Nothing compares to a passion-driven team of people, committed to giving their best at what they do. Whether in paid employment, sports or elsewhere, the results they get will often record spectacular results.
Very often, the success of a team of people will depend on the leadership they have. Typically, that would be a central figure, or personality who will make team members buy into, and actively work together, to achieve the team’s purpose.
SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Success in any area of life will come to you more frequently if you believe in yourself – unwaveringly – and show it.
The foregoing FACT becomes even more important to keep in mind if/when you have to start-up or run a business of your own. Few endeavours in life, are as challenging as having to take a business idea from zero to rewarding success.
In approaching people you want business from, you must come across as self-assured/confident and enthusiastic.
I have “entertained” many friends, clients (and even prospects) with the story of how, back in 2007, I endured major humiliation one fateful day when I (mistakenly?) entered an office in Ikeja, here in Lagos, to introduce my custom spreadsheet software development service.
The owner of the company was so amused to hear me say I could develop low-cost and time-saving automated spreadsheet software for him using MS Excel, that he burst out laughing many times, as I spoke.
Eventually, he turned to someone seated next to him, and pointing to me said “Can you imagine him wanting to teach me Excel? I know more Excel than he knows! What can he possibly teach me?” Looking at me, with a mocking expression on his face, he said with a tone of finality “Anyway, I wish you all the best”.
And it was a good thing that I did so.
Guess what happened? Before the end of that day, I had won a project to build a custom application for a medium-sized company in Omole Estate, Phase 1 in Ikeja, Lagos. And I went on to sell THAT same application to a similar company – also in Ikeja – less than ONE month after finishing it.
Looking back, I realise that it was the way I carried myself that often “won” over the clients. I always presented my offer in an engaging manner.
Apart from showing that I was excited about getting an opportunity to tell them what I could do to help them, I was also careful to employ very graphic verbal illustrations, that instantly communicated the benefits they wanted.
Most importantly, I NEVER let unsuccessful sales attempts from my past faze me one bit – every time I had a new opportunity to make my sales offers. Anyone who wants to succeed in selling to others will need to be able to do likewise or possibly better.
This article offers you a unique opportunity to access practical wisdom shared by a successful entrepreneur about raising startup capital. It is based on my handwritten notes, from a seminar I attended in the year 2000 (24 months before starting my own business).

From my undergraduate days I have honed my skill at taking near verbatim transcriptions of speakers’ utterances! Even clients often compliment me on my knack for documentation.
In addition to the actual notes I took from the seminar, I have also included REAL-WORLD relevant comments and annotations on the subject discussed, by drawing from my 10 years of experience in applying the ideas in starting/running my own business in Nigeria!
This article treats one of ten principles explained: “How To Get Other People To Give You Money To Start A Business (ONE Big Mistake You MUST Avoid)”.
It is instructive to note that this veteran entrepreneur told the personal story of when he started out in business, to explain to us the concepts he wanted us to understand in order to increase our chances of succeeding.
S.O told us that between December 1983 and January 1984 he read two of Napoleon Hill’s books – “Think & Grow Rich” and “Positive Mental Attitude”. What he learned from them prepared him mentally for the journey he planned to embark upon into the world of self-employment/business.
In February 1984, he had no one to give him money to start his own business even though they had it.
It was due to a mistake he was making. Simply put, he was NOT addressing the issue of WIIFM translated to mean “What’s In It For Me?”
So he spoke a while to us on “How to get other people’s cooperation”.
Basically, S.O explained that you have to think of the interest of the other person. Ask yourself – “What do I give in return for the money?” and /or “How will the person giving his money get it back out of the business?”
In March 1984, he decided to put his idea of starting a business of his own on the back burner.
However, the decision by his then employer – a newspaper company (where he worked as editor) – to implement a 25% cut on staff salaries forced him to revisit the idea and eventually put in his resignation.
That got him N4,000.00 (Four Thousand Naira). Note that this was a significant amount of money back then in 1984!
S.O then went to an older friend/mentor, who without asking any questions gave him a N2, 500 cheque.
My experiences in trying to get money in my startup years, confirm S.O is right. Without offering WIIFM answers, people will either NOT help or they’ll STOP helping.
So, when you start planning to start your business, take time to THINK of useful benefits you will offer to those you intend approaching, in exchange for the capital, money or funds you need them to give you.
You could offer them a stake in the business – equity. Or promise to pay back at an interest rate attractive enough to make them feel justified in taking the risk to invest in your idea.
