Monthly Archives: December 2015

Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, Farm Biz, My DN Travel News

Automate Your Records Keeping & Accounting For Profitable Farm Planning

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In this article, I explain the importance of establishing and maintaining reliable farm records keeping/accounting systems as it is a crucial requirement for successful planning & profitable management of your farm business.

As they say, if you do not record it you cannot measure it.

And if you do not measure it, you cannot control it. Which is the same thing as saying you cannot plan for it. In essence, I am saying that keeping detailed and accurate farm records and accounts is a crucial requirement for effective and profitable farm planning.

Your Farm NEEDS Diligently Kept Records/Accounts

One thing lacking in most agricultural entreprises out here is detailed and accurate records of activities that take place as operations are carried out.

For peasant farmers who are usually illiterate, it can possibly be considered pardonable if they can’t say what inputs (herbicide types, quantities etc) they used the past year. But for the growing population of literate farmers, there cannot be any excuse. Then again literate or otherwise, every farm owner who wishes to enjoy reasonably predictable profits MUST as a matter of priority keep and analyse detailed farm records.

Without detailed and accurate records, farm business planning and management effectively becomes a game of guestimations and unguided assumptions which rarely produce desired results with consistency.

To effectively manage a farm, the farmer needs to have ready access to extensive information concerning past costs and returns, input use, production levels, existing financial situation, including the physical conditions of the farm. S/he also has to know about likely future costs, future returns of production etc.

This information can be acquired from farm records and accounts, as well as from all farm sources like research/experimental stations, demonstration plots, universities etc.

In essence, the farmer needs to have records of what has happened before, is happening now and what is likely to happen in future.

What Exactly Can Farmers Do With Farm Records/Accounts?

The following are specific BENEFICIAL uses farmers will readily find for diligently kept farm records and accounts:

1. Farm Planning & Budgetting:

The most realistic way to plan farm production and prepare accompanying budgets is to refer to estimates based on historical data available from past periods of operation. If it’s a new farm, then other sources will be referred to.

2. Farm Performance Evaluation:

Without accurate physical and corresponding accounting records, it will be practically impossible to accurately establish how well a farm entreprise has performed over a defined period.With accurate physical records and corresponding records, evaluation of the farm performance is easy, simple and a matter of routine, PLUS one is sure of progress of the farm business over a time period.

Specifically, accurate records and accounts show how, within a period of time, labour costs or feed costs for example have either been increasing or decreasing, and how revenue from various entreprises has been increasing or decreasing either because of price changes or changes in physical production.

3. Daily Farm Decision Making:

Farm records and accounts are essential for day to day decision making especially because they show the strong and weak points in management. A farm entreprise may not be doing well because of a particular factor of production, but such a factor may be difficult to identify/isolate in the abscence of good records and accounts.

For instance in pig farming, it is reported that good farm performance depends on large and frequent litters, economical use of feed, mortality rate, marketing the pigs at the right weight etc. Without accurate records and accounts therefore, it would be dificult to identify which of these factors is contributing to low profits for instance. The records will show which areas need improving upon.

4. Securing Credit/Loan Support:

There is probably no bank which will not require a farm business to produce adequate physical records with the corresponding accounting records and the overall farm plan, before it can give credit/loan support.

Incidentally, this requirement helps both parties: the bank uses it to know the current state of the farm as well as offers advice. The farmer on the other hand will work to achieve his/her goals in order to fulfill his/her obligation to pay back the extended credit.

Banks need to be convinced that money given out will be used for what is being asked for, and that can only be done by presenting records of what one has already been doing.

5. Taxation & Insurance Purposes:

To avoid over or underpaying taxes, good records and accounts are essential. Insurance on relevant farm assets can only be done properly if records are available and accurate.

Summary

a. By keeping farm records and accounts, you, the farmer will be equipped to periodically evaluate your overall farm performance using three (3) simple but powerful ratios which I describe in full detail in my customisable on-demand talks on Best Practice Farm Performance Measurement and Improvement (Call 0803-302-1263 for details).

b. You will know where to place emphasis (using the 80:20 Pareto principle), and will be able see dangerous trends earlier and take needed evasive action.

c. Diligently kept farm records and accounts will help you determine where and/or when you are under (or over) estimating your farm costs (or sales/gains).

d. Good farm records and accounts help reliably measure the impact of unexpected market changes on the farm business’ bottom line e.g. policy and price changes announced by government.

In relation to the above last part, the use of custom software automation for records keeping would enable you punch in the new input prices and quickly see how badly it affects your planned/projected production and/or sales margins – as well as other key performance indicators.

Do you own – or plan to own – a farm business? Why not consider automating your farm records keeping and accounting using a custom software application like those that I build for my clients?

You will be able to cost-effectively and efficiently realise all the benefits outlined above in the body of this article.

Call me on +229-66-122-136 or +234-803-302-1263 to learn how you can get a low cost software built for YOUR farm business today!

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, Farm Biz, Farm CEO Spotlight Interviews, General, Interviews, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Public Speaking, Recommended Websites & Articles, Self-Development, The Farm CEO, Writing/Blogging

Are You a CEO/Expert With Practical, Experience Based Knowledge & Insights to Share? [Hint: CEO Spotlight Interview Invitation]

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My name is Tayo Solagbade, and I am your host on the CEO Spotlight Interview (CSI) Series.

I believe that it is important to capture the knowledge, insights, and wisdom of people who have been able to excel in their chosen vocations or professions, so as to inform, educate and empower others who aspire to do the same, or better.

That is my ultimate purpose for conducting this CSI series.This is a public service, and I hope you will find it useful.

Tayo Solagbade's CEO Spotlight Interview

The CSI Will Feature ONLY Authentic Achievers Willing to Share Useful WISDOM to Empower Others

Now, if you are familiar with me, and what I do via www.tayosolagbade.com, you most likely know that I do my due diligent research and background checks before I choose to showcase anyone as a model of what is possible in terms of personal achievement in ANY area of endeavour.

For every guest, I will be asking twelve (12) questions. However, the questions, for the most part will be personalized for each person, based on his/her unique area of expertise, as well as experience, achievements etc.

In other words, the questions will be designed to help us extract useful learnings that can be had from his/her experiences and achievements in life.

Do You Have Unique Experience Based Insights That Can Help Others Excel, Like YOU?

If YES, then I’d like to interview YOU on the CSI platform.

This post is designed to be an open invitation to ANY interested CEOs or experts who may wish to feature on the CEO Spotlight Interview.

From what I’ve said above, and the content of the interviews already available here, the requirements are easy to discern.

You simply need to have useful information and education, based on YOUR personal experiences and achievements, to share.

Most importantly, I am always on the lookout for new, original or innovative ideas, methods, strategies and techniques discovered, developed or adapted by the CEO or expert to achieve perfromance improvement in his/her personal or work life.

Click here to fill and submit a web contact form, to send me your message.

Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News, Parenting

The Hood Does Not Make the Monk. School Uniforms Don’t Guarantee Learning!

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"Clothes don’t make a man" – said Jay-Jay’s mum to him in an episode of the popular ’80’s American sitcom – Good Times.

The hood does not make the monk. School uniforms don’t guarantee your child is learning all s/he needs. Don’t abdicate your primary parenting responsibility, which is to teach him/her what s/he needs to know.

Check and confirm that your child’s teachers/school are giving him/her the right QUALITY of learning.

Do this by interacting with your child based on what s/he is expected to know and be able to do. If you notice any shortcomings, especially in aspects relating to important foundational concepts, call the attention of the teacher/school to it. Then wait, watch and check again for changes. If none, or too little, either do it yourself or hire a COMPETENT private tutor.

