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…Exclusive Interview With Dr. Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase On The Upcoming Certified Netpreneur Course

By Lordson Okpetu and Segun Abisoye

Few weeks from now, the first ever Certified Netpreneur’s Course by SADC; the one that you will attend and come out with a cheque as a proof of earning on your graduation day, will commence.

Expectations are high among SDE! readers nationwide concerning this training. And a lot of people have been bombarding us with lots of questions about this first-of-its-kind training.

For this reason, SuccessDigest Associate Editors, Lordson Okpetu and Segun Abisoye, compiled all the frequently asked questions by SDE! readers about this soon-to-be-launched training and took them to Dr Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase, Executive Chairman, SADC, and Publisher SuccessDigest Extra!, for answers.

So, if you’ve ever wanted to find out one thing or the other about this training, this exclusive interview with Dr. Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase [SOOJ] is a golden opportunity for you to do so.

Excerpts:

SDE!: Sir, when exactly is the Certified Netpreneur Course going to commence?

SOOJ:

This is the plan. First, we are going to announce the take-off of the Certified Netpreneur Course before the end of this month with the sale of the Registration/ Enrolment form which will cost N1, 500. We will start to sell the forms around the 15th or 22nd of March and we expect those forms to be returned latest by the 23rd of April. The course itself will take off in May.

SDE!: What will be the duration of the course?

SOOJ:

The course will run for 12 days. But it will not be 12 consecutive days. It will be spread over 12 weekends, making three months in total. But again, it is obvious that not everyone will be free to attend the course at weekends. So, the course will be flexible in the sense that we shall have two other options for those who wish to attend it.

The second option will be for those who can spare two consecutive days in a week for twice in a month. Such people will have two days in the first week of the month [say Tuesday and Wednesday] and have another two days together in the third week of the month, making a total of four days in the first month and 12 days over the three months duration of the course.

The third option will be for those who can afford to spend four days together once in a month. Those people will come in say in the second week of the month and spend four days and another four days in the second month and the final four days in the third month.

At the end of the course, whether you are attending the weekend version [Saturdays]; or the twice in a month version or the once-a-month version, you are expected to put in a total 12 days to earn this certificate and be a proud earner of your first real money on the Internet.

SDE!: Why can’t the course be done in two consecutive weeks?

SOOJ:

The reason is that each of the steps required for you to earn genuine, fraud-free money on the Internet need to be practiced and mastered so that you will be able to do it effectively in the process of running your Internet business.

The gap between each lesson is required for you to gain the mastery of each step. Remember, there will be no excuse for you not to generate income on your own after attending this course.

SDE!: Having rested the Demystifying The Internet (DTI), what differentiates the DTI from the upcoming Certified Netpreneur Course?

SOOJ:

I am sure that the readers of SuccessDigest Extra! already know the difference because I explained this in one of the recent editions (See Page 18, SDE! Vol. 5 No 12 for details).

What we did with the Demystifying The Internet program was to take away the ‘mystery’ in making money on the internet. Many have heard that it is possible to make money on the internet but don’t know how it is done. When you come for DTI program, we show you the ways to make money on the internet.

Now, it doesn’t matter how deep DTI was, it was meant to sensitize you and give you the feel of what is possible on the internet. That is why when you conclude the DTI, we say to the attendees: we have shown that this thing is possible, now take a tool box and do it.

Usually your learning begins after the DTI. For example, at the DTI, you learn about blogging and a blogging expert stands before you and shows how he or she blogs for money. So after the DTI, you are supposed to start a study on blogging with the materials we gave you in addition to others that you are able to find yourself. And then you practice and practice and practice until you master it.

Now what is the BIG difference between Demystifying The Internet and the Certified Netpreneur Course? The big difference is, the whole essence of introducing our own people to the internet is because it gives each individual an opportunity to create business for himself or herself. That is why I was interested in the internet when I first contacted it in 1995.