While making your offers and promises, be RESPONSIBLE – do not exaggerate the possibilities, and DO tell let them know the risks involved, as there will often be that chance that your idea might not get up and running instantly:-)
Very rarely will people be prepared to part with significant amounts of money, if they have nothing to gain in return for doing so. Cater to that identified need in people, and you WILL get ready cooperation from them most of the time.
NB: This article was first published in 2011
Experience sharing is a powerful way to coach and influence. And it works quite well for people of all ages. I know this from years of using it successfully, both in and out of paid employment. Also, research based publications abound that confirm this.
However, if you do not offer to share them, people who can benefit will never know you offer such useful wisdom, and insights.
The world will be a better place if more of us deliberately tap into our wealth of past experiences, especially way back to our childhood years, to coach others.
The growing up period and process can be very confusing from most children. Hearing stories from established adults about how they also struggled to find meaning, and eventually take their places/make their marks in the world, can be both encouraging, and inspiring to kids, and young people.
In the past, I’d done it informally.
But in observing my kids, I recalled reading that Andrew Carnegie said teaching kids success principles (like those discussed in Hill’s “Think & Grow Rich”), can help them emerge better prepared to excel in life.
And that’s what made me decide to do it on a formal basis.
I believe it’s time I embraced my God-given gift for helping people in this manner.
Testimonials from those I’ve helped in the past (some reproduced at the start of my Best Practice Parenting book – Kukuru Danger™) now make more sense to me.
Click here, to request the FREE PDF preview of the book now – it features several such testimonials.
Now I understand, and I want to help as many other young (and even those not so young!) people willing to walk what today is the least travelled, but surest path to authentic success achievement in life!
The achievements I’ve recorded in life, since those troubled early years, are based on corrective guidance received from my parents and other well meaning adults while I was growing up.
That has helped me record successes in virtually every area of endeavor I’ve ventured since then – with support from the Creator.
And every step of the way, my resolve to continue being a source of pride to my parents has never wavered. Neither has my passion to continue being an exemplary role model parent in the life of my kids.
I urge you to invest time, effort and energy towards doing the above, not just for yourself, but more importantly, for the sake of your kids.
If you need help, click here to send me a message.
[NB: An auto responder will deliver a FREE PDF preview of my Best Practice Parenting Book – Kukuru Danger™ to your inbox, along with a message from me]
My DIY (Do-It-Yourself ) mental attitude is the reason I have relentlessly succeeded, in spite of myriad challenges, over the past decade as an entrepreneur. Many of the obstacles I encountered were intimidating, and would have stopped me permanently, if I had NOT possessed this DIY reflex.
For instance, this website (www.tayosolagbade.com), my newsletter, indeed my entire business life would have “died” years ago, if I had not formed the “habit”.
Example: Click here read how despite losing my 9 year old spontaneousdevelopment.com domain in May 2014, I built a superior reincarnation of my website on www.tayosolagbade.com all by myself, in a matter of weeks!
(NB: In a related article written about 7 years back, I described myself as a Jack of Many Trades. Click to read it).
TIP: Consistent with the theme of this article, was the over 3 hour battle it took me to send it out as an email broadcast to my newsletter subscribers. From 10pm Nigerian time on Monday 17 Dec 2012, till well after 1a.m the next day(I was still based in Nigeria then), my Etisalat internet connection simple went to sleep for some strange reason at the time I need it to be awake the most.
And that was happening NOT for the first time!
Luckily for me, I’d already published the newsletter as scheduled on this blog which auto-published to my Facebook business fan page and personal profile, as well as my Twitter page via RSS Graffiti.
As you can imagine, it turned out to be a good thing that I knew enough to set it up this way. Otherwise, I’d have been unable to publish the online version when due!
If you live and work in a developed society, the need to do things yourself sometimes, may not readily appeal to you.
However, for people, like me, in less developed social environments, like mine, one often has to develop multiple interests and competencies to make up for the shortage of RELIABLE solutions.
A few years ago, I met a Nigerian gentleman who had just returned from the USA where he’d been away for about 5 years. During that time he had made a bit of name for himself as an author and speaker. His published book had sold quite well in the small town he was based.
And the local media had given him enough coverage to make him close to being a celebrity of sorts. From what he and his pretty Austrian wife told me, it was at one of his book signings that they met – and fell for each other.
