Join me on a thrilling ride through the digital world with a true tech superhero. My guest is a WordPress wizard by day, an all-around tech genius by night with years of experience building everything from sleek websites to high-performing online empires.
William is not
only a WordPress developer with years of experience building and customizing
websites but also a versatile tech guru. With a deep understanding of the
latest tech trends and a passion for problem-solving, he has been helping
businesses and individuals craft unique, high-performing websites and also use
SEO to platform his clients for maximum visibility and profit online.
Let us talk about WordPress as a business!
Sam: How are you doing?
William: I’m doing very well
Sam: Can you share your
journey into the business world? What inspired you to
start your business?
William: I studied Computer
Science and in my final year I was thinking about my life, I just knew I needed
to find something to do, and I asked for advice from people I knew were doing
something. I liked web design and I decided to go into it, I met someone who
was already into web design and asked him to point me to the right direction
because web design is a broad area and depending on what you use to build
websites, I learnt
how to build websites and started building websites. The first website I did
was free, but I just did it to show that I can do it and from there I started
getting jobs and after a while I realized I can actually make money from this, so
I took it serious, found a business name and registered it and started running
it as a full-fledged business and not just as a side hustle.
Sam: What challenges did
you face when starting, and how did you overcome them?
William: The challenge I
encountered when I started was getting clients and like I mentioned earlier, I
had to design websites for free because I needed something to how what I can do,
no one will give you a website job when they are not certain of your
capabilities except maybe a family member or a friend and that will be out of
pity, just to support you. I had to work for free and show people and then with
that I started gaining peoples trust. I always made sure I over delivered,
which is something I still do, even if you didn’t ask for something and I know
you need that feature, I will simply add it and in most cases they are supposed
to cost more but I do it to show that it can be done and I will also have
something to show potential clients.
Sam:
Who has been your biggest influence or
mentor in tech industry in Nigeria or outside Nigeria?
William: I don’t have a
particular mentor, I just follow a lot of people that are doing what I’m doing
and I see what they are doing and I just get encouraged. I know a couple of
people in Nigeria and overseas doing what I’m doing and I just look at them
most times for inspiration and I also look at myself, I look back at the person
I was when I decided to do this and I’m very happy I made that decision.
Sam: What are some unique
opportunities you've experienced working in tech in Nigeria?
William: One thing I’ve noticed
in my field Web Design is, if you open yourself to global opportunities, people
will always need your services, they could have one issue or the other, but
because you’ve been in that business for a while, you would’ve encountered the
same issue and you will be able to solve it. There is always somebody seeking your
services when you’re into tech and tech is broad and goes beyond web design so
you just have to be good at your craft so that when you’re called upon, you can
deliver.
Sam: Do you think there's
a gender bias in the tech industry in Nigeria?
William: I don’t, I think tech
is one field where people just care about what you can do and offer, and if
you’re competent enough you’d get the opportunities.
Sam: What strategy have
helped your business grow over the years?
William:
The main strategy that has helped me grow is maintaining excellence and that is
one thing I have embedded in my business and I tell my clients, we take in your
projects like it is our own projects, so we make sure we give you the best.
Because of that extra effort we put in to make sure everything as standard as
it could be so whenever it is compared with anybody around the world it will be
able to stand on its own and stand out.
Sam: How do you stay up
to date with the latest tech trends?
William:
There’s this quote from Alice in wonderland and it goes like
this "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in
the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice
as fast as that!" and I feel like that is exactly how the
tech world is, you need to study every time because things are always changing
and evolving, so it’s a never-ending learning process and while you’re
learning, you need to brush up on things you already know because that
foundation is what helps you learn whatever comes new. It’s just a constant
learning process, you have to be able to watch videos, practice and network,
because you can’t do everything on your own.
Sam: Are there tech
innovations and startups in Nigeria that excites you and why?
William:
The tech startups right now that excites me are the startups in Nigeria that
are giving remote workers working in African countries access to payment to the
rest of the world example Grey finance and Geegpay. So what they do is give you
a foreign account number so that whoever you work for can pay you using any of
the foreign accounts convenient enough. Before, remote workers in African
countries battled with the issue of receiving money and there was a time that
for months I couldn’t receive payments for jobs done. But these startups have
come in and made the process of receiving money for a job done very seamless.
Also there are startups like Risevest that give you access to investing in real
estate in the US and you’re earning in dollar, imagine being in Nigeria and you
have a percentage in real estate company overseas and it’s not like you’re a
board member of any company, you’re just a person with a smartphone and spare
funds, so I think it’s amazing.
Sam: What one problem in
Nigeria would you love to solve using tech?
William:
One problem I would love to solve using tech is our voting process, because I
have been a part of 3 major election cycles and the process is archaic and I
feel it shouldn’t continue. First of all, going to vote is stressful and then
when you cast your ballot, someone will come and snatch it. If tech is
implemented, something can be done to make it possible to use either BVN or NIN
and the number can be used to validate that you’re above 18 and it will also
not allow for multiple voting. This will reduce the rigging process and when
you cast your vote, you will be certain that it counts.
Sam: What keeps you
motivated and continuously learning?
William:
Fear of poverty
Sam: Where do you see
your business and the tech industry in the next five to ten years?
William:
To be honest, I don’t know if I can say for the next ten years, but for the
next five years I would say it will still be relevant, my industry, web design, because even with the wake of AI and AI being able to do a lot of things,
somebody still needs to be able to prompt the AI and the person that will
prompt the AI will be somebody that knows what they are doing. A tool is only
as powerful as the person wielding it, so even as AI is making a lot of things
easy and taking a lot of jobs, I still feel like web designers are still going
to be needed because you still need to know exactly what needs to be done, so
even if you are using a tool to solve something faster, you need to know what
needs to be solved. Everyone still uses their phones so there is still going to
be need for web designers – front end and back-end developers, they are still
going to be needed.
FAST & CURIOUS QUESTIONS
Sam: Would you rather
spend 5 years in prison for a crime you didn't commit or your parents spend
5years for a crime you committed?
William:
5 years in prison for a crime I didn't commit
Sam: Would you rather
find your one true love or win a lottery and be alone?
William:
Win the lottery
Sam: If you could travel
back in time, what year would you go to?
William:
2008 and I will be going back to be a lot more stubborn and do more of what I
actually wanted to do
Sam: Would you rather be
rich and disappoint your family or be broke for the
rest of your life?
William:
Rich and disappoint please 😆
Sam:
Would you rather always have the urge to pee or never know when
you have to pee?
William: Always have the urge
Sam:
And that will be all! Thank you very much for giving me your time, I
really appreciate
William: No problem! Enjoyed the
interview.
IG: idealwebstud.io
Website: www.idealwebstud.io
P.S: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
