Finally, after 3 months of self imposed excuse from corporate management of my company to drive on Uber/Bolt, I am back at the helms at our Pukena corporate office to lead the company to a new Era.

My 3 months experiment on the field is not without some invaluable lessons that I couldn't have known if I didn't make that decision.

You see, I realized I wasn't in control of my company's business processes. I am talking about Pukena Cars & Drivers.

I was leading a group of people I didn't understand their psychology and language. A driver can declare no pay in a particular week and all we can do at the office was to shout blue murder.

I didn't understand the real business of managing drivers. We allowed so many lies and misconduct that almost killed the company. Till I decided to be like one of them.

Now I see why Jesus came in the likeness of men. I now understand the gospel better.

You can't effectively run a business you don't understand in and out.

When we started that division, it was all rosy. I managed to singlehandedly increase our fleet to 15. I could still manage them. I had an overbearing influence that kept the drivers in check.

I couldn't even drive a car when I started the business. I knew nothing about the Uber/Bolt App. I just knew I could help car owners manage their cars on Uber/Bolt by providing and managing drivers.

I remember sharing the toilet with Uche Okafor, now Regional Manager of Bolt, at our former office at Providence House, Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1 where we both shared offices at Venia Business Hub. I asked him while we both eased ourselves, "Oga Uche, I want to be Taxify's official driver recruitment partner. Let me provide the drivers for your partners"

He smiled at me and asked me how many cars are on my fleet. I said one. He said when it's up to 10, come and we sign the papers.

That challenge launched me into the business of driver recruitment for Uber/Bolt. Before long I had 15 cars. We moved to Yaba and boom! We had 25 cars. My team bothered me to go see Uche. I didn't see the need. The business was doing well without the partnership.

I was personally involved in all processes: driver recruitment, verification, orientation, vehicle onboarding and even weekly payouts. I did all.

I had a personal relationship with all.my drivers. They knew me. My character. We fought, we laughed, we argued. All was well.

Some knew my weaknesses. Some knew I couldn't even drive. I couldn't even explain the apps. I didn't know how to check their earnings. They bidded their time to hurt.

That time came when I decided to employ more staff to oversee that particular section. I felt if I singlehandedly raised 25 fleet, a team of 3 can build on that success.

How wrong would I be!

Losing touch with my drivers brought out the evil tendencies in every man. They were now to report to someone else who did his best but, as you know, is only a salary earner. With two other people supporting him.

Before long, my loyal drivers were replaced with new faces. I had little or no input in their recruitment. I allowed that. To give the new team the chance to establish their authority.

At a point I didn't even know any of my drivers. I felt that's what it should be. If the company must grow, I must empower my team.

During that period I started working on #mymechNg as a service section for our cars. It was a noble move. At least by my calculation.

But things didn't go as planned.

The new drivers started exhibiting behaviours I was never used to. During my time, driver defaults was scanty and far fetched. And never a whole weeks pay not paid. And usually after many months of starting with us. If a driver was to owe back then, at least he will pay something. But now we see drivers defaulting from their first week. Some will pay nothing after working for a whole week.They damaged our cars more frequently.

I was bothered. I thought the answer lied in empowering my team more. For 4 months straight we recorded losses but I was still paying my team their dues and using my personal money to fix damages caused by drivers. I managed to pay car owners from other sources even when we got nothing from their car. I fixed engines, replaced stolen parts. I lost 2 million naira i just 2 months!

It came to and point where in a week, none of the 20 drivers remaining would pay in anything.

I would go crazy. I would shout and rant. Call for emergency meetings and talk. Nothing changed.

At this point, I didn't even know the faces of these drivers. I felt lost in my own company. I regretted letting go.

As expected, while all these were going on, the team expected to be paid. I realized I was actually alone in my belief in my vision. When I refused to pay, all hell was let loose.

I wanted to shut down operations and call it quit. After all Pukena is a multi service platform. I can channel my energies to something else.

But I loved this section. Of all the sections in Pukena, this was our biggest break. Maybe a product/market fit. We had an addressable market. The gap is obvious. And it's scalable.

Rather than quitting I needed to figure out how to revive our fortunes.

Meanwhile I had started driving over a year ago . I quickly got my license and joined my drivers on the road. I passed through Uber/Bolt onboarding process and picked valuable tools. I started driving.

