Category Archives: Career Development

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, Farm Biz, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Self-Development

Signup for Tayo Solagbade’s One-on-One MS Excel Heaven™ Visual Basic Coaching Program & Finish With Your Own Custom Excel-VB App You Can Use at Work and/or Sell to Clients!

March 29, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

a. If you’re in paid employment, take it from me: developing spreadsheet automation competence can transform your career literally overnight – IF you know how to use your new skill to make the needed impact.

b. And if you’re self-employed, spreadsheet automation competence will give you a seriously unfair advantage over your competitors, and help you deliver MORE value to clients in a way that makes them gladly pay you MORE.

My achievements over the past 2 decade, getting well paid in paid, and later self-employment, to create custom Excel-VB solutions for buyers within and outside Africa prove the above are accurate assertions!

Today, I enjoy increasing international attention/patronage as a trusted provider of custom Excel-VB software Products and Experiential Coaching/Learning Solutions.

But that did not happen over night.

Click here to continue reading – and learn how you can GET A LIFETIME (i.e. UNLIMITED) EXCEL-VB COACHING SUPPORT FROM ME, FOR THE VALUE OF 3 MONTHS COACHING.

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Self-Development

A People’s Ability to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable is Crucial for Societal Advancement [Hint: Why Too Many of Today’s Nigerians Are Often Too Angry to be Reasoned With!]

March 23, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

It’s something that first began to really strike me when I visited Nigeria for the first time about 6 months after relocating to Cotonou.

I mean the fact that there are a LOT of (indeed too many!) VERY angry people within the geographical entity called Nigeria.

One time I was in the chauffeured 4 wheel drive of a Cotonou based Nigerian diplomat as we drove through the border town of Badagry, on our way to his farm house in Ekiti.

I could not help pointing out to the driver how readily one could see people shouting insults and curses at one another on either side of the road. Some were even fighting – right next to the highway, with most others simply walking past.

Motorists themselves acted no different as we continued. The tiniest misdeed on your part as you drove readily earned you a torrent of insults – or if you were lucky an impatient look of contempt!

This was in stark contrast to what I’d seen and experienced during the tough first 6 months I’d stayed in Benin Republic. Indeed, the only time I ever saw ANY form of aggression displayed by locals in Cotonou was when 2 robbers were given the beating of their lives, and left bleeding for the police to pickup, after they tried to rob a woman emerging from a bank around Etoile Rouge.

Look, as I’ve said in past articles, I once spent 3 months – in 2013 – living among undergraduates half my age, in a room on the National University campus Calavi, when I failed to find accommodation in Cotonou.

It was a last resort arranged by a friend I made which saved me from getting further duped of 2,000 FCFA multiples, by the greedy estate agents I naively trusted to take me around to see flats I could rent.

But my housing problem apart, I NEVER once saw a single fight occur on that campus all through my 90 day stay there. Not once – and believe me, I moved around a lot.

If anything, I discovered from being among those young Beninese male and female students, that theirs was an environment in which PEACE MAKING valued in the larger society, was not only actively promoted, but also strictly enforced.

Indeed, if you were heard or seen shouting at one another, without so much as physically touching one another, chances were good that those involved would get summoned and possibly disciplined.

I saw that happen at least once, before I left that campus.

One day in Cotonou, after I’d left Calavi and found my own apartment, I recall seeing a commercial bike rider accidentally splash water in a pothole on a man standing along the road.

The latter angrily called out to him, and the bike man stopped and retorted in like manner. Before they could do anything more, a 3rd person who was just passing by, stepped between both of them and said, in French “Ici au Benin, c’est toujours la paix!” (Translation: “Here in Benin, it is always peace!”).

Magically, that simple statement instantly deflated the anger in both men, and I marveled as all 3 men smiled, shook hands and parted ways!

That was the day I realized that citizens of a nation have the power to determine whether or not they get along – regardless of the antics their leaders may try to use to cause conflict among them.

Sadly, this is one more truth I see too many people in my country, Nigeria, simply do not understand: As a result, they routinely let their emotions get out of control in relating with one another, especially when holding opposing views, to the extent that understanding and peace become strangers in their societies.

I argue that we must “learn to disagree without being disagreeable“.

It’s hard to remember where I first read or heard the above phrase used, but it has stuck in my mind since.

Life would be a joke, or an exercise in deception if human beings did not periodically disagree with one another.

There is a quote I once read that:

“Where everyone thinks alike, no one is doing any thinking!”

For some strange reason, people raised in the Nigerian society arrive adulthood with a notion (and a VERY faulty notion it is!) that one must accept the reasoning or thinking adopted by the majority.

Some will even parrot the popular saying (used most times out of context) that “majority carries the vote” – to justify going along with what others say, and demanding that you do the same.

Anatole France, the shipping magnate however wisely noted as follows:

“If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.”

Sadly, Nigerian society is a place where those willing to express divergent views on an issue often find themselves in the minority…

This is because most others would rather quietly align with the majority to avoid criticism, or worse, from others who have been taught o be viciously intolerant of opposing views.

It does not matter what the subject is – be it religious or intellectual. It does not matter how logical the arguments made need to be: If it so happens that some people are more “friendly” with one another, chances are good that they will simply gang up against those with opposing views – even if their own argument makes no sense!

After observing this happen for some time, and having it done to me several times, I conceived the following quote in an article published back in 2006, to describe those who allow themselves to be brow beaten and stifled by irrationally argumentative others who predominate in society.

“Some people join the crowd in order to become “hidden” or “protected” from criticism or scrutiny. Since they also take care never to voice contrary (and at times ANY) opinion, they are rewarded with the anonymity they seek – and the insignificance that results from it.” – Tayo Solagbade

I’ve done additional research on this subject and found that such irrationally argumentative people also exist in other societies around the word – including the wonderful US of America!

The difference I’ve noticed however, especially in the developed societies, is that those who hold divergent views from the irrationally argumentative group, generally REFUSE to give up their rights to FREELY EXPRESS their difference of opinion in public or private.

Not just that, the various sociopolitical structures extant in those countries make it literally impossible for ANYONE to stifle or intimidate others, even if they are a minority, from VOICING their opinions as and when they please, where and when they want.

It’s every human being’s fundamental right to speak FREELY what s/he believes about an issue. You do NOT have to accept it, but you must RESPECT his/her right to do so.

That is how a civilized society functions. We must never let our emotions blind us to the proper ways of doing things – or stop us from acting with consideration for the feelings of others around us!

It is my considered opinion that given what I see in today’s Nigeria, if Socrates had been born in our time, in our country, Nigerians would probably have lynched him to death before he could make a name for himself!

Yep. He would have probably been shouted down – or worse killed – for his adopted questioning technique, which forced those he debated with to furnish credible logic based arguments to defend their adopted positions on issues.

People intolerant of others unwilling to agree with them would find a person like Socrates simply intolerable!

Yet, if Nigeria is to evolve and mature into a progressive society, the QUALITY of debates we are able to have among ourselves, without rancour, really needs to improve.

I’ve witnessed lively debates on various issues under the sun by Beninese adults holding opposing views over the last 3 years, and NOT once have I ever seen it end in broken friendships, or harsh language. It seems to be something they’ve learnt to do from their youth – as my stay on their campus indicated!

Now here’s one quote I especially LOVE, because I think many people fail to realize how doable it is:

“I don’t have to agree with you to like you or respect you.” – Anthony Bourdain

You see, it is my considered opinion that unless a person you like, love or respect has done something UNWORTHY or UNBECOMING or simply BAD, you really have NO NEED whatsoever to CHANGE how you feel about him or her.

So, if s/he chooses to support a different candidate during the elections for instance, you will understand that s/he holds a different view of what that person is capable of achieving in office, compared to the candidate you prefer.

That should not stop both of you from remaining friendly with one another during or indeed after the elections are over.

I recall we used to say back in my undergraduate days that:

“We can agree to disagree”

Only people who take things too personally, fail to understand the need for this matured way of living. They believe they must either win you over to their line of thinking or stop liking you or speaking with you. Haba!

The quotes below provide a fitting end to this piece, and also throw a challenge to ALL of us, regarding our adopted attitudes towards debatable issues.

“I will never compromise Truth for the sake of getting along with people who can only get along when we agree.” – D.R. Silva

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” – S.G. Tallentyre, The Friends of Voltaire

“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.” – (Essay to Leo Baeck, 1953) Albert Einstein

“It’s okay to disagree with the thoughts or opinions expressed by other people. That doesn’t give you the right to deny any sense they might make. Nor does it give you a right to accuse someone of poorly expressing their beliefs just because you don’t like what they are saying. Learn to recognize good writing when you read it, even if it means overcoming your pride and opening your mind beyond what is comfortable.” – Ashly Lorenzana

Final Words: The ability to act in line with the above admonition will often be a function of the DEGREE of Emotional Intelligence(EI) an individual possesses.

It’s a shame that in this part of the world many still do not realize that EI is more important than IQ for achieving success in life.

Actually most do not even know what EI is or means!

