Billy Keels  0:00  

You don't need to leave your corporate job to start building a business you completely own. In this episode, LinkedIn Senior Client Solutions Manager Izu Nachuku shares how he treats his enterprise career as his primary business partner, using that foundation to build independent assets while excelling in his day job. Let's jump in and let's get you to optionality. Today's episode is sponsored by Billy Keels Advisory Services. If you want to learn more about how to make your 99 optional, just go to makeitoptional.com. Once again, that's make itoptional.com.

Speaker 1  0:39  

Helping you build freedom without losing your edge. This is the Going Long podcast with Billy Keels.

Billy Keels  0:52  

Many say that with corporate life, the world is your oyster. Well, you know what? Today's guest would actually say, "Well, of course it is, and it's also your oyster when you're a business owner, because you know what? He is a digital strategist as well as a marketing expert with almost two decades. I think he's just like one year off of two decades, working across Europe, Middle East, and North Africa. He is currently senior client solutions manager at LinkedIn, Middle East, North Africa, and it gives me great pleasure to welcome the founder of Ion Marketing Consultancy. He's also the host of the podcast Real People, Real Business, as well as the author of Nine to Thrive, Side Hustle to Success. None other than mr. Izu Nachuku. Izu, welcome to the show.

Speaker 2  1:38  

Thank you so much, Billy. I'm glad to be on your show, and looking to having a very honest conversation.

Billy Keels  1:44  

Oh man, you know what? As soon as you said that, like honest conversation, that just like everybody don't go anywhere because this was gonna be great. No pressure, Izu. So, so Izu, I really do appreciate you deciding to be here, deciding to share your story, and I like to just jump right into the conversations as long as that's cool with you, all right?

Speaker 2  2:02  

Sure, let's do it. All right,

Billy Keels  2:03  

perfect. So one of the things I mentioned, like one year off of two decades of service in in the corporate life, and so like you're 19 years in, I'm just curious, like what is the motivation for you to continue to build? Because I talked about the senior client solutions manager, and then I named all these other things that you're going. Can you tell us about the moment when you realized that yes, you enjoy your corporate, and also to also want a little bit more?

Speaker 2  2:32  

Yeah. So I mean, I think I'm probably 20 years in now since we last spoke. But okay,

Billy Keels  2:38  

okay. Here we go. Two decades.

Speaker 2  2:39  

Yeah. I think I've always had this sort of entrepreneurial drive. So coming out of university, I started a clothing brand. I was probably around 20 years old, and then and at the same time, then I ran it for six years. I think three or four years, and it started to fail. We were going through a recession at the time, and the orders weren't coming in thick and fast as they were, especially with wholesalers. So I went and got a job. What I tried to do, I eventually had to shut the business out and focus on on on the nine to five. But I felt I remember feeling like such a failure that failed that business, and it took me a very long time. I'm talking over a decade to start to think about entrepreneurship again. It's always kind of something that I felt I wanted to to do as a creative person. And I think it was when we got hit by COVID, and people were losing their jobs right, left, and center, and I kind of realized, okay, you've kind of sat on this this feeling, this drive for a long time, and you got comfortable in your corporate role, and it's a great job, a great company, and why wouldn't you get comfortable? And so, when COVID was happening, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of sad stories. If you all remember, you know, it's not a great time economically and emotionally for the entire world, and so it was at that point. I was like, okay, you need to start looking at something that's yours, right? Something that you're building for yourself, something that you're building for future generations, and and so that that was sparked that kicked it off for me, and it took a while to actually start to you know a lot of people go out have ideas, but we're kind of held back by geo failure. Like okay, I don't want to go into if and and a lot of people think that I have to quit my full time job in order to go and do a business, and that's the way we're trained to think about it. And of course, you know, quitting your full-time job and a comfortable salary that comes in every month, and then taking all the hard work and the risk, you're you know you're going to face the reality of: Am I going to fail? And so a lot of people don't start. And so for me, it was kind of like, okay, how do I? Maintain both. I like my job. I like what I'm doing. How do I start building on that? You know, if you're going to and as an entrepreneur, when I started my first business, I was going to bed at probably two a.m. every night, every like. So I was working. I was doing everything. I was ordering the stock. I was doing the printing. I was doing the graphic design. I was doing the selling. So I'm like, if you're going to put that kind of effort into it, putting a couple of hours a day into starting something on the side, well, why not? And so I think that was what sort of kickstarted for me, COVID, and saying, okay, well, what what is it that you own here? You know, if you were to they were to let you go, which COVID was impacted a lot of people. What is it? What does day one of standing on your own look like? And so that's when you know I was like, okay, we need to start moving forward. Something that we can build.