Personally I recommend doing it yourself. Today, even finding competent private tutors that can give reliable value for money is not easy.

What’s more, quite often, doing it yourself produces other benefits beyond improved learning in your child.

And if you doubt that YOU can teach your child successfully, take it from me when I say you were born to be a teacher to others, young or not, starting with your own kids.

Indeed as a parent you are your child’s best teacher!

Incidentally, after attended university in Nigeria, many of us observed our compulsory year of post-graduation national service working as school teachers.

It was often not up to us to choose. We simply reported to our respective place of primary assignment, and if it turned out to be a school, or locality where school teachers were in short supply, you were most likely to get posted to serve as a teacher for one or more subjects.

As a matter of fact some of us actually taught students in preparation for their final qualifying WAEC exams.

I observed my service year in Gulu-Vatsa village in Lapai LGA of Niger state. There I found myself officially assigned to GSS Gulu teaching Maths, and Agriculture.

But not for from that school was GGSSS where I later got drafted to teach the same subject as word spread about my habit of putting in extra hours to help the students catch up on several areas they were yet to cover.

Note here that I taught mainly final year students preparing for the WACE examinations, and so had to test them with questions at that level. What I found out was that they had VERY little in terms of their foundational knowledge to get them successfully through the exams.

Yet I recalled that at 16, I’d successfully self-studied for, and passed my WAEC exams just a few months after returning from a 2 week suspension.

The suspension followed a blitz of bad behaviour in which I, as a School Health Prefect, along with another prefect, and some seniors, began to routinely miss classes,while playing all sorts of pranks.

The pranks included catching, slaughtering and roasting the Vice Principal’s backyard homestead chickens).

One day we got caught in a trap specially set by the school authorities for us, and it was all over.

What saved me – enabling me fulfil my promised to my disappointed parents, that I would redeem myself by passing the exams – was my sound grasp of the basics of every subject I’d learned.

This derived from the strong reading, comprehension and writing skills I had developed from YEARS of exposure to a mother who took it upon herself to COACH each child till s/he developed reliable proficiency.

To facilitate that process, she created a home environment where books of ALL kinds that were relevant to our study needs were readily available.

Having done that she regularly encouraged us to engage in self study. The result, especially for me, was that I developed the ability to self-teach myself on virtually any subject, and therefore learn any topics I chose to, from the syllabus, even if the school teacher had yet to cover it or was not even around.

Only one compulsory subject gave me problems – both when I was in class as well as when I tried to self-study. It was Maths – and the 5 credits I got from my exams did NOT include it.

Since my mother did not teach that subject, she had not been able to help me with it.

When I got a P7 in the exams, I think my parents asked around and eventually arranged for me to attend private coaching classed at Translat Training Centre, not far from the University of Lagos gate.

It was there that I met a wonderful Igbo gentleman teacher, who took me under his wing and taught me how to overcome my Maths challenge. By the time I took the Nov/Dec GCE exams, less than 6 months later, I scored a distinction (A1).

I should add that I’d become so confident of my Math skills that I’d predicted the "A1" score to my mother, but she’d gently smiled and replied "Tayo, just get a credit. That will do" – apparently thinking of how I had always struggled with the subject.

But something had changed, and that was how I thought about the subject. My new teacher had opened my eyes to see a new way that enabled me apply the intelligence everyone knew I had to succeed at it.

Now, my parents were not the ones who taught me to get over my Math problem. But it’s obvious from the above story that they were the ones who did the thinking, and ultimately identified a competent person or provider (the Training Center), to help me overcome that single limitation.

It was a serious limitation that threatened to hold me back from pursuing further studies at university level – because a CREDIT in Maths was a minimum requirement to continue at that level.

My story illustrates the powerful role parents need to play in their children’s "learning" while they are in their formative years.

The idea is for you to understand that you do NOT need to know EVERYTHING your child needs to learn – and I don’t just mean academics or school work alone.

Instead, you need to get involved in checking or testing to ensure s/he demonstrates a convincing grasp of what s/he is expected to know and be able to do at the right stages of his/her life.

If I were you, however, I would also make a point of including life skills acquisition in the "learning menu" I present to him/her during our interactions when s/he returns from school. That way, the delicate balance in information and education for school and for life is more likely to be achieved.

Today, more than ever, book knowledge alone in NOT enough!

Letting yourself and/or your kids feel satisfied with wearing uniforms, and going to learn academic subjects in school, may be a dangerous game that prevents you from fully preparing them for life AFTER school.

You should remember that your child will one day need to leave home to function as an independent income earning adult away from you.To do that with minimal avoidable setbacks, in today’s world, s/he needs to complement his/her formal schooling with real world relevant knowledge, and skills.

Here’s a tip: Think back to what you have had to LEARN that formal schooling never taught you, but which you’ve found crucial for making your way in the world successfully, in caring for yourself and your family.

Whatever comes to your mind are possible examples of what YOU as a parent may need to add to his/her life skills LEARNING menu, to complement whatever formal schooling s/he gets!

PS: If you have kids and are reading THIS, know that I say the above from VERY personal experience as a child from my years with my parents, as well as a parent today, to my own kids.

Do the above, and the results you get will make you thank me for telling you to do it.

Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, Interviews, My DN Travel News, Public Speaking, Self-Development

CEO Spotlight Interview VIDEO [Parts 1 to 4 ]: With Burt Dubin, Creator of the Speaking Success System and Veteran Mentor to Some of the World’s Highest Paid Speakers

[UPDATE – Wednesday, 2nd December 2020: I am publishing, this morning, two digital flyers on Best Practice Schooling, as a follow up to my latest video titled “Why I Do Not Want My Kids to Have the Kind of Education I Got“. One of the Digital Flyers features a message Burt posted on my Facebook wall, last year on my 49th birthday (6th July 2019) which I found relevant to the theme of my the message in my flyers, You can view/download the digital flyers on Best Practice Schooling here (Click now).

For those who may not know be aware, Burt Dubin is now 96 years old(in 2020). He is a veteran mentor of some of the World’s Highest Paid Speakers and Creator of the Highly Acclaimed Speaking Success System sold for decades to professional speakers across 5 continents. I was Burt’s Sole Agent promoting his solutions to Africa based experts for several years.

However, what makes his achievements most impressive and compelling is the fact that he dropped out of high school as a teen, to take up paid employment in order to support his mother and siblings. Then he returned to the SAME high school to graduate with a set of students who were 4 years behind him when he dropped out!

And THAT was all he needed to go on to mentor professionals across the world – some PhD holders! – to achieve the highest levels of success in their fields. Watch Video Part 1 of 4 of my interview with him (scroll down) to hear him respond to my question about how he found the courage to return to complete his High School education.

TIP: See some of Burt’s Audio Records and Testimonials on an archive of his blog at http://burtdubin-blog.com/tools/burtdubinrecordings.html]

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Watch parts 1 to 4 of this video version of the 2nd edition of Tayo Solagbade’s CEO Spotlight Interview Series below…

This 2nd edition of the CEO Spotlight Interview Series featured responses (with photos and audio excerpts) from Burt Dubin [www.speakingbizsuccess.com] renowned USA based Creator of the Speaking Success System, and veteran mentor of some of the world’s highest paid speakers.

Part 1 of 4

Part 2 of 4

Part 3 of 4

Part 4 of 4

Click here to download the full PDF version which contains the text based version of the interview.