And the few who do fail to understand that unlike IQ, it can be improved by any person willing to make the effort. Indeed, many progressive societies are modifying their schooling systems to incorporate activities that help learners (especially kids) develop their EI.

Click here to read my widely syndicated article on EI – based on what I learned by reading Daniel Goleman’s similarly titled book back in in 2006.

Here’s one final quote to drive home my point…

Truth does not become more true by virtue of the fact that the entire world agrees with it, nor less so even if the whole world disagrees with it. – Maimonides, The Guide for the Perplexed

So, dear reader, I say this to you:

Engage in intellectually stimulating debates with others, without letting your emotions get out of control. And while doing so, be sure to remain objective in looking at the issues from all perspectives, while keeping an open mind to acknowledge possibilities you may not have considered previously.

Most importantly however, AIM to always end your debates on a positive note with him/her or them.

Make it your resolve to never take anything that is said personally. The world NEEDS diversity to evolve – but the truth, about all issues, even if initially hidden will eventually be revealed to all!!!

Why I Voted for Buhari (Despite Voting Against Him in 3 Previous Elections), and Why I Believe He Has What it Takes to Reform Nigeria Now That He’s President

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News, Self-Development

Download MS Excel-VB Screen shot Demonstration Video Tutorials for Tayo Solagbade’s Introduction to Excel-VB Automation Workshop Held on Sat 19th March 2016 in Lagos-Nigeria [Includes video recorded in response to last week’s request for Excel-VB coding help from a business user in India]

March 22, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

This post contains download details about the range of step-by-step home study video tutorials I’ve created (see screenshot below) for use by members of my Excel-VB Club, based on the practical exercises done during the maiden edition of my FREE Monthly Workshop for members.

As I said in the highlights I shared yesterday (Monday 19th March 2016), in my newsletter for this week, I promised them I would create videos for them to study at home to reinforce what they’ve learnt, and also build on it to improve to higher levels.

The case study was about preparing a month end 3 column report table, populated with Naira sales amounts serially numbered, then using code to replicate it, in different worksheets from January till December, assigning the relevant month’s name to EACH worksheet’s tab.

This case study is one that a lot of business users can relate to, so it was no surprise that the attendees showed lots of interest, and made excellent suggestions about applying the same approach to work they do e.g. preparing monthly payrolls etc.

The following videos cover the stages we covered in developing the solution:

Video 1: Introduction to the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) in MS Excel – Ready

Video 2: Understanding the use of conditional expressions in automatically numbering entries made into the data table – Ready

Video 3: Building the Monthly Report Table (with macro recorder ON) – Part 1 – Ready

Video 4: Building the Monthly Report Table (with macro recorder ON) – Part 2 ] – Ready

Video 5: Adding form controls, and Modifying macro recorded code, to replicate the Monthly Report Table – Part 1 – Ready

Video 6: Adding form controls, and Modifying macro recorded code, to replicate the Monthly Report Table – Part 2 – Ready

Video 7: Adding form controls, and Modifying macro recorded code, to replicate the Monthly Report Table – Part 3 – Ready

Video 8: Adding form controls, and Modifying macro recorded code, to replicate the Monthly Report Table – Part 4 – Work In Progress

[Update] Video 5 to 8 descriptions above, added today Monday 28th March 2016 @11:04]

If you’re a club member, relevant download links would have been emailed to you. If you have not seen them email or call me.

If you’re a non-member, and would like to gain access to the above mentioned learning resources, click here to contact me.

Now, in addition to the above mentioned video, I’ve included on this page, download links with explanatory notes, to the video I recorded in response to last week’s request for Excel-VB coding help from a business user in India.

The above screen shot of the email he sent me (after seeing my revised version of the code he sent me days earlier) indicates he was pleased with the result he’d gotten from me.

For members of my Excel-VB club, like I told the Indian gentleman from the start, THIS short problem solving project provides a REAL WORLD relevant problem solving opportunity to learn from.

That’s why I’ve included download links to the 2 zipped folders I sent to the man who requested the solution, for members to download:

1. A zipped folder containing the video recording in which I explained what I’d done, and demonstrated how to run the resulting code. [click here to request from me]

2. A zipped folder containing the workbook he sent me, with the modified code in it – no password protection.[click here to request from me]

IMPORTANT TIPS FOR WATCHING THE VIDEOS

To watch ANY of the tutorial videos, YOU MUST (and this is important!) REMOVE or EXTRACT the 2 files in the zipped folder, and place them in the same location on your PC.

Next, double click on the web page file (with the browser icon) among the two, to watch the video in your browser. If you get a prompt to activate “Adobe Flash Player” click on the prompt to activate it by following the instructions that appear.

WARNING: If you click on the SWF file, it WILL NOT play the video.

AND if you click on the files without REMOVING them from inside the zipped folder, you will get an error message. The video will not play.

For the video to play, YOU MUST copy out or EXTRACT both files from inside the zipped folder and place on your PC in the same location, TOGETHER. Then click the one with the browser icon.

PS: If you’re a club member, relevant download links would have been emailed to you. If you have not seen them email or call me.

If you’re a non-member, and would like to gain access to the above mentioned learning resources, click here to request from me.

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

PII 006: Succeed by Becoming an Expert at Solving Real World Problems [Hint: Highlights from Maiden Edition of Tayo Solagbade’s FREE Monthly Workshop for his MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club Members Held on Sat 19th March 2016 in Lagos-Nigeria]

March 21, 2016 Tayo Solagbade 2 Comments

Photo[Apologies for slightly poor image]: Attendees at the maiden edition of my FREE Monthly Workshop for Members of my Excel-VB Club held in Lagos at Sherryville Arcade, Opposite First Bank Plc, Ojodu-Berger, Lagos.

The topic was Introduction to Excel-VB Automation.

It was VERY practical and I told lots of true stories to add useful perspective for the learners in the small group of 5. But we had NO power supply and NO petrol for generator. Thankfully, the laptops allowed us make useful progress, for about 2 hours before their batteries ran out of juice!

SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE

Tayo Solagbade’s
Performance Improvement IDEAS
(PI Squared) Newsletter

NB: This PI Squared newsletter will be published weekly, on Mondays, in place of the Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter, starting from today – 15th February 2016. I’m reinventing my Monday newsletter content and theme, to accommodate my vision of serving the growing audience of serious minded individuals and organizations reaching out to me, with information, education. news and research findings designed to help them do what they do better.

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PII 006: Succeed by Becoming an Expert at Solving Real World Problems [Hint: Highlights from Maiden Edition of Tayo Solagbade’s FREE Monthly Workshop for his MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club Members Held on Sat 19th March 2016 in Lagos-Nigeria]

The topic was Introduction to Excel-VB Automation.

In the coming weeks, I’ll build on this foundation given them with MORE online tutorials and tips, until next month’s edition.

By way of interest, before the workshop went into full swing, I received 2 phone calls from potential buyers in the presence of my attendees….

One was from a Startup Farm CEO in Enugu who had contacted hours before, in the morning, via my website auto response message about my Excel-VB Poultry Farm Manager.

The other was an individual who called – for this first time – using a UK mobile phone number.

24 hours later (i.e. on Sunday p.m.), the former had made a deposit into my account to take up an offer I’d made to him. I delivered his personalized version of the products to him this morning before leaving to resolve some issues with my bank.

I mention the above incident, because that development served to further convince my learners that acquiring Excel-VB development skills like I had, would translate to significant income earning benefits for them!

This journey of building a club based follower ship began in May 2015. But to get this far, I’ve had to work hard on myself for YEARS!

I’m a self-taught developer of Custom Excel-VB driven Spreadsheet Software – and I’ve been developing custom spreadsheet solutions for business users in a very wide range of industries using my self-taught skills for 2 decades (starting with Lotus 1-2-3 before switching to Excel-VB in paid employment).

Initially, I did it while in paid employment, in my spare time – but it transformed my career and opened many doors of rapid career advancement opportunities that would NEVER have materialized otherwise.

Since I quit paid employment to do it for a living, in 2001, my work has evolved to a whole new level – with my products getting purchased by clients within and outside Africa.

All this has happened with only my self-taught skills. However, my self-development efforts in this regard have NOT been haphazard.

In order to improve myself, I studied – and continue to study – the works of experts recognized as established thought leaders and practitioners in Excel-VB Solutions development in the real world.

Examples of those whose works have influenced me are Pierre LeClerc, the fatherly gentleman based in Canada, whose approach to Excel-VB programming makes it so easy to rapidly improves one’s self via self-study, using resources he provides.

My encounter with his work, in 2005 changed the way I worked with Excel. He it was who really made me understand how to OPTIMIZE the Excel calculation engine, using it’s powerful spreadsheet functions and features, while enhancing my productivity by incorporating Excel-VB automation – where relevant.

You see, Pierre explains that a competent Excel-VB Solutions Developer will have a real world relevant problem solving mind set – as different from the world view adopted quite often by people called “Programmers”.

Indeed, most times an Excel-VB developer will have a background in management, which will guide his/her intelligent use of MS Excel and its VBA back end for real world relevant problem solving.

This philosophy has helped me escape the trap that many others fall into, of wanting to CODE the life out of every problem in an unconscious effort to show how skilled one is in programming.

