Just Start!....

Starting your own business is like riding a roller coaster.

There are highs and lows and every turn you take is another twist.

The lows are really low, but the highs can be really high. You have to be strong, keep your stomach tight, and ride along with the roller coaster that you started.” – Lindsay Manseau

You ARE invited!

Providing a Forum for Internet Marketers from All Over the World!

You’re Invited for Africa Internet Business Summit 2013.
Saturday 2nd – Saturday 9th November 2013.

Come this November, leading Internet gurus from all over the world will converge in Lagos and Abuja to teach and educate people on ways to make money legitimately online and the know-how of digital marketing and PR at the Africa Internet Business Summit 2013.

The speakers and facilitators for the summit include Willie Crawford, Daven Michael,Lou Brown, Alicia Lyttle, Tim R. Johnson, Allyn Cutts, Raam Anand and Dr. Ope Banwo of Afrinet Solutions who is also the moderator of the event.

TRY to be there and you might just learn a little something...

Take Advantage!

So im just going to cut to the chase.

If your business is suffering a setback or you can`t afford labour cost. Whatever the situation is, there is a new scheme in town!

Graduate Internship Scheme

You mentor/train graduates for one year and the government pay their salaries...take advantage!

Please find link below:

https://gis-tool.wyesurep.gov.ng/

 

 

 

Own It!......(Amazing article i found)

"I don’t know what you want. I don’t even know who you are, nor do I want to pretend to. But there are ten laws you should live by to govern the things that you want in life. We do things for different reasons. Some people just “are”. Other people are more Machiavellian, and do things to acquire other things. And most people do things, because they “feel” a certain way emotionally about them. Acting deliberately can significantly impact the things that happen in your life, and the lives of the people around you, making you a better lover, friend, partner. Here are some tips to guide you in attaining your life goals.

Build Your Connections
We aren’t in a race against the machine. Everything – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, exists to make us more human, to bring us closer together. Businesses and innovations and even academia starts with observing human behaviour, and the relationships that are forged. They are all reliant on human interaction. Observe the people you study, and the people that you trust with the same fervour. Surround yourself with people that’re doing the things that you hope to do. Have people support, invest, criticise and work on your dreams. The more independent connections you have, the stronger you become. Make a new one everyday. Have active, and meaningful relationships with every important connection that you make. Nurture them, like pets. Ultimately, becoming the social equivalent of a computer router, knowing people across a vast array of social, cultural, professional and economic circles, and being able to introduce people in one circle, to people in another. The introductions you make are the currency of the wealth you create.

 

Give
The best kept secret of building relationships is “giving”. Far too often to we connect ourselves with people because we want one thing, or another from them. In the beginning, we find ourselves asking for help from them. And it’s really the biggest mistake we can make when making new relationships. One should remember that the person you’re knocking on may not want to be treated like a microwave. Build relationships by being prepared to help other people, to support their dreams, and their problems, and to give. Or you’ll find that most friendships you make are short-lived, or don’t matter much at all. Respect, and make some attempt to understand them. Don’t go too far to display your talents or possessions, instead, do more by displaying your bond with them, to them. And they will defend you in everything. You truly see how beautiful people are when you give.

 

Listen
The best way to understand people is to listen to them. You’d really be surprised by how much you understand, just by listening to a person. The things they don’t say are often more obvious than the things they do say. I know your life is fabulous, and you are doing great and impressive things, I know you’re about to change the world. I know your parents built the Eiffel. But you’re here to make connections. Let other people talk. Give other people the priority. Never make too much noise. Listen with passion, and with patience. Once you listen to a person, you will have their attention, and once you have their attention, you will build great relationships. Everyone has something interesting, and different, to say.

 

Be Yourself
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken”. I really love this quote by Oscar Wilde. It was most certainly intended to be funny, but also contains a much deeper message. One of the most important for living well, in general. Everyone wants to become a leader, but becoming a leader is mostly about becoming yourself. People like Kanye are great. But you are no Kanye. Perhaps you’re great too, howeverI, if you look and dress like Kanye, you’re really doing nothing new. No one will care if you’re a “second Kanye”. You shouldn’t act, or look like him, you’re who you are. You’re what you do. You’re how you perceive the world. Always be authentic to who you are. A friend of mine once said, “we are all mirror reflections of each other, if I break mine, you’re broken too from my vantage point”. There’s never, ever going to be a reason to change your inner soul, or your core beliefs and philosophies.