 

PDF Cover page - CEO Spotlight Interview With Burt Dubin, 91 Year Old Creator of the Speaking Success System™, and Mentor to Some of the World’s Highest Paid Speakers

PDF Inside page - CEO Spotlight Interview With Burt Dubin, 91 Year Old Creator of the Speaking Success System™, and Mentor to Some of the World’s Highest Paid Speakers

In this issue No: 221 of my Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter…

NB: This CSI series is a public service to give CEOs, & those aspiring, ready-to-use experience-based information & education. The purpose is to promote experience-sharing amongst CEOs, about Indigenous Knowledge Systems.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) are tried and tested practical techniques/methods developed by active players in a venture to get improved results, often through application of creativity and innovation.

Excel-VB Solutions, General, My DN Travel News, Public Speaking, Self-Development

No. 223: Dealing With Adversity Requires The Right Mental Attitude [Hint: Crappy TV Content Damages Character]

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This week I discuss another of my pet peeves, in form of crappy Television content that teaches viewers to be weak/fickle-minded.

It is my considered opinion that most of us get served today, by what I consider an increasingly reckless army of TV content merchants, who allow their decision making to be driven so keenly by monetary profits as to be made at the expense of quality.

SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE

Click now to view the latest issue of Tayo Solagbade's Public Speaking IDEAS page

Tayo K. Solagbade’s
Weekly Public Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS Newsletter

Date: Monday 14th December 2015

No: 223

Title: Dealing With Adversity Requires The Right Mental Attitude [Hint: Crappy TV Content Damages Character]

Author & Publisher: Tayo K. Solagbade [Tel: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic) ]

Blog URL: http://www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets

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NB: This newsletter is published every Monday. Point your browser to www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets to read at least ONE new post added to my SD Nuggets blog on a different category from Tuesday till Saturday (sometimes even Sundays)

in line with this publishing schedule :-)

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1 of 2: PUBLIC SPEAKING – Dealing With Adversity Requires The Right Mental Attitude [Hint: Crappy TV Content Damages Character]

This week I discuss another of my pet peeves, in form of crappy Television content that teaches viewers to be weak/fickle-minded.

It is my considered opinion that most of us get served today, by what I consider an increasingly reckless army of TV content merchants, who allow their decision making to be driven so keenly by monetary profits as to be made at the expense of quality.

This is not some attempt to preach at anyone.

In fact, considering the fact that I am not a religious person, and have not been for over 3 decades, the last thing I qualify to do is to “preach” about anything.

However, I AM a parent, as well as an expert-who-speaks, with a vision and passion to influence others (in my personal/work life) to make the most of themselves.

This is why I am always sensitive to the nature and content of audio visual stimulation I, and my target audience get exposed to at any point in time.

In the course of doing my work over the years, i have learnt that the information I expose myself to, be it in visual or audio form, can have a lasting impact on me psychologically and emotionally, depending on how long the period of exposure ts.

I’m sure that most conscious adults understand what I mean here. We’ve all experienced what it feels like to be exposed to various forms of visual and auditory stimulation by way of movies and music respectively, for instance.

That’s when we see self-employed professionals who never seem to be able to get client work done on time, or to the required standards, because they do NOT know how to control their craving for TV soap operas.

So they watch longer than they should, failing to devote enough time to get client projects done to the agreed deadline. This leads to strained relationships, client attrition etc.

But that is not so bad. With diligent effort, anyone can overcome such mild addiction.

What I’m writing about in this issue, regarding TV content is something that’s much more harmful…

It’s actually causing lingering psychological damage to viewers, to the extent that they adopt warped mental attitudes that limit their ability to excel when faced with adversity.

Today, I see some foreign soap operas and local movies which depict characters with WEAK personalities.

I refer specifically to those in which the story lines involve one or more characters shown to be passing through prolonged hardship or adversity of some sort, but who rarely emerge from it by demonstrating strength of character.

Don’t get me wrong here…

I agree that not everyone will have the mental toughness to deal with delays, disappointments, setbacks or outright disasters happening repeatedly to them.

However, the reality is that WINNING in ANY area of endeavor requires that WE LEARN TO BE TOUGH.

As the well known saying goes, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going“.

Anyone who wants to win in life must be prepared to do this.

That’s where my opinion about TV content quality becomes relevant:

Stories about how some disadvantaged person defied adversity and antagonists to succeed, have long inspired others to face hardships in their lives with more determination, till they achieved their breakthrough.

When such stories have been told via the TV medium, they have often been most impactful, due to the visual imagery delivered by TV.

This happens because the human brain responds best to visual stimulation. What we SEE tends to make the greatest impression on us, and lingers longest in our memories.

I have personally benefittted from being exposed to such inspiring stories via TV, and they gave me courage to NOT quit, during the darkest hours of my struggles.

I stayed mentally strong, and kept thinking and working hard till I achieved my goal.

Today, the knowledge of where I’ve been and what I did to get here further inspire me to do more – and to share my own stories with my kids, so they can learn like I did.

The problem I have with most of today’s TV content is that they lack quality and depth required to deliver the above mentioned useful benefits to viewers.

For instance, over the last weekend, I found myself reading the riot act to my kids about their habit of watching certain soap operas and local movies I frowned upon.

The programs typically had storylines in which some person(s) went through prolonged periods of hardship and suffering caused by some mean individual(s) who despised them.

What irked me most was that very rarely did the story lines involve the “victims” ever taking action to fight back or find a solution to their problems by themselves.

Instead they were always shown crying and lamenting about how life was so unfair to them. Some would cry “why do I have to suffer like this?” and others would wail “Oh, if only XYZ had not died. How long are we going to continue suffering this way?”

To make matters worse, especially in the local movies, very rarely did a resolution of the victim’s problems come through some intelligent creative effort on his/her, or any other character’s part.

Instead, some religious angle was often introduced e.g. a religious leader comes in to do some prayers and all of the victim’s problems and enemies suddenly magically disappear!

Viewers end up seeing lightning strike evil doers or the bad person simply “run mad” – while the victims “rejoice” and the movie ends!!

Just what kind of mental attitude does this encourage those who dutifully watch movies of this kind to have, in thinking about challenges they encounter in life???

I ask this question especially with kids in mind.

Apart from the few opportunities they will have for experiencing the real world in their formative years, quite often what they watch on TV is the only alternative avenue for learning about life’s ups and downs, that kids have.

If all they keep seeing happen is that people facing difficulties in life habitually sit down moaning and groaning till some magical powers/prayers make their problems go away, what is there to stop them from believing it’s the right way to go through life?

I believe the above situation explains why we have a majority in many societies today, especially in my part of the world, who do not believe they need to exert themselves much to get what they want.

What they see on TV happening to others, who get rewarded despite not having exerted themselves to a major degree, to get what they want, teaches them to be that way.

As a parent, you have a duty to encourage your kids to SEE beyond that lie told in such TV programmes, so they learn as early as possible in life to challenge themselves, to achieve the goals they want in life.

TV actors are also experts-who-speak. Yes they are.

For me, all those who have to speak in formal settings to individuals or groups in any social setting, are experts-who-speak.

This is why I routinely challenge any that I interact with, to act in a manner consistent with what public speaking professionals are known for.

Not only is doing this beneficial to the expert, but it also ensures that those s/he relates with ultimately reap the most positive experience possible in interaction with him/her.

I know actors and producers do what they do to earn a living. However, they need to pay more attention to the potentially negative impact their content may have on their viewers.

After all, it is the same TV medium, especially via dramas and movies that positive social reinforcement messages are passed.

Examples include movies about history of slavery, the dangers of HIV, the need to avoid discriminating against persons living with HIV, and so on.

Such TV programmes are deliberately produced to communicate desired positive ideals to viewers, even as they often offer entertainment at the same time.