But over the years, I have discovered that learning this thing on your own is easier said than done. That is why there is low percentage of people who are able to leave the DTI and are able to follow through. The percentage is so low; we have trained thousands of people out there but very few of them can actually do it. Why? Because there are a lot of technicalities involved.

So what Certified Netpreneur Course is going to do is that we are going to be sitting down with attendees and working together to achieve that goal of making them Netpreneurs.

That is why we said that by the 12th week when they are graduating, they will be waving in their hand, cheques they earned in the course of going through that training. That makes a big, big difference from just coming, getting trained and going away to try and earn money on your own.

The cheque you will earn is not what we will earn collectively and then say, ‘Ok, this is your share’. No. You will earn it. You will choose your niche, we will show you how to do it, and you will do it and earn money, so that when you go out there, you can continue to do it and earn money in the same way other people are doing it; the way that other Nigerians who are doing it successfully and earning money are doing it.

SDE!: Sir, you stated in the write-up about the Certified Netpreneur Course (CNC) that each attendee must have an internet-enabled laptop as a requirement for attending…

SOOJ:

Indeed they must have it. If you don’t, it is like going into the farming business without a cutlass, without a hoe, and without a land; you are not a farmer. If we allow you to come and use our own facilities to train, when you graduate, how do you continue to do it to earn money? It is like not practicing mathematics. If you don’t practice it, it will get away from you. It is the same thing with the Internet. So, when you come for example during the weekend, we teach you something and then we give you an assignment that during the course of the week you will go and begin to practice. Then the following week, before we teach you anything new, we check if you have any difficulty with what you learnt the previous week. If you do, we sort it out before we teach you anything new. This is because these things are understood step by step; they are connected. If you miss one step, you can’t get the next one right; that is the way it is.

SDE!: The way you explained the course earlier, it is obvious that it is going to be an intensive one. Then you also said the form will cost N1, 500. Sir, is there any other fee to be paid for the course by intending attendees?

SOOJ:

The earlier mentioned N1, 500 is not the course fee. In fact, the course fee will not be less than N65, 000 per person. This is a business. This is not about doing a survey and those other things people talk about. This is about somebody saying, ‘I don’t have a job, I want to make a business out of this. I have N250, 000 or N300,000 to invest in a business and I want that business to be internet business’. Then you come for that course, buy your laptop, get it internet-enabled, pay your fees, etc. This is because you are getting into a business that is guaranteed.

We have decided to give our time to this. You used the word ’intensive’ in describing the course earlier. If it is going to be intensive, it means it is going to take everybody’s time. So we have decided to give the people who will be doing this course our time so that they can begin to do the same things we are already doing.

SDE!: Let us go back to the issue of qualification for attendees of this course. Part of the requirements, apart from having your own internet-ready laptop, is that you must have attended DTI in the past. But there are some cases of people who have not attended DTI in the past but are proficient in the use of the computer and the Internet, etc. Will such people be allowed to attend?

SOOJ:

Not for the first intakes.

But after the first session, there is going to be what we call Certified Netpreneur Foundation Course that such people will have to attend before they will be allowed to attend the Certified Netpreneur Course proper. It is going to be an entry point before you can take the Certified Netpreneur Course…

SDE!: …something like DTI?

SOOJ:

Not exactly. But this course will prepare you for the main Certified Netpreneur Course, it is going to be called Certified Netpreneur Foundation Course. It is a foundation course.

SDE!: As SADC continues to try and educate Nigerians about making money on the Internet, we also recognise the issue of the threat coming from ‘Yahoo Yahoo’ boys. What conviction is driving your vision in this area?

SOOJ:

Actually, I don’t go to bed worrying about ‘Yahoo Yahoo’ boys or people doubting the possibility of making genuine money on the Internet. For us, ‘Yahoo Yahoo’ is nothing to worry about. You are only expected to be worried over what you are doing. And what we are doing is open to scrutiny.