 

Drive Everything You Do With Passion
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world” ~Harriet Tubman.

A lot of people are driven by money, and a lot of them will surely end up making it. A lot of people are driven by popularity, and one way or another they usually end up popular. When you’re driven by competition, you’ll eventually beat your competition. Being driven by passion, and happiness has become so secondary, where things like money, and popularity, and rich husbands should be.

Take enough time to engage, and meet your soul. Your substance. Your situation in life is always different from others. Find your passion. Find the things you love doing. Run experiments on your hobbies. Spend some time observing yourself. Once you find the things you love, and once you have the passion to do it everything else will come (including the rich husband, maybe).

 

Read
There’s so much information in the world. We’re almost being overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information we have access to. Every year, there’s hundreds of great books being published. Truly amazing reads. We’re living in such an exciting epoch. If you can read a single great book a week, your life will change dramatically within a year. And yet, some are vehemently against reading, and people that read. In some circles, searching for knowledge is deemed “uncool”, and “shallow”.

Regardless of what’s cool, read avidly, and rigorously. Talk to clever people. Share what you learn, perhaps by writing about it. Try to say goodbye to your ego, and to the status quo. Have insightful conversations. There’s nothing more beautiful than the worlds you visit within a book, and sharing it with people that have their own worlds they visit. It’s almost like you’re sharing universes.

 

Make 90 day goals
Everyone has a sort of goal. “I want to marry a rich husband before I’m 30″ (a laughable, but strangely common goal), “I want to buy a car”, or “I want to start a business”. But we never set a timeframe for them. And we sometimes find that we end up with the same goals we have this year, as we do five years from now. A goal is a great, and exciting thing to have, but without a sort of deadline, it’s really just empty words. Your goals will never make your beautiful, or rich, or powerful, but meeting them will. Attach a 90 day deadline, and make actionable plans, and achieve them. They don’t have to be anything elaborate. They could be as simple as “In 90 days, I plan to jog every morning”. Be cruel to maintain them, and uncompromising, and ruthless, and your word to yourself will become your bond.

 

Think Freely
Don’t stick to your ideas, and your work, and your religion, and your tribe, and your foods, and your opinions. Be open to new things! Understand why a thing is good, or bad, or better, or different. Live by a certain quality, and put a dent in everything you do. Observe everything. If you aren’t able to think freely, if you aren’t open to new things, your current kingdom will come crashing down, and the only people that will ever hear about it, are those in your narrow niche that think like you do.

 

Work Hard
Coupled with your will power, and your strong desire, you really, simply need to work exceedingly hard to get to where you want to be. Successful book authors, and thieving civil servants alike all work hard.

There are more unsuccessful talented people out there, than there are not. All because they don’t put the extra effort in. Being talented alone would never ensure your success. Being stupid, and having a small idea could make all the difference if one worked really hard. Try to be the best “hard working person” in your environment, and everyone will know that whether or not you put in the time, or effort, you always get the job done. Hard work pays off.

 

Love
Simply put, love’s really just the greatest thing in there is. To quote a friend of mine, “love is dope”. It’s the purest, most rawest, of innocent blessings one could have. The only thing that makes you more human than you are. It’s what helps you realise the truth, and discover yourself. It’s what connects and binds your soul to your body.

Sometimes, reality becomes difficult, and skewed, and cruel. You can’t simply find anyone to hold your hand and give you the love you need when in some pitfall. Don’t let this stop you from loving other people. No one knows about the struggles you’ve faced, or the challenges you’ve overcome. As you suffer, you know the harshness of reality, and should have an innate desire to never let it happen to anyone else. Talk, and listen to people. Understand, and love them. There’s beauty in everyone. Perhaps not the physical, dreamy lipped, thin eyed sort of beauty, but I can confidently say that there’s a beauty to everyone I’ve ever engaged. Learn how to love, just for the sake of loving, even if they don’t deserve it. They’ll never forget it, or you. Even if they end up hating you.

 

“Have stubborn faith in your ability to win the future, live your passion, and love relentlessly. Stay in your truth, and demand excellence. There’s a process, trust in it.” ~Christina Mbawke.