Producers of main stream TV content can take a cue from the above examples to strike a more responsible balance in delivering their content to viewers.

Let me end this piece with the quote in the graphic below, from Burt Dubin, about using what he calls “Bulldog blood” to overcome adversity, and achieve your goal:

Quote by Burt Dubin, about using what he calls 'Bulldog blood' to overcome adversity, and achieve your goal

Related article:

1. Why Have Bulldog Blood – by Burt Dubin

2. Your Future: Vision or Daydream – by Burt Dubin

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This newsletter (which I use to promote Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Products/Services) serves

experts-who-speak. Starting – Monday 13th April 2015 – it MORPHED in name and content served, to a 2 part Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter, to better serve them.

You just read the “Public Speaking IDEAS” part above. What follows below is the “Web Marketing IDEAS” part.

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Burt Dubin works with people who want to be speakers, and with speakers who want to be masters. Click here to visit his website NOW and submit a contact form message telling him what challenges you’re facing, and how

you’d like him to help you. Tell him I sent you, and you’ll get a pleasant surprise offer from him.

Burt Dubin’s monthly Speaking Biz Strategies Letter

[Signup & get a 7-Part Email Course on “How To Succeed And Get Paid As A Professional

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1. Top Shelf [Click

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3. Budget Delight [Click here]

2 of 2: WEB MARKETING: To Achieve Sustainable Success, Closely Monitor News About Current Affairs and

Politics! [FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD]

“If you want to achieve sustainable success in business (especially in a volatile market place like Nigeria), it’s in your best interest to develop interest in

current affairs and politics, because those are the two key ingredients that really keep this country from having a stable sociopolitical climate.
And for as long as that stable sociopolitical climate does not exist, every person running a business will probably have to sleep with one eye open.” – Tayo K.

Solagbade

It’s FREE for all my Web Marketing/farm business clients, and ALL members of my Inner Circle as well as for ALL subscribers to THIS newsletter.

If you are not yet ANY of the above, just send me a message here to let me know.

If you want me to send you the full MP3 recording, just say so in your message.

NB: If you’re already a client or subscriber, email me via tayo at tksola dot com and let me know you want it

Alternatively, click here to request the FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD.

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SPECIAL OFFER TO READERS OF THIS SPEAKING/WEB MARKETING IDEAS NEWSLETTER

Did you know that as an expert in your field you can make more money by speaking professionally? Or do you already speak-for-money, but want to know

how to do it better AND/OR how to make more money even when you do not speak?

If you said YES to any of the above, THIS offer is for you.

Burt Dubin can teach you to do ALL the above and more. You can learn from him via direct mentoring (regardless of distance) or using the many home study

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Get FREE Lifetime Membership of My Inner Circle (OVER $250 USD) when

you do 1 or more of the following:

1. Signup for Burt’s Speaker Mentoring Service (click here for details)…

2. Purchase Burt’s Speaker Mentoring Products up to $500 USD or more (click here to see a popular one)…

NB: Membership of my Inner Circle comes with a FREE product of your choice e.g. my custom Excel-VB software, Information

Products etc. (click here for full details of what my Inner Circle members get)…PLUS you get a LIFETIME 65% discount on ALL my

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HERE’S AN ADDED BONUS YOU GET FROM ME, IF YOU BUY FROM BURT…

If you purchase $1,500 USD or more of Burt’s Speaker Mentoring Products/Service, and choose to promote your speaking business online, I WILL develop and implement for YOU, a Web Marketing System at 50% of my standard fee, and manage it for 3 months – at NO COST to you – as per my Promotional Retainership Offer (See http://tayosolagbade.com/uploads/wms-offer-retainership.pdf).

Click here to tell me which of Burt’s speaker mentoring products or services you are

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ALSO GET MY PERSONALIZED MS EXCEL-VB VIDEO TUTORIALS (N100K) WHEN YOU BUY FROM BURT…

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Click here to tell me which of Burt’s speaker mentoring products or services you are

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Question: But who is Burt Dubin, and why do I (Tayo K. Solagbade) think you should you learn from

him?

Answer: Burt is a 3 decade veteran in the professional speaking business. After achieving top level cross continental success as an

expert-speaker, he has established a reputation for mentoring some of the highest paid speakers in the world. He owns SpeakingBizSuccess.com, SpeakingSuccess.com and BurtDubin.com.

Burt helps those he mentors (experts-who-speak) to Position, Package, Promote, and Present* themselves successfully to clients (*He calls

them the 4Ps). That’s why it’s no surprise that on Burt’s website, considerable space capital is devoted to useful business marketing articles as well as products.

It might also interest you to know that MANY years back, Burt established himself as one of the best marketing minds in the world. To really put this FACT in

proper perspective, I’ll provide more specific details in form of an example.

A few years ago, Burt contributed an article to a powerful publication titled “The Most Effective Articles Ever – By The World’s Top Marketers“. That 574 page ebook features timeless marketing advice from 71 of the world’s top marketers – including Jack

Trout, Joe Vitale, Yanik Silver…and Burt Dubin.

That’s ample proof that (in addition to Public Speaking), Burt would be a great resource to learn business marketing from!

Full Disclosure: I represent Burt as Sole Agent for his products/services, which means if YOU buy from him, I get paid.

But that’s NOT the main reason I represent and recommend him. I have benefited in many ways by learning from Burt. Through his writing, his audio recordings,

and from directly relating with him.

Before we teamed up in 2011, I’d been studying his work and adapting it to succeed in my work from way back in 2002. It does not matter what part of the world

you’re in. If you know how to adapt them to suit your peculiar local needs, Burt’s ideas and strategies WILL work for you. I am living proof of it!

That’s why I never tire of CONFIDENTLY recommending him to others.

If you need help putting the ideas shared above to use, let me know HERE.

Click here to tell me which of Burt’s speaker mentoring products or services you are interested

in.

*************

Learn about Burt Dubin’s speaker mentoring products (books, audios etc) below…

If you need help purchasing ANY of Burt’s products (like “Presentation

Magic”), call me on +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic, my base) or +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria)  or email tayo@tksola.com

Have a great week :-))

*************

SPECIAL PRODUCT FEATURE

“Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets”

In this offer, Burt Dubin promises to show you how to generate PASSIVE incomes streams WHETHER

YOU SPEAK OR NOT. Plus, you learn a proven shortcut to top level speaking business success across corporate markets.

CLICK HERE to get full details of what it takes to make yourself a true speaking business champion in Burt's Boot Camp V: Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets

So, with diligent persistent application of what you learn you’ll start (as Burt says)…”bringing home high speaking fees”…whether you speak or not…in

a matter of weeks….

Sooner than later you’ll find you’re ready to go for Burt’s mentoring at Diamond or

higher Inner Circle membership level.

The best part is: every cent of your fee to purchase this product counts toward your membership in Burt’s Inner Circle.

In other words, you effectively get to eat your cake and still have it!

CLICK HERE to get full details of what it takes to make yourself a true

speaking business champion in Burt’s Boot Camp V: Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets

*************

Get Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring
for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

Useful Resources for Speakers

Burt Dubin works with people who want to be speakers, and with speakers who want to be masters.

Showmanship Strategems

177 Wow! Wow!

Showmanship Stratagems

Discover these secrets of making your programs more interesting and valuable to your clients and audiences now.

more information

Burt Dubin live

Burt’s Flagship Album

This is the product to own if you can own only one. Why? Because in it you discover principles of platform

mastership available to you nowhere else at any price.

You hear performance strategies you can emulate. You shorten your learning curve. You see ways to engage and

delight audiences with both content and stories . . . plus you experience a bit of fun.

