Segment: Your Parents' Mistakes Can Be Your Blueprint - Plan Properly or Lose Everything

Summary

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Konnected Minds Podcast with Derrick Abaitey

Episode Segment: Your Parents' Mistakes Can Be Your Blueprint – Plan Properly or Lose Everything
Date: August 2, 2026
Host: Konnected House (Derrick Abaitey)
Featured Guest: Kobe
Main Theme: Leveraging generational mistakes as a blueprint for smarter life and business decisions; practical lessons in entrepreneurship, planning, and confidence for the next generation.

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on how the mistakes of a previous generation, particularly parents, can serve as valuable learning tools for ambitious young people. The discussion centers around entrepreneurship, proper planning, breaking limiting beliefs, and overcoming social perceptions that can stifle growth and confidence—especially in African contexts like Ghana and Nigeria. Kobe, a young entrepreneur, shares his journey from university to business ownership, the uphill battles faced, and the mindset needed to build sustained success.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Entrepreneurship Journey: From Campus to Three Branches

• Identifying Customer Needs (00:36–01:32)

  • Kobe describes how listening to customer feedback—namely, requests for a dine-in space—led to the opening of a second branch.
  • "If you pay close attention to your customers, they will tell you what the next step in your business is." — Eric (01:32)

• Scaling Smartly (01:58–02:41)

  • With student customers leaving for vacations, Kobe diversified by opening a branch off-campus to maintain cash flow and support payroll.
  • "The whole idea of the third branch was to let people know us outside campus. And also a survival tactic to pay our workers." — Kobe (02:06)

• Impact of Youth Entrepreneurship (03:14–03:48)

  • Kobe now employs 12 people, far surpassing expectations for recent university grads in his field.
  • Eric and Kobe reflect on the scarcity of jobs for graduates and the missed opportunity if more classmates had started businesses:
    • "If four people, say five people started businesses, you guys could have employed the others easily." — Eric (03:16)

2. Rethinking Traditional Education and Employment (03:48–04:42)

• Entrepreneurship is not seen as an alternative to formal education, but as a necessary complement, especially where job markets are saturated.
• "It's all well and good to get yourself educated... but... there aren't enough jobs... those that feel the urge to start businesses, they need to listen to conversations like this, create businesses and employ the other people." — Eric (04:05)

3. Mindset, Age, and Social Perception (04:42–07:17)

• Challenging Age Norms (04:42–05:29)

  • Young Africans often delay entrepreneurial ambition due to societal beliefs about age and legality of youthful wealth.
  • "You are not young... if someone is 16, 17, 18, and they are making their millions, it's incredible... You're not young to start making money. You are of age." — Kobe (04:42)

• Dealing with Distrust and Stereotypes (05:28–06:39)

  • Successful youth are sometimes accused of fraud ("fraud boys" or "blood money"), which discourages others from chasing legitimate success.
  • "People's perspective about who I am doesn't matter. I know what I've been doing... They weren't there to see it, but now they see progress. And you are trying to pull me down... I don't care anymore." — Kobe (05:58)

• Advice on Handling Hate (06:39–07:17)

  • Eric encourages listeners to focus on their personal growth rather than critiquing others’ results.
  • "Any energy you have to bash somebody who has results, put it in yourself and go and make money..." — Eric (06:51)

4. Navigating Fluctuating Business Environments (07:32–09:22)

• Adapting to Seasonality (07:32–08:46)

  • Kobe explains how local demand still sustains the business during academic breaks, but acknowledges unavoidable dips.
  • "Popcorn is universal... Even the residents at the Ediyasi town, they patronize us." — Kobe (07:49)

• Strategy on Location Mix (08:46–09:22)

  • Decision to keep a campus presence is strategic for brand and future opportunities, even if it means accepting some slow periods.
  • "With our product, it's targeted... We would rather be in environments where are very youthful." — Kobe (08:59)

5. Lessons from Parental Mistakes: The Importance of Planning (09:22–10:57)

• Kobe shares how witnessing his father’s financial setbacks—triggered by poor planning and risky investments—shaped his approach to business.