I saw the business from another perspective. I now know how much can be earned weekly. I now know why a car will be damaged. You can drive a car for as long as you like without a scratch! Sometimes because these drivers feel it's not their car, they don't care. You see them racing on potholes and dragging the road with Okada and danfo. In fact we fix side mirrors every week in Pukena. Now everything has changed. I now know the challenges my drivers are facing. I think I know what it takes a run this business.

I should have done this before starting. It would have saved me a lot of stress. But it's never too late.

I realized our mistakes. We took a lot for granted in the way we ran the business. These drivers saw the loopholes and took advantage of them.

Now am back to my role, not just as a boss but also as a coach to my drivers. They now know I know what they know. I can pick your phone, open your Uber/Bolt app and tell you if you are a lazy driver or a serious one. I know more about cars now. I am almost a mechanic myself. I am more equipped to run this business better than before.

We have perfected our training system and our operational policies.

I want t apologize to some of our aggrieved customers we disappointed. Please come back. You can still make money on Uber with your spare car.

We are better than before!

My dream of having 100 cars on fleet in still in full force.

We have partnered with some major players to make our job easier. All cars on our fleet are safer. Payouts are guaranteed. Our drivers are better trained and managed.

I am back on the helms...

Join us!

Nice one sir. May your dreams be achieved!

Business masterclass

pukena:
Finally, after 3 months of self imposed excuse from corporate management of my company to drive on Uber/Bolt, I am back at the helms at our Pukena corporate office to lead the company to a new Era.

My 3 months experiment on the field is not without some invaluable lessons that I couldn't have known if I didn't make that decision.

You see, I realized I wasn't in control of my company's business processes. I am talking about Pukena Cars & Drivers.

I was leading a group of people I didn't understand their psychology and language. A driver can declare no pay in a particular week and all we can do at the office was to shout blue murder.

I didn't understand the real business of managing drivers. We allowed so many lies and misconduct that almost killed the company. Till I decided to be like one of them.

Now I see why Jesus came in the likeness of men. I now understand the gospel better.

You can't effectively run a business you don't understand in and out.

When we started that division, it was all rosy. I managed to singlehandedly increase our fleet to 15. I could still manage them. I had an overbearing influence that kept the drivers in check.

I couldn't even drive a car when I started the business. I knew nothing about the Uber/Bolt App. I just knew I could help car owners manage their cars on Uber/Bolt by providing and managing drivers.

I remember sharing the toilet with Uche Okafor, now Regional Manager of Bolt, at our former office at Providence House, Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1 where we both shared offices at Venia Business Hub. I asked him while we both eased ourselves, "Oga Uche, I want to be Taxify's official driver recruitment partner. Let me provide the drivers for your partners"

He smiled at me and asked me how many cars are on my fleet. I said one. He said when it's up to 10, come and we sign the papers.

That challenge launched me into the business of driver recruitment for Uber/Bolt. Before long I had 15 cars. We moved to Yaba and boom! We had 25 cars. My team bothered me to go see Uche. I didn't see the need. The business was doing well without the partnership.

I was personally involved in all processes: driver recruitment, verification, orientation, vehicle onboarding and even weekly payouts. I did all.

I had a personal relationship with all.my drivers. They knew me. My character. We fought, we laughed, we argued. All was well.

Some knew my weaknesses. Some knew I couldn't even drive. I couldn't even explain the apps. I didn't know how to check their earnings. They bidded their time to hurt.

That time came when I decided to employ more staff to oversee that particular section. I felt if I singlehandedly raised 25 fleet, a team of 3 can build on that success.

How wrong would I be!

Losing touch with my drivers brought out the evil tendencies in every man. They were now to report to someone else who did his best but, as you know, is only a salary earner. With two other people supporting him.

Before long, my loyal drivers were replaced with new faces. I had little or no input in their recruitment. I allowed that. To give the new team the chance to establish their authority.

At a point I didn't even know any of my drivers. I felt that's what it should be. If the company must grow, I must empower my team.

During that period I started working on #mymechNg as a service section for our cars. It was a noble move. At least by my calculation.

But things didn't go as planned.