The authors of Professional Excel Programming – which I call the Excel Bible – agree with this line of thinking. Indeed, in the first part of their book, the actually described 5 categories of Excel Developers – and they named those with the above tendency: “VBA Developer”

At the bottom of this piece is a diagrammatic representation, with notes, of those 5 categories – which reflects LEVELS of Excel-VB proficiency of a user.

I have chosen to base the coaching support I offer my target market on use of this model.

For the market I serve, I’ve found out that most users will most likely fall into Levels 1 and 2. My vision is to help those interested to move up to Level 4 – through the one-on-one experiential coaching I offer as well as the generic coaching I provide via my Excel-VB club.

But one problem I anticipate is that of the VBA developer types of business users and/or those with such a mind set

Excel-VB Solutions Development is NOT about ego tripping. We are not people obsessed with displaying our programming or coding prowess. Instead, we make intelligent use of our coding skills to ENHANCE our work productivity as it relates to our data recording, analysis and report generation for timely decision making.

That’s why I have examples of automated workbook reports (like this one build for the National Distribution Manager of a Large Multinational Telecom Company) that do NOT use a single line of VBA code, and yet cuts down report generation time by over 80% – compared to status quo!

Those who want to learn from me or engage my services must be willing to adopt this perspective, otherwise it would be impractical for us to work together.

A recent enquirer sent me some code he was having problems getting to run normally and asked that I help out. I was due to run my first workshop for my Excel-VB club members at the time, so I told him I’d create a video tutorial based on it later.

As I type this, it’s 3.24 a.m. Monday 22nd March 2016 and I just took my first real look at the code after pasting it into the code window of a new workbook.

What I saw INSTANTLY screamed “VBA Developer” to me.

Why?

Because some of the code sentences showed he was using code in VBA to do things that would have been better handled using Excel’s spreadsheet functions.

Whoever wrote that macro procedure/subroutine did a lot of coding overkill.

It pays to LET EXCEL BE EXCEL, if you want to get a solution that gives the user best results.

With what I’ve seen, I’ve decided I’m going to ask the gentleman to show me the data he wishes to handle, so I can gain better insights into what he wants to do with the code.

Then based on that perspective, I’ll point out the inadequacy of the coding approach adopted and propose an alternative more consistent with best practice.

In order to sell custom Excel-VB software as a profitable business in a socioeconomic environment where it did NOT previously exist (Nigeria), I’ve had to adapt ideas from developers in Europe and America to suit my needs.

The priority I’ve had to pay attention to has been the mental attitude of business users out here who balked repeatedly at any efforts to deliver solutions with a DIY provision.

In other words, they did not want to learn how to do what I’d done for them or how to maintain or improve on it.

Instead, what they wanted was for me to deliver what amounted to a “dummy-proof” range of solutions – that did not even require them to know ANYTHING about using MS Excel!

This is why today, in my promotional messages, for my Excel Heaven brand, I say “If you can use a mobile phone, you can use my custom Excel-VB apps”.

The above experiences have made me realize that users in these parts especially, or those with similar backgrounds to them will best be helped to develop interest in learning Excel-VB automation by using what is called a Case-Study based Experiential Coaching Approach.

Basically, this means that I offer to teach them Excel-VB programming by focusing on using the work they consider important as a basis on which to provide my tutorials, in such a way that at the end of each session they will leave with something they can immediately begin to apply to improve their work related productivity.

This strategy of Experiential Coaching necessarily makes it difficult, if not impossible to provide a one-size-fits-all range of tutorials for learners.

Instead, I have step-by-step video and PDF tutorials meant to introduce every learner to foundational concepts of Excel-VB programming.

These will give him/her the needed sound footing to build up his/her skills in BEST PRACTICE Excel-VB coding.

But to ensure s/he is able to make good progress without losing enthusiasm, I will use information I obtain using my Needs Analysis Questionnaire to identify – in liaison with him/her – key work based tasks that we can use as Case Studies for his/her learning.

Based on what I learn from his/her questionnaire responses, and our interactions as the coaching progresses, I can go on to create a special range of tutorials for him/her to use for home study.

This is my approach, based on the needs of my target market/audience, identified over the past decade.

Click here to learn more about my Home/Self-Study Tutorials used in my One-on-One Experiential Coaching

It is basically a custom solution in which I create learning “content” for YOU based on needs I identify you have. Access to this option requires joining my Inner Circle.

This is different from the arrangement in which I offer general coaching via short weekly tips and tutorials to members of my Excel-VB club (click here to see my members-only private/closed Facebook page for club members).

The required investment for the former (which is $500 USD via my Inner Circle) is different from that for the latter (which is $65 USD per annum – for membership of my Excel-VB club – click here for details).

It goes without saying that the one-on-one coaching option is more intensive than the Excel-VB club alternative. You will need to decide which one you will be best able to cope with – because I WILL CHALLENGE you to stick with agreed milestone targets/dates!

Click here to see the course content for my 4 day Excel-VB Programming Coaching LIVE Workshop

By way of interest, I offer to produce a home study video tutorial version of what I would normally teach during the above mentioned LIVE event – for interested persons – be you a one-on-one learner or member of my Excel-VB club.

But again, since not everyone will have similar needs, the specific examples I will use will vary depending on the individual’s identified needs.

Below: A mind-map showing 5 levels of Excel-VB Solutions Development Competence I offer support to achieve

I came up with this diagram based on categorizations made in Professional Excel Development – the massive Excel-VB programming bible written by 3 of the world’s foremost developers i.e. Stephen Bullen, Rob Bovey and John Green.

Each has delivered high profile commercial Excel-VB software solutions to the world’s largest corporations.

Note that my experiences over the years indicate that majority of business users want something around the Power User level – especially career persons in paid employment in this part of the world – as against what obtains in developed societies.

Having said that, my goal is to use my Excel-VB club platform to gradually encourage more users in and out of paid employment, to over time build their competence to the level of Excel Developer – and possibly beyond i.e. to Professional Excel Developer.

True Story: Responding to last week’s request for Excel-VB coding help from a business user in India

Last week, I published a blog in which I shared details of the above mentioned request I got from an Indian gentleman at about 12:53 p.m. on Tuesday 15th March 2016 (Read it here).

Early this morning, at about 4.30a.m or so, I got up and checked out his code, then wrote in modifications my first instincts led me to use – and they worked.

Then, just as I’d promised the gentleman, I proceeded to record a screen shot demonstration tutorial in which I explained what I’d done, and why. In the video, I gave him my opinion about the intended purpose of the code snippet he’d sent to me, noting the fact that better use of the Excel object model could minimize the need for VBA use for the task in question.

Below are screen shots of the original code he sent, and the modified one I sent back, PLUS email/facebook exchanges we’ve since this morning…

Above: Email in which he replied (after seeing my code) expressing satisfaction with what I’d sent him.

Notice in his last email response, above, that he said he looked forward to requesting more of my “help” in the same manner…

And interestingly, he stated that he was sure I would give it…being the “nice sir” that I am of course…hee hee!

Unfortunately, I do NOT do flattery. I do NOT need it.

I also do NOT feel ANY need to prove myself in terms of my Excel-VB coding (or any other) competence.

So, one thing I KNOW will NOT be happening again is ME doing any such thing for him again.

Either he joins one of the countless free forums, or he enrolls for a course online. Or he could join my Excel-VB club.

But even when if he joins my club, I will NOT be doing coding for him. I do NOT code for any of my members. Instead I teach them concepts, tips, techniques they need to know and then guide them to THINK up ways to use what they learn to solve ANY problem they raise for use as a case study.

That’s why I call my approach Experiential Coaching.

Some people believe that if you really know something, the best way to prove it is to TELL the learner. They argue that “using questions” and prompts, like I do suggests I’m not confident or competent or both – and that THAT is why I hide behind that approach.

My response is that I have a library of commercial Excel-VB apps that I’ve been selling to an increasingly global paying audience for over 10 years now. Not only did I build them – and find buyers – ALL by myself, I also provide LIFETIME after sales support 24/7 to ALL my buyers.

And that is ALL the proof I need!

If you’re a business user of Excel in Nigeria/Africa and you represent a group, organization or association of business users, and would like to gain access to the learning solutions I offer with regard to the above, click here to contact me.

SDN Blog™

New posts from last week*

Monday:

PII 005: You Need Excel-VB Coding Skills to MAKE and SAVE Money [Attend Tayo Solagbade’s FREE 4 Hour “Practical Introduction to MS Excel-VB Automation” Workshop]

[Tuesday]:

[Advice for Smart Parents] You Need to Give Your Kids Real World Relevant Coaching NOW, If They Are to Succeed…In Their Adult Lives!