Billy Keels  5:52  

So you know, and I think I don't know if it's exactly Tony Robbins that said it, but you said you're you're usually running away from something or towards something, right? And you talked about you know on day one, what is that thing that that you want to build? But the the thing that comes to mind for me right now is saying, okay, well, you know what, Izu, you could have selected anything, right? You started something before you went through that failure event, which most high achievers hate failing. Let's just be honest. And so, when it happens to you once, it makes complete sense that you say, "Look, I'm I'm going to go find some security, find something that I can do extremely well, and overachieve to give me that sensation.

Speaker 3  6:28  

Yeah,

Billy Keels  6:29  

COVID comes through, but then you get to this point where you want to get to day one. You want to build something that you own. Having had the failure, quote unquote, and I'm putting that in air quotes. So if you're watching this video version, this is definitely air quotes when I say failure. I think it's a big, huge advantage. I know it was for you. What was it for you that made you say, "Okay, well, yeah, I actually want to own something" because you now experience the challenges of both. Right? You had the challenge of owning something on your own that didn't go according to plan initially, and then you were in this worldwide, global kind of shutdown that also affected what you thought was the secure thing. So, what was it that made you want to go back and say, "I want the first less secure thing"

Speaker 2  7:18  

So, I think I think for me it was listen when you're in the corporate world, and I'm not saying it's my case, but I'm you know mostly in the corporate, and I don't hate corporate here. A lot of people think I'm very contrarian when it comes to corporate. I just see things differently. The corporate world is almost like the military, right? So everybody has a position and a rank that they play, and so if you are a salesperson in the corporate world, that's what you do. You sell. If you are a manager of people, that's what you do. You manage people. If you're the CEO of this, and so on and so on. So we're all put into these, you know, like the military. You have the privates or the infantry, and that's what they do. Yeah, they're not supposed to drive tanks if they're infantry. And then you have the captains and the generals, and everybody's got rank. And it's the corporate world is built in a very similar structure. And so, what that does for you as a human being is, I feel, it strips away all of these other elements of yourself. So imagine you're someone who's, you know, and a lot of people I talk to within the great within the corporate world, most of them say I never ended, I never thought end up being a tech salesperson or this or that, right? Because we all had dreams of doing crazy, amazing things when we were younger, and so when you come in, it strips all of that away, and so you end up doing this role, repetitive role, quarter in, quarter out, year in year out, and so you don't nurture the other side of you, which gives you fulfillment, which you know whatever creative elements you have within you, whatever great ideas you have in you. Sometimes, but not all the time, but sometimes the corporate role does not allow you to bring it to your job. So for me, it was kind of like, okay, we can do a big, amazing things in the corporate job and try and help businesses and try and continue to build a great profile. But what about the other side of me? What about all these other things that give me fulfillment. What about all those things that allow me to express myself creatively? What about all those things that allow me to keep learning outside of the box? Right, and and for me, that's when you know the podcast idea came because it was. I think it was a friend of mine who got me on on her podcast, and she was like, "Easy, you need to get a podcast. You'd be great for it. And I, I doubted myself, and it took about a year of first egging me on and checking with me monthly to say, "Have you started one? And one day I was like, "Okay, let's sit down and write a profile. And then you know, why am I doing a podcast? And then the purpose came. Out from it, which was okay. We want to inspire people and tell business stories and entrepreneurship stories. I mean, we want the real stuff. We want. We don't want people going and say, "Oh, I started my business today, and you know, tomorrow I'm driving a Lamborghini. We wanted. I failed 10 times. I had a client, a guest, who came and said, "I failed 14 times before I found success. I had a very prominent CEO here with the media company here saying, "You know what? For the first four years of starting the business, I cried every day, and I had to sell my car and sell my mom my racing bike because that's just where I was. And now their company is valued in the millions. So we we wanted to tell those real stories, so that purpose came out. That this is kind of what I can I can do, and I learn from their stories as well. And and then then in the book as well, because it's like we've got all these amazing stories of people kind of starting their own thing. Some of them leaving their jobs. Some of them still holding onto their jobs. But it was like, where's the guide for people who don't know how to start? You know where to start.