It’s like in the medical practice too. When you say there are quack doctors, do other doctors worry that there are quack doctors? No.

SDE!: What happens if someone attends the Certified Netpreneur Course and, at the end, does not make money?

SOOJ:

It’s not possible for you to attend and do all we say you should do and not make money. It is impossible; that one is ruled out. And the kind of information you will get in your enrolment form will spell out your responsibility. You have to do every assignment that you are given. If you don’t do it, you will not advance to the next stage. If the course ends and you have not done everything, there will be no carry over. That is your penalty for not being serious.

Except there is evidence that the reason you were unable to do your assignment is because of ill-health or something that serious, you will have to pay a penalty in order to complete your course or you may have to abandon it completely. So, your progress is measurable and it depends on you. But if you complete the course and you do all that we ask you to do as we ask you to do it and you don’t generate income, then you will get a full refund of the course fee.

Let me re-emphasize the fact that this is not a course to be embarked upon by someone who just wants to pretend that he’s doing something about earning a living. It’s a course for a serious-minded person who is determined to make things happen and is glad to get committed teachers who are totally dedicated to his success.

That’s why there will be an undertaking to sign in the enrolment form. It will go like this: “The reason I decided to enrol for this course is because I’ve made up my mind to start earning my living from the Internet and I’m ready to follow what I’m told to do. I have read and understood the terms and conditions and I agree to abide by them. I understand that if I played my own part fully and still fail to earn money online, then I’ll get a full refund for the course fee that I paid….”

So, it’s not going to be a question of you strolling in and strolling out. The basic thing is for you to convince yourself you want to generate money online and you want to learn how to do so from an organization that has a reputation for delivering guaranteed result. The certificate we will be issuing is not the big deal. It’s the attendee’s ability to generate income online that is the real deal. After all, we gave DTI participants certificates. So, what difference does it make if all we will do is to give you certificates? It is your ability to generate money that counts. And that is what we are going all out to deliver.

So, what I am saying is this: if you put your heart in it, there is no way you will not generate steady income online; you will be empowered to do just that.

SDE!: This program involves the use of laptop. Is SADC going to look into the area of linking people up to laptops and ISP providers?

SOOJ:

That’s certainly something we don’t intend to go into. Our focus is to deliver the training, not to go into merchandising. However, we will recommend suppliers that we trust to an intending Certified Netpreneur Course attendee who asks us for help in that regard. But get into any kind of a middleman arrangement? No.

SDE!: Are there going to be other things participants will need to provide apart from Internet enabled laptops?

SOOJ:

Actually, there are a whole lot of tools and resources that Internet marketers use to make a success of their business. Many of these tools and resources will be provided by us and it’s already covered by the fees. However, there are others which attendees will have to acquire by themselves. The bottom line is that everything that is required will be listed in the enrolment form and those that the attendees will provide will be indicated while those we shall give to them will also be indicated.

For instance, you must have a bank account. And we are recommending GTB because they are friendly to Internet marketers. So if you don’t have an account, we will facilitate opening one for you. That type of service has been covered by your fees.

Attendees must be fully equipped. I can’t think of someone going into business without having all the requirements for doing the business. Can you imagine somebody going into a business and not having anything to sell? Does not have anything for the customers? What kind of business is that?

SDE!: We know that there are SuccessDigest readers all across the country. Are there special provisions for people coming from other parts of the country?

SOOJ:

There is provision for anybody anywhere in the country to be trained within the plans we have put in place. They will just have to work a little bit hard to be within the plan.

For example, going by the three options we are offering, if you can spare four days in a month, then you’ll come for your lectures for that period and go away until the following month.

If it is more convenient to come twice in a month for two days then you’ll have to work towards it. If the weekend plan is more convenient for you, then it’s ok. That’s all we can take for now.

SDE!: Apart from having an internet enabled laptop and having attended DTI, are there other entry requirements like having a registered business name before one can attend this course?