[Wednesday]:

How can a “Switchboard” Make Your Life Easier in an MS Excel-VB driven Corporate Data Management/Report Generation System ? [Download A Useful Infographic]

[Thursday]:

Conversations About Productivity Boosting Excel Visual Basic Automation [True Stories: Enquiries from a business user in India and Nigeria]

[Friday]:

You Have to Believe In Yourself First, Before Others Can Really Believe in YOU [Maiden Edition of FREE Monthly Workshop for Tayo Solagbade’s MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club Members Holds Today – Sat 19th March 2016]

[Sunday]:

Protected: THE FARM CEO (Issue 41): 3 Ways to Profits in Cassava Business, SECRETS TO MAKING MILLIONS IN PLANTAIN FARMING BUSINESS IN NIGERIA, GET LISTED FOR CASSAVA AND YOUR OTHER PRODUCTS TO SELL TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Creator of the Mastering Adversity for Perpetual Success Achievement Coaching Program

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 (October 1994 to December 2001) as a high performing manager in Guinness Nigeria. He rose from Shift Brewer to Training & Technical Development Manager, and later acted in senior roles as Production Manager and Technical
Manager.

In addition to constantly challenging the status quo and influencing positive work changes, he built a reputation for using self-taught spreadsheet programming skills (starting with Lotus 1-2-3, and later moving to Excel Visual Basic) – in his spare time – to develop Automated Spreadsheet Applications to computerize manual report generation processes in the departments he worked. Over four(4) of his applications were adopted for brewery level reporting.

Tayo holds a B.Sc degree in Agricultural Extension Services from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, having graduated top of his class – with Second Class Upper Division honors – in 1992. 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 (SDAc).

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 The Farm CEO Weekly Newspaper (sent via email to paid subscribers) and his Weekly Performance Improvement IDEAS

newsletter.

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

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Public Speaking, Self-Development

You Have to Believe In Yourself First, Before Others Can Really Believe in YOU [Maiden Edition of FREE Monthly Workshop for Tayo Solagbade’s MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club Members Holds Today – Sat 19th March 2016]

March 19, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

This afternoon I will meet with members of my Excel Heaven Visual Basic Club (and some invited professionals/prospective members), to conduct the MAIDEN edition of the FREE Monthly Workshop for paid club members.

When I conceived this idea in May 2015, of launching a club to teach MS Excel to business users (with a kiddies arm for youths), nothing happened for the rest of the year, despite my efforts to create awareness using ALL resources/channels I had access to.

But, years of experience building my brand based on provision of a previously unknown solution (MS Excel-VB software development) had taught me to resilient!

It’s been like this for me since 2002. I have ALWAYS had to start out by BELIEVING all by myself, until others who needed what I offered EVENTUALLY realized they did!

If you expect people to jump instantly at your offers, or ideas, you are fooling yourself. You have to believe and persist, with creativity and determination, UNTIL they see what you see and begin to believe WITH YOU!

[EXAMPLE 1] Here’s an article I first published online over 10 years ago which proves that I practice what I preach.

Title: Achieve Business Success Using Spreadsheet Data Analysis & Reporting Automation

Data recording without analysis and interpretation is ultimately useless. Such data makes little or no meaning. Don’t keep records for the sake of it. Records only add value when they tell us one or more of the following 5 things:

1). If we are doing well or not;

2). How well – or badly we are doing;

3). When we are doing well – or badly;

4). WHERE we are doing well or badly;

5). And if possible “point to” WHAT – is probably responsible for our performance at any point in time.
All of the above of course happening in a timely manner that enables us take appropriate actions.

The key imperative for most people who handle data is to use it to monitor – and where feasible – control performance i.e. they study/anticipate trends in a way that helps decision making towards ensuring REPRODUCTION of desired results, while minimizing – or eliminating – undesirable ones.

The Excel workbook applications I develop for my clients help them do the foregoing and a lot more.

I am always careful to take into consideration the peculiarities unique to each client’s situation, which many traditional software programmers would be unlikely to cater for – at the same rates that I am able to offer my clients.

But not everyone knows that MS Excel can be used to develop high profile industry level applications that can hold their own against (or even outperform) conventional off-the-shelf software.

Click here to continue reading

[EXAMPLE 2] Here’s a 1 Hour Talk I’ve been offering since 2014

Key Target Audience: CEOs & Corporate Executives, Sales/Marketing Managers, Clubs/Association Presidents etc [Breakout sessions available]

“Everybody knows some Excel, but stop seeing Excel as an office program that everybody MASTERS and that is used to organize numbers in columns and make a few calculations. Excel is the best reporting application on the market and it is fully programmable with its own PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE within called VBA” – Pierre LeClerc PLI Consulting Inc

Attendees will learn proven strategies for:

Click here to continue reading…

All you need to succeed is vision, faith, determination, creativity and persistence!

I’ll end by saying this:

If you want to know what it means to practice LIVING with FAITH – take a close look at my “history” in paid and self employment. Better still, take a look at my timeline RIGHT on Facebook!!!

I offer myself as a reference or model, not out of arrogance, but to indicate, especially to people from my part of the world, or anyone who feels s/he has no background upon which to reasonably aspire to innovate and create in a noteworthy manner, that ANYONE can do it.

You need no connections and success is NOT about genetic or heredity.

You don’t need to come from a family of entrepreneurs to succeed as one. You do not need to be the first to be the best.

I am proof of it, as I commence this NEW journey of creating an army of Excel-VB Solutions Developers with smart real world relevant know-how, who will be able to provide time, effort and cost saving business solutions for their employers and/or clients over time.

I’ve been developing high profile, bullet-proof automated spreadsheet apps for over 2 decades.

As an employee in Guinness I gain company wide fame for building custom spreadsheet apps that completely eliminated manual reporting systems in the departments I worked. I did this in my spare time – and I was NOT employed as an Information Technology staff. I was just a brewer/manager with self-taught spreadsheet programming skills.

In 2002, I followed my dream of developing custom spreadsheet software for a living, by quitting my job to become self-employed.

There was NO market for such a solution or service and over a 4 year period I had to create a market for myself.

Today, I have a library of apps I’ve built for clients in varying industries e.g. hotels, hospitals, medical clinics, independent consultants, health and fitness clubs, farm businesses, factories etc. I’ve not only sold my apps locally, but also to clients outside Africa – in places like Canada, Philippines, the UK etc. [See also the links at the bottom of this post for videos and other details]

What I have to offer MS Excel business users/learners – especially in Nigeria/Africa – goes beyond what you will find in ANY books or websites.

The insights I have about creating and SELLING custom Excel-VB solutions in our part of the world (and indeed beyond are drawn from thousands of hours of trying and failing until I found a way that worked.

Below, I offer more information for those willing to accept my guidance – be you corporate multinational or one man operation.

RELATED RESOURCES

Below are some links with information that throws light on potential applications of Excel-VB Automation for Boosting Business Productivity and Profitability

1. 1 Hour Talk(No. 5): Proven Strategies for Using MS Excel to Boost Employee and Company Productivity

Go to http://tinyurl.com/xlvb1hourtalk

I offer the above linked FREE talk to organizations and business groups/associations that meet the terms for providing it.

2. Conversations About Productivity Boosting Excel Visual Basic Automation, True Stories, Enquiries from a business user in India and Nigeria

This is a new article I published yesterday…

3. Achieve Business Success Using Spreadsheet Data Analysis & Reporting Automation

http://tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets/achieve-business-success-using-spreadsheet-data-analysis-reporting-automation/

This article offers VERY useful insights for business users like yourself and other members of your profession.

1. LEARN MS EXCEL-VB AUTOMATION FROM ME…IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME!

http://excelheaven.tayosolagbade.com/?page_id=66

2. Learn more about what you get on the DVD below:

Title: Get My Home Study Excel-VB Programming Video Tutorial DVD

http://excelheaven.tayosolagbade.com/?p=336

3. This page provides a detailed background (including a 9 part slide show presentation) about my Excel-VB Club and Competition:

Title: Welcome to my MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club [Introductory Videos You Need to Watch]

http://excelheaven.tayosolagbade.com/?p=318

4. My Excel-VB Club’s Closed/Private Group on Facebook

Here’s the URL…

https://www.facebook.com/groups/736287616508718/

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

Conversations About Productivity Boosting Excel Visual Basic Automation [True Stories: Enquiries from a business user in India and Nigeria]

March 18, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

[UPDATE: 24th June 2024 – Download PDF Version with offer of download links to the original automated MS Excel Workbook and screenshot video demonstration sent to Pravin. Click HERE to download the PDF now – NO SIGNUP NEEDED]

Since announcing my FREE workshop Introduction to Excel-VB Automation on Monday, which is to hold tomorrow (Sat 19th Mar 2016) for members of my Excel-VB club, I’ve had some MS Excel business users contact me.

In this article I share screenshots and excerpts s from 2 such exchanges – one with a business user based in India, and another with a Nigerian Farm CEO – with background in corporate management – who is a member of my Cost-Saving Farm Business Ideas Club.

A. At about 12:53 p.m on Tuesday 15th March 2016, I got the message below from an Indian gentleman, requesting my help with getting Excel-VB code he was writing to run – trouble free – for a task he was trying to automate.

Here’s the message:

“Sir right now i got vba code for i have been searching from a gengleman…..but can we set two macro in a single excel sheet… The following code solved my Single problem.