Extracted......

I did not write this article. I found it on BellaNaija, Quite witty and real.

"Returnees"...Take note! So here goes...

"My friend Tolu Ogunlesi recently wrote a witty and cynical piece offering a few words of wisdom to ‘we’ repatriates or returnees as we have been termed in recent times. I really shouldn’t be using the words ‘We’ because frankly my foreign accent has long disappeared and so has the relevance of my ‘Oyibo’ degree. But beyond the incessant ranting about where to get good salad, the inability for Nigerians to stand in a queue, or the excessive reminiscing of your ‘away’ days, moving back to the motherland requires more preparation than you can imagine.

Cut Your Coat According to Your Cloth
It isn’t everyone that has a daddy or mummy with a spare set of car keys to toss your way or even spare cash to help you transition into Lagos living with ease. So if you aren’t one of the lucky ones, I suggest you learn the bus, bike and Keke Napep route around the city because taxis and car hire don’t come cheap and you can save the cab fare for interviews and important meetings.

It wasn’t too long ago that I was hiking okadas to Idiroko then getting on the BRT bus to the Island. I remember some of my colleagues asking if I didn’t feel embarrassed about my returnee friends seeing me on a bike. My response ‘is it your money, why you go vex?’ On a few occasions, I had taken the bus to Abuja, a friend found it a little out of place and gave me some money to buy a plane ticket back to Lagos, you know my cheap ass collected the money and took the Patience Ozorkor-home-video-watching-ekenedilichukwu-bus back to Jibowu.

The same goes for the friends that invite you for expensive dinners when you have just arrived and haven’t found your feet yet. You don’t want to find yourself on a dinner table thinking of how to cough out cash you don’t have for food you barely ate and Champagne you didn’t drink; because in Lagos there is no busting out the calculator at restaurants. Leave that to your ‘abroad’ days.

My advice Kobo wise Naira foolish, Lagos is expensive and money goes like piss down a drain. If you don’t have a trust fund or come from a cushioned up family, as our people say, ‘operate with wisdom’.

 

Keep an Open Mind
Those that came at the beginning of the exodus had it good. They were able to dazzle with their expensive degrees and international career experience. These days every twenty-one year old holds a foreign MBA.
Don’t try to calculate or expect to earn the equivalent working for Merryl Lynch, GE Money or Goldman Sachs in Naira. It doesn’t quite work out the same way. Sometimes you might have to take the 100k on offer, acclimatise with the system and work out your next move.

For those who were poached from ‘overs’, you also have a few things to keep at the back of your mind, the new unit you have been brought to head could lose funding, could miraculously dissolve, or could just go down under because the ‘Oga at the top’ was using the operational budget to fly his mistress first class to Dubai or hired a guy called Carluccio with long greasy hair to redecorate the office. In the end you are given the option to either join your home grown colleagues in sales and marketing or find somewhere else to pitch your tent. Just be open-minded. As a result of the structured life abroad, we come back with very strict ideas of what we want to do, where we want to work and what we hope to earn. Lagos is unpredictable and who says you can’t find opportunity and new purpose with a little flexibility.

 

Be wise with the accent
Yes the accent thing is always controversial. The fact is that the world is made up of tribes and gangs and we are all a part of one whether we like to believe it or not. Language, accents and dialects are social codes. The way you speak can either draw up a fence or draw people in. In Ogunlesi’s piece he says that:
‘Once upon a time your accent guaranteed you a job, the sort that came with a company car and apartment. Now you have to compete with home grown IJGB(I just got back) accents, picked up from MTV, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Sex and the City’.

This is true to a great degree but be careful that you don’t isolate people with it either. Your foreign accent might be the barrier to top information that could be delivered to you by the office driver or security guard that can save you many catastrophes. These guys are privy to all the phone conversations and back seat board meetings that you can think of. Plus, you just don’t want to attract unnecessary hatred because more often times that not, the accent comes with some kind of attitude. Even if it doesn’t, the general consensus is that ‘you are a snob and think you are better than us’.
Ensure that you learn some quintessential Lagos phrases. You don’t need to be classified as a ‘learner.’