Speaker 2  11:09  

And so the idea came for the book Nine to Thrive Side Hustle to Success. So again, it's a guide on how do you stay within your current corporate job while you build your side hustle, and we outline it that you know the the book is outlined that the the you know what you you should okay yes you you're looking for extra money an income stream, but you also want growth. You want to grow if something allows you to grow, and you want something that gives you fulfillment, and that's when you can decide what service you want to go for what products you want to offer the world, and if you have the full-time job and you fail, the job's still there. You can go again. You know, like yeah, and that's

Billy Keels  11:50  

one of that's and that's one of the basic premises. And so you were looking for the opportunity to be able to really explore more of that side of you that has, I would say, creativity. A lot of people will look at it, and then also too, as you as your business develops, you understand that there is a portion that's creativity, and then there's also there is rigor, there is structure, there is process that's needed in order to make sure that things are moving in the right direction. Speaking of which, you you are done, and we're going to get more into the to the podcast and the book here in a bit, but you are doing something that sometimes people would say, you know, I'm a bit concerned about being able to do what what what Izu's talking about, he what he's doing, like because you're you and I are here, we're talking, we you know you said, hey, look, I'm at LinkedIn today, I've had corporate success, I want to continue to do that, and at the same time, I'm doing something, building it on the side, and I'm very public about that. There's a lot of people that it actually they are petrified. They are so scared to be able to do do that. And I put my hand up because in the very beginning, I didn't want anybody in my job to know what I was doing. Can you talk to us about because it's a real challenge for a lot of people? How do you how do you find being able to navigate that? Because a lot of times people have fear, like, hey, if I'm doing something on the side, my employer is going to be concerned that I won't be able to achieve or overachieve or whatever the case may be.

Speaker 2  13:12  

Yeah. So I think I think for me, I was I totally understand that, and that's in my previous roles that's probably impacted why I haven't, you know, started something earlier, as well as the fact that those jobs consume my entire identity and time. But I, for one, I'm in a kind of a good position where a company like LinkedIn actually has a policy that allows you to start a side hustle, so you feel a bit more confident going forward. But I've had people, and that works for me. But I've had people who come and say the same thing. Yeah, well, I can't do this in front of my my company. And I've and I've said, have you gone in and had a very honest conversation with them and say, "Hey, I'm planning to do something for myself. This is what I'm doing. Potentially, even some of the stuff I do, I can bring some of those that expertise and learning. I have that honest conversation with them, and it's going to turn out one of two ways. And it depends on who's making that decision, right? Sometimes people make decisions, especially at managerial level, they make decisions more out of emotion and sentiment rather than being objective and and not seeing things as a threat. So I think it's if you you know you need to look at how you prep your case, but have that honest conversation with the most senior person that you can in your organization, and then if you know if it goes well, which is one way you can, then you can move forward with confidence. But yes, you need to kind of work your ass off and prove to them that hey, this is not impacting my day-to-day job. In fact, maybe there's benefits I can bring to to the day-to-day job. So there's one side. Now on the other side, if if you know, and it's been in the book, which is. Because we see the corporate role as your first business partner, right? It is funding into your side business. It is giving you the time. So if you have a job where you have to work 90 hours a week, there's no time to do anything, even if the money's there. So it it we see that as your first business partner, and so you need to choose a good business partner. And so, if your company is like absolutely not, we're not going to let you do this. Then you may start to consider, okay, maybe I need another business partner, another corporate role I can go into, and and because at some point in time, you're all happy with the company. Anyway, you might be looking to leave. I think I, you know, I wouldn't tell people what to do, but I would say thinking of it as a business partner. If this business partner is not working for you, maybe it's time to find one that works for you.