Sub Copy_Paste_Data()

Sheets(“Sheet1”).Range(“A3:N1000”).Copy Destination:=Sheets(“Sheet2”).Range(“A” & Rows.Count).End(xlUp).Offset(1, 0)

End Sub

I shall use the above code when I have to export all all kind of data from A3 to N1000.

But If I don’t want to export the data having no value in column I.

If Column I has no value so that row will not be exported to Sheet2… What I mean to say that if I need all data to export then I shall use the above code and When I need to export data having value in column I then I shall use that code for i am requesting you to make.

So this way my grave problem will be solved……….please send me it to my maild id (removed for privacy)

I replied that I would do what he asked on the condition that he agree to let me use him/his “project” as a case study for step-by-step video tutorial I would share with my Excel-VB club members – who pay to learn from me.

He responded by sending a request to join my Excel-VB Club, and posting this follow up message:

It’s your kindness. Thanks for helping me……..Sir I shall eagerly be waiting for your mail with video sir………Thanks a lot again sir..
….

Sir, I got formula as I needed. but as we run that, it export the data
even with value (formula also exported and that looks #REF! ). so only
this problem remains now…….so please help this way now i am just
providing you this code that i recently got from a gentleman….

Sub Copy_Paste_Filter()

With Sheets(“Sheet1”)
.Range(“I3:I1000″).AutoFilter Field:=1, Criteria1:=”<>0”
.Range(“A3:N1000”).Copy Destination:=Sheets(“Sheet2”).Range(“A” & Rows.Count).End(xlUp).Offset(1, 0)
.Range(“I3:I1000”).AutoFilter
End With

End Sub

The above message came in a 4:29a.m – I’d only just gone to bed 1.5 hours before then, after finishing work on a client project.

So, when I saw it in the morning, I wrote back saying(in part):

“… I am just waking up…My priority this morning is to get a client’s boolk manuscript proof reading finished and returned to him…Only after that will I then be able to spend time creating the video tutorial I offered for use as a case study…If you cannot wait for that, I recommend you ask the “gentleman” that is giving you these codes to help you debug it to get it running properly. Alternatively Google to one of many open discussion forums and post your question there.

My Excel Heaven brand does NOT operate in that manner…When I’m done, I will create the promised video and send to you and my club members. “

He replied saying he would wait.

Looking back, I’m glad I was frank with him, because as I type these words, I still have to do a visit to the talk venue his p.m and also review material I’m to use tomorrow!

So, chances are good that I’ll have to create the promised video over the weekend.

One thing is certain though…

This exercise is going to be perfect for use in explaining how range objects can be manipulated using MS Excel-VB coding.

Even more important, this particular case study will serve as an introduction to EFFICIENT coding that executes faster compared to he clumsy code sentences generated by the Macro Recorder (which my club members are starting with)!

B. It’s now confirmed that I’ll be having more than ONE run of my 4 hour FREE talk event tomorrow. Reason: Some members of my Excel-VB club will not be able to make it down to join the main group from 2p.m.

Apart from those wanting to come at a different time (I told them I’d be HAPPY to meet ANY who chose to do so), at least ONE, based outside Lagos will not be able to come down at all.

For him and others like him, the nature of my Excel-VB club makes it possible to STILL learn ALL they need to know. See details below, based on a response I made to a member of my Cost-Saving Farm Business Ideas club, living in Ibadan, who asked about Video tutorials:

It so happens that my Excel-VB club is designed to enable business users/busy persons who become members learn from me remotely, with the option of attending the FREE Monthly Workshop (Saturday’s being the maiden one).

Since they signed up, the current members have been receiving downloadable video tutorials taking them though what they need to know.

One member who is based in Port Harcourt, chose to purchase the Home Study video tutorials I’m creating on DVD. After the workshop on Saturday, I will add new videos based on that event’s outcome and send to him via Fedex.

I recommend you also join the club, so you can get the DVD via the 2-in-1 offer I make to new members i.e. pay the membership fee to join the club, in response to an offer I make to you via email, and I will send you the DVD containing the home study step-by-step videos, while you continue, like other members, receiving the online tutorials and tips I send out weekly.

Here are some useful links to give you a better idea of what is on offer:

1. LEARN MS EXCEL-VB AUTOMATION FROM ME…IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME!

http://excelheaven.tayosolagbade.com/?page_id=66

2. Learn more about what you get on the DVD below:

Title: Get My Home Study Excel-VB Programming Video Tutorial DVD

http://excelheaven.tayosolagbade.com/?p=336

3. This page provides a detailed background (including a 9 part slide show presentation) about my Excel-VB Club and Competition:

Title: Welcome to my MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club [Introductory Videos You Need to Watch]

http://excelheaven.tayosolagbade.com/?p=318

RELATED RESOURCE

1 Hour Talk(No. 5): Proven Strategies for Using MS Excel to Boost Employee and Company Productivity (or go to http://tinyurl.com/xlvb1hourtalk)

Click here to contact me if you have any questions or require clarification.

1. Click the link below to download a 9-page MS PowerPoint Slideshow which explains in FULL details what you will be learning – and doing.

http://tayosolagbade.com/uploads/xlhcluboffer.ppsx

Career Development, Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News, Self-Development

How can a “Switchboard” Make Your Life Easier in an MS Excel-VB driven Corporate Data Management/Report Generation System ? [Download A Useful Infographic]

March 16, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

NB: This post is based on excerpts from an update I sent to to my Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation club members today.

Last week, I mentioned that I would be sending you a:

“…gift you can use in your work i.e. an Excel VB app called the “Switch Board” that you can copy to your PC and with a few entries in the settings table, use to open other files on your PC without needing to search all over for them. The visual basic code will be open so you can view and study it, towards learning how to build one.”

The attached is an annotated diagram, with explanatory notes/comments that I created (based on an original version I found on Pierre LeClerc’s website at the time) in 2008

I used it as a marketing tool to illustrate”how a LOW COST, easy to use/maintain and highly user-friendly Data Management/Report Generation System can be setup for a corporate organization using MS Excel-VB automation.

Note the reference in the diagram to “The Switchboard” as a “Single Screen Workbook With Labeled, Hyper linked Command Buttons”.

It (i.e. “The Switchboard”) enables ANY user click on labeled command buttons to quickly open ANY workbook they wish to use, without having to manually search through folders on the PC or company intranet.

This kind of Data Management/Report Generation System can be easily setup in ANY organization, by a user who has acquired the needed competence.

As members of my Excel-VB club (see our closed/private/paid-members only page here), you will be getting:

1. a zipped folder containing a switchboard linked to other documents shown in this diagram, so you can test drive it and get a feel for how easy it can make your life as a results focused business user.

2. Then I will follow it up with a video showing how to setup the whole system.

3. Most importantly, you will be able to request my support in applying what you learn to boost productivity in YOUR own workplace.

In your service,

Tayo

PS: For details of how to join my Excel-VB Club, read PII 005: You Need Excel-VB Coding Skills to MAKE and SAVE Money [Attend Tayo Solagbade’s FREE 4 Hour “Practical Introduction to MS Excel-VB Automation” Workshop]

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News, Self-Development

PII 005: You Need Excel-VB Coding Skills to MAKE and SAVE Money [Attend Tayo Solagbade’s FREE 4 Hour “Practical Introduction to MS Excel-VB Automation” Workshop]

March 14, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

I have been paid as much as N200, 000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) – proof available – to build a single Excel-VB driven spreadsheet application. That same company – a large hospital with over 120 staff – went on to hire me in the course of the year that followed, to build two other apps (a Payslip Generator, and a Cash Office Payments Manager – designed for checking a patient’s payment status).

Late last year I stopped over at the hospital (for the first time in 3 years) when I came in from Cotonou, and they were still using 2 of the 3 apps: Since 2008 i.e. 8 years ago! That, more than anything else, is proof that those 2 apps continue to meet the company’s needs!

SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE

Tayo Solagbade’s
Performance Improvement IDEAS
(PI Squared) Newsletter

**********

PII 005: You Need Excel-VB Coding Skills to MAKE and SAVE Money [Attend Tayo Solagbade’s FREE 4 Hour “Practical Introduction to MS Excel-VB Automation” Workshop]

And all of that happened in Nigeria, NOT in the USA.

Now, I should point out that only a few of my apps have been for financial reporting or accounts. In my part of the world, too many people readily assume Excel is for accounts. WRONG!

Hotels/Restaurants and bars, Construction Engineers/Quantity Surveyors, Database consultants, Health and Fitness Clubs, Medical Hospitals/Clinics, Manufacturing companies, Farm Businesses are just a few that have hired me.

Most wanted their apps to capture routine OPERATIONS data handling and report summaries auto-generation. The decision makers in the organizations signed cheques to pay me, AFTER I showed them what was possible with my demos. I rarely had anything ready to use.

Instead they had often been using MS Excel manually, for routine reporting in formats unique to their businesses. They had tried using conventional off-the-shelf apps, but the peculiarities of their unique needs made it too difficult to customize them enough.

What’s more, the steep learning curve and the need to retrain as staff left made using such conventional off-the-shelf software unattractive for some individuals/businesses.

