Ahead of the 1st African Internet Business Summit taking place in in November, Business-Matter.com caught up with Daven Michaels, one of the speakers of the event, to find out a bit more about his experiences and focus at the summit.

Can we get to know you?

I have been an entrepreneur since the age of 15, I have been able to turn multiple businesses into multi-million dollar businesses. Ranging from clothing business, live events with over 15,000 people, gold and platinum record producer , telecommunication business, real estate business, outsourcing business, TV and Film producer, international speaker and New York Time Best Selling Author.

Unlike many of my speaking counterparts, speaking is relatively new for me, I did not become successful from speaking, speaking and empowering entrepreneurs is my passion. My success comes from knowing how to turn businesses into successful enterprises.

Today I teach entrepreneurs the power of leveraging virtual employees, not just because they are cheap labor, it’s because they can do what most entrepreneurs can’t do or don’t want to do, and how to better market their business.

Can you tell us what participants should expect to learn and benefit from you at the Africa Internet business summit?

Participants will learn about the power of leverage, and more importantly how to generate an ROI by using virtual employees to help with Marketing tasks and other busy tasks that bog entrepreneur down. I will even share a few hot marketing tips that entrepreneurs can use to generate unlimited leads in their business.

What do you think are the top 3 major trends affecting Internet Marketing?

Well, I have 5 off the top of my head:

• ·         Content marketing using images
• ·         Email marketing is becoming less and less effective
• ·         How to better leverage social media
• ·         More creative and sophisticated marketing funnels
•           Moving from content (info products) to software.

What challenges can a beginner face when starting an online business what are the possible ways to overcome them?

Selecting the right business based on one’s unique strengths.

Building a team (not working as a solo-entrepreneur)

How to better market their business

Keeping things simple and focus on making money vs. building a complex business

Do you think Africa is a good place for starting an online business?

I do, I have always said that once technology and infrastructure is in place, Africa will be the next hot bed for both internet marketing and outsourcing.

What’s your general perspective about Nigeria? (If possible, tell us your experience about Nigerians too)

Well, if I am being honest, my perception, and I want to emphasize that word perception, is that Nigeria can be a turbulent and dangerous place. I think like so many, when I think about Nigeria, I think about all the banking scams, the emails claiming I am entitled to $6,343,792 if I share my bank account details.

Thankfully I don’t believe everything I hear. I believe in keeping an open heart and mind. This is why I agreed to participate in this summit because I have always been open minded, and drawn to learn about other cultures. I am looking forward to learning more about Nigeria, Nigerian hospitality and Nigerian people.