• "Proper planning? I think things weren't really planned properly... The lesson I learned... is to plan properly for the future." — Kobe (09:39)

• Applying the Lessons (10:26–10:57)

  • Kobe details his own contingency plans, emphasizing the intentionality behind each new business decision.
  • "If we are to expand, go to a different location, it will be properly planned." — Kobe (10:31)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Customer-Led Growth:
  "If you pay close attention to your customers, they will tell you what the next step in your business is." — Eric (01:32)

• On Entrepreneurship Replacing Employment:
  "If four people... started businesses, you guys could have employed the others easily." — Eric (03:16)

• On Youth & Money:
  "You're not young to start making money. You are of age..." — Kobe (04:42)

• On Dealing with Stereotypes:
  "People's perspective about who I am doesn't matter... I know the work I put in when I was a student... They weren't there to see it, but now they see progress... I don't care anymore." — Kobe (05:58)

• On Mindset:
  "Any energy you have to bash somebody who has results, put it in yourself and go and make money." — Eric (06:51)

• On Parental Lessons:
  "Proper planning? I think things weren't really planned properly... The lesson I learned... is to plan properly for the future." — Kobe (09:39)

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Key Takeaways

• Entrepreneurship is a vital option for youth in Africa’s saturated job markets
• Listen to customer feedback for business evolution
• Don’t let stereotypes or age norms delay your pursuit of success
• Criticism of successful peers reflects wasted energy—refocus on your growth
• Family setbacks can become personal blueprints: learn, adapt, plan better

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This episode delivers powerful, practical wisdom for anyone seeking to break limiting beliefs and use lessons from past mistakes to build a flourishing future—both financially and personally.

Transcript

[Eric]

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[Eric]

it was it. Turnover was it? What was it? What was the metrics?

[Kobe]

First of all, I did that. Someone should interview you on your live story because right here on this podcast. But anyway, it was turnover. Right?

[Eric]

Okay.

[Kobe]

We were just selling, selling, selling, selling. We became a household name on campus.

[Eric]

Yes.

[Kobe]

I mean, the type of money we were getting. Me, myself, I had never seen that type of money in my life.

[Eric]

I see, right? Were you surprised?

[Kobe]

Very.

[Eric]

I see.

[Kobe]

Didn't expect that. Right. And then again, I think the whole thing started when we didn't have a sitting area. Our first branch.

[Eric]

Okay.

[Kobe]

And then customers passed by and they were like, oh, isn't there anywhere we could sit down, dine in? It was a standard. There wasn't any. So then we had to create a solution to that. So we had to open a second branch on campus.

[Eric]

Makes sense. So you opened the second branch because customers needed a place to sit and dine. You know, I always say this, that if you pay close attention to your customers, they will tell you what the next step in your business is.

[Kobe]

And it was incredible. We thought that probably, oh, the market for the first branch will come down because we are dividing it. Some people would rather prefer to go sit. Some people would pass by.

[Eric]

Yeah.

[Kobe]

Different story. They both just keep on selling, selling, selling, selling, selling, selling.

[Eric]

And then now the third branch.

[Kobe]

And then the third branch we like. Okay. Since we are targeting students and they vacate, sometimes they can go to vacation for the like, up to four months. We have 12 people to pay. Right. How do you do that? We had to open one in town where people could still buy, and we kept one on campus open and people were still buying. So the whole idea of the third branch was to let people know us outside campus. And also a survival tactic to pay our workers.

[Eric]

How many employees do you have?

[Kobe]

The moment? 12.

[Eric]

You have 12 employees across the three branches. That's amazing. Kobe, what did you study at university?

[Kobe]

I had a human settlement planning.

[Eric]

Okay. So if you wanted to apply for a job what job would you have done?

[Kobe]

I will work at the Lands Commission. More governmental jobs.

[Eric]

You would wait for the government to give you a job to post you.

[Kobe]

That's how most of people who do my work, they wait for posting.

[Eric]

Okay, how many people are you in your class?

[Kobe]

Roughly 137.

[Eric]

Okay, how many of them have gotten jobs since you finished?

[Kobe]

Sadly, not that much.

[Eric]

So you employ 12 people. That means that if roughly out of the 100 and let's say 100 people in your class, if four people, say five people started businesses, you guys could have employed the others easily. This is my point and I think Saka said it here. He says that, you know, you go to school so you can create a job, not just sitting around waiting for a job. And I'm going to ask you another tough question. Are you earning more today than you would have earned an entry role in the job that you were doing?

[Kobe]

Way more, President Eric. Way more money that I never really expected. Although we haven't started profit sharing, but at least seeing the money in the

[Eric]

country and your salary as well.

[Kobe]

It's okay. It's okay.

[Eric]

Sometimes we say these things and people think that we're against traditional school. No, I'm just saying my point is really simple, that it's all well and good to get yourself educated in the tertiary university level and then wait for the government to give you a job. But the problem we have in this, our country is that there aren't enough jobs. So some people would have to come out. Those that feel the urge to start businesses, they need to listen to conversations like this, create businesses and employ the other people will be left in the classrooms.

[Kobe]

Perfectly said. And then it's also a mentality thing with our youth, okay. That our love as it we started the interview that said to change. You are not young. You see, if someone is 16, 17, 18, and they are making their millions, they are young people making their money. And it's incredible. You enter your twenties, you are not young anymore to make money. It's probably an African perspective. But then if you go outside Africa, the young people, 20 to like 30, are the people who are making the millions. So you're not young to start making money. You are of age. Like if you are making money. And sometimes they see young people driving cars and then they tag them as.