Billy Keels  15:57  

I love that framing because first of all, as you talked to us about in the beginning it didn't work for you because you were working so many different crazy hours or you had a certain mindset. I would I think over the time you would also attribute some of that to the way that you were thinking about the role you gained that experience and then you were able to say okay well who's the right business partner first and foremost that's the first thing you even talked to us about with the with where you are today at LinkedIn, that it is something that is permitted. That is permitted. It is something that is not frowned upon, et cetera, et cetera. And so, being able to go through that process and clearly explain it to others is something I think is fantastic. Now, you talked about before, even on your podcast, you like to keep it real. You like to keep things going, and I'm also curious. There's two things that I would like to know, so I'm just going to ask these sequentially. The first business that you had, you said it was retail. You were the CEO, the chief everything officer, because you were doing everything from invoicing to boxing to shipping and all that stuff. Everything. There you go. And so it's something where you had knowledge of the industry of the process, but now you've actually decided to do something different. And so I'm-I would love to know how is it that you've chosen your new side business focus because it's different than what you originally started out with.

Speaker 2  17:18  

Yeah. So I think you know we worked out. You know, you know, we were talking a long time ago. I maybe I would say psychologically, I'm still impacted by the failure because it hit me hard back then. You know, I come from a Nigerian family and African families. Failure is not an not an option. So you know, I was very hard on myself unnecessarily at the time. So when it came around, like if anybody comes to me right now and talks about a clothing brand, retail clothing brand, I'm like, I'm not interested. Gotcha.

Billy Keels  17:55  

Okay, I

Speaker 2  17:56  

kind of kind of got through it, and I know the amount of work that's needed, you know, to to put the sales in. So I kind of started looking at okay, what what you know, what is it that I that I have to offer, and and this is what you know. Speaking to I was speaking to an exec, like a very senior exec, a VP of a large company a couple of weeks ago, and he was like, "Okay, I'm kind of looking to venture out on my own, and you know, he was like, "I said, what are your services? And he he started talking about, "Oh, I've achieved this, I've achieved that. I'm like, "No, this is your accolades, what you've done, but what are your services? And because what happens is when we've been in those roles for so long, we're judged on KPIs, so we come up with KBIs. I'm like, we need to turn your skills into services. So it's kind of like, okay, I'm in digital marketing, I have digital marketing skills, but what what is the service that I offer within that? You know where is how do I stand up tall so I can say okay well my service is to help companies grow and generate qualified leads that help their businesses grow and then potentially I can do that twice the ROI so that is the service I offer rather than saying hey you know I've achieved this and I've achieved that in in my other business. So, first I had to look at okay, all the skills I've amassed through the years, or where can I turn them to services, and then where can I also turn them to products? And so, the service, the podcast came about as a service, the book came about as a product, and then the the agency also came about as a service, and and also out of the agency we're building on our product, which is an AI AI powered thought leadership and executive branding masterclass. So I think that's. Who's looking within me, seeing what I had as skills and how I could translate them to products or services?

Billy Keels  20:07  

Absolutely love that. So you took the previous previous experience, recognized the things that you absolutely did not want to do. Even still gives you an aversion today to talk about retail, at least from the ownership perspective and what you were doing before, and then and really being able to bring that forward, identifying your skills, taking those skills, and then being able to translate those into services that you want to be able to provide solutions to, and then ultimately when you can productize that knowledge and you get even more leverage, which which I think is great. So before we get into talking a bit more about the businesses, so you've talked to us about how you got to that point. You obviously there's things that are working well. I want to keep it real. Like when you see your your your businesses today, right? Whether it's the agency or maybe we can talk about some of the the other ventures. The what it was like to write the book or or the podcast. I'm assuming everything is not perfect. You probably have one or two challenges, especially when it comes to having those businesses on the side as well as your corporate role that you want to continue to achieve and overachieve in. Talk to us about maybe what's the major challenge that you find right now in this season of your corporate career and business ventures.