With its Money back if not delighted Guarantee hardly any are returned.

Find out why

Presentation Magic - Speaking Business Success

Presentation Magic

A live example, including a complete audio recording of a program Burt created from scratch–on a topic he knew nothing about and never, ever presented before!

See how you, guided by your personal Learning Guide, (Presentation Magic), can do this too and thrill audiences as often as you want.

Presentation Magic Manual with new pages added plus 3 audio CDs.

more information

ProgramManual

How To Create a Great Program Manual

Discover how you can produce a precious memento of you and your program. Capture over 44 model pages you can easily adapt for your use. Engage proven

principles that add value to the experience of sitting at your feet and learning from you.

This is a reprise of the historic presentation that launched the Speaking Success System.

No copy of this 2 CD program and 50 page Learning Guide has ever been returned.

more information

Smart Exercising Will Keep You Fit, Healthy and Alive - Click to read

*******

NEW: Speaking Ideas: 25 Articles and True Stories for Experts Who Speak and Those

Aspiring (Volume 1)

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Download above PDF

******

NEW: KUKURU DANGER™: 5 True Stories

About the Adventures – & Misadventures! – of a School Age Child Trying to Find Purpose in Life

lick here to download your FREE 20 Page PDF Chapter preview of my latest Book" titled "KUKURU DANGER™: 5 True Stories About the Adventures - & Misadventures! - of a School Age Child Trying to Find Purpose in Life

Download above PDF

THEY WROTE…

“(Tayo Solagbade) is amazing and I think he is going to produce some impressive results online…” – click here to read full comment by Patrick Meninga (US based 6 figure income blogger who gained fame for building a $2,000 per month adsense website and selling it for $200,000).

—————————–

“Tayo, I honestly believe you are one of those who will succeed at anything he does. Your commitment and effort has been outstanding….Thanks for all your hard

work since I’ve been here – you will be sorely missed. I don’t need to wish you good luck, you have the ability to make your own luck. – Andy”(R. Jones)*

*Operations Manager, Guinness Nigeria Plc Benin Brewery, December 2001 (Handwritten comments in farewell/xmas cards sent to Tayo Solagbade following his resignation to

start his own business).

———————–
Click here to contact Tayo… 

SD

Nuggets Blog™

 New posts from last week that may interest you! *
Public Speaking[Monday]:
No. 222: Make Money When You Guest Blog on Tayosolagbade.com [Hint: Get Paid $50 USD]

[Tuesday]:
Coming Soon: Hope Agwulonu’s QUICK START GUIDE TO CATFISH FARMING [Hint: Includes Chapters on Processing & Marketing]
[Wednesday]:
Re: About My Offer to Pay $50 USD for Useful, 100% Original Guest Posts on TayoSolagbade.com [It is NO JOKE] – My Purpose
[Thursday]:

Write4SDN Blog: Get Paid $50 USD For Your Guest Post [GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION]

THE FARM CEO (Issue 27): Farming is the new ‘it’! – Beauty Manake, Researchers develop Beans that cook in 15 minutes – Farming, Overview of pepper (Capsicum spp.) breeding in West Africa, Improved NEWEST Rice variety to African farmers, Nigeria releases improved cassava varieties to boost productivity P3
[Friday]:
[Saturday]:
Want me to write for you? Click here to send me a message

www.tayosolagbade.com - Invite me to Speak...click here!

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Sole Agent For Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Service In Africa

Mobile: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic)

http://www.tayosolagbade.com

Tayo K. Solagbade is a Location Independent Performance Improvement

Specialist and Multipreneur (i.e. a highly versatile/multi-skilled entrepreneur), with a bias for delivering Best Practice solutions to

Farm Businesses and others.

Since 2002, he has earned multiple streams of income providing individuals and organizations with personal development training and coaching, custom MS Excel-VB solutions, web marketing systems/web hosting,

freelance writing services, and best practice extension support services (for farm business owners).

Tayo is the author of the Self-Development (SD) Bible™ and the

popular Livestock Feed Formulation Handbook. He is also the developer of its accompanying Excel-VB driven Ration Formulator™ and the Poultry Farm

Manager™ software.

He has delivered talks/papers to audiences in

various groups and organizations, including the Centre for Management Development, University of Lagos, Christ Baptist Church, Volunteer Corps, Tantalisers Fast Foods

and others.

In May 2012 he was the Guest Speaker at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development’s Annual Semester Entrepreneurial Lecture at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.

On 1st April 2013, Tayo (who reads, write and speaks the French language) relocated to Cotonou, Benin Republic to begin slowly

traveling across the West African region.

His key purpose is to deliver talks, seminars

and workshops on his key areas of focus and interest to interested audiences (Email tayo at tksola dot com for details).

In a previous life, before leaving to become self-employed, Tayo served for seven years as a high performing manager in Guinness Nigeria. He rose from Shift Brewer, to Training

& Technical Development Manager, and then later acted in senior management roles as Production Manager and Technical Manager.

He is an Associate Member of the UK Institute & Guild of Brewing, a 1997 National Finalist of the Nigerian Institute of Management’s(NIM) Young Managers’

competition, a Certified Psychometric Test Administrator for Psytech UK, innovator of Spontaneous Coaching for Self-Development™ (SCfS-D™), and Founder of the Self-Development Academy Limited.

When he’s not amazing clients with his superhuman skills (wink), Tayo works as the creative force behind his Daily Self-Development Nuggets blog – on which he also publishes his Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS

newsletter(which he uses to promote Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring service to experts working across the African

continent).

You can connect with him on Twitter @tksola.com and Facebook.

Visit Tayo Solagbade Dot Com, to download over over 10 performance improvement resources to boost your

personal and work related productivity.

====
[IMPORTANT NOTE:====

On 4th May 2014, Tayo’s 9 year old domain (Spontaneousdevelopment dot com), which hosted his website, was taken over by Aplus.net.

Within a few days however, Tayo used his advanced self-taught web development skills to build a SUPERIOR “reincarnation” of it the website http://www.tayosolagbade.com.

But updates are still ongoing to URLs bearing the old domain name in most of the over 1,000 web pages, and blog posts

he’s published.

If you experience any difficulties finding a page or document, email Tayo at tksola dot com.

Click “Tayo, What Happened to

SpontaneousDevelopmentDotCom ?” to read a detailed narrative about how the above event occurred :-))

Here’s an article Tayo wrote, to inspire others to defy adversity, and bounce back to even greater reckoning at what they do EVERY time:

Succeed by Emerging from Adversity Like a Phoenix

(TayoSolagbade.com launches extra Hosting plan with FREE Web Marketing!)

And he wrote the one below, to explain why losing a domain name, no matter how old NO LONGER determines your online success or otherwise:

A Proven Strategy to Find Profitable Buyers Regardless of Your Domain Name

==================

View Tayo Solagbade's video tutorials and demonstrations on Facebook Productivity Tips, Web Marketing, and for his Custom MS Excel-VB driven software applicationsJoin the SD Nuggets community on Facebook.comConnect with Tayo on Twitter.comConnect with Tayo on Google Plus

 

 

Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, Writing/Blogging

You Need a Domain Name for Your Business to Succeed (3 Tips)

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I’ve recently been conducting extensive checks on players in target markets I have in mind, who fit my target audience profile, for my freelance writing services.

In the course of doing that, I’ve noticed that certain individuals and organizations engaged in formal business, publish their marketing messages using 3rd party FREE hosting platforms e.g. website URLS like www.theirbusinessname.somefreehost.com, often along with FREE 3rd party email addresses!

Below, I explain 3 key reasons why anyone doing THAT is unnecessarily shooting him/herself in the foot, to save what amounts to pennies per day!