My friend wanted to republish one of his popular books from the USA with a local printer. He also wanted to produce an audio version of the book. This was part of the plan he had to launch himself into the Nigerian market.
According to him however, the problem was that there seemed to be no standard service providers like those in the USA that could do what he wanted. He said back in the states he would simply hand over his manuscript to his agent, and virtually everything needed to get the book published would be handled by the latter.
Out here, he complained about having to run around looking for business centers to type and typeset his manuscript. And then there were countless errors that he had to sit with a computer operator to work through and correct.
To make matters worse, by the time I got involved I discovered they were typing his manuscript in Corel Draw!
My friend had no idea the business centre operator was using an inappropriate software application for his work.
He said “I just want it done! Back in the states I never had to get involved like this. I know nothing about all of this stuff”.
To cut the long story short, I had to really get involved in helping him find the right places to get the help he needed.
And that included going out of my way to locate a studio where he and his wife could produce the quality of recording they wanted for the book’s audio version.
Here’s what he asked me at a point: “So how come you know about all these things?
You’re not even a book publisher or anything!”
My answer was that I’d learnt the hard way that it was better to know a little about most things I planned to engage others to do for me. That equips me to assess what they do for me – and also contribute intelligently to the process – even do a few things on it by myself, should they be unavailable.
Now, what my friend went through can happen to anyone in one form or the other.
Maybe you won’t be coming to speak or provide your expert service here in Nigeria. But right there in your base
things can still go wrong.
How ready will you be when that happens?
(NB: I recall reading New York Times stories that described the experiences of people who’d failed to heed warnings
issued about Hurricane Sandy. Some of them got trapped – a few even lost their lives, because they failed to prepare for the unlikely but possible!)
Maybe she’s a tech savvy person who prepares all your Power Point presentations, or does your graphic designs for your client projects for instance.
I hate to think negative too…:-)
But what if for some reason, she becomes temporarily unavailable?
Do you have ready access to someone else you can reliably reach out to? And if not, do you have any idea of how to prepare a Power point presentation as impressive as those she does for you by yourself?
What about preparing your speaker one-sheets? Or creating passable designs that can meet the client’s expectations?
God forbid you discover a wrong phone number or mistyped email address on the newly prepared speaker one sheet you want to give a meeting planner. Or maybe there’s a wrong phone number on the website header image/banner to be used for a client’s website.
If you had requested a copy of the raw Corel Draw or Photoshop file used to prepare
the speaker sheet or website graphic, maybe you’d be able to quickly edit it, and produce a corrected version.
But if you had NOT requested a copy of the raw document, or you did NOT know how to carry out simple editing edits of that kind using the relevant application…you’d risk making a poor impression on the client. Indeed, it could cause the client to lower his/her rating of you!
The truth is that even the most reliable of people – your trusted assistant or highly reputable provider inclusive – can sometimes make mistakes or fail to come through for you when it matters.
We are all human after all – which is why one must always have a fall back plan in place.
Will you be prepared with an alternative plan if/when that happens? Or will you just try to wing it?
That implies repeat business, even referrals, are likely to come from them for you.
Ironically, you may only need to know a little about most things, to achieve this significant impact.
Interestingly, learning those little things may just require PROACTIVELY spending a little time with those who do those things for you normally.
Or it could mean making out time to read – and practice what you learn from – a self-help (or DIY) tutorial!
In the end, quite often, you’ll find you have a LOT to gain, and nothing to lose by adopting this attitude, and acting diligently on it all the time.
They will enjoy a lot of positive attention and recognition from their peers and adults alike, for being that way. Attention that will over time earn them financially rewarding personal and career advancement opportunities.
Good luck!
PS: I practice what I preach…
And that’s just one of so many things they have learnt how to do. You can do the same for your kids. They will be forever grateful to you :-))
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 :-))
A Proven Strategy to Find Profitable Buyers Regardless of Your Domain Name
NB: This article was first published online via spontaneousdevelopment.com in 2012
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950), Man and Superman (1903) “Maxims for Revolutionists”
Quite often the needed support was in form of a willingness to simply avoid saying negative things to my face. Honestly, that would have been enough.
For the person going through hard times in the pursuit of a valued goal, nothing can make the process more difficult than having persons close to him/her, and who happen to be privy to the details of his/her suffering, resort to making insensitive remarks or lame attempts at humour!
