Into The Deep End of Leisure

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
Escape with The
Duke of Spades:
Richard Nnadi
By Damilola Oyewusi
‘Escape’ for 5 of these, Richard has stayed through the challenges of
managing a lifestyle and pleasure infused business. It turns out that he is
one of those who has grown a successful business from the same reason
why people use his facilities in the first place. He spoke about starting the
nightclub because he “wanted to build my network rapidly, and nightlife
was and still is the fastest way to build your network not just with anyone
but with people of influence”.
Beyond entertaining influential people and building a business from it,
Richard has expanded his interests into being a hospitality consultant,
switching from Hospitality Provider to a company that provides solutions
for the hospitality industry. With knowledge from his years of experience
and the opportunities made available by technology, he has also ventured
into the technopreneurial world with the launch of an app called ‘Yaaaga.’
“Life is about continuous growth and innovation to solve the needs of real
people and businesses. Yaaaga came from years of experience and
observing details of the business that could be improved. The app allows
you to buy and send or receive food, drinks or rooms from anywhere in
the world”
For a man that enjoys the thrills of new adventures and personalities, he
believes that going into the hospitality industry was his best decision
ever. Beyond business expansion, he has been able to use the influence
garnered to pursue his non-profitable areas of interest with The Dukes of
Spades’ foundation.
“Duke of spades foundation has fed and taken care of over 30,000 children
in the past 3 years in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, and Rwanda.
The foundation is aimed at taking care of Less Privileged kids and children
born and living with HIV”
While being grateful for the opportunities he’s had and created, he also
looked back on some of the challenges he’s encountered and going
through them to keep his head way above water in business. He talks
about starting out and micro-managing every aspect of his business to
his own disadvantage.
“You have to allow people to perform the work that you’ve employed them
for. Train them if you must. Create a structure that allows everyone to
perform as best as they can and then let them be. You’ll save yourself a lot
of headache and grow faster as a business”
‘Another major challenge is handling debts from customers. And these are
people you know and have built a relationship with. I am an understanding
businessman. But as much as you’d want to maintain relationships, you
also need to put measures in place to protect your business. This also goes
for Theft from your staff”’
With the end of year activities already heating up, the owner of
Escape Nightclub and Eve Restaurant among other
establishments has been on his toes to ensure the business is
more than the usual. We were lucky to get him in on this edition. Although
a man of few words in this chat, we are certain you’d enjoy his thoughts on
nightlife, innovation, and being The Duke of Spades.
Richard Nnadi is easily recognizable in a room. A quintessential Lagos boy
with good looks, the right network, and a relentless drive for
entrepreneurial success. In his words, he is ‘a visionary, a unique individual
and versatile’. If all we have to prove this is the story of his hair through
the years, we’d believe it. However, his diverse business endeavors and
ability to adapt to changing needs is the real testament to his versatility.
With over 15 years in the hospitality business and running his own club
To young and aspiring entrepreneurs in the hospitality industry, Richard
says you have to “Understand not just the market but most importantly
the people because we are in a business of service and referrals are the
best thing that can happen to your business”
In addition to this he mentions a need to have a passion for the business.
“One thing only keeps me going and that is my passion for what I do.
Without it, you’ll give up as soon as the initial buzz starts fading and the
challenges come on. Passion gives you staying power”
‘You also need to call things as they are. Call a spade a spade.” And thus
revealed the origin of the title - ‘The Duke of Spades’.
*Fun Fact: Richard doesn’t take alcohol. You can ask him about this and
other things via his Instagram handle @dukeofspades*
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