have learned so hard on their faces, their masks and a lot of the mentorship we get lost, you get it? So I think it's the innovation that we lack in the creativity, the problem solving mindset is what maybe the environment or whatever has shape us to. Even in tertiary. Let me pick my meat as tertiary. I feel that there should be some reform in our education.

[Interviewer]

So how come anytime you people, you make money, you come here to say that there should be reform in education system. It's only the people that have made money when they come, as soon as they come in they say we should reform the education system.

[Samiya J]

I'll tell you why a lot of people don't know what they don't know, okay? We are ignorant of our ignorance. You see, if I know that there's someone there with a brand, connected minds and what I'm trying to build, okay, I have information to share. That connected mind is what will help me put information out there. You see, I know that connected minds will help me put information out there, but I don't yet know connected minds. I know that someone out there is doing this I have to go and look for, right? So I know my ignorance. So let me, let me put it this way. I know that I have blood pressure, but I don't know that there are BP drugs out there. Okay? So means I am not ignorant of my ignorance. I know my problem, I don't know the solution, right? So I know that there's a solution somewhere to my problem, but I don't know who has the solution. Meaning that you're not ignorant of your problem. You're not ignorant of what you don't know. You know that there's something you don't know, right? You know that you need marketing to succeed in your business, but you don't know marketing. But you have come to know that you need marketing as a skill. You need finance as a skill, but you don't know it yet. So it means you know your ignorance or you know what you don't know. But there are some people who don't know that they have that need let alone to go and look for that solution. You get it? Yes. So they are ignorant of their ignorance. You get it? So I think it's not like when we, we start doing business getting we Me, I'm not rich. I'm not a worthy person. I mean I don't call myself rich. I'm just putting something out there to help people. I'm trying to build something with. I don't call myself as rich. Rich, my big.

[Interviewer]

But you've made money. You've made money.

[Samiya J]

Oh, that you get. You get there. So that's why my mother, My mother to call me that. Call me that.

[Interviewer]

So that's why you are here telling

[Samiya J]

us we should reform. We first have to know what we don't know, then we can go and look for it. So I think that some of my meals, some of the people, it's not like they are lazy. No, but they just don't know what. But how would they know the things they don't know unless they are taught? So the reforms I'm talking about in terms of business is that this is my philosophy, this is what I believe in. I was putting out there last time. Let's say if we're using four years to train a nurse, I think I'll get back to the three years form. I think that we should have used just maybe three years to teach them the clinical side of the work they're supposed to do and one year to teach them the business in the field they have chosen, the profession they have chosen. So let's say three years to teach them the nursing and clinical practice. One year to teach them how to start their own nursing home.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Samiya J]

Three years to teach them the pharmacy practice. One year to teach them how to start their own pharmacy. Three years to teach them the professional teaching. One year to teach them how to start their own school. Do you get where I'm talking about? This is how your profession is supposed to have been. Someone said, but if you learned that in school, how are you going to get capital to start your own school? Yes. Teaching you how to start business. We call something corporate finance. So how to raise capital is also part of the thing they will teach you. So they teach you finance, raising capital, managing the funds, sales and logistics, risk, corporate governance, mention them, hr, human resource operations. They'll teach you all those things. So what that when you leave the pharmacy school and you want to start your own pharmacy, you can also get other friends who also the only thing they have is money. You see, there are some people out there, the only thing they have is money. They don't have time, they don't have business idea, have nothing. That's true. They are also looking for people who have business ideas to give their money to some. There are people who. The only thing they have is a shop for farmers, a store, store room for pharmacy. They don't have money, they don't have drugs, you understand? Those people can also so that it would have been easy to create entrepreneurs from the professions. That one you would have created. You. It can drop that strategy. Can drop our unemployment rates by. By the highest of margin.

[Interviewer]

Okay, let me. Let. Let me mess up your head right now.

[Samiya J]

Okay?

[Interviewer]

Yesterday I was speaking to a nurse.

[Samiya J]

Okay, nurse.

[Interviewer]

And she said she has not been posted yet by the government. She's waiting to be posted. Okay. Prior to that, I had met a nurse at Villagio. She was a receptionist and she said she had not been posted for the past five years and she's waiting to be posted. So she's being a receptionist now in the meantime. Now let's get back to the second nurse. She said, the one yesterday. She said that currently some of her mates are earning 700 cities a month.

[Samiya J]

A month working at. Okay, maybe some of hospitals because a

[Interviewer]

lot of them are doing locomotives. Some are private. They have not been posted.

[Samiya J]

I understand.