1. You’ll spend literally nothing on your own domain name per day, even as it boosts your name/brand recognition

How much does a domain name cost?

Between $10 to $20 USD should get you the domain name on a TLD you want [TLD = Top Level Domain e.g. .com, net, .biz etc]

Spread that amount over the 365 days that make up a year, and it means you’re spending a measly $0.05 (5 cents) per day!!

Note that I worked with $20 USD. I own 5 domain names, and each one costs me approximately $11 USD to renew. So, the 5 cents per day is a worst case scenario in my opinion, and comes to 25 cents per day for ALL my domains.

Compared to the income I earn from them, that’s nothing. Peanuts!

Now let me ask you. As a business person, do you really think it would be unwise to invest 5 cents a day in a URL that can boost your prestige as a business person, such that you can command the serious attention of potentially profitable clients/buyers?

I certainly hope not.

2. Your own domain name makes it easy for prospects and clients to find you.

The number one asset you need to take ownership of on the web is www.yourbusinessname.com (or whatever TLD you prefer).

Think about this for a moment.

Ideally, the URL you choose should be based on the name of the business you run, or the solution you provide (e.g. Data Recovery Expert Service – www.datarecoveryexpert.com).

A Suggestion: Now, not everyone agrees with this, but I believe it’s an intelligent futuristic strategy to purchase www.yourpersonalname.com (e.g. www.tayosolagbade.com)

Here’s why…

Your business name, if it’s not based on your name (e.g. “Fela Solagbade’s Information Services” is likely to be more easy to recall, and associate with you, than say “Superb Information Services” for instance.

In other words, when you meet people, and tell them your name, there’s a good chance that the first thing they’ll do when they get the chance will be to Google your name, to learn more about you.

If you have purchased your name as a domain URL, that means they are likely to find you easily. What’s more, if you’ve put up the right kind of content on that domain’s web space, it means you’re likely to make an even better impression.

Not having your own domain name, especially one that’s based on your personal name, can deny you the opportunity to capture valuable potential sales leads.

I recommend you think of yourself as an extension whatever number of businesses you run. By this I mean, make it possible for those who search online to find any products or services through you. For instance, www.tayosolagbade.com leads interested persons to the different products and services I offer. So, when anyone Googles my name, their chances of finding any solution they know I offer are greatly enhanced.

Note that I have URLs that lead to each of my key offerings…

1. www.excelheaven.biz [Excel-VB Software Solutions]

2. www.thefarmceo.net [The Farm CEO newspaper]

3. www.tksola.com or www.tayosolagbade.com/tksdiary [Results Focused Writing and Web Marketing Solutions]

4. www.boostyourfarmprofits.biz or www.iff.tayosolagbade.com [Cost-Saving Farm Business Ideas]

However, by setting up my online presence using my personal name as a domain URL, I have created an extra means by which potential clients can find me. This has happened more times than I can count.

Buyers who told me they read my articles and noticed I mentioned one of my products (e.g. the popular Ration Formulator), which they were interested in.

Unable to reach me via the old domain URL in the byline of my Guest Post on the 3rd party website they were on, they simply Googled my name and on arriving at www.tayosolagbade.com, followed the instructions provided to request details of how to order the app.

3. Your own domain name makes it easy for prospects and clients to communicate with you

Which is easier to remember: tayo at tayosolagbade dot com or olufelatks at yahoo dot com?

Ok. Forget that.

Which one sounds more impressive or respectable? The answer is obvious.

One more question: Which one is easier or more logical to recall?

Again, the answer is obvious. Anyone who knows my name can more easily recall that my email address is tayo at tayosolagbade dot com. Burt Dubin’s clients also find it easy to recall they can reach him via burt at burtdubin dot com.

See how it works?

To sell successfully, you want to make it as easy as possible for people to contact you about doing business with you.

A good first step in that direction is to make it easy for them to recall information they can use to do that!

I marvel all the time at how some business owners readily put out their unwieldy gmail, hotmail and yahoo addresses on promotional materials used on and off the web.

To me, it’s the most glaring evidence of the fact that you do NOT take yourself and/or your business seriously.

Nothing screams amateur, and CHEAP, more than use of FREE email services for business.

Don’t get me wrong. I use FREE 3rd party email accounts as well – just NOT on my flagship online presence

I also do not use them in corresponding with potential clients/buyers or prospects.

The only people I readily use my gmail address to communicate with are those who are already doing business with me. That’s because by that time, they would already have been exposed to my formal branded marketing resource and would know that I operate professionally.

The use of my gmail address, for instance, would then only arise if I had to send a file attachment and my domain based webmail was temporarily down.

But to use gmail as my primary mode of business marketing communication would be to shoot myself in the foot.

Final Words: Do you nurse the ambition of GROWING your brand and building your business to the greatest possible heights?

If YES, know that your attitude towards investing in little things that can boost your marketing reach and impact at low to zero cost, will go a long way to determine how well you succeed.

How can you run a business you want potential clients/buyers to believe can help them, when you – the owner – are unwilling to demonstrate faith in it by making the tiny little annual investment of less than $20 USD to maintain a domain name for it??

That attitude will only attract the wrong type of clients to you i.e those with the CHEAP mentality, unwilling to spend what it required to get what they say they need (kind of like YOU, with regard to your domain name)!

To take your business to the next level (and the one after that), if you’ve been thinking of a domain name as a needless expense, CHANGE your mental attitude today!

Go get a URL for your business today, so more of the right kinds of clients begin to take notice of you!

Need help getting started? Click here to tell me how I can help you.

Excel-VB Solutions, General, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Recommended Websites & Articles

[RECOMMENDED READING] The End Of An Assignment In Nigeria By Tim Newman

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I’m featuring this excellent piece by Tim Newman (a British Expatriate) for much the same reasons I had for sending links to it, to 2 business associates I have (one in the UK and the other in the USA). My purpose is to give as many people as possible who are NOT familiar with it, a more accurate picture of what the socioeconomic environment is like in Nigeria.

Every time I’ve wanted to give a non-Nigerian an idea of what made me relocate to Cotonou, and begin to do 80% of my work via the web, instead of dealing directly with Nigerians in Nigeria, I’ve always tended to come across as bad-mouthing my people and country.

Well now, with this truly insightful and well balanced piece by Tim Newman, I no longer need to worry about being misunderstood.

I’ll simply email them the link to read!

Here it is: http://www.theheraldng.com/britains-tim-newman-reveals-a-thing-or-two-about-oil-corruption-in-nigeria-must-read/

And you know the best part?

Virtually every Nigerian at home and abroad who has read Mr. Newman’s article, and chosen to post a comment, has expressed full agreement with all he wrote!

Just the night before I read Tim’s article, I briefed my kids in a small meeting we had, about how the pains of petrol scarcity and erratic power supply even in December, are caused by many Nigerians choosing to collude with powerful others in high places.

YET the churches and mosques get filled up on Sundays, Fridays and even weekdays, just like Tim noted in his article.

I then pointed out to the kids that honest businesses are needlessly hit with hard times as a result, stifling business and economic activities – making it difficult, for my local clients for instance to take up offers they agreed to.

This is what has forced me to aim for more earnings in USD because the crash in value of the Naira (caused by more naughty behaviour by politicians and their wealthy friends) is making nonsense of my efforts to offer some of my services to Nigerians e.g. writing/blogging.

That’s why I’m refocusing such offers towards outside prospects who can pay me in USD. That way my time and effort expended will yield more useful returns.

My point: Nigeria is not a pleasant place to stay prolonged periods in. That’s why my resolve to move my family to Cotonou remains firm, no matter what.