The new drivers started exhibiting behaviours I was never used to. During my time, driver defaults was scanty and far fetched. And never a whole weeks pay not paid. And usually after many months of starting with us. If a driver was to owe back then, at least he will pay something. But now we see drivers defaulting from their first week. Some will pay nothing after working for a whole week.They damaged our cars more frequently.

I was bothered. I thought the answer lied in empowering my team more. For 4 months straight we recorded losses but I was still paying my team their dues and using my personal money to fix damages caused by drivers. I managed to pay car owners from other sources even when we got nothing from their car. I fixed engines, replaced stolen parts. I lost 2 million naira i just 2 months!

It came to and point where in a week, none of the 20 drivers remaining would pay in anything.

I would go crazy. I would shout and rant. Call for emergency meetings and talk. Nothing changed.

At this point, I didn't even know the faces of these drivers. I felt lost in my own company. I regretted letting go.

As expected, while all these were going on, the team expected to be paid. I realized I was actually alone in my belief in my vision. When I refused to pay, all hell was let loose.

I wanted to shut down operations and call it quit. After all Pukena is a multi service platform. I can channel my energies to something else.

But I loved this section. Of all the sections in Pukena, this was our biggest break. Maybe a product/market fit. We had an addressable market. The gap is obvious. And it's scalable.

Rather than quitting I needed to figure out how to revive our fortunes.

Meanwhile I had started driving over a year ago . I quickly got my license and joined my drivers on the road. I passed through Uber/Bolt onboarding process and picked valuable tools. I started driving.

I saw the business from another perspective. I now know how much can be earned weekly. I now know why a car will be damaged. You can drive a car for as long as you like without a scratch! Sometimes because these drivers feel it's not their car, they don't care. You see them racing on potholes and dragging the road with Okada and danfo. In fact we fix side mirrors every week in Pukena. Now everything has changed. I now know the challenges my drivers are facing. I think I know what it takes a run this business.

I should have done this before starting. It would have saved me a lot of stress. But it's never too late.

I realized our mistakes. We took a lot for granted in the way we ran the business. These drivers saw the loopholes and took advantage of them.

Now am back to my role, not just as a boss but also as a coach to my drivers. They now know I know what they know. I can pick your phone, open your Uber/Bolt app and tell you if you are a lazy driver or a serious one. I know more about cars now. I am almost a mechanic myself. I am more equipped to run this business better than before.

We have perfected our training system and our operational policies.

I want t apologize to some of our aggrieved customers we disappointed. Please come back. You can still make money on Uber with your spare car.

We are better than before!

My dream of having 100 cars on the fleet in still in full force.

We have partnered with some major players to make our job easier. All cars on our fleet are safer. Payouts are guaranteed. Our drivers are better trained and managed.

I am back on the helms...

Join us!

I'm moved!

I love how you developed and picked the business up again. I stay at Ibeju Lekki. If you ever want to build a new, dedicated team again, I can be a good fit. I like pukena's vision.

pukena:
Finally, after 3 months of self imposed excuse from corporate management of my company to drive on Uber/Bolt, I am back at the helms at our Pukena corporate office to lead the company to a new Era.

My 3 months experiment on the field is not without some invaluable lessons that I couldn't have known if I didn't make that decision.

You see, I realized I wasn't in control of my company's business processes. I am talking about Pukena Cars & Drivers.

I was leading a group of people I didn't understand their psychology and language. A driver can declare no pay in a particular week and all we can do at the office was to shout blue murder.

I didn't understand the real business of managing drivers. We allowed so many lies and misconduct that almost killed the company. Till I decided to be like one of them.

Now I see why Jesus came in the likeness of men. I now understand the gospel better.

You can't effectively run a business you don't understand in and out.

When we started that division, it was all rosy. I managed to singlehandedly increase our fleet to 15. I could still manage them. I had an overbearing influence that kept the drivers in check.

I couldn't even drive a car when I started the business. I knew nothing about the Uber/Bolt App. I just knew I could help car owners manage their cars on Uber/Bolt by providing and managing drivers.

I remember sharing the toilet with Uche Okafor, now Regional Manager of Bolt, at our former office at Providence House, Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1 where we both shared offices at Venia Business Hub. I asked him while we both eased ourselves, "Oga Uche, I want to be Taxify's official driver recruitment partner. Let me provide the drivers for your partners"

He smiled at me and asked me how many cars are on my fleet. I said one. He said when it's up to 10, come and we sign the papers.