[Interviewer]

For me, this means that there is a bigger problem at hand. And the bigger problem is that it is true the government cannot do it all. But the bigger issue here is a lot of these people, they want to work. They don't want to start businesses. And I give you that. I give you why she end up saying that when you work for the government, they give you allowances, health insurance,

[Samiya J]

you know, she was talking about a

[Interviewer]

whole lot of things that they give them and their security. And I wonder when they work for the private companies, the issue they have is that sometimes they can lose their job anytime they want. This is why sometimes, unfortunately, even when people know that entrepreneurship may be the way, they still don't want to do it because they want security. What do you say about that?

[Samiya J]

I genuinely think that not everybody can become an entrepreneur. It's a calling.

[Interviewer]

It's a calling.

[Samiya J]

Yes, you need some. Anybody at all can become a business owner, but not everybody can. Anybody can become an entrepreneur. There's something I'm preaching now. I'm currently preaching. I call it SEE and I'm creating an advocacy for it as SEE International sea. I call it Sweat Equity Advocates International or Sweat Equity advocacy. What do I mean? I am a pharmacist. I'm a nurse. I think I have some value. I have learned a lot at school that I can help your brand to become big. Right now, they are not employed. You don't. Do we know it. Me, I'm not. I'm also not employed. I'm also not posted yet. Right. But I. Yes, all of us are wasting away. So what is the solution to the problem? The solution that I profess is that if I think that I, I offer, I have so much to offer I can discuss with people that are doing business that oh you say you want to pay me 1000 ganac. That's what I'm saying is the, the mindset on business. That's the problem being taught how businesses run. That's a problem.

[Interviewer]

You think that's what people like.

[Samiya J]

So I think that we are not so much introduced to business from our professional point of view so that we know you are a nurse, you can start this one or you a ns you can start home care just by asking friends who of you has friends abroad that have their own parents in Ghana? Oh I'm a nurse and I want to take the opportunity to care for them in asking for some hundred a month or 250amonth. Ghana, Ghana. Here everybody knows somebody so they can connect with someone who lives in Accra. The parents are in or something. They want someone to care. You see we saw who needs it. Sometimes you don't create the problem or amplify the problem for the people to see. They wouldn't see that there's a need for a solution. You get my point because it tells someone to say that there's a glass protector you need to put on your phone before we, we go to no glass protector. We know using phones without the protector we didn't have a problem when the glass protector came. Now people will say there's a privacy protector. Now if you we have a type that you put in your phone that someone cannot read what we are. It wasn't a problem to us until when people are not innovative enough and yes but I think the domination is we are not lazy, you know but innovation is taught us as we call it as, as, as reasoning problem solving. You get it at school so it's not part of the thing we, when you, when we. When we teach business at school in anybody's profession we'll be able to predict these problems and solve it by this kind of. I mean this kind of innovative ways and we will pick something from it. That is me. What is your innovation? We lack.

[Interviewer]

I think what I really want to understand is how you've been able to institutionalize your business. How did you do it apart from

[Samiya J]

mentorship that I will discuss all these things. You need people on low capital, other things that people can. Like I was saying there are people out there who have money but they don't have business ideas. Some have money, have business ideas. They don't have time so you can get access to their Funding and you can get access to some people who are also dedicated want to build a vision with you. Especially when they know how you have treated your old staff, other people and they know they are not going to treat. I mean throw them away. When you you do something well with them then they move along with you. So people is one Captain Buddy Kumsin said that if you get your human management, the people you are working with, their management, if you get it right, you have solved 80% of the problems you have in your business in scaling up from very small to upstate. So employee welfare is one thing I really prioritize. So a systems A systems and structures that have brought our company from where it was to where. If I say we all people say system structure. System structure. What do we mean? What exactly do we mean? So one of them is recruitment and people management. So let me say people management in total make a strategy of it. Are you going to poach top talent or you're going to recruit from link up with some university and let them come and do internship like we do at our place. They come and do internship at our end. When you finish your interview, you're good. You can come and do your national service. When you're done with national service we look at you, screen some of them, we retain you somewhere. We even go and do quiz competition at some of the schools. Pick the top talents, award them with something you come in, you get it. So it has to be your strategy. You have to be very intentional about some things you do if you want to let's say manage your finances. How are you going to get money to put in the business? Oh you, you are going to use bank loan. That is your strategy for me I'm going to use. There's something we call debenture. I don't know if you. You know how it works but when you go into corporate financing you see this thing didn't come coincidentally. I have learned a lot about business. So I did MBA like I was saying. I say I've done hr, I've done corporate governance to become member of who got me inducted into a member of as a member of Institute of Directors Ghana as a certified director I did llb. I mean law degree. I did finance as mba. I've done a lot of things to bring me. It's all part of the learning else you can't do this test. So the companies act under corporate finance talks about something we call debentures. Loans are there but sometimes families and friends can give you some instrument something like a Small not formalized loan. And you use it to run your business. And you give them an agreed amount of money. However, if you're paying them those profits, you have to just more as withholding tax. That's what the law sees. So there are a lot of families and friends who have. Like Madame did for me some time ago. There are a lot of families and friends who have money. How did I meet those families and friends? From school. They were giving me 5,000, 2,000 as their school fees. Now they have grown so they can give me 100,000, 200,000. Or you don't agree with me?