I decided to share this because I feel reading Tim Newman’s piece might give you, the reader – wherever you may be, on this planet – an even better idea of what it’s like out to live/work from out here …compared to what you experience at your end.

Again, here’s the link: http://www.theheraldng.com/britains-tim-newman-reveals-a-thing-or-two-about-oil-corruption-in-nigeria-must-read/

A few years ago I vowed that I would get Nigerians who were refusing to give me a fair and impartial opportunity to sell my products and services, to send payment to me without setting eyes on me.

Many laughed at me when I said it (in 2011), especially since I claimed I would make it happen using the web.

I went ahead with my plans, including taking the bold step of relocating, on 1st April 2013 to Benin Republic’s Cotonou, even though I knew absolutely no one in that French speaking country.

It took me over 6 months of hard work, round the clock (thanks to constant power supply) to setup my Web Marketing System the way I knew it needed to be, and to begin getting the results I knew were possible.

Today, those who were laughing at me before 2012, are no longer laughing – and that’s despite the fact that I’ve yet to reach the “top” I’m aiming at.

It’s now obvious, to them, that it’s only a matter of time before I get there.

You see, my actions stemmed from a discovery that the mental attitude of Nigerians is completely different from that of people in developed societies.

And that applies even to many Nigerians in diaspora.

It took me thousands of hours over the years, to discover what works in selling solutions of the kind I wanted to offer to Nigerians – and Africans in general.

That discovery convinced me I needed to do LOTS of TESTING. It also guided me to understand that I would need to persist and be deliberate in digging deep to identify the 10% good Nigerians that Tim Newman mentioned in his article for me to work with.

Today, I try to share the insights I’ve gained, with authentic others from outside Nigeria, who I come across when they visit Nigeria – or who reach out to me about marketing “intellectual” products and services (e.g. consultancy, coaching, mentoring, software etc) in the Nigerian market.

I go out of my way to try giving them an accurate impression of what to expect. I do this because my experiences have taught me that most people do NOT believe the situation in Nigeria is as bad as it is. The reported reaction of Tim Newman’s French colleagues to anecdotes about happenings in Nigeria is a case in point.

So, for me, this is not about the money. I want to help those willing to come to Nigeria, from their own parts of the world, to boost their chances of making a lasting impact, as much as possible.

The key to making that happen is helping them get mentally prepared for what the culture shock they will most likely encounter.

That way, they stand a better chance of achieving their desired goals, which is likely to influence a change for the better in the mental attitudes of those Nigerians they work with – making them believe it is possible to fight the “cancer” they see consuming the society.

I’m determined to send a message to the 90% naughty Nigerians that change is here, and that merit, competence and excellence will be the standards cherished by a growing new generation of Nigerians I and willing others, will help develop.

The first step in making that happen, is to share the insights from Tim Newman, a british expatriate who got us all figured out in just 3 years!

PS: One more time, here’s the link: http://www.theheraldng.com/britains-tim-newman-reveals-a-thing-or-two-about-oil-corruption-in-nigeria-must-read/

Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, Farm Biz, General, My DN Travel News, Writing/Blogging

THE FARM CEO (Issue 27): Farming is the new ‘it’! – Beauty Manake, Researchers develop Beans that cook in 15 minutes – Farming, Overview of pepper (Capsicum spp.) breeding in West Africa, Improved NEWEST Rice variety to African farmers, Nigeria releases improved cassava varieties to boost productivity P3

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[Tagline: If it can help your farm business, you’ll find it in THE FARM CEO™ Newspaper ]

In this issue, I feature a report – by Anne Wangalachi of http://agra-alliance.org,  that highlights the fact that a new generation of your young African agro entrepreneurs is emerging. They are described as “well-educated, business- and tech-savvy, stylish and the epitome of success” – running well manged farms that compare favourably with other kinds of businesses.

The rest of this issue features news articles announcing latest varieties of crops like Rice, Beans, Cassava, and Pepper.
PREVIEW

An emerging class of youthful entrepreneurs is tapping into the black and green gold that is abundant in Africa; the rich farm lands and their bountiful yields. They are well-educated, business- and tech-savvy, stylish and the epitome of success. They are showing that well-run farms can be as successful as any other business venture.

 

******

Here are the headlines, reviews – and links – for this week’s featured news items:

[URL] Farming is the new ‘it’! – Beauty Manake P.1

[URL] Researchers develop Beans that cook in 15 minutes – Farming P.2

[URL] Overview of pepper (Capsicum spp.) breeding in West Africa P.2

[URL] Improved NEWEST Rice variety to African farmers P.3

[URL] Nigeria releases improved cassava varieties to boost productivity P3

Below: Screenshot of the cover for Issue No. 27 of THE FARM CEO (Monday 7th December 2015)

Screenshot of the cover for Issue No. 27 of THE FARM CEO (Monday 7th December 2015)

Subscribe to THE FARM CEO, and get this new issue, as well as ALL back issues, in addition to your full subscription of 48 weekly issues.

1) Useful feed formulation/other findings from trusted sources

2) Cost-saving ideas from farm visits as I travel across West Africa.

3) Ads by farm providers/suppliers of all genres.

4). Special promo price offers of my Software and Book products

Full details at http://tinyurl.com/TheFarmCEO

1 year’s subscription = 48 issues.

Subscription Fee = $36 USD (approx) N6.8k [You get my $82 USD Feed Formulation Handbook FREE, as well as FREE Bi-weekly ads for YOUR biz]

ARCHIVES: Click here to view previews of ALL past issues of the newspapers

 

Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News, Writing/Blogging

Guest Posting Offers Superior Marketing Rewards to Traditional Media [Hint: It’s based on SYMBIOSIS i.e. “Win-Win” for both Blog Owners and Guest Post Authors!]

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Still on my offer to pay $50 USD for Guest Posts I accept on my multidisciplinary SD Nuggets blog at TayoSolagbade.com from January 2016.

Between last nite and this morning, a long time subscriber to my newsletter mailing list, working with a leading multinational telecom’s service provider in Nigeria, signed up for a revised version of my End of Year Book Ghost-Writing offer.

He also indicated interest, as I’d hoped he would, in submitting a one or more tips/tricks based guest posts, on his area of expertise (Telecom’s), as it relates to use of mobile phone technology by everyday users.

But something he said about signing a “copyright agreement” made me do a response, that I now feel is worth publishing online for the benefit of others who may be considering my offer, and not sure what exactly it will involve.

Here’s an excerpt (edited to protect his privacy) from his message

===Starts===

From: Seun <Surname and email removed for privacy>

Date: Thu, 10 Dec 2015 07:08:03

To: “Tayo K. Solagbade”

Subject: RE: Our phone con – follow up

Thanks Tayo for your acceptance to ghostwrite for me.

1) <text deleted for privacy>

2) <text deleted for privacy>

3) & 4) I would go through the links immediately after this mail.

5) I take the offer of the write-up as a challenge, but would need to check my
company policies if this is allowed. I think a ‘general operators’ thing would even
be more educating. But I wouldn’t do it in one fell swoop. I need to make multiples
of 50USD. And then we would need to sign copyright agreement.

===Ends===

Below, is the response I sent to him:

===Starts===

—–Original Message—–

From: “Tayo K. Solagbade”

Date: Thu, 10 Dec 2015 06:22:06

To: Seun <Surname and email removed for privacy>

Subject: Re: Our phone con – follow up

Don’t worry about copyright.

YOU retain all ownership rights, and your name, photo and byline etc will appear on
each article you submit that gets accepted.