In one client’s accounts department, I was shown over 100 Excel workbook reports they had generated weekly, for well over a year. But it had become cumbersome generating monthly, quarterly and annual summaries, using the weekly reports.

So, when the accounts manager learnt I could create an app that would have a SINGLE report interface that would use drop menus to enable dynamic generation of the reports weekly, monthly and annually, he instantly bought the idea

For him the savings in time and effort were worth the required investment of money.

If you have routine and repetitive data recording, analysis and report preparation tasks you do manually or using Excel, adopting Excel-VBA Automation can help you GREATLY.

2 options exist: Either identify a competent Excel-VBA resource INSIDE your organization or hire one from outside to do it for you.

Unless your in-house expert is really good, and has enough exposure and experience, it’s always wise to hire an external resource, so your in-house personnel can learn from him/her.

That way, they will be equipped to subsequently maintain or modify/improve whatever application is developed for your company – saving you money that would otherwise be expended in calling in the external resource in future.

According to Pierre Le Clerc, an Excel-VB Solutions Developer whose work has influenced me greatly, Excel is the best reporting application on the market.

I agree. And I have found evidence of it in many forms – including the earlier mentioned fact that many business users, professionals in various fields, make serious use of it for their routine data recording, analysis and report generation.

Data handling – in virtually any form, for virtually any purpose, can be productively subjected to analysis for decision making, using MS Excel – IF the user possesses the required know-how or competence.

But there is a only so much you will be able to do with MS Excel, if you do NOT know how to automate the routine and repetitive aspects of whatever it is you do with it.

It does not matter how many functions you know or how good you are at designing and formatting data entry tables, reporting interfaces etc.

You will eventually get a to a point where integrating intelligent Excel-VB driven automation into your usage of your MS Excel workbooks will dramatically boost your productivity in terms of time, effort and even money you expend.

I say this as one who virtually single-handedly transformed the manual reporting systems in different departments I worked in a corporate multinational manufacturer, over a 7 year period, in my spare time as a brewer/manager, using my self-taught spreadsheet programming skills.

I began with Lotus 1-2-3 macro programming before moving to MS Excel-Visual basic coding (when the company migrated to MS Office from Lotus Smart Suite).

But what I knew while in paid employment pales in comparison to what I’ve since moved on to doing for clients within and outside Africa, as an entrepreneur. I have developed a wide range of customizable applications for individuals and businesses in various industries.

Examples include hospitals, hotels, restaurants/bars, medical clinics, pure (sachet water) factories, business centres, health and fitness clubs, churches, farm businesses (e.g. Ration Formulator, Poultry Farm Manager) and others.

The fact that I continue to make sales to buyers locally and internationally – over a decade after I started this journey confirms that this solution is relevant to the FELT needs of the target market I serve.

In addition, the increasing interest being shown by independent consultants, and career persons in joining my Excel VB club, to access my home study tutorial videos and other resource, is proof that MORE people are waking up to the realization that they NEED Excel-VB programming skills to take their productivity to the next level.

This is why I’ve invited current members of my Excel-VB club to attend the first run of what is to be a monthly FREE 4 Hour Workshop to be conducted by me. It will be holding on 19th March 2016 here in Lagos – Nigeria. The venue will be agreed with my club members, if they choose to invite me over to their preferred location or they will meet with me at the usual venue I use in Lagos.

In case this event interests you, or you’d like to get a copy of my branded auto run DVD (containing home study video tutorials I will be giving to them), read the details on the post below:

Attend Tayo Solagbade’s FREE 4 Hour Practical Introduction to MS Excel-VB Automation Workshop [Get Home Study DVD Video: How to build an automated Cash Book with Bank Reconciliation table, Debtors/Creditors Schedule etc]

SDN Blog™

New posts from last week*

Monday:

PII 004: Get YOUR FREE Copy of Tayo Solagbade’s Quick & Dirty Guide to English Language for French Speakers

WARNING: This Workbook based guide is NOT a standard language learning resource. I’ve called it a quick and dirty guide because that’s what it is. This workbook assumes you’re willing to spend time sitting behind your PC (and also on your mobile) listening to audiios corresponding to clickable words and phrases, (and pictures that appear […]

[Tuesday]:

Developing Positive Income Earning Competence In Nigeria Is The Key to Eliminating Corruption Amongst Nigerians [Case Study: Aljazeera “Africa Investigates” video report titled “Nigeria’s Baby Farmers”]

If you have not yet watched the Aljazeera “Africa Investigates” video report titled “Nigeria’s Baby Farmers”, starring Ghana’s famous under cover journalist – Anas – and Rosemary an investigative journalist from Nigeria, then click here to watch it now. The revelations of the sickening yet vibrant trade in babies, actively engaged in by hospitals and […]

[Wednesday]:

The Need to Conquer Our Fears to Live in Harmony With Nature’s Gifts [True Story With Photos: The Scared Stray Kitten I Rescued 5 Years Ago Is Now A Mother of Two Lovely Kittens!]

In certain societies, people live in harmony with snakes, and even worship them. In others the mere sight of a baby snake will have everyone taking to their heels. It’s a simple question of familiarity. A child that’s never seen (or been near) a dog before, could get scared, and even burst into tears when […]

[Thursday]:

FREE Talk for Farm CEOs About Best Practice Ways to Avoid Disease Outbreaks & Generate EXTRA Income to Cushion Income Loss!

I continue to write formal FREE talk offers for consideration by farmer groups and organizations. This is in line with what I’ve identified as the need to inform and educate farm CEOs on how to: (a) adopt best practice bio-security measures against disease outbreaks and (b) generate complementary/additional income streams to boost their earnings/cushion the […]

[Friday]:

N/A

[Saturday]:

Your Certificate DOES NOT Define YOU! [Mind Map for my Presentation at Yaba College of Technology’s Annual Semester Entrepreneurial Lecture on 3rd May 2012]

Below: This is the Mind Map I used to deliver my core presentation as Guest Speaker at Yaba College of Technology’s Annual Semester Entrepreneurial Lecture – held at Grillo Hall, under the auspices of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development, on 3rd May 2012. My core message was this: Your Certificate DOES NOT Define YOU! Polytechnic […]

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Creator of the Mastering Adversity for Perpetual Success Achievement Coaching Program

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.

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).

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 (SDAc).

newsletter.

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

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Parenting, Recommended Websites & Articles, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

Developing Positive Income Earning Competence In Nigeria Is The Key to Eliminating Corruption Amongst Nigerians [Case Study: Aljazeera “Africa Investigates” video report titled “Nigeria’s Baby Farmers”]

March 8, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

However, for me, this video report further reinforces my belief that equipping as many members of society as possible with competent income earning capabilities, is a critical requirement, if they are to stand a chance of resisting financial pressures in their lives.

And that is the problem we face in Nigeria today.

What we see today – represented in the above mentioned video – is the irrefutable evidence of the fact that:

1. Many Nigerians lack the income earning competence to stay away from crooked ways of making money.

2. And for some who possess skills adequate to earn income for themselves, they engage in naughty corner cutting due a lack self-confidence!

They do not believe enough in the abilities they possess, to focus on using them to earn a living. This is often coupled with wrong – even warped – values they grow up having, from observing others who are misbehaving in society, without getting punished for it.

3. On top of all that, there is the reckless greed and need to own and spend, which drives many in Nigeria, due to the showy culture we have.

(Almost) everybody wants to keep up with the others who seem to be doing well. So, people live desperate lives going out of their way to get more money to outdo one another – even if they have to do dishonest and criminal things!

That’s why when someone proposes a dishonest or criminal/illegal way to earn extra income almost without having to lift a finger, they readily go for it!

The above are just a few of the reasons I vowed LONG ago, to invest all of myself in PREPARING my own kids to arrive adulthood VERY differently from me, and most others I’ve seen.

This was especially after I found myself enduring serious hardships – despite my demonstrable competence – at the hands of those who chose to be crooked, as I went about my affairs as a young adult.

I saw and experienced it in paid employment. But that was mild, compared to what I later saw and experienced at the hands of MANY, after I quit my job to become self-employed.

The sad thing is that it has progressively worsened, with seemingly no sign of improvement in sight – at least not in the near future.

So, I’ve been practicing what I preached in an article I first e-published on 31st July 2003 via www.spontaneousdevelopment.com titled “Pre-Marital Sex Amongst Teenagers – A PROPOSED SOLUTION“

But contrary to what the title suggests, the ideas I shared in that article actually apply to everyone.

If every member of society is helped to develop the needed competencies to overcome the socio-pyschological pressures mentioned above, they will be less willing to engage in naughty acts.

The foundation that needs to be laid is that of income earning competence.

Without it, nothing else can work. I’ve been practicing what I preach with my own kids and in my own circle of influence with other adults and youths.

It is why I have been helping EACH of my kids develop his/her passion into a micro business that generates income. I’ve shared many stories of the progress they are making in past articles on this blog.

But that’s been mainly with regard my 3 boys, supported by their 2 younger sisters.

In the last month or so, I’ve been especially excited to be working directly, and closely, with my 10 and 7 year old daughters to launch their Cookies baking project using our family’s trademark No-Oven Charcoal Stove baking system.

