An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Allow your team to fix their mistakes.

Sometimes, it is easier to do the work than explain how to do it. I realized that for my team to grow, I had to allow them to do the work and if they get it wrong, coach them to identify what went wrong and ask them to redo it.

As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ogaga Johnson.

Ogaga Johnson is the founder and CEO of the Ogaga Johnson Company, a Project Management Education and Consulting company that helps individuals and organizations turn their ideas to reality using Project Management techniques. She has educated and helped 5000+ professionals across 5 continents gain clarity, launch, and advance their careers in Project Management.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?

I grew up in a family of six (6) in Lagos, Nigeria. Aside from my parents’ careers, they operated various investment and business ventures to provide for me and my siblings. They valued education and gave us the best education and opportunities available. This is one of the reasons why we moved to the United Kingdom when I was a teenager.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“With God all things are possible” has to be my favorite. Knowing that impossibility is nothing has helped me to take bold steps and make bold moves despite fear. Whenever fear or doubts come, I remember that with God all things are possible and that motivates me to continue pressing on and breaking barriers. I remember putting this into action for the first time in secondary school. I was told that mathematics and further mathematics were difficult subjects to pass, so I told myself that I can pass and get a distinction because with God all things are possible and that’s exactly what happened.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

The Bible has made a significant impact on me. It has and is still shaping my life. Whenever I read the Bible, I believe it, put it into action, and I see it become my reality. It’s real to me and it’s filled with wise words to live by for a fulfilling life.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?

This is so true and reminds me of a popular saying by Les Brown, “the graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled”

Based on my experience and that of my clients as a Project Management Consultant, I will share five (5) things to do to take an idea to launch.

1) Write the idea down:

There are so many things and responsibilities vying for our time daily. Writing your idea down and putting it in visible places helps you to remember your idea. Because if you can’t remember it, there is no way you can launch it.

2) Have a plan:

This doesn’t have to be a detailed plan. It can be very high-level such as: Brainstorm, Market research, Features, Execute, Test, and Launch.

Having a plan helps you to create a structure and timeline that you can follow to take your idea to launch.

3) Have a team:

Have a team of people you can brainstorm your ideas with and work with. It can be your partner, children, family members, and friends. Or even a consultant, coach, or mentor. Surround yourself with a team of people that are rooting for you and want you to succeed. There is always strength in numbers and safety in having many advisers.

4) It is possible

This is very important because doubts and fear will come. Imposter syndrome would make you feel like a fraud and tell you that you can’t do it. Even if the idea has been done before, there is a unique perspective you can bring to it that no one else can and that’s your unique selling point. Your mindset is very important. Believe you can do it and you will. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

5) Now is always the perfect time

Saying “I will start working on the idea after project A or when I’m on holiday” is not true because when that time comes, there might be something else “more” important that comes up unexpectedly. Now is the perfect time to start.

Go ahead, start working on that idea, right now.

Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?

There is nothing new under the sun! Yes, someone else might have thought about your idea and even launched it. However, you are unique and can bring a unique perspective to the idea so don’t dismiss it.

Research on the internet, the great thing is that we have access to information at our fingertips via Google. Search to see if it has already been created or what similar products are out there.

However, as I said before, remember that even if it has been created, there is a unique perspective you can add to that idea that no one else has thought of. Don’t dismiss the idea.

For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.

Once you have an idea, write it down.

Gather your team, doesn’t have to be a big team. A group of people you trust and want you to succeed who you can brainstorm ideas with and advise you.

Perform market research to see what’s out there and how you can make yours better or stand out.

Have a plan and include timelines, this will help you keep track of the implementation of the idea.

Market it. Identity your target audience or ideal customers and get early adopters of your idea. They would help provide feedback which is so valuable and useful to improve your product before going public

Launch it. Get it out to customers. You can decide to do a phased or full release.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?

This is an interesting question. Leading a company is a life-long learning journey. Here are my five (5) things:

1) You need a team to scale your business, you can’t do it alone.

I didn’t have a team for 2 years in my business, I didn’t realize how I was limiting my company’s growth. When I hired my first team member, I saw how much growth we had and within a year, my team grew to 7 members and so did the company revenue.

2) How to hire staff.

My first hire was a total disaster. The wrong fit skill and culture wise for my business.

3) Allow your team to fix their mistakes.

Sometimes, it is easier to do the work than explain how to do it. I realized that for my team to grow, I had to allow them to do the work and if they get it wrong, coach them to identify what went wrong and ask them to redo it.

4) Be ready to wear multiple hats.

I had to do marketing, design, customer service, accountings, everything including areas I had little knowledge of. Be ready to learn and pick up new skills.

5) Learn to be your own cheerleader.

There are many times when I wanted to give up and quit. Learn to clap for yourself and tell yourself that you are doing well.

There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?

First step is to conduct a market research to understand business viability and path to invention for the product

Second, identify your stakeholders including team members you need

Next, work with the stakeholders and team to work on the product to launch including defining the product, identifying the features, plan the development, testing, providing feedback, and product release.

What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?

It depends on the individual. Having a coach or consultant most times helps fast-track the process and help you on the right path. If you can afford one, go for it.

Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

The idea of project management never occurred to me while growing, because of the career uncertainty surrounding people who never studied professional courses such as doctors, engineers, and lawyers.

When I transitioned to project management from engineering, it was the perfect fit.

Now, I educate students and professionals about Project Management, help them launch and grow a career in Project Management with a focus on helping immigrants to launch their careers in their new countries so they can thrive and have successful careers. I also help organizations deliver results by launching their ideas or strategy.

I have been privileged to educate and help 5000+ professionals across 5 continents gain clarity, launch, and advance their careers in Project Management globally.

You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

It would be in the immigration space. People spend huge amounts (thousands and hundred thousand to immigrate) and it’s so painful to see them struggling or barely surviving in their new countries with their years of experience, expertise, and brilliance. I would like to help more professionals who are immigrants to launch their careers or businesses in their new countries without having to take up survival jobs or underemployment through mentorship, education, and job matching.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

That person would be Ali Abdaal because of my husband. My husband loves watching and learning from him and so do I. It’s inspiring to see how he is growing multiple successful businesses and influencing online. Also, he loves to teach, so do I and my husband. Would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with him.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

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Making Something From Nothing: Ogaga Johnson On How To Go From Idea To Launch was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.