[Interviewer]

I agree.

[Samiya J]

So that is how it works. And I did what we call debenture certificate for them. That's what the law says. So without knowing what the law says and how these things where we can't execute them. So debenture certificate means that people who have $100,000 $200,000. In fact Derek, if you want 1 million Ghana city, right? If you want 1 million Gana city today 50,000 Ghana city from 20 people is 1 million. Maybe you haven't thought of that. Do you get it? 50,000 city or let's say it's too big. Let me do 100,000 Ghana city. If you're a nurse, you want 100,000 Ghana to do business. Do you not think you have 20 of your classmate that have 5,000 that can bet your 5,000 ganac on you because you are credible at school. 5,000 from your colleagues. They can get for you 5,000 from 20 people is 100,000 ganas. Right? 5,000 from 10 people is 50,000. You are so many important business can do it just that it has to be families and friends. There are rules around it. That's the knowing your ignorance. The rules around it is that you can openly advertise to the market. Because you are switching to securities and exchange commission that 1. You are soliciting funds from the general public. You are not allowed to do that. You also can make it like you are taking deposits. Because you are not a deposit taking institution. Because there are registered companies that had the laws of Ghana allow them to take deposits. Do you get it? But your mother and your sisters, your families and friends can give you money. It's allowed. Yeah. You don't expect them to give you the money and you don't give anything in return. So the law has made an allowance that there should be something like the benches that people can give you their money without you borrowing from the bank. And it's not public invitation. Also that you can use their money to trade and give them money. I mean something small on it. Just that, that small thing you are paying them, you have to retool something small on it as tax. Mp, do you get it? So if you understand these things, it's good and you can scale it up. There's no limit to it. You can scale it. If he was having 100,000 now he can get 1 million for you. Even if you don't extend the number of people, he himself can use his head as guarantee and take from some from a husband and add it to his. You are still dealing with the same person and give it to you. Or you don't get my point. They also have their friends. What you have only restricted is how many people you want to deal with. But it helps with them to get. If they want to get some money from some families and friends to increase how much they can give you. Well, all the law says is you are not taking deposits. You see, sometimes let's say I get a contract, a big contract. It's bigger than me. I don't want to quote big figures. Let's say 100,000 ganacity contract.

[Interviewer]

You are being smart about this one.

[Samiya J]

Let's say you have 100,000 ganacity contracts and I don't have the money to fund it. I can break it down. This is my cost price, this is my selling price, these are my margins and go to three friends that I have this contract that I have to do, but I don't have the money to do it. So each of you should contribute 30 CD 30. 30,000. 30,000. 30. 000 city, right? And then myself that brought a contract. I don't have money so I would contribute only 10,000 city to make 100,000. And we will get, let's see, 150,000. At the end of the day we will share it according to our ratios of contributions. Is that not it? Yeah, yeah. So I mean me capital, capital has never been my headache. Building credibility is only my head because when I build a credibility, people give me capital. So capital has never been my headache. When I build credibility, people will give me my capital. When you start afresh, you don't get a lot of people, but when one person does it with you. So I mean you are credible enough, right? From school and you pay. Oh, and I pay? I mean from if from 20, it's not me pay, you know, the customer gives. As soon as the customer pays, I.

[Interviewer]

We.

[Samiya J]

We share the monies, everybody. So then there's more have to Deduct pay law if they are the small withholding tax I have to that on there my great. My people understand you understand I pay to government. That's government's part of it. It's not on their full money, it's just on the profits. You get my point. So I mean it should be very easy for us to skill capital should I mean like if you're looking for 1 million dollar yeah $50,000 from 20 friends it's $1 million or that's it. I mean so that is so the same way as a 50, 55,000 CD from it just depend on the level you are 5,000 CD from 20 friends is 1 is 100,000.