 

Activate Your Side Hustles
It wont take you long to discover that everybody has a side hustle, we are all CEOs with a laptop and there ain’t no shame in that. The Lord does not give you one skill in case of a depression; plus man shall not hustle by bread alone, especially when you notice there is a constant delay in your salary payment. So as Dizzy Rascal says in his song ‘Fix up look sharp’ or as IsUrBoiWizzzy aptly puts it, ‘Don’t Dull’. Which ever phrase works for you, my point is – please brothers and sisters ‘arrange yourself’.

You don’t have to go as far as selling diesel or Mongolian hair. It doesn’t have to be capital intensive. If you enjoy cooking, you can start a food ordering service for the bachelors in your office, You can put small businesses on a retainer and sort their accounts, you can do business development for start ups, make flyers and logos for people, or Tweet and Instagram people’s products(there is a name for it now; it’s social media marketing).

Whatever skill or hobby that can earn you money, just package it. You don’t want to get to the office, try to log into your computer and voila!! Password isn’t working.

 

Be Practical
Yes, I know you have spent the last five to ten years living on your own abroad, being independent, blah blah blah. Rent is expensive, especially when you need a two year down payment and security bond. When you get the apartment, it also cost money to furnish. Then you need to ensure you have an electrician, plumber, water pump fixer (who is probably different from the plumber), AC repair guy (because a power surge or power fluctuation might blow up the capacitor or whatever they call it), carpenter, generator guy, welder and PHCN official. All these people need to be on speed dial because trust me you will need them. Also, the newer the house you rent, the worse of it is because the ratio of sand to cement used to build these days is nothing to write home about. If you aren’t sharp enough, rogue agents may just fleece you of your borrowed rent money.

The point here is, if you can avoid the stress and save up until you really need to move, just stay at home. If your parents are lucky enough to have their own house and should it have an annex or boys quarters, you can always do some minor construction work to make it comfortable, a bit more private and slightly secluded from the main house.

Also whilst you are trying to settle in, you don’t need the agro or lectures from your conservative traditional parents about why you can’t move out or live alone. You may never win. Plus traffic, aggressive Lagosians, generator noise and fumes are enough to raise your blood pressure. You don’t need BP issues at any age not to talk of when you are under thirty. You don’t need to be in a bad place with your parents either.
Before I forget, if you a buying a car that isn’t tear rubber A.k.a brand new, please just buy a Toyota.

 

Learn to Dazzle Because ‘All Na Wash’
Don’t be too self deprecating, it’s a European thing. You have to learn to work a room and warm your way into people. Not saying you should go for a hard sell but you need to put yourself out there. Learn how to ‘wash’, the Americans do it pretty well with their elevator pitches and buzz words.
Look, hype is a global phenomenon, talent is not enough. You, your business, and your work need to be in peoples faces long enough that they start to think you are the only one that exist to do a certain task. Leave the introversion for inside the house. ‘Abebeblube’ is the order of the day’.

Print your business card even when you are job hunting and please never sound like you don’t know what you want to do. It is never a good look.

It might all seem like a lot to take in but don’t get too carried away with the event photos on blogs, Facebook and across social media. Lagosians are big on perception. It is all part of the washing/packaging/jasi. Just because your friend who was working at British Gas call centre with you two years ago now has a store in the mall and is splattered across the magazine pages doesn’t quite equate to the cash. Gidi isn’t all hobnobbing with rich corporate execs, or watching polo and sipping a Bellini from a Champaign flute. Even for those people, gbo gbo everything huzzle ni. They know the market they are selling.
The one thing I would say though is that Lagos is a hustlers paradise. If you are prepared to understand and work your way through the system, you will surely swim.

PS- In a subsequent article I will be offering some words of wisdom to those you want to go the entrepreneurial route.

________________________________________________________________________________________
Wana Udobang is a Broadcaster and writer living in Lagos. She hosts the Drive Time at 92.3 Inspiration FM and Blogs at www.wanawana.net. You can follow her on twitter @MissWanaWana and on Instagram @Mswanawana

 

    

 

"NewEmber"

Its a NEW week and a NEW month!

The year keeps flying by...

Talking about new things, its always refreshing when something new and exciting happens in our lives especially an ENGAGEMENT.

We love family in Naija and its great when two people who love each other come together to start their own.