SOOJ:

As I said earlier, the enrolment form is going to have all the requirements spelt out. One thing is sure. When you get the form and you see the long list of what we shall be giving to you as a result of the fees, you’ll agree with me that you are getting a good value for your money … in fact, a bargain.

SDE!: Is there any other thing you want readers to know about this training that we have not covered by this interview session?

SOOJ:

Thinking about it, you see when you look at this question of the Internet, Nigerians and the state of the nation, you find that there are so many people today that are living a life of desperation. Why? Because there are just no jobs.

Secondly, the pressure of living is getting to so many people these days that they don’t even have the patience to work things out. Let me tell you this, so many people on our platform, for example, waste a lot of money trying to start money-making ventures. They report to us how they gave huge sums of money running into several thousands to some people and didn’t get anything in return. And when I look at what they are paying for, I feel so sorry for them. It’s so pathetic.

So I said to myself, these people wasting all these money on investments and other things, why can’t they just put such money together and get themselves genuine businesses.

So the next question for me is…who is going to offer them this kind of opportunity? You see, this kind of thing we are promising to do has to come from the heart. If your motivation is to make money, you will miss it. My motivation is far from making money. Of course, participants will have to pay us for spending our time and our resources to make it happen. But the motivation is deeper than the money-making aspect.

When I look at guys like Akin Alabi, Oyeleke Toye, Lateef Olajide, Iyabo Oyawale and so many others who have really worked hard to crack the code after they got their initial training from us, I am so excited. But there are thousands of other guys out there who should’ve replicated what these folks are doing but who are stranded because of what I call the technicalities of doing business on the internet. Try working with autoresponder for example and you’ll understand what some of the highly technical nature of working on the Internet is, and this is just one item.

So you need somebody that has passion to help people to duplicate successes and that is the mission of SADC from day one. This is only another avenue of doing what we have always been doing.

In terms of the fees,, people are already wasting tons of money already. So this is going to come like a huge relief to them because we are not going to train you to go and be a trainer; you can go and be a trainer if you want to, but we are training you to be generating the money yourself.

Another question somebody would like to ask me is: Will the market not be crowded? People always have this ‘market getting crowded’ mentality.

Hey! Have you been to any huge super market? You’ll see all sorts of products category. You have about ten varieties or fifteen in just one line of product. Yet somebody is still going to bring his own out tomorrow morning, someone else will bring his own out in two weeks time, in a month’s time, in a year’s time. Come on now, we don’t need to bother ourselves about that, there are so many products to sell all across the world.

Every human being always need something; either what to wear, what to eat, where to live, what to use etc. We always need something. Let’s take for example what to eat: How many varieties of ‘what to eat’ businesses do we have? You have the woman roasting ‘boli’ serving that need, the one who opens a restaurant is serving that need, the one who has a fast food joint is serving that need, the one who is selling raw food is serving that need. And on and on it goes.

Just take that single need and see how many income producing opportunities it has created. So you can never be short of what to sell and you can never be short of whom to sell those things to for as long as the earth remains.

It’s now how creative you are in making your offer appealing to buyers that matters; how do you put this thing you have to sell in front of people and make it appeal to them so that they buy it from you.

That is what Certified Netpreneur Course is all about. It’s for people who are tired of being jobless and waiting endlessly for a job that appears to be getting scarcer by the day; a head of family who has just been retrenched from a high profile job and loathes the idea of depending on his wife playing the bread winner in the house or someone who is afraid that his or her retirement benefit will soon evaporate if there’s no income stream to supplement it. These are people who understand how critical it’s for them to start earning money and not those who still have people to run back to for hand-out.

For example, recently we organised a program here at SADC. We have facility for 200 people, but we did one or two things and instead of 200, we had about 700 registering for that program. You all saw it. What did we do specially? There are elements that make such things to happen. And these are the things we want to transfer to these people so that they could be freed from money worries.

SDE!: Ok sir, thank you very much for your time.

SOOJ:

You’re welcome!