[Interviewer]

Some of, some of these people they don't have friends that have that kind of money.

[Samiya J]

No, that's what we were sent to school for. You play at your size. We were sent to school to get this kind of mates that can give you the amount of money. So at your school maybe your school is like that. Let's say you went to nursing school. Nursing school that means that your friends may not be able to get 100,000 for you but he can get 3,000 for you.

[Interviewer]

He's saying that if he can't get 3,000 what makes him think that his friend has 3,000?

[Samiya J]

Oh no, you haven't understood my point. My point is that it's not like you can't get 3,000 just that your 3,000 is not enough to start what you're trying to do. So the fact that you can't get 3,000 doesn't mean that everybody in the class also comes from the same socio economic background like yourself. No, just that me I just don't like doing the money side of it when I do it with you for a long time. My next project I want you to co own. We want. I want to co own with you. I want you also be a business owner I want you to become a shareholder instead of just trading the money because I can lose the money at any point in time. So there are projects that is what.

[Interviewer]

So you, you are using other people's money?

[Samiya J]

Yeah, I'm using other people's money. They also, they have don't have time, they don't have ideas, they only have the money. Why do they have money? Some of them are doing well to pay nine to five jobs or they have access to salary loans because of the work they are doing. So they would because of my credibility they will use their salary loans. Maybe the loan rate is 15 per year the transaction your Contract are going to do. They will get 40%. They will go and borrow from the bank at 15%. Right.

[Interviewer]

How are you able to prove to people that you're not going to jackpot with the money?

[Samiya J]

Because of where I started from my madam. So it's referrals. I don't talk to general people. No, I don't. That one is public solicitor of funds is if you are not registered with Security Esteem, you can't do that. So I don't publicly solicit funds that people should give me money for me to do. No, it's private people. Private people, they know you family, they know your friends. So it's referrals. You get it? Referral me that my mother will you say, oh, I don't have money, but I have this yam or this farm or this thing here gets bias. Let them bring their truck up, load it the money, I won't even hold it. Use it to yourself to go and bring him back to me. I mean, it works.

[Interviewer]

That term medical landlord, what does that mean? Where did you get that from?

[Samiya J]

We were into medical supplies. Right. That's how we started. Yeah. Now it's just a very tiny of bit of what we do.

[Interviewer]

You've expanded the business?

[Samiya J]

Yes, we do what we call medical real estate.

[Interviewer]

What does that mean?

[Samiya J]