You see, I just get the exclusive rights to publish your piece on my website, so all
who want to read it have to come to my blog to do so, earning me traffic, and giving
you name recognition as well as expert authority status.

This is a practice used online in Europe and America for win-win business and brand
promotion by website owners over there.

E.g.

I’ve gotten paid from it, and I decided to challenge people from my part of the
world to begin doing it as well.

I actually believe by Jan 2016, I will be the first owner of my kind of website, in
Africa, to pay for Guest Posts.

Hopefully others will take a cue.

Talk later.

Tayo

===Ends===

Notice my assertion above, that I believe mine will be the first blog of it’s kind (i.e business/non-political) in this part of the world (Africa) to offer payment of any kind to content contributors.

Especially payment up to $50 USD, in exchange for QUALITY Guest Posts by competent experts or writers.

The truth is website owners in this part of the world generally do NOT really invest much intellectual effort in creating content for their platforms. Many do not even have blogs, and most who do rarely update them.

The common exception are those engaged in a VERY basic form of news content curation/republishing.

By “basic”, I mean little or no effort is made, editorially or otherwise, to accurately establish whether or not a news item is worth republishing on their platform. Instead, the primary determinant is often the opportunity to drive traffic, and get more income via click based monetization systems they’ve setup on their blogs.

The result is that the mental attitude that prevails, most times, is one in which creative generation of useful content by expert authors is NOT valued.

Evidence of this is seen in the various “Write for Us” pages that most of these blogs put up…

Those pages state a preference for (guest posting) experts with proven knowledge and expertise, to write for them. But all they offer in return are “exposure” and rarely little else [A True Story]

When I read those pages I always remember a client of mine who got approached by a popular national daily in Nigeria. They asked him to write a piece based on his expertise as a hearing and speech professional, that they could publish as a special feature on their website.

After he’d naturally expressed interest, they then told him he would have to pay for it to be published!

That was a shock, of course. But he calmed himself and asked how much that would cost. N200,000.00 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) they told him – and they explained how readers all over the country would see it, read it, get to know his name, and his company name etc.

ALL that would happen – supposedly, in 24 hours…Yeah, right!

In reality, those claims were exaggerated. Most times micro to small/medium operators simply cannot afford to purchase the kind of exposure that would yield enough tangible ROI on their limited budgets.

The truth was that the national daily in question most times had over 150 pages per edition, and most readers never managed to make it through half of those pages, before the next day arrived, and a new issue beckoned for their attention!

To make maters worse, very few readers ever bothered to keep particular issues for later reference. What was more, those that did often ended up forgetting or misplacing the copies!

In essence, their sales pitch was designed to benefit them and NOT my client.

My client never took them up on THAT offer, preferring – wisely in my opinion – to stick with the classified ad that had been working for him.

At this point I’ll highlight some potential benefits to be had from Guest Blogging, compared to traditional media

As a business owner, when you write a Guest Post, whether free or for a fee, unless something goes badly wrong to make your host take it down, it WILL remain there for life…doing what practitioners call TIMLESS MARKETING for YOU!.

That means it remains accessible to anyone who finds it online, to read and learn more about you, be impressed and possibly reach out to you. Since today’s technology allows anyone do that 24/7, it means you could be sleeping and I would be reading your guest post, for instance.

By say 9a.m, what I read at midnight, in your piece, could make me give you a call to ask if you could ghost-write a book in your field of expertise, for me (THAT, has actually happened to me more than once i.e. prospects calling me up after reading my piece on 3rd party platforms like Ezinearticles.com, Africanbusinesscommunities.com – and some going on to buy my products/services).

Unlike ads placed in newspapers and other conventional media (e.g. TV, Radio, Magazines) your guest post will have a zero shelf life, and never “expire”, go out of circulation, or require renewal payment etc

It will therefore continue to turn up in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) when people conduct relevant searches – at ZERO COST to you!

This is likely to happen with increasing or consistent frequency if you did a good job writing it. And especially if you got it published on a high profile blog or website, that enjoys good search engine visibility.

Consequently, more people will read your write-up, resulting in name/brand recognition for you as an expert authority in your field.

Your byline, if well crafted, will also do the added work of making some go over to your own blog:

a. to read more of what you offer

b. and/or signup to get your new content (e.g. via an email newsletter)

c. Or even to contact you for possible business

The blog owner benefits in several ways as well…

First of all, offering to accept guest posts will make his/her blog pop up when prospective guest posters conduct “Guest Posts Wanted” searches online.

Secondly, by hosting guest posts submitted by competent expert authors, his/her blog will gradually get indexed by search engines as a reliable source of useful content, leading to even greater visibility, more traffic, higher authority status etc.

Thirdly, the authors whose articles get published will go out of their way to tell others in their networks about it, by sharing the URL. That will create more buzz, and back links, leading to more people talking about the blog, and visiting it.

As is obvious from the above, both parties (guest blogger and blog owner) will reap multidimensional benefits from the symbiotic relationship.

In essence, done right, Guest Blogging will always be a win-win experience for those who engage in it – even if NO MONEY changes hands

It’s important that I make the clarification that guest posting can – and does – work even when authors do not get paid.

In other words, blogs offering to accept guest posts without paying for them may STILL deliver enough useful value to the guest poster, to make it worthwhile. This will be especially so, if such blogs enjoy good search engine visibility, and/or are enjoy authority status in the market they serve.

Having said that, I also argue that we, as blog owners, can take the game to the next level, by challenging guest posts authors to send in BETTER content quality, in exchange for decent remuneration.

I’ve said it before, and I’m saying it again: one need NOT already be a millionaire to be able to offer payment for guest posts one accepts!

So, I’m taking a stand (following the example of USA based Carol Tice when she did it in her part of the world, some years back)…

I’m challenging other blog owners seeking guest post submissions (especially those who claim to be earning six figure income) out here in Africa, and indeed elsewhere, to begin offering payment to their authors.

….AND I challenge them to do it right by offering payment from $50 USD upwards. Nothing less.

I do this because I believe we should aspire to international blogging standards or best practices, not just in terms of work quality, but also in terms of pay we offer to get such work done for us.

Except you go looking in content mills, you will find that $50 USD per article is generally considered the acceptable minimum for paying writers online.

PS: For those who doubt my intentions, or my ability to do pay up (click here to read how I’ll fund it), January 2016 is less than 4 weeks away – TEST ME, or watch for the post author’s testimonial

If you’re a blog owner seeking guest posts, I challenge you adopt this idea I propose

…and if you’re a guest post author, KNOW from reading this that even if others will NOT offer to pay you, s o long as you can deliver an acceptable piece that meets my content quality requirements, I WILL pay at least $50 USD to publish it on TayoSolagbade.com

In fact, I invite YOU to test me!

If you’re a guest post author, and can offer compelling content quality in the categories featured on my multidisciplinary blog, send in your submission (see guidelines here).

If it meets my requirements, I’ll accept it and let you know.

Whatever happens, my offer is open to an international audience, and I am sure I WILL find one person with stuff good enough to feature every month, starting January 2016.

When the Guest Post goes live and payment is dispatched, I will provide visual proof, and get the author to confirm it, below the post’s page.

Join me, and let’s spread the word. The benefits will be enjoyed by ALL of us!

PS: Screen shot – My $50 USD for a Guest Post Offer already appears on page 1 of Google’s SERP for the string “Guest Posts in Nigeria“…as at 12 noon Nigerian time today, Thursday 10th December 2015.

Screen shot - My $50 USD for a Guest Post Offer already appears on page 1 of Google's SERP for the string 'Guest Posts in Nigeria' - as at 12 noon Nigerian time today, Thursday 10th December 2015