That challenge launched me into the business of driver recruitment for Uber/Bolt. Before long I had 15 cars. We moved to Yaba and boom! We had 25 cars. My team bothered me to go see Uche. I didn't see the need. The business was doing well without the partnership.

I was personally involved in all processes: driver recruitment, verification, orientation, vehicle onboarding and even weekly payouts. I did all.

I had a personal relationship with all.my drivers. They knew me. My character. We fought, we laughed, we argued. All was well.

Some knew my weaknesses. Some knew I couldn't even drive. I couldn't even explain the apps. I didn't know how to check their earnings. They bidded their time to hurt.

That time came when I decided to employ more staff to oversee that particular section. I felt if I singlehandedly raised 25 fleet, a team of 3 can build on that success.

How wrong would I be!

Losing touch with my drivers brought out the evil tendencies in every man. They were now to report to someone else who did his best but, as you know, is only a salary earner. With two other people supporting him.

Before long, my loyal drivers were replaced with new faces. I had little or no input in their recruitment. I allowed that. To give the new team the chance to establish their authority.

At a point I didn't even know any of my drivers. I felt that's what it should be. If the company must grow, I must empower my team.

During that period I started working on #mymechNg as a service section for our cars. It was a noble move. At least by my calculation.

But things didn't go as planned.

The new drivers started exhibiting behaviours I was never used to. During my time, driver defaults was scanty and far fetched. And never a whole weeks pay not paid. And usually after many months of starting with us. If a driver was to owe back then, at least he will pay something. But now we see drivers defaulting from their first week. Some will pay nothing after working for a whole week.They damaged our cars more frequently.

I was bothered. I thought the answer lied in empowering my team more. For 4 months straight we recorded losses but I was still paying my team their dues and using my personal money to fix damages caused by drivers. I managed to pay car owners from other sources even when we got nothing from their car. I fixed engines, replaced stolen parts. I lost 2 million naira i just 2 months!

It came to and point where in a week, none of the 20 drivers remaining would pay in anything.

I would go crazy. I would shout and rant. Call for emergency meetings and talk. Nothing changed.

At this point, I didn't even know the faces of these drivers. I felt lost in my own company. I regretted letting go.

As expected, while all these were going on, the team expected to be paid. I realized I was actually alone in my belief in my vision. When I refused to pay, all hell was let loose.

I wanted to shut down operations and call it quit. After all Pukena is a multi service platform. I can channel my energies to something else.

But I loved this section. Of all the sections in Pukena, this was our biggest break. Maybe a product/market fit. We had an addressable market. The gap is obvious. And it's scalable.

Rather than quitting I needed to figure out how to revive our fortunes.

Meanwhile I had started driving over a year ago . I quickly got my license and joined my drivers on the road. I passed through Uber/Bolt onboarding process and picked valuable tools. I started driving.

I saw the business from another perspective. I now know how much can be earned weekly. I now know why a car will be damaged. You can drive a car for as long as you like without a scratch! Sometimes because these drivers feel it's not their car, they don't care. You see them racing on potholes and dragging the road with Okada and danfo. In fact we fix side mirrors every week in Pukena. Now everything has changed. I now know the challenges my drivers are facing. I think I know what it takes a run this business.

I should have done this before starting. It would have saved me a lot of stress. But it's never too late.

I realized our mistakes. We took a lot for granted in the way we ran the business. These drivers saw the loopholes and took advantage of them.

Now am back to my role, not just as a boss but also as a coach to my drivers. They now know I know what they know. I can pick your phone, open your Uber/Bolt app and tell you if you are a lazy driver or a serious one. I know more about cars now. I am almost a mechanic myself. I am more equipped to run this business better than before.

We have perfected our training system and our operational policies.

I want t apologize to some of our aggrieved customers we disappointed. Please come back. You can still make money on Uber with your spare car.

We are better than before!

My dream of having 100 cars on fleet in still in full force.

We have partnered with some major players to make our job easier. All cars on our fleet are safer. Payouts are guaranteed. Our drivers are better trained and managed.

I am back on the helms...

Join us!

this is a masterpiece ,I pick lots of learning from your fall and rise epistle .

Nice Work