So it's new in Ghana. I think if I'm right then, or if I'm not mistaken, we are the first company that's doing something like that in Ghana for South Africa. Even a company is listed on the South African stock exchange that is doing medical real estate. Us. Who is there big guys? One of my distant mentor, he does 4 billion dollar in medical real estate. Yeah, medical real estate. But for them, what they do is they build hospitals, rent it to doctors who don't have money to build hospitals. Okay. So that they will do the consulting, they share the revenues. You have your license, you have your credibility as a cardiologist, nephrologist, gastroenterologist, whatever. So we see real estate that people play in is good. Everybody is preaching real estate, but we are trying to do something different. Don't forget on my idea of trying to go into engineering. So the engineering has influenced the way I still do anything at all that I hold. So instead of going to general real estate business, I said, okay, I'm in the medical space. So if people can build hospitals, can build pharmacies. There are people also don't know how to run the hospital, but they have money, but they wish they would own a hospital one day, then What I want to do is that let me build the hospitals and sell it the hospital to them, or let me stock their hospitals for them as a. As just a medical equipment supplier. Let me stock their hospitals for them or let me build the affirmative for them. But at the point in time I was realizing something. The hospital is not the building, it is the system. And structure the business so someone can have a small building that is generating more revenue than a big hospital. I mean big building hospital. So it meant that some of the people I do the hospitals for, after talking for them, don't know that they don't have the strategies, the business ideas, the things me and my team have learned, my legal department, my hr, my strategy, other things, they don't have that. If that is the case, then let's build hospitals and allow people to own part of the hospital or part of the pharmacy or part of the diagnostic center. Just as the way people own Airbnb apartments in a big building. You get it? Meaning that we can let you virtually own a healthcare business without touching anything with your hand. Do you get my point? Because we are building this particular hospital, it's one city. If you're interested in owning a hospital in this particular location, if you want 50% of the one city, you can pay 50% of the value of the hospital. Is that not it? So that is what I am currently doing. So people build hospitals too, sell drugs and get revenue, or people build pharmacies to sell drugs and get revenue. But now we build the pharmacies to sell it out as a pharmacy, not as a store and not as a. We build diagnosis centers too, I mean medical diagnosis labs, to sell it out. But there are some people, if you look at them, you sell it out, you come back the following year and you will see that the money has gone waste because they couldn't manage it. To help them manage, we have decided that sometimes we will suggest majority or just a portion of the hospital to them and retain some. So we run it to profitability and we exit like a venture capital company. They get it. That is what brought the name medical and loaded medical real estate business. So we are doing real estate. It's a commercial form of real estate, not residential, commercial, just like people do warehouses in our space is in the healthcare space. And a lot of my friends, especially I have friends in there, I mean friends who manage footballers, a lot of athletes. They don't have time to go and manage businesses, but their business, their company is such that, or what they do is like that when they have an injury, they can have life threatening you so that they can't continue football. What did they do with their investment? You know, so I have friends who are working immediately in the diaspora. They are doing some other ways and they want to own businesses in Ghana. But then they can't come and sit here and run. When they open for some people too, it collapses. So what I just do, I just showed them some of the hospitals I'm running or we have, as it stands now, we have shares in about 12 different hospitals and chain of pharmacists. Yes. Sometimes you say people should do. What about if you fight? Do we not have a lot of partners in Ghana who are not fighting? Despite doctor, despite him even. That is their stuff or stuff. They have been together for over 20 years. They are not fighting. So why can't we be like people that are not fighting and we are only thinking like the people that are fighting. We can also be together and not fight. It's just systems and structures. What do you mean by system? System means that if there's, if there's something we call joint venture agreement or shareholders agreement, for example, in my company, our policies that at the director's level, if we are discussing an issue and we hit a dead end and we don't have any way out, we have agreed on document that the person who has the highest knowledge in what we are discussing, his final reasonable opinion is what we take. So there's no way we are going to fight over something we didn't resolve. Because there's a policy policy that when we are discussing, let's say building and we have a civil engineer in our team or construction expert in our team and we are not able to resolve, I mean among ourselves his final reasonable opinion. How do you work on reasonable? Because in court they call it objective test. The most reasonable opinion from the average person. I mean kind of where if you subject it to other people, eight people out of, let's say 10 we'll say with this way who have the same expertise in this period we say this way is the best, that is the reasonable. That's how we. We carry his last opinion or his last opinion. Reasonable opinion is what we take. So we are not going to have an issue. All things have been documented. Oh, if you're a director, this is how you comport yourself. You can be friend. There's something called the my mentor used to call amorous policy of E. I don't know if you said on your podcast you're not allowing people to intermarry in Their work piece people. So let's say we have said that kind of principle at workplace and you are a founder of the company and you have harassed someone or you are dating someone and this is a policy, then you have to exit. We are not taking your shares from your hands. But the staff you were. Maybe you were stuff that one. You lose the opportunity. You don't. You cease to get salary. But when we make profits, declare profit and we give dividends, you. You have your share. You get your share. So you can be the CEO and we will let you step outside. We. You can be the founder like myself. If I, I go against the principle, I can be told to step down and let someone run it. If I'm running into. Into debt, it's fine. Even though I founded it, they can let me step. Because I mean I'm sending the. The. The business into debt or something. So this is how we run the medical real estate business that brought my name medical landlord. Because of the real estate and the medical combined. No, no, no. That's.

[Interviewer]

That's. That was well put. Very well put. I think when, when you started speaking, you've spoken a lot about mentorship.

[Samiya J]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

How important is that in building wealth in Ghana?

[Samiya J]

Is the number one resource you need or capital you need to start a business Mentorship? The number one first. I used to say the number two. Second to God's grace. Later on I realized that God is even a mentor. So it's number one. Do you get it? First, I used to think that mentorship was second only to God's grace. I realized that God, he gives the grace to his mentees. So it's not mentorship. So it's the number one. Mentorship is the number one capital you need. What do I see? Why do I say that? Let's start with God's grace. God will give you the grace. I believe in that. I don't know what I just believe, but this is my belief. So I believe in God's grace that is there. If you take that one out. Next you have to meet people who have made some mistakes and tell you what the mistakes they have made and you avoid them.

[Interviewer]

Do people truly tell you the mistakes they've made?