And to kick off that phase, "Delphi Metals" have a dedicated website for engagement and wedding rings. I like the fact that it can fit ALL budgets.

Different price range for beautiful rings....
I hope the blokes check it out (you have to admit it makes the process ALOT easier)

Ok enough chattering..Please find their details below.....

Adios!

www.delphimetals.com

BB Pin:2AE7C5EC

Is it enough?

How to Develop a Budget

 

 

 

 

(1) Write down your essential monthly expenses. Keep a record for one full month of all that you spend on food, utility bills, car expenses, and the like. For bills that are paid annually, divide by 12 for the monthly amount.

(2) Organize expenses into categories. These include food, housing, automobile and travel costs, and so forth.

(3) Figure out how much of your savings must be applied monthly to each category. With bills paid annually, you must “calculate” how much needs to be put aside each month.

(4) Write down the combined net earnings of all in your household. Subtract deductions such as taxes. Compare this with the expenses.

(5) Set aside monthly the amount needed to satisfy each category. If using cash, a simple way is to mark envelopes for each category. Then periodically place cash in the appropriate envelope needed to cover the designated expense.

Caution: If you use a credit card, do so responsibly! Many a budget plan has been ruined by the temptation to ‘buy now, pay later.’

 

WeDeySell!

Who would have thought that you can have your groceries delivered to your doorstep in Nigeria? (With FREE delivery too!)

It IS actually happening.

Nothing should get in the way of making things easier for you and your family.

Everything you will find in the market and much more!

Log onto www.wedeysell.com

Ping:2655609D

Text:08094288977

Email:wedeysell@gmail.com

Every little helps with WeDeySell!

Mind Medicine

Some Tips For Being More Optimistic

 

When you find yourself thinking that you won`t enjoy something or won`t succeed in some project, reject the thought.

 

Focus on the postitive!

 

 

 

 

 

Try to enjoy your work. Regardless of your job, look for aspects that you find satisfying.

 

Look for friends who view life positively.

 

Deal with the situatios that you can control and try to accept those you cannot.

 

Every day, Write down three good things that happened to you!

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Customer Service or Not?

So basically, I've worked in customer/client service almost my entire working life(Mostly in the UK).

Customer Service in the UK is of top priority for all businesses. Some companies have dedicated departments for customer service. Lapse on the part of employees for maintaining a certain standard is strongly frowned upon. (Some fired in some cases)

Now customer service back in Nigeria is a different story. (This post stems from an experience I had recently at a Mr Biggs outlet).

First, the fact that my food had to be heated up in a microwave put me off(different story for another day).

When I kindly asked (God is my witness) the customer lady to cover my food with a microwave cover, she replied “What?”. I was shocked! And it completely put me off to say the least.

This is how people lose customers without realizing it.

Customers are the life blood of businesses. If a business serve customers well it makes them happy and confident with your services then you get the chance to be of service to their friends and family.

Give them great customer service and they will coming back and even better when you ask for referrals and they will open the way for more customers to your business.

 

 

STILL ignorant?

So this topic is one dear to my heart for few reasons. (Both personal and first hand experience)

The level of awareness with regards to Mental Health in Nigeria is pathetically low.

It is sad that in a world like this where we have so many ailments affecting us, millions of Nigerians are ignorant to this very key part of our health that affects us all.

Mentally challenged individuals are often locked up and beaten, or called derogatory names like "ogbanje", "ode", "kolo" and even witch!

This is the year 2013! (Many people need to wake up!)

But thankfully there exists an organization IN Nigeria dedicated to creating awareness about mental health conditions.

Check out : Pinnacle Medical Services
BB:25B2A22E
http://www.pinnaclemedicalservices.com/

Feel depressed more than usual or got any mental health related problems? Holla at them!

Watch out for posts about Mental Health Day in October.

Hungry Happenings

I love food! (Yea i`ve been told I could dig my grave one spoon at a time).

So I found Tash Bistro! A fairly new catering business with an amazing menu offered each day of the week.

It`s not the regular Nigerian menu with "Efo Riro" and beloved "Eba".

I`m talking Chinese styled rice, noodles, pasta delight and the whole shebang! and yes you can still get an old time favorite portion of Jollof Rice.