Speaker 2  21:22  

So yeah, you're absolutely right. I think you know in the five years that we've been pushing for, because I have like a 10 to 15 year plan of what we need to build and stuff like that, and we need to be able to adapt as things change and the changes faster these days. And in that period, I've had two businesses that failed, and funny enough, two two of them have been in kind of retail. One was a men's fashion brand, and one was a yoga women's brand. And you know, for me, it was like feel fail quickly and move on, right? Complex experience. So I think the fashion, online fashion, men's fashion, we had that field in like a year and a half, and shut it down. Was like move the efforts into something else because I I said you know we've invested in a year and if it doesn't then we're done and the yoga thing that failed almost from the beginning because these two things I was doing with two partners I came because I needed to be able to have time for myself so I thought okay we'll take some partners on board and you know, a big lesson I learned from that was kind of choose the right people, right? Not just people who have the money to invest. Choose the right people who are going to push as much as you do. So shut that down quickly, and then, and then the other thing I've I've I'm sort of learning as I go through this is, is is that you as an as an entrepreneur, as a business person, business person, your first priority when you get into the operations of it is being able to wake up and think, "How am I solving a problem today? Because the business is just gonna like a baby is gonna present itself with different challenges, and you, if you if you go into the mindset of like, oh my god, everything's not working, you will you will just demotivate yourself. But it's like my mindset is how do I adapt and how do I adapt quickly? How do I climb over that fence or that wall that's blocking? How do I dig under it? And then being able, the other thing I've realized is being able to identify the steps and stages of where your business is, and then kind of executing on that. So when I, you know, when I start turning businesses, I realize I've got to the point where I really, really, really have to step away from kind of operations. Like within the businesses now, I'm moving more into sales this year, and I told the team, we've got. I've got to move into the sales side of things, and you know, operations needs to kind of go off my table. So we've hired someone to come in and take operations and manage things like that. And so it's kind of being able to adapt is a big key factor. And then the other thing is just having the kind of mental fortitude to push forward, right? And I think that personally, for me, it helps to have that vision of 10 years or 15 years, and and understand that trying to achieve the success one is not an overnight thing. It's not you know you've got to build on

Billy Keels  24:26  

it,

Speaker 2  24:27  

and then the second thing is is trying to enjoy the journey while I'm doing it, right? So that's I always put it this way, and I say I say if I was to die right now and drop dead, and I went to the gates of heaven, and God said to me, "Well, what did you do with your life? I don't want to just say, "Okay, I was hustling and trying to start a business. I was pushing, and every day was miserable. I was fighting, firefighting, and trying to build a business empire. I want to be able to say I was building by." I was enjoying myself at the same time. So yes, bills towards your success, but also take every day as a lesson and something to enjoy and find the silver lining within everything. Which for me is not easy, but but I try.

Billy Keels  25:15  

Well, being being a problem solver, I'm sure you're you're focused on getting the solutions to those those challenges that present themselves every single day, and and it's helpful to get that that insight. Now, I do want to ask a couple questions about specific because we talked about the book. I also want to talk about about your podcast. So, you know, you've you've decided it with all the other things you have building businesses, working in your corporate role. You say, hey, you know what? I think I want to talk about this whole, you know, being able to build this this business on the side. And you sat down and you decided to write Nine to Thrive, Side Hustle to Success. What was the genesis for the book, and and how did you find the process?

Speaker 2  25:57  

So I think that I think the genesis was was what I was going through, which was I was living it, which was basically maintaining my corporate job and trying to build something on the side. And I realized that there are a lot of people in similar position that are either doing the same or thinking of doing the same, or people like me who started the business long ago and failed and thought, no, don't want to do that. I'm comfortable, salary-wise, in my job, but you know, I'm going to look away from what I, what else I could do. And so, so that was the the whole purpose of the book. It was kind of the experience I was going through, and how do I then take this and and and create something that can actually help or inspire other people to do what else, whatever else that they feel that they they put their hands to, and so the process of writing the book, like you know, like it was challenging. This was this was just before the boom of AI, and I wish I I had the AI to support me. I love past the. but it it it started. Listen, it it's crazy because these things kind of start when you have time to think, and when I've learned the power of thinking in different spaces. For me, it happens in quiet spaces and stuff like. And I was I was on holiday in Zanzibar, and I had a lovely room overlooking the ocean, so the the the atmosphere and the vibe was really good. But again, in very quiet spaces like that, I'm also mentally restless. So this idea came about writing a book, and then you know, and I was like, okay, cool. And I pull up my laptop, and in the first first, well, the last four days of my holiday there, I wrote four chapters, and then I realized that you know coming back to to work, I wrote one chapter in three months, like the fifth chapter in three months. I realized this. I'll be here for 10 years if I and and I was just drafting stuff and dumping and then going back re-editing. So it was a very kind of rough process for me. So I think what I did was I then got in touch with a book publisher, an editor, and I said, "Listen, basically, I need someone to keep me honest. And so, essentially, we had a timeline of I think nine months. It ended up being 12 months to deliver the book, and is write a chapter pretty much every month. Send it to them for them to basically edit it to polish it up, and then it back to me. I'll do some final editing, and so we were back and forth. And with my day job, I think eventually I got to the the 12th month that they gave me the the the final draft of the book based on everything I'd written and they'd edited it and it was something like I don't know 300 pages