[Samiya J]

If you, if you make nonsense of it, they will tell you. If you make nonsense, you rubbish the mistakes they will tell you. Okay, I will. I will tell you. Why is it mentorship can come in different forms? You can read them from books you can read. Let me tell you what a typical example. This somewhat story I started during the discussion With Walmart. He started his business in 1945. He said he had come back from the army which he started business with $50,000 of his own business. $250,000 of a loan from his father in law. Anytime I say this, I joke about it. For people who had financial laws that give them 250000 loan. I'll come back to that. Not everybody will get financial, no problem. I'm not talking about that. What I'm talking about is that he said he rented a space from a company we call PK Homes to start his Walmart. When he started it, the landlord was taking 5% of his monthly revenue as rent. It's not 5% of profit to 5% of his revenue as rent. Whether he's going to make profit or rather the landlord did not care it's taken. And after two years or three years of doing the business he went to the landlord again that he want to renew his rent. Landlord said never he's going to give it to his son. He cried bitterly and he talked to his brother and he went for shop hunting. Then when he got some, do you know how many years he guess you know how many years he went for on that new the new property when he got some? 100. Wow. Yes. He went for 100 years. 100 years lease on the property because he didn't want to repeat the mistake he first made. So do you know what that taught me? That's what I'm talking about, mentorship. What that taught me is my space that I rented for three years. Do you know Karen, how many years I have on lint? 10 years. Even that one, I bought a property just next to it. So even if the landlord says that today I'm taking my property, I have a property next to it. Are you getting my point? So these are mistakes people have made that they have written for us that they tell us. But you know, I don't expect. I don't expect any of the big guys in Ghana, our own Big Daddy Dr. Despite or any of the the big players in Ghana or Dr. Kofia happening with Prince Kofi to come and sit on radio and tell us that he has so many ideas so people should come to him and come and collect some. He doesn't have the time. We have to actively. Even when you are looking for staff to recruit, there are three main ways. There are what we call active seekers. Active seekers of job. They don't have job. You're looking for some they what we call passive candidates meaning that they qualify but they already working elsewhere and there are something like a hybrid. So these are active passive seekers who qualify to give this kind of mentorship advice, but they don't come and sit on in TV and say come or you don't expect. I follow him so much. I, I mean I follow him so much. Come and sit here. Come. I mean reality will come and left for me. No, but if you approach him by enemies, you see him fueling his car somewhere, you see him do it and you approach me. Do you know how people used to go to Jesus Christ? They were, they were fighting through the crowd though it wasn't a joke to Getting someone to mentor you is not on a silver platter. I mean it's not there like, I mean random years they will chasing you that come and let me mentor you. No, I chase them. We have to chase them.

[Interviewer]

And I also think sometimes, you know, we don't put ourselves in a position that is worthy of somebody mentoring us.

[Samiya J]

That is very true. That is very true. Because.

[Interviewer]

Let me stop you here for a minute. So if it's your first time watching Connected Minds or you have been here before but still have not subscribed, do us a favor because majority of the people that watch our videos have not subscribed. This doesn't help us grow beyond what we expect. So help us by hitting the subscribe button. Thank you. Now let's get back to the conversation.

[Samiya J]

When you are a mentee to someone, you don't need capital and other things plaint because they can help you unlock capital, even if not your own money. They can give you their property or asset as a collateral to use for funding. They can give you the connection. Just one call can lead you. There are places I go and I thought, oh, I am a mentee to so and so. And he, he. The person picks a phone call him, oh, I met this guy. He's right. He said he's your mentee. So. Yes. It doesn't have whether I'm credible or not. So this one if you don't do. I'll call you. I'll call yours. You get it? So someone to put his reputation there for you. You have to be at a position you should have justified beyond every reasonable doubt.

[Interviewer]

Sometimes these people too, when they tell the story, the young people don't believe it.

[Samiya J]

You see, a lot of things have jammed our optimism threshold or belief threshold. Yep. Such that things that used to convince us no more. Convince us. What do I mean? There are people who have narrated stories that later on it turned out not to be the case. So a lot of people are trying to or they are struggling to know who of this one is not like the first one that came. Are you getting my point? So that is how the discussions are. But you see, I'm not too much surprised how these things work. Let me tell you why in the Bible. I believe in the Bible. There are some strategies I pick from the Bible. In the Bible, when Samuel was to anoint Saul, he went out to look for the father's flock. And then later on Samuel called him Saul. I'm not talking about David. Saul. It was Saul that he come for his anointing. He anointed him. He said he was going to be the king. When he met his uncle, the uncle asked him, where did you go to? He said that he was going to look for the father's flock. And what happened when you mess someone? What did he tell you? When someone told him that the flock had gone back home, they had been found. Was it real? Someone told him that. But he also added that he was going to be king, which he didn't add it to his. He didn't tell that story to the uncle. So it depends on what some people are going to make of the story. You understand? The scripture said he never told him the entire story. That's what the Bible said. He didn't tell his uncle the entire story that someone told him that he's going to be king. He only thought about the. The flux part of it because perhaps it would not have been that good.

