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From street hustlers to billionaires: The inspirational journey of the twins of Ejima Motors
Meet Alhaji Hassan Aliyu and Alhaji Hussein Aliyu, the resilient twin entrepreneurs whose remarkable journey from homelessness to building a billion-naira empire has captivated the hearts of many in Abuja.
Despite facing adversity in their youth, these determined brothers defied the odds to become influential figures in the city’s business landscape.
Their success story serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere.
NP: Name:
Alhaji Hassan and Hussein Aliyu
Date of birth:
we were born in 1990, our age is 34
NP: State of origin:
We were born in Niger state, Rijau. But our parents are from Sokoto.
Educational background:
We did our primary and secondary education in Sokoto, then proceeded with a diploma and HND. We did our NYSC at Enugu.
How did you find yourselves in the car business? What fuels the decision to sell cars to all the businesses in this world?
We started by looking for a job after our NYSC, and when we couldn’t find one, we decided to venture into the car business. We started it out of the necessity to fend for ourselves. We lost our parents at an early age, and we just have to hustle.
I must say you did hit the jackpot at an early stage of your life. Being that you started the business from scratch, and in a few years, you have made it a billion naira investment. What is the secret? How did you do it?
The secret to our success is patience and perseverance. No one will be successful without being patient. Regardless of the endeavor, patience is the most important asset one could have
Another secret is focus. A person should know what he wants to achieve. A person should be immune to distraction.
Honesty and dedication are also very important.
How did you maintain the close-knit relationship as twins? Even at your age, you still wear the same clothes, do the same work, and have the same friends?
It all boils down to how we are raised. Our mother made sure we did everything together. Even when we have different opinions, she makes sure we agree on one and settle on it. And now that we’ve lost our parents, we have no one but each other.
Between business and corporate jobs, which one would you advise the youth to go for?
The youth should read the book Rich Dad and Poor Dad and then decide for themselves what they want. Most of our lives and business decisions are guided by the ideas in the book.
Abuja is the land of opportunities. Once a person stays in Abuja for more than 5 years without a job, he will never do corporate work. Business is what thrives now.
How did you come up with the name Ejima Motors?
We got the name Ejima at Enugu when we were serving there. It means twins. The nickname overshadowed our real names.
Is there any business decision you regret?
Business is like a war. One can’t avoid failure in business. There’s risk in every decision. What one should do is compare the percentage of the risk and that of the profit. If the profit margin is higher than that of the loss by at least 10 percent, then one should go for it.
One can also attempt to minimize risk when making decisions, but the reality is that every business decision comes with risk.
Also, in business, one can’t invest money, then relax and pray…that is gambling. One has to work hard to call what he does a business.
Any money that comes easily goes easily. One has to be very patient after investment before getting profit. Sometimes, it takes a year or two.
How do you manage human resources? I’ve noticed that there are many workers here, some even older than you. How do you do it?
If you are running a business, your greatest asset is emotional intelligence. When you learn how to relate to people, you will be very successful. A business owner should strive not to get angry with anyone.
Don’t undermine people. They might bring you millions, and if they can’t, they will refer those who can. Be tolerant, accept everyone, and relate well with people.
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Don’t be too rigid. Sometimes, you have to give sales on credit. Sometimes, people will break the promise they made or even cheat you in certain deals. It’s not every case a businessman should pursue. These instances should be a learning process. A business person should choose his battles wisely.
Always be focused and stay true to your goals. Don’t be distracted by people’s behavior. Lack of patience or baseless arguments hinder one from reaching his goals.
Is selling a car a general business, or is it peculiar to the male gender? Looks like all your customers are male
Selling cars is not gender specific. Anyone can do it. A lady should not limit herself to certain businesses because of her gender.
You know, in the North, a lady can not venture into many businesses due to religious and cultural factors. And sometimes it’s just the fear that she might be abused. What can you say about that?
Fear can hinder one’s success. What if her breakthrough is from selling cars? All a lady needs to do is set boundaries. When she realizes that a person is not a serious customer or he has other motives, she should smartly withdraw from the interaction.
This is for all genders. Don’t ever allow fear to make you lose opportunities. Your fears should be a motivation to do well.
Fear should be a driving force, not a holding-back force. Many people are driven by fear of poverty to do well and succeed in life.
I’ve been poor, and I’m scared of that lifestyle, so I use that fear to work hard. My fear had made me conquer so many business battles.
There were times I sent billions of naira to people I didn’t know, or never met, if I had let my fear control me, I wouldn’t have gotten the huge profits that made me who I am today.
Nowadays, it’s the mind and brain that bring money more than physical work. So work smart, not hard.
How do you get customers across the country, seeing that you’re based here in Abuja?
We advertise on social media, especially the Jiji app. We have social media handlers, and some of our customers are referrals from previous customers. Most of them are government officials or from corporate companies.
What is your advice on how to save money?
Business owners should save a lot before spending. They should make sure they have enough shock absorbers before any reckless spending. There will be time for everything. Like now, we have mansions in maitama, Wuse, and Asokoro, but we live in a two-room apartment, while those mansions are bringing us millions in a month. As single guys, we don’t need the luxury of a big house now.
There were times when we would wait for almost an hour in an ATM queue to withdraw money because we didn’t want to pay POS charges. We felt like the time for that luxury had not arrived. If our budget for a day was 1k, we would not spend more than that. We were very disciplined. But with patience, now we don’t even calculate how much we spend a day. We just do as we wish.
Many young people have started businesses, and they failed before they started making a profit. What do you think is the problem?
Business owners should learn to never spend from their capital. With time, the profit will bring the luxury.
People should explore all options, from business to school, and many others. This life doesn’t have a manual.
Also, parents should not constrict their children to certain disciplines. No one knows where one’s talent lies. They may be blocking their children’s opportunities for a breakthrough. People should be open-minded.
What’s your best food?
I don’t have the best food. I just eat whatever I find when I’m hungry.
How do you unwind?
Well, we just go home from work when we are tired. That’s one of the beauties of being the boss. We come to work and leave any time we feel like it. We have reliable staff who can take care of the work even in our absence.
We also don’t have a social life. It’s just work and work.
You’ve received many phone calls this hour. Do you sometimes switch off the phone so you can rest?
We never switch off our phones, not for a second, we’ll be missing millions if we do that.
Thank you for the time and golden business advice you’ve given us. We’ve learned a lot.
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Masha Allah it’s very interested ma.