Speaker 4  28:51  

wow

Speaker 2  28:51  

and so I spent a day reading the book and like this is not me like like it's just too heavy I want a light read I want something I'll be able to pick up and reading in a day or two maximum. I wanted to guide them. I wanted to to sort of feel like I'm in I'm in the room talking to them. And so I, being a perfectionist, I am. I took an entire day and but again. But I was back again in Zanzibar that year. So holiday I had the time and I re-edited the book and cut it down. I think we're 100 170 pages now. Okay.

Billy Keels  29:27  

Okay.

Speaker 2  29:28  

So we basically stripped up more than 50% of the book and sent it to print and publishing, and and and we got it out. But I think the model of the story there is the lesson is I needed support. I needed someone to hold me accountable and to help me move it along. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have finished it by now.

Billy Keels  29:49  

You'd probably still be six months in and doing something else. Well, so I appreciate you sharing that on the book. And I guess the the one thing that I would like to know because I'd also talked about the the podcast. Ask real people, real business, and and haven't been in this space now for you know we're very fortunate over six years, six and a quarter at this point in time. What's the one thing that you are enjoying about the podcast platform?

Speaker 2  30:16  

Both, it's going to be the guests that we we have on having those kind of honest conversations with them, meeting new people, building up a new work. Yeah, that that's the the big thing I enjoy. And in fact, the thing is the only thing I'm like that and the only thing I get involved with that and prepping the questions because I I share questions and having having like you know chemistry meeting beforehand, prepping questions and going to the studio, and that's where I am now. You know, when I first started, I was involved in overseeing post production of the video and social media captions and all. I'm like

Billy Keels  30:53  

everything too much.

Speaker 2  30:54  

I just want to meet the people and talk to them. I have my own story, and and honestly speaking, I've built some amazing friendships with the people that we've met. You know, you know, we're kind of sending each other memes, kind of relationship now with some of some of my guests. So, so yeah, I really enjoy meeting them and having chopping it up with pop stars.

Billy Keels  31:17  

Ah, man, well, that's that's very cool. I I appreciate you sharing that. I am just actually realizing I kind of need to ask you a last question here, if you don't mind.

Speaker 2  31:28  

Sure. Isu,

Billy Keels  31:29  

there's this thing that that happened for me a couple years ago where I used to you talk about perfectionist. I like to call myself a recovering perfectionist because I you know I used to think everything was always going to go up and to the right, and certain moment in time, realize that not everything happens in the way that you anticipate it happening, and so. But it's those moments when things don't go according to plan that you really start to realize, okay, well, I need to actually get myself. Nobody else can do it for me. I've got to get myself. I need to say something to myself to snap me out of whatever it is to get me moving in the opposite direction. I wonder if you would share that one. What is that one sentence that you know that you need to say to yourself that gets you changed from when things are not going in the direction that you want to really get you back on track? That you would share with me in the Go Along family.

Speaker 2  32:19  

I have I have that instinct, but I'm trying to put it into words. I I say to myself, and this may sound very simple and cliche, but I say to myself, we'll make it

Speaker 4  32:35  

happen.

Speaker 2  32:36  

And and why that works for me is because it's like okay, I might plan. Let's say I might plan to to buy a new property this year, and we kind of realize okay, the funds are not really there, and that's not really there. And it's like we'll make it happen. That's what I think. I might not. Maybe I want to buy a three bedroom. I might end up buying a two better, but made it happen. You know, so it's it's just that kind of kick off in my head that okay, we'll make it happen, and then the next thing is how do I adapt to the situation? Right, I'm going to problem solve, and how do I find a way? And the problem, the solved, the solution to the problem might not always be the one that I'm presenting, right? So I've got to be ready to be flexible around that. You know, the way I put it is, some you know you got to treat this thing called life as a game. Some days you are going to win. Some days life is going to win. So it's my best time today, but tomorrow it's mine. So I always think we're gonna make it happen. We're gonna make it happen, and and that just kind of triggers me into okay, how do I adapt?