Delivery is straight to  YOUR office or home. (Lagos Only)

 

Add Tash Bistro to your Blackberry on: 2A07C350

Phone:08028672074, 07061191072

Why advertise?

Everyone likes a good joke but not everyone will agree on what makes a good  joke.

I think the same principle applies to advertising.

The two most vital questions to ask about advertising are 1. What are we advertising? and 2. Why are we advertising?

Enter Kwirkly! Now these guys are good!. Actually creative is more like it.

I got to see first hand what they can do and they do it well.

One major thing I like about them is the fact that they are focused on start ups and small businesses only! (How cool is that?!)

Ok I'll end it there for now but check them out on  www.kwirkly.com


And as they say "Small is Daring!"

Positive Strokes

If you are a lover of beautiful homes, you will agree that carpets/rugs add that special appeal to the look and feel of your home, either the living room or bed room.

When it comes to carpet design, the sky really is the limit. This means that virtually anything is possible, whether you want a name on your carpet, a photograph or something else.

You can create your very own carpet design!

And this is where Positive Strokes comes in...
Positive Carpets  stands for luxurious, beautiful rugs and carpets at reasonable prices. 

Their services also includes laying and cleaning.

Location:	15, Shasha Road, Opp. Zenith Bank, Akowonjo-Lagos

Phone	0803 508 7777

I don`t know about you but i like items that come with a personal touch.

We probably all have a favourite pair of slippers and AivyEdge`s great range of slippers make an ideal gift to use around the house, bathroom, after a shower and even better a gift to a very dear someone! :)

Personalised slippers make a good gift as favours to wedding guests, bridal party gifts or special treats. With different materials and a different feel to each slipper you will be delighted with the choice.

And for those who cannot do away with all things cultural or traditional, AivyEdge have a line designed for these individuals too.

Check them out at www.aivyedgeltd.com

Flour Delight

Last night, I was feeling very lazy to cook dinner so my flatmate and I decided to stop by this bakery we had been “eyeing ” for days now. Bakery is called “Bread Talk”, I figured we were going to get the regular bread or "agege" styled one but I was stunned on the bread creations that were available! They even had croissants (one of my all time favorite even though it contains 70% butter but hey! a girl`s got to eat).

Anyhow, I ordered a freshly baked hot dog pastry in bread and it was yummy!

Their creative bread designs are really great and the flock of customers fighting to buy their own fresh hot bread shows a little glimpse that demand is high so if you are in the Lekki/SangoTedo area of Lagos. Make an effort to stop by "Bread Talk" and you will be happy you did.

 Word!

For a while now, I haven`t been able to figure out what to blog about until I moved back to Nigeria recently. (Seriously its HARD business figuring this things out!)

I was surprised to see how things have moved rapidly with regards to the use of the internet in business especially online shopping!
Now, I LOVE online shopping but business in Nigeria in general is BOOMING.

On the flip side, there are so many small businesses that have great products and services but do not have the exposure that they deserve and I personally know quite a number of people who have businesses of their own in different parts of the country. Hence I decided to focus my blog on this businesses and just to blog about them really.

Seriously im no expert when it comes to this blogging business but I can give it a shot…J

Living in "Lasgidi"

So now, Having lived in Lagos for over two months plenty thanks to a job offer .
I decided to do a little preview of my life in Lagos so far.
Hmmm!....Lagos was NEVER on my list of cities to live in Nigeria, I had Ibadan or Abuja in mind for when I would move back to “Naija” eventually.
Everyday is DRAMA in our very own “Lasgidi”…..I think Lagos means different things to different people.
Before... I moved I heard “you are going to be so frustrated” or “you are going to be stressed”, Lagos is this and that but I refused to think that way.
I strongly believe that, as humans it is amazing what we can live with once we make up our minds!
Its all in the mind People!....
Ive been to a lot of places in Lagos using cabs, BRT buses and the regular commercial buses and same old okada. BRT buses are very similar to Transport for London buses.
The struggle for seats during rush hour LOL, people packed like sardines…the whole nine yards except of course the traffic in Lagos is a lot worse and the maintenance culture is better in London.
Even if you have never lived in Lagos before, you are sure to get a whiff of the real life that happens in this very busy city. Funny, comical and truly Inspiring!
Overall and I never thought I’ll say this but I LOVE LAGOS!!!!!...