Ayeni Adekunle, CEO, BHM
When I founded the company, with my wife, as a young reporter at Encomium, I struggled to raise the N15,000 required for CAC business name registration; eventually paying in several instalments. I worked from my living room in Akute, and had only about three on-off clients, earning an annual revenue of less than N500,000. I had no training in public relations or business management, had no money or important contacts.
Today, we have grown into a promising organisation, with our own office, amazing staff, three businesses, good client base and a history of innovative work. We crossed the $1m dollar mark four years ago.
In 10 years, we have built brands known and respected in their areas. We have built Nigeria’s first PR App, published Nigeria’s first-ever PR Report, and done work in over seven countries. Even though we still call ourselves ‘a little Lagos agency’, we have been ranked as a top PR agency, by billing and influence, and a major thought leader and industry shaper.
But the journey is still long, the work to be done, plenty. This year especially has been tough, because of the general business climate. Our work and income have been impacted in no small measure but we have proactively handled the situation, with results we are proud of.
This year, we signed up with Deloitte, a global organisation and one of the big four consulting firms in the world, to handle our audit and tax activities. It’s another step we are proud of, as it demonstrates it’s not just lip service when we say we want to be a global company. We are currently the only agency in our market, with this caliber of professional support. It is a big deal for us, because we truly want to build Nigeria’s first global agency.
Our newly reconstituted board will be announced in November, ahead of our anniversary.
Also a big deal, of course, is the fact that we are the biggest agency on social media in Nigeria, with almost 100,000 cumulative followers on social, and, as you may have seen, the only Nigerian agency verified on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
In 2014, we established our 3Cs system, prioritizing convenience, compensation and capacity for everyone at BHM. It’s the reason we set up the BHM Lounge and launched the complimentary lunch initiative for our staff. It’s the reason we have nap rooms and games and aggressive trainings for our staff members. I believe we are on course to deliver our five year plan to become one of the best places to work, not only in our industry, but in Nigeria.
I don’t know what next year will look like, for Nigeria, and the rest of the world, politically and economically. But I have an idea of what our next ten years should look like, no matter what happens. {fcomments}
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