Don’t get me wrong, I am one person who is well aware of the need to be able to laugh at myself when I fall flat on my face in the pursuit of my sometimes crazy goals. Those who know me will attest to the fact, that I readily come up with humorous narratives based on temporary defeats I’m going through at a point in time, to share with others.
Rarely do they do this for the reasons they offer e.g. “he’s just making his wife and kids suffer for nothing by insisting on making it in this line of business”.
Only few people who have deep levels of conviction are able to retain decent degrees of self-esteem, to continue, after being exposed to such orchestrated doses of negativity.
In my case, I am “lucky” to have been able to repeatedly turn my situation around for the better, by having “blind faith” and “refusing to recognise failure” – causing no small embarrassment to those who had questioned my abilities, and sometimes my sanity:-)
That’s why I sometimes ask people: What would it cost you to keep your doubts to yourself, and offer only words of encouragement, support and even ideas, to a person who is courageous enough to embark on a life changing adventure, to achieve a seemingly impossible goal?
If we really do, it should NEVER be okay to give up on others – especially not on those we can see have not given up on themselves!
I believe that if someone who believes so passionately in herself and her dream, in spite of what others consider glaring realities around her, continues to strive to achieve it, YOU (and others like you) can help by pursuing one of the following “more acceptable” lines of action:
a. Offer active support – Ask her what you can do to help the process. Quite often, it won’t be money. It could be experience, or unique insight! If you have doubts, raise them in a manner that does not attack her self-esteem. Except what she aims to do is illegal or unethical, offering support in this manner should pose no problem to you.
b. Offer passive support – If you are like many others, who find it difficult to buy into other people’s dreams or visions, but still care, I urge you to keep any “don’t do it” suggestions to yourself. She is unlikely to welcome them. People who are driven to achieve highly challenging goals do not appreciate being told they cannot do it. She might need someone to talk to when things get rough. Be there for her.
Over time, your efforts are likely to quicken the progress towards success, and also ease the pain and suffering she is exposed to, until the breakthrough is achieved. At the very least, you get to look good whether or not the goal is achieved, and your relationship with that person will likely be enhanced.
In my experience, so many people try to give up on another person’s behalf, especially when they know s/he sometimes needs their help for different things in order to keep working towards the goal.
Make suggestions if need be, but keep them constructive. Most importantly, resist the temptation to try getting the person to be “reasonable, and find something more worthwhile to do”.
As can be seen from studying the lives of many great achievers dead and alive today, the progress of mankind might just depend on people like the person(s) you support in this manner!
I believe the quote I started with above, provides a fitting end to this piece…
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950), Man and Superman (1903) “Maxims for Revolutionists”
Those who become unstoppable at what they do, often stand out from the crowd, in terms of their demonstrated abilities, and achievements. In other words, they are incomparable. By implication, their names come first in people’s minds, ahead of any others who do what they do.
SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In February 2001, about 4 months after I got promoted out of my shift-based Brewer position, to become the Guinness Nigeria Plc Benin Brewery Technical Training & Development Manager, I came to the conclusion that I needed to fast-track my plans to quit paid employment and start my own business.

He knew of my many frustrations with not being able to pursue my passions – and especially my desire to be free to explore new ideas I had.
In the process of preparing for my exit, having made the final decision, I wrote out on the back of a computer printout, key steps I intended to carryout to achieve my goal of succeeding in starting up my own business.
Recently, I stumbled on that sheet of paper, and from reading through/looking back over the past 8 years, it occurred to me that I had actually followed those steps to get this far.
I now reproduce that list below, with brief explanations, in the hope that they might be of some use to others who may be contemplating doing something similar:
I intensified researching possible types of business ventures to start.
I then attended, where possible, relevant training seminars or talks that provided needed information. Subsequently, I tried as hard as possible to put into use what I had learnt.
For instance, I actually used my annual leave periods to try my hands at certain ventures on a micro scale (e.g T-Shirts transfer printing for sale)
I sought out others who had quit paid employment to start their own businesses, and listened to their narrations of what it was like. I asked them questions about how I could go about implementing my own plans.
In certain cases I paid money to gain access to their knowledge and insight via consultation sessions. What I learnt from them, and from reading various books/publications by competent authors helped me build reasonable confidence to continue.
By the time I had operated for the first year, the reality had dawned on me that it was not going to be an easy task. Over time, I forced myself to LEARN from the experiences I was having, how to develop alternative ways to GROW my business, regardless of market place variations or even competition.