Billy Keels  33:54  

I love the simplicity of that because usually when there are these long contrived things, that it's hard. We get lost in that. So, just very simply saying we'll make it happen gives you the focus, gets you moving in that direction, and it makes it very simple and easy for us to consume here for for those of us in the going along family. And easy, I like literally these conversations. I say it every single conversation, but they fly by. Like I cannot believe we are like we've come to the end of the time already, but like the thing that I think about from the beginning of the conversation, aside from you sharing with us that you know when you got started, it was really about taking on the entrepreneurial ventures and really wanting to be able to go and and be in that retail space that you talked about and you went through the trials, the tribulations, and what you say. And I am putting up air quotes, so for those of you that are listening. I'm saying you went through your failure in the first two, three years, and then you realized, like, okay, well, hang on, I want to find some security that's in the corporate world. I want to be able to get that secure paycheck. I want to be able to get away from this. What I'm doing now, not completely abandon it, but just get to a little bit more security. And that was going on until, well, COVID showed you that it's not always. Exactly what you what you anticipate. So sometimes you have to continue to adapt, and you realize through that COVID moment that really what it was about for you was to saying, okay, well, what is it that I can now create, own, and control? And and you took that experience from the beginning, and you realize like, okay, well, there's some good stuff that I learned from the retail and being the chief everything officer. There's some good stuff that I learned from the corporate. What can I do to actually combine these two? And so you've been on that venture, recognizing like your own clear process that you talked about before, being very intentional about where you're going to invest your time as a as an employee. Do they align with the goals that you that you want? You talked about where you are now at LinkedIn. There's a very there is a policy that allows you to do the things that you're doing. You continue to perform and overperform in your role, and at the same time, you're looking to continue to adapt, solve those new problems, those new issues, and you're doing that whether it's leaning into your skill set, your skill set, then you're able to create services. From those services, you're creating products and and continuing to add value to to others, you've done it through the book that we talked about already, Nine to Thrive: Side Hustle to Success. You're doing it through your podcast, Real People, Real Business, and even doing it today through through your agency, which is IN Marketing Consulting. So I know that I'll get to talk to you, but everybody here is going, Billy, just ask him the question. So, Izu, can you please help us understand what's the best way to find out more about you and be able to enter more into your world?

Speaker 2  36:28  

So, I think you can find me on all the social channels, primarily LinkedIn. So, it's my full name, Izu Machuku. So, Isaiah U N W A C H U K W U. Probably my profile picture is probably the guy with the suit. You can find me on on on Instagram as well. Same same name, and then you know obviously you can visit our website, which is www.inmcagency.com, and there you can see how we support businesses and executives, and also the podcast as well. So the podcast is real people, real business podcast. You can again find out on LinkedIn. You can find out on Instagram. We are on Spotify, Apple Podcast, where else? I think we're on TikTok.

Billy Keels  37:23  

I think everybody needs to look you up by name, and we will we'll include all of that in the show notes.

Speaker 2  37:27  

So yeah, we are pretty much on all the social channels, and yeah, I'm more than happy to speak to anybody who wants to reach out to me on LinkedIn or any of the other channels.

Billy Keels  37:37  

Well, I'm glad to know that we can find you on LinkedIn. Of course, if we if we wouldn't be able to find you on LinkedIn, we'd be in trouble. No, so listen, Izu, I like I said, I do appreciate it. I just want to say on behalf of the entire Go Along family, thank you very much for deciding to invest your time with us, give us just a little bit of insight into your story, and also giving us the opportunity to reach out to you. So, thank you very much. Really, really appreciate it.

Speaker 2  38:00  

No problem, Billy. No, thank you so much for the opportunity, and hopefully, we've we've given your listeners something that that could help.

Billy Keels  38:08  

Yeah, I'm sure we have. I'm sure we have. So listen, go along, family. It's Ezo and I. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. You know where I'll be doing. I'll be back here preparing for the next episode. So until then, go out and make it a great day. And thank you very, very much.

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