[Interviewer]

But why? Why don't they just tell people the show me the way that those young people are expecting.

[Samiya J]

It is not coincidental that when Africans are traveling, they don't inform their families. When David told his story, what happened when he told his story? You know David of old, the Bible. Yes. What happened when he told the story? What happened? Let's pick Joseph's story. When he told it, this was even his family. When he told him his story, what is coming to happen to him and how. I mean he has been conquering the things he's doing, doing the things, the extraordinary things he's been doing that he feel that God's blessings with him. When he told him what happened, they put him in the pit, right. And later sold him. But do you know that that was even the original idea? They wanted to kill him. It is his one of his brother, I think Ruben who said, oh no, let's not kill him. Let's put him in this pit. With his idea being that if they all go, then later he will come back and come and take him from the pit. But the original intention was to kill him. That was what the Scriptures he said he wanted to kill him. So people told their story. That is what Micah chapter seven, verse five. Okay. If you go to Micah 75, he said, don't trust even the closest companion. Even he said, the woman who lies in your bosom. There's not me saying, you know, this is what I believe in. Why? Because a lot of people have told their stories and people make nonsense of it. Or they can use it to attack you. That's why people say your secret is your power. You see, some people see it. Your secret is your power. You can tell you story of a story or story that people told their stories and people made nonsense. So sometimes they will tell the story and leave some part of it. I know someone who told a story about how he's doing his pharmacy and how well it's going and told him about the next move that he's trying to do. Is it pharmacy to his location based. He has restrictions. When he went to the person has gone for the location. Do you get it? So I think that unless you're not making nonsense of the story, you're not rubbishing it or something. People tell their stories in books and other things. There's. There's this book that I read from my mentor, the UT story.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Samiya J]

He told his story plainly. He said when he was about to start his company, about 19 families and friends promised him that when he. When he get. He should go for the license for the savings and loans. Like that, whatever. Savings and loans, when he goes for the license, they will give him money. Who is a guru. I was with him at. At Achimota golf course. I mean I did golf and we were discussing this. We were laughing because not even one person from the people after telling him, telling them. So what's the essence of even telling him the story? Not even one person help him get those one. But he told all his story. Everything in it is in his book now. So people tell their story. If you want innovation of the stories, you may have to justify that when they tell you, you're not going to make mean nonsense. And sometimes why I feel that you see, you need a particular set of hardware to handle a particular set of software. Right? Some stories may be too much for you to bear. So they may not tell you or to. To. To connect the dots.

[Interviewer]

The Bible says do not cast spells before swine. They will trample on it. In fact, they will hurt themselves Right.

[Samiya J]

You see the point? So sometimes if you say, oh, why is the person not giving you SPSS? Why is the person not giving you FIFA 2 20, 25, you are running Pentium 1. How does he give you, I mean, tell you about how to give away. You don't have the hardware.

[Interviewer]

So the tons of people on Twitter who are bashing some of these things. I watched 50 Billion Plates, I started with this. Most of them don't have the hardware.

[Samiya J]

Oh no. I think, yeah, I think there's a problem with the hardware. There's a problem with their belief. We are not two ways fools.

[Interviewer]

You believe those stories are true?

[Samiya J]

Yeah, I believe those stories are true. Let me pick Richie's example. Rich said at 30 he had 1 million $. I think he didn't do well at E $31 million. Right. Or maybe because of the instrument he had at.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Samiya J]

Right now I, I personally myself, I said I wanted it some things I called a coupang. That is what I want to buy. The value is let's say 200 city. I'm getting it for 100 city.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Samiya J]

Everyone said I'll buy for you when you buy for me. If I want to even resell it right now, it's. You get my point? So he did. Most of these stories, they are true. Just that they may not be. They may not be the full story or some of the people you see. No, having your story is different. Knowing how to narrate it is another thing. Yes, some people know some things, but I don't know how to teach it. And it's not their fault. They are not teachers. That's fine. It's sometimes. You see, some people are so. They know their story so well that sometimes they can even leave when they are narrating. They will leave somebody. They may not know that this, you need this, this particular portion of the story to make sense in the full story. They didn't know, you know that. I mean, so I think sometimes how they narrate the story, they may not get a full time to tell you the full story.

[Interviewer]

Yes.

[Samiya J]

People.

[Interviewer]

I also figured out is that sometimes even the numbers people quote in public is lower than what.