Two weeks ago, they made their first batch of cookies and sold N110’s worth at an event they attended with cousins and friends. Then last week, they made Chin-Chin as well as Cookies – and made another sale, with the buyer asking for a pack of 10 chin chin sachets.

Just this morning, I joined them, along with their brothers, to bake home made bread – using a French chef’s recipe we saw on Youtube – and it tasted great.

Then they went out to give taste samples to their grand parents and customers. When they returned, my 10 year old daughter came up to me and asked when I would be printing the labels for the packs, as I promised. I assured her I would.

On one night we’d gone out, she’d asked if we could market her products to people working in offices and I’d told her “Of course”. I could see from the look in her eyes that she had tasted blood. And her questions showed that she was hungry to do more.

Their Facebook page (Temi and Oluoma’s No-Oven Charcoal Stove Cookies) tells their story in photos and words, and at some point, videos will appear.

Indeed, we’re already creating home study demonstration videos that interested persons can buy to learn how to make the same products on their own, using our low cost techniques.

Once a person discovers a passion that makes him/her willing to do what it takes to get the results s/he wants, in a way that is adequately financially rewarding , s/he becomes self-driven and MUCH more difficult to distract.

This is my purpose with my kids.

And I believe it is the kind of purpose other parents should have for raising theirs as well.

As for the government, they need to create programmes that encourage and encourage people to become micro-entrepreneurs – even as they hold on to day jobs.

That way, they will be sure of augmenting whatever salaried income they earn, in a way that prepares them to deal with unexpected financial challenges, as well as the inevitability of retirement, or forced exit from paid employment.

It is my considered opinion that the above is the most viable way to get most people to stop looking for short-cuts in life.

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Public Speaking, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

PII 004: Get YOUR FREE Copy of Tayo Solagbade’s Quick & Dirty Guide to English Language for French Speakers

March 7, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

WARNING: This Workbook based guide is NOT a standard language learning resource.

I’ve called it a quick and dirty guide because that’s what it is.

This workbook assumes you’re willing to spend time sitting behind your PC (and also on your mobile) listening to audiios corresponding to clickable words and phrases, (and pictures that appear for relevant items). See link to request free preview further down.

It is mainly meant for people who want a basic introduction to get started speaking English or French.

Tayo Solagbade’s
Performance Improvement IDEAS
(PI Squared) Newsletter

**********

PII 004: Get YOUR FREE Copy of Tayo Solagbade’s Quick & Dirty Guide to English Language for French Speakers

WARNING: This Workbook based guide is NOT a standard language learning resource.

I’ve called it a quick and dirty guide because that’s what it is.

It is mainly meant for people who want a basic introduction to get started speaking English or French.

It provides a snapshot of basic vocabulary and expressions needed to functionally integrate into French or English speaking communities as quickly as possible.

It could be that you’re a French speaking person from a Francophone country visiting Ghana or Nigeria on holidays. Or you could be a South African visiting one or more of the Francophone African countries (e.g. Togo) under the auspices of your organisation (or on private business).

Your efforts will be quickly rewarded. You will learn the right phrases or words to say in response to common queries and expressions. And you’ll have a good idea of how to pronounce them, so you are easily understood.

Due to pressure from local professionals in Cotonou when I relocated in 2013, created what I called a “Quick & Dirty Guide to English Language for French Speakers”.

People kept asking me to teach them to speak English (the government has said they should all aim to be bilingual).

My first sale of Part 1: Les Salutations (Greetings) was to a medical doctor who literally grabbed me in a cyber cafe, after hearing me make a call to Nigeria speaking English for about 30 minutes via Skype.

He insisted we become friends and speak on phone so he could improve his fluency. We never found enough time to do that due to his busy schedule. So the DVD proved handy.

This DVD comes as an Excel-VB app that you can click each greeting in a menu to hear my voice reciting the EXACT phrase, and responses, sometimes giving alternatives.

Part 2 has one page pictorial CONVERSATIONS (e.g Asking for Directions), in PowerPoint slideshow formats, accompanied with audios, as well as a slideshow that identifies ALL the body parts – using a full length photo of me (and my voice)…LOL!

When you join the Farm Business Ideas club, you’ll get the Part 1 DVD as a BONUS.

Watch the preview of the video I created with a team of students from the National University campus that I co-opted within a few days of my arrival – on the sales page below:

http://tayosolagbade.com/qdg.html

NB: I’ve since redone ALL the audios in my own voice on the advice of a bilingual client who does language translations.

Buy ANY of my products/services from N12.5k upwards, and get A FREE copy of Part 1 of my “Quick & Dirty Guide to English Language for French Speakers” (N5k) – as described above.

Purchasing ANY product or service from N12.5k upwards from any of the locations listed below, gets you this product free:

www.tayosolagbade.com/sdn-sell.htm, www.excelheaven.biz or www.tayosolagbade.com.

CONVERSATIONAL FLUENCY GROUP EXERCISES – To Aid French Speakers learning the English Language!

I’m planning a special event to be held at agreed venues for interested groups as I travel, for persons who purchase copes of this guide i.e. French speakers who want to learn to speak English more proficiently.

They will write short (one page) speeches in their favoured French Language, and I will help them translate it to English.

They will then be coached to deliver the English versions of their speeches to audiences as a way of helping them gain better grasp of the language.

This is an exercise I have personally benefitted from. My plan is to engage the support of sponsors – to publicise this event, to organise it for as many groups as are interested.

If you’re reading this, and would like to collaborate with me to make this happen, click here to use a web form to get in touch – you will receive sample downloads of the workbook guide and audios.

SDN Blog™

New posts from last week*

Monday:

PII 003: Proven Web Marketing Ideas Your Travel and Tourism or Hospitality Business Needs

If you run a Travel and Tourism agency, or are in the hospitality (hotels, restaurants and bars) business, catering to travelers and tourists, the ideas I share below can help you achieve substantial and sustainable generation of quality sales leads at VERY low to zero cost. As you read on, you’ll encounter a FREE instant […]

[Tuesday]:

A Website That Works Wins You Repeat Visitors, Leads, & Sales: NOT Admirers & Compliments!

For some time now, I have had the opportunity to discuss extensively with many entrepreneurs and business owners(some being clients for whom I had to build websites) about what kind of online presence they need to have for their businesses. In many cases I have found these individuals to be MORE preoccupied with the aesthetics […]

[Wednesday]:

It Takes Proven Know-How to Achieve Repeatable Web Marketing Success [True Story: How My 9 Year Old Domain Got Poached In May 2014, and I Used My Web Marketing System On a NEW Domain, to Build My Online Brand/Sales to a Higher Level Within 6 Months]

Two great quotes by a great man, who achieved great results in his chosen field of expertise: “It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am” – Muhammad Ali “It ain’t bragging if you can back it up” – Muhammad Ali Image Source: http://orig06.deviantart.net To paraphrase Ali with regard to BOTH quotes, […]

[Thursday]:

You Cannot Sell Web Marketing as a Commodity (Hint: Suggestions to SEO Service “Sales Persons” and Those Who Buy From Them)

[Update – 5th March 2016 at 19:28: Click here to listen a short audio recording I did on this subject BEFORE I wrote this article] The views I express in this piece may rub some hard core SEO practitioners the wrong way. However, I urge you to keep an open mind as you read, so […]

[Friday]:

Attend Tayo Solagbade’s FREE 4 Hour Practical Introduction to MS Excel-VB Automation Workshop [Get Home Study DVD Video: How to build an automated Cash Book with Bank Reconciliation table, Debtors/Creditors Schedule etc]

NB: At the bottom of this post is the transcript of a message I sent (with download link to my NEW VIDEO titled “How to build an automated Cash Book”) today to members of my Excel-VB Club in continuation of their home study coaching. Join 3 accountants and a university professor in my NEW MS […]

[Saturday]:

Spontaneous Coaching™ Program: Monetize Your Expertise to Make EXTRA Money With LESS Effort by Creating Cash Flow Generating Assets (CFGA)™

Learn How to Create Cash Flow Generating Assets (CFGA)™ to earn you income [Below: Downloadable Flyer Image]… (1) even on public holidays (2) even when you have no client projects in hand (3) even when you’re on annual leave (4) AND…even when you’re ASLEEP! Just Like I’ve done for YEARS! In July 2015, I came […]

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Creator of the Mastering Adversity for Perpetual Success Achievement Coaching Program

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.

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).

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 (SDAc).

newsletter.

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

I could not help pointing out to the driver how readily one could see people shouting insults and curses at one another on either side of the road. Some were even fighting – right next to the highway, with most others simply walking past.

Look, as I’ve said in past articles, I once spent 3 months – in 2013 – living among undergraduates half my age, in a room on the National University campus Calavi, when I failed to find accommodation in Cotonou.

One day in Cotonou, after I’d left Calavi and found my own apartment, I recall seeing a commercial bike rider accidentally splash water in a pothole on a man standing along the road.

For some strange reason, people raised in the Nigerian society arrive adulthood with a notion (and a VERY faulty notion it is!) that one must accept the reasoning or thinking adopted by the majority.

