Founder Victor Kwegyir’s Goal: “Helping 200 Startups In 7 Years”

Describe yourself in 50 words or less.

I am the founder and CEO of Vike Invest Ltd, a business consultancy firm in London. With 20 years professional experience in the industry, I am driven with continued passion to inform, equip and guide entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners navigate the startup process strategically, drive growth, increase profitability, become successful and establish themselves as market leaders in their respective industry.

What are you currently working on?

I am quite excited to announce the recent release of my 4th book “Beyond The Passion – What It Takes To Achieve Success In Business“. After extensive researching and speaking with a number of business owners over the years, I felt it was the right time to finally publish it. It has been another exciting project to date, and definitely one of my best resource (books) gifts ever, to the startup and business community. The book highlights essential critical factors necessary to add to your passion, to guarantee growth, profitability and long term success in business.

What led you to this?

My interaction with clients and entrepreneurs often inform my writing. It often helps to draw my attention to current subjects that are challenging or pain points in their journey as startups and business people. I tend to tailor my services, books and resources on bringing quality proven and practical solutions to these challenges. Helping entrepreneurs fulfill their ambition and aspiring entrepreneurs consider this as a viable option to their quest to becoming financial independent is a great pull factor for me to continue doing this.

What’s driving you?

What drives me is a passion to see others succeed in going after their dreams, to bring it into reality and become successful. There is nothing that drives me more than having that first contact with a client who has an idea, but lacks clarity or direction, and after our first meeting, they go away with a clear mind as to what best way to proceed. This is often followed by coaching them and helping them bring all the dots together, set up the business, help them win or sell to their first, second, third and more clients or business, until they can run by themselves with little help from me.

Describe your typical day from waking up to going to bed.

That is going to be a little interesting, given that I work with clients across different time zones and vary my schedules a lot. However, let me make an attempt at this:

1. Wake up.
2. Pray and meditate.
3. Quick check of my emails and social media platforms to post a few things I want to share with network for the day.
4. Get ready to be at my desk (if I am working from home), or set out to hit the road to my first appointment (if I have any in the city or outside the city).
5. Lunch often is just grabbing some fruits or tea whilst catching up on my social media platforms and emails.

My afternoons are spent on researching, working on client’s reports, proposals and checking up on those on my coaching program, who are on my schedule for that day, to see how they are doing or follow up on something we discussed, and they were to consider and give me a feedback on.

I hardly have a cut off point for my closing time in a day. My evenings often end with checking up on social media, emails, and researching and working on other book projects and blogs I am developing. After about 8pm is often where I catch up with clients in North America and others, usually in different time zones, that I’ve not been able to reach out to during the day.

7 years from now: Where do you see yourself?

I would like to have at least coached and helped 200 startups or entrepreneurs become well established and successful in their business; written and posted over 100 blogs; helped 35 business executives, entrepreneurs and professionals become authors through our Executive Ghost Writing & Publishing Services; and written up to 10 more books to help startups and business owners community navigate the journey to success more strategically with less hassle. This should also help my clients avoid the high failure rate, often associated with startups in the crucial first 2-3 years of being in business. Hopefully my books would have become significantly helpful, to make the best seller grade as well.

Tell us about your best idea and worst execution.

I would say my first book – “The Business You Can Start” – although a significant number of entrepreneurs and business owners have it and use it to date, and was well written, hasn’t achieved the best seller status yet. This is largely due to my inexperience in marketing books at the time. There is still a lot to learn and I am determined to make success of them, as I go along in the journey as an author.

How can someone reach out to you to sign up to your coaching program or access your books?

Thankfully by virtue of technology I work with clients from around the world. I can be contacted through StartUs or via any of my social media platforms – LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook. We can always schedule appointments and have meetings via Skype, Viber, Ovoo, and any other platforms available to you. I am taking on new clients for 2016, so I have some slots available for anyone interested in our coaching and mentoring program, which can be for a 90, 180 or 325 day period.

As mentioned above, in addition to my latest book “Beyond The Passion”, my existing books (““Pitch Your Business Like A Pro”“, “”The Business You Can Start”” and “You’ve Been Fired! Now What?”) are all available in both paperback and eBook formats and can be ordered from Amazon & Kindle, Barnes and Nobles, iBookstore, Smashwords or from my website.

And why not sign up to my newsletter to be kept up to date with all the latest news and book releases etc. Don’t hesitate to check out my blog posts on StartUs Magazine as well.

What trends would you bet your money on? And how will it influence everyday life?

I believe that as an industry, mobile payments, online banking, and social media marketing and advertising, tapping into ‘Big Data’ is set to change significantly, even in the face of the security threat posed by hackers online. These will significantly impact business strategy and the way we do business. It will particularly force businesses to take their online presence and customers security and data more serious, with significant investment needed in protecting their systems and maintaining client trust.

What seemed to be the most important thing in the world to you when you were 10 years old?

Wow! That was quite some time back! Travelling and exploring other nations and continents other than my birth country (Ghana, in West African). Irrespective of how many documentaries I watch or news I read, I still want to do the travels and experience first hand all the other cultures, people and nations. I guess these childhood fascinations never leave you until you fulfill it!

Who is your hero and why?

In life and why we exist as well as our purpose on earth, its Jesus Christ. Because of who He is, what He has done, and has been to me over the years since I committed my life to follow Him.

In business, among the many I look up to, Warren Buffet stands out to me. For his knowledge in investing in picking businesses and turning them around to become even more successful. Equally important to me is his sense of generosity and outlook on things such as philanthropy, tax, and the simplicity of his personality. He has achieved so much, yet stay true to himself and keep going at it with great track record to his name.

What advice would you give first time entrepreneurs?

Research and plan before you step out, even if you don’t necessarily commit to a formal business plan.
And even more importantly manage your expectations, because true success always fly on the wings of time. Seek mentors and coaches to work with you, and be in a constant mode of improving on yourself and your team.

You may have to start again, tweak the original concept or idea or even change it completely, that is normal. Never take any failure at a task or in the execution of your idea as personal, and never give up in trying again. Lastly, every help you need is out there, just connect with the right people and ask for help whenever you need it, and trust me, you would.

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