[Samiya J]

Yes, that's true.

[Interviewer]

Actually.

[Samiya J]

That's true.

[Interviewer]

I think there was a time I was talking about how I started a pharmacy in east lagoon for. For 40,000 is actually the number is more than that. It just, it just so happens that I don't know these things happen, isn't it? Say you are in an interview and then they ask you a question like we are Your mind go very quickly to the things you can remember now and then you share it in another interview. Depending on how the questions come out, there may be similarities. But you know, you might say one or two things.

[Samiya J]

Like example. Zam interviewed me on my. On my story and our story some time ago. And I think when I was narrating the COVID story, there are a couple of things I forgot inside because it's not a scripted interview, it's a normal conversation. So sometimes when you have this interview, then you can policy. Oh, this even happened before this one. Or this even happened because some of them are very long ago and you haven't written books about them or it's not something he's scripted in. Something. We understate.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, yeah.

[Samiya J]

We understate some of the figures and the values.

[Interviewer]

Especially because of the environment we're in.

[Samiya J]

Yeah, especially because.

[Interviewer]

And we also understand that some people the hardware is a bit different.

[Samiya J]

Yeah. So I'm. You just don't give them more than they can chew.

[Interviewer]

But Sammy, medical landlord.

[Samiya J]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

What's the best advice you've ever received?

[Samiya J]

The best advice I've ever received is from my mentor. I mentioned his name a lot because he's shaped how I run business. He said that you see the way mosquitoes run. Mosquitoes operate mosquitoes in our environment, mosquitoes, they bite. They may suck your blood or they may just make noise without doing anything at all. Right. Sometimes people don't even go and kill the ones that did the biting, but just those that are doing the. The noise.

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Samiya J]

They might not have bitten them. They are just doing noise. It's just the noise that is irritating. It has gotten to above the tolerable threshold. So he may get up from the sleep or go and look for the mosquito anywhere. Comb everywhere in the room to kill the mosquito because it was making the noise. Will become irritated sometimes. He said he taught me how to live a very simple, very low life. Very simple. He said even at his peak, he had three shoes, watches, other things they wear two, three, one. I mean, very simple life. He was even renting. I mean, he's even in his book that he was renting. He has some houses, fine, but he was renting, you understand? He thought he asked to live way, way below our means not to get too much attached material things because when you lose them, you go crazy. So you don't lose your sanity making money. He said make live very simple life so that big players other people don't crash you out of business. Like the way people get up to go and kill mosquitoes when they haven't done anything. I mean they haven't done anything to them, you understand? But you are killing because the noise irritating. Sometimes what you are starting may be rotating to be players. So stay low. However, no longer. When I was discussing, I brought that up and I told, I told him that this you have you did that in there past but now we are in the social media environment, get it the media world. So now he reiterated the point that then you have to balance what you're putting out there in the media space with your simple life so that it doesn't annoy, it doesn't draw on due attention, inappropriate attention to yourself. You get my point that one you create enemies, you create human enemy that you can bear. He told me this and it's one of the things that really shaped how I do my business. Very low, very simple, not too much of noise that can create on I'd

[Interviewer]

love to have you in Kumasi for Connected minds live on the 9th of September, yourself and one of my very good friends, Zen.

[Samiya J]

Yeah, that would be good.

[Interviewer]

On a panel conversation for about 15 to 20 minutes to answer a few questions from the audience as well.

[Samiya J]

That'll be good.

[Interviewer]

I am believing that, you know, a lot of the people watching this episode have had real value from it and they want to associate with you, learn from you and ask you a few questions. Some people may not know because a lot of things you have not revealed in this conversation. But I've met people, I've had conversations on this podcast and I like your story. In fact, I like what you're doing. No, it's. It's incredible what you're doing. So I'd like to say a lot of thank you to you and your team for the work you're doing and for what you've shared with us today and for my viewers and to my listeners, thank you so much for staying here and if you made it to the end, I'd love to know in the comments if you haven't got your tickets for Connected minds live on the 9th of September. I'd love to see you there. The details are in the description. Share this conversation. Hype it so somebody else can get value as well. This has been a conversation with Samiya J and the medical landlord. I'm going to leave all his details in the description for you so you can also have access to him and his social media pages. Thank you. I'm out. Grainger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners.

[Samiya J]

Lights about to fail, Filters ready to

[Interviewer]

clog H Vac on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering and 24.

[Samiya J]

7 support.

[Interviewer]

Call 1-800-GRAINGER click grainger.com or just stop

[Samiya J]

by Grainger for the ones who get it done.