Sadly, Nigerian society is a place where those willing to express divergent views on an issue often find themselves in the minority…

I’ve done additional research on this subject and found that such irrationally argumentative people also exist in other societies around the word – including the wonderful US of America!

It is my considered opinion that given what I see in today’s Nigeria, if Socrates had been born in our time, in our country, Nigerians would probably have lynched him to death before he could make a name for himself!

Now here’s one quote I especially LOVE, because I think many people fail to realize how doable it is:

Only people who take things too personally, fail to understand the need for this matured way of living. They believe they must either win you over to their line of thinking or stop liking you or speaking with you. Haba!

Final Words: The ability to act in line with the above admonition will often be a function of the DEGREE of Emotional Intelligence(EI) an individual possesses.

Here’s one final quote to drive home my point…

Related Article:

This case study is one that a lot of business users can relate to, so it was no surprise that the attendees showed lots of interest, and made excellent suggestions about applying the same approach to work they do e.g. preparing monthly payrolls etc.

If you’re a non-member, and would like to gain access to the above mentioned learning resources, click here to contact me.

Now, in addition to the above mentioned video, I’ve included on this page, download links with explanatory notes, to the video I recorded in response to last week’s request for Excel-VB coding help from a business user in India.

That’s why I’ve included download links to the 2 zipped folders I sent to the man who requested the solution, for members to download:

IMPORTANT TIPS FOR WATCHING THE VIDEOS

PS: If you’re a club member, relevant download links would have been emailed to you. If you have not seen them email or call me.

Tayo Solagbade’s Performance Improvement IDEAS (PI Squared) Newsletter

PII 006: Succeed by Becoming an Expert at Solving Real World Problems [Hint: Highlights from Maiden Edition of Tayo Solagbade’s FREE Monthly Workshop for his MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club Members Held on Sat 19th March 2016 in Lagos-Nigeria]

By way of interest, before the workshop went into full swing, I received 2 phone calls from potential buyers in the presence of my attendees….

This journey of building a club based follower ship began in May 2015. But to get this far, I’ve had to work hard on myself for YEARS!

In order to improve myself, I studied – and continue to study – the works of experts recognized as established thought leaders and practitioners in Excel-VB Solutions development in the real world.

You see, Pierre explains that a competent Excel-VB Solutions Developer will have a real world relevant problem solving mind set – as different from the world view adopted quite often by people called “Programmers”.

At the bottom of this piece is a diagrammatic representation, with notes, of those 5 categories – which reflects LEVELS of Excel-VB proficiency of a user.

That’s why I have examples of automated workbook reports (like this one build for the National Distribution Manager of a Large Multinational Telecom Company) that do NOT use a single line of VBA code, and yet cuts down report generation time by over 80% – compared to status quo!

Because some of the code sentences showed he was using code in VBA to do things that would have been better handled using Excel’s spreadsheet functions.

In order to sell custom Excel-VB software as a profitable business in a socioeconomic environment where it did NOT previously exist (Nigeria), I’ve had to adapt ideas from developers in Europe and America to suit my needs.

The above experiences have made me realize that users in these parts especially, or those with similar backgrounds to them will best be helped to develop interest in learning Excel-VB automation by using what is called a Case-Study based Experiential Coaching Approach.

Instead, I have step-by-step video and PDF tutorials meant to introduce every learner to foundational concepts of Excel-VB programming.

Click here to learn more about my Home/Self-Study Tutorials used in my One-on-One Experiential Coaching

Below: A mind-map showing 5 levels of Excel-VB Solutions Development Competence I offer support to achieve

True Story: Responding to last week’s request for Excel-VB coding help from a business user in India

Below are screen shots of the original code he sent, and the modified one I sent back, PLUS email/facebook exchanges we’ve since this morning…

Notice in his last email response, above, that he said he looked forward to requesting more of my “help” in the same manner…

That’s why I call my approach Experiential Coaching.

If you’re a business user of Excel in Nigeria/Africa and you represent a group, organization or association of business users, and would like to gain access to the learning solutions I offer with regard to the above, click here to contact me.

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

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:

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:

But, years of experience building my brand based on provision of a previously unknown solution (MS Excel-VB software development) had taught me to resilient!

[EXAMPLE 1] Here’s an article I first published online over 10 years ago which proves that I practice what I preach.

The key imperative for most people who handle data is to use it to monitor – and where feasible – control performance i.e. they study/anticipate trends in a way that helps decision making towards ensuring REPRODUCTION of desired results, while minimizing – or eliminating – undesirable ones.

[EXAMPLE 2] Here’s a 1 Hour Talk I’ve been offering since 2014

All you need to succeed is vision, faith, determination, creativity and persistence!

You need no connections and success is NOT about genetic or heredity.

In 2002, I followed my dream of developing custom spreadsheet software for a living, by quitting my job to become self-employed.

RELATED RESOURCES

1. LEARN MS EXCEL-VB AUTOMATION FROM ME…IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME!

2. Learn more about what you get on the DVD below:

3. This page provides a detailed background (including a 9 part slide show presentation) about my Excel-VB Club and Competition:

4. My Excel-VB Club’s Closed/Private Group on Facebook

A. At about 12:53 p.m on Tuesday 15th March 2016, I got the message below from an Indian gentleman, requesting my help with getting Excel-VB code he was writing to run – trouble free – for a task he was trying to automate.

I replied that I would do what he asked on the condition that he agree to let me use him/his “project” as a case study for step-by-step video tutorial I would share with my Excel-VB club members – who pay to learn from me.

The above message came in a 4:29a.m – I’d only just gone to bed 1.5 hours before then, after finishing work on a client project.

So, when I saw it in the morning, I wrote back saying(in part):

Looking back, I’m glad I was frank with him, because as I type these words, I still have to do a visit to the talk venue his p.m and also review material I’m to use tomorrow!

B. It’s now confirmed that I’ll be having more than ONE run of my 4 hour FREE talk event tomorrow. Reason: Some members of my Excel-VB club will not be able to make it down to join the main group from 2p.m.

It so happens that my Excel-VB club is designed to enable business users/busy persons who become members learn from me remotely, with the option of attending the FREE Monthly Workshop (Saturday’s being the maiden one).

Here are some useful links to give you a better idea of what is on offer:

RELATED RESOURCE

The attached is an annotated diagram, with explanatory notes/comments that I created (based on an original version I found on Pierre LeClerc’s website at the time) in 2008

This kind of Data Management/Report Generation System can be easily setup in ANY organization, by a user who has acquired the needed competence.

PS: For details of how to join my Excel-VB Club, read PII 005: You Need Excel-VB Coding Skills to MAKE and SAVE Money [Attend Tayo Solagbade’s FREE 4 Hour “Practical Introduction to MS Excel-VB Automation” Workshop]

Tayo Solagbade’s Performance Improvement IDEAS (PI Squared) Newsletter

PII 005: You Need Excel-VB Coding Skills to MAKE and SAVE Money [Attend Tayo Solagbade’s FREE 4 Hour “Practical Introduction to MS Excel-VB Automation” Workshop]

And all of that happened in Nigeria, NOT in the USA.

In one client’s accounts department, I was shown over 100 Excel workbook reports they had generated weekly, for well over a year. But it had become cumbersome generating monthly, quarterly and annual summaries, using the weekly reports.

If you have routine and repetitive data recording, analysis and report preparation tasks you do manually or using Excel, adopting Excel-VBA Automation can help you GREATLY.

Data handling – in virtually any form, for virtually any purpose, can be productively subjected to analysis for decision making, using MS Excel – IF the user possesses the required know-how or competence.

I say this as one who virtually single-handedly transformed the manual reporting systems in different departments I worked in a corporate multinational manufacturer, over a 7 year period, in my spare time as a brewer/manager, using my self-taught spreadsheet programming skills.

The fact that I continue to make sales to buyers locally and internationally – over a decade after I started this journey confirms that this solution is relevant to the FELT needs of the target market I serve.

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

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:

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:

What we see today – represented in the above mentioned video – is the irrefutable evidence of the fact that:

The above are just a few of the reasons I vowed LONG ago, to invest all of myself in PREPARING my own kids to arrive adulthood VERY differently from me, and most others I’ve seen.

So, I’ve been practicing what I preached in an article I first e-published on 31st July 2003 via www.spontaneousdevelopment.com titled “Pre-Marital Sex Amongst Teenagers – A PROPOSED SOLUTION“

In the last month or so, I’ve been especially excited to be working directly, and closely, with my 10 and 7 year old daughters to launch their Cookies baking project using our family’s trademark No-Oven Charcoal Stove baking system.

Once a person discovers a passion that makes him/her willing to do what it takes to get the results s/he wants, in a way that is adequately financially rewarding , s/he becomes self-driven and MUCH more difficult to distract.

Tayo Solagbade’s
Performance Improvement IDEAS
(PI Squared) Newsletter

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

Tayo Solagbade’s
Performance Improvement IDEAS
(PI Squared) Newsletter

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

Tayo Solagbade’s
Performance Improvement IDEAS
(PI Squared) Newsletter

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