[Eric]

Yeah, fraud boys.

[Kobe]

Exactly.

[Eric]

Or they've done some blood money.

[Kobe]

Well, that's what's pulling the youth back.

[Eric]

Okay.

[Kobe]

They don't want people to see them like that. But then you have to take that risk. Make your own money and forget what other people think about you.

[Eric]

So what you're saying is that because people will think they probably made the money through fraud or whatever it is, they would rather wait until they are much older than they make decisions about their finances.

[Kobe]

Exactly.

[Eric]

That is a dead mindset.

[Kobe]

Exactly. I mean, I actually had rumors about myself. A friend of mine came to tell me that, ah, why not start if I worry, you know, or be a branch me and say, oh boy, no ABB or ABB come home, he's doing something. And then I got so angry and then I just realized that nah, people's perspective about who I am doesn't matter. I know who I am. I know what I've been doing. I know the work I put in when I was a student. Picking up ice cream machines, selling popcorn, doing that, doing this. They weren't there to see it, but now they see progress. And you are trying to pull me down, telling people that I've been going places, I don't care anymore.

[Eric]

But this is quite Norma within our Ghanaian communities.

[Kobe]

Yes. And that's what people have to stop listening and take that risk. Do something.

[Eric]

In fact, sometimes it's not even people like yourself or I, it's people like. I think recently I saw an interview of RNAQ where people were on Twitter just saying a whole lot of things and I made one tweet. I just said, look, any energy you have to bash somebody who has results, put it in yourself and go and make money. Because the truth is you may never know the truth and it doesn't matter anyway.

[Kobe]

Think about yourself. Do something yourself. Create your own dynasty. Something that people will appreciate. And if they don't appreciate, they'll talk to other people badly about how they have been doing to Iron UK myself.

[Eric]

Yeah, I mean you are selling popcorn on campus. The problem I have with your business idea is that what if the students are all off campus? How are you going to sell?

[Kobe]

As I said, our branch on campus. Although we have targeted students, the residents around love us. Popcorn is universal. From children to adults. Everybody loves it. So even the residents at the Ediyasi town, they purchase from us, they buy from us, they patronize us.

[Eric]

Doesn't it affect your sales when a student go on campus?

[Kobe]

It does.

[Eric]

Like you don't see a dip in your.

[Kobe]

It does. It does.

[Eric]

Yeah.

[Kobe]

But then there are some things that are out of your control.

[Eric]

Okay.

[Kobe]

So that's why we decided to open another branch right in town. Okay. Get more customers there.

[Eric]

Okay.

[Kobe]

We have workers to pay. Stay open, Let Them do those few sales. But when the students are back, how they purchase, they purchase from us. How they buy from you.

[Eric]

You think it makes going going on

[Kobe]

vacation, it's okay, right? Makes up.

[Eric]

You think it makes up for the losses you make when the students are not around. So at somebody from the outside, bird's eye view, wouldn't it probably easier to simply just have one branch on campus and then two branches outside and expand

[Kobe]

outside with our products? Yeah, it depends on what the person is selling. With our product, it's targeted. We have targeted the youth. So we would rather be in environments where are very youthful. You get it? So it's fine if they go on vacation and we lose something, we deal with it when they are back.

[Eric]

You, you, you made a statement about how, you know your parents did really well for themselves and even for you, the kids as well. But then it got to a point where financially you could feel that they were not doing as as well as they used to. Do you think that has done something to your psyche?

[Kobe]

Proper planning? I think things weren't really planned properly when we migrated back to Ghana. And it has also put me in a different way of thinking. If something is to happen, there has to be always a backup. So I think with their story, the lesson I learned from it is to plan properly for the future. Because once they move to Ghana, some investors took money from my dad trying to like, I mean he lost a lot of money, then he had to settle for something less. So it was a mistake on his end and something that I've learned and I hope I do not repeat that.

[Eric]

What are you doing differently?

[Kobe]

Planning. Okay, yeah.

[Eric]

Well, what does that mean from him?

[Kobe]

When he migrated to Ghana, he didn't really have a plan to generate income for Favori. As I said, once they vacate, we also have a backup plan. That's our branch in town. So was planned. Right. If we are to expand, go to a different location, it will be properly planned.

[Eric]

I cashed out my entire 401k thinking someone stole my identity. A fake email cost me my dream home. After I sent my personal information to a scammer, my AI agent wired thousands to an account I'd never seen.

[Gen Digital Advertiser]

When billions of people feel unsafe, that's no longer a security problem. It's an economic one. At Jenn, we're building the trust layer for a more fearless planet. With products and technologies from our global brands, Norton, Lifelock, Avast and Money Lion. See it in [e-mail].