I actively subscribed to newsletters published by experienced entrepreneurs (mostly foreign/American) and I used my knowledge of my local business environment to adapt their ideas to work for me.
Today, this has helped me reach a point, where I can actually claim that I do not have any direct competitors in the markets I operate in – boosting my ability to get hired and paid profitably.
Again I did this by reading widely, especially publications by other entrepreneurs (e.g. Jeffery Meyer), and then applying their ideas, tweaking them where necessary.
But I also experimented using my own ideas, and over time have tested and found some of them quite effective.
One example: I find I am often able to get clients to hire me readily, if I offer them a barter exchange payment option of up to 50% of my total fee; or by giving them a discount if they agree to provide power supply, Internet access on their premises for my work (a great saving for me in terms of time, effort and costs required to do them).
As I continued my work, I soon discovered that there were many people who needed help finding meaning/purpose in their lives. Following chance encounters with some of such people, I realised that I could actually help them do so, by sharing my own experiences and discoveries.
So, I decided to start writing – articles, reports, books – and speaking. Later on, it occurred to me that I could use these same resources (my written stuff) to market myself and the products/services I offered.
That process led me to start employing web marketing in my work. As the opportunity presented itself, I shared what I discovered from doing this, with others who indicated interest.
As I said earlier, looking back, I have actually carried out the above steps over the years, and I truly believe that the progress I have made today is due, in no small measure, to that.
Therefore, if you are planning to start out in business, the ideas offered above should hopefully prove helpful.
Good luck!
NB: This article was first published online on July 30, 2010

Download this PDF ebook to read the true story of how I literally single-handedly created a market for my Excel-Visual Basic solutions development service in Nigeria/Africa.
Since 2004, I’ve helped individuals and businesses in Nigeria/Africa (in recent years Asia/America as well) get MORE productivity boosting value out of the Microsoft Excel® on their PCs, at a fraction of what it would cost them if they purchased an off-the-shelf software application.
When I began, NO MARKET existed for solutions of the kind I now sell so readily today. I’ve had to single handedly build demand for them using creativity and persisistence, over the past decade…
I kept doing this even as I pursued other income generation opportunities.
Despite all the effort I put into creating different flyers, sending our letters, creating case studies to demonstrate the potential benefit of spreadsheet automation, I never got more than one or two invitations for discussion after which I was never called back!
This gentleman engaged me to build a menu-driven e-version of a 314 page paper-based Department of Petroleum Resources document(Environmental Guidelines And Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria – EGASPIN), for a client company in the Oil & Gas Industry.
I had previously built a website for his company, during which time I had told him about my Excel VB Solutions Development Services.
He would later offer me the DPR project, and even though it wasn’t my idea of how ExcelVB could be best applied, I felt it was at least a start.
Since then, I’ve developed other applications to demonstrate the various uses to which Excel VB solutions can be applied if off-the-shelf commercial software are not flexible enough or are too expensive for their purchase to be justified.
Instead I used them to show prospects (via demonstration) what could be done for them, should they have a need to get more out of Excel.
But since those early years, I have used feed back from various clients to develop a range of time tested apps that I now sell, with on-demand customization to clients in various markets.
Some of my passive income generating custom Excel-VB apps include my Payslip Generator, Ration Formulator and more recently, my Poultry Farm Manager.
Well, if you go by the fact that he paid N100,000(One Hundred Thousand Naira) 100% up front(I can supply FULL evidence to back up this claim), I guess one could say he was quite convinced that it would be worth it.
And I did not disappoint.
That project was completed within ten (10) days, because I got him to specify exactly what he wanted up front. That way I was able to progress without having “scope” changes introduced by him subsequently based on after-thoughts etc.
Today, I have his completed/signed copy of my Job Completion/Feedback Form (which I would be willing to make available to any interested persons to see) indicating that what he got was indeed to his satisfaction.
Not long after I finished that first project, I visited Ghana, to explore opportunities for business partnerships/collaboration, but was unable to make much headway from meetings I had, during my 2 week stay.
Basically, the owner realised the business had grown too big for paper-based recording and analysis of daily sales and expenses to be adequate for performance monitoring and measurement.
Also, whilst trying to source funding to expand the business, from his bankers, he found they wanted certain detailed historical records of the operations over a period, which were not exactly obtainable in an easily retrievable format in the paper based records.
I successfully completed that project, and later created demos to promote my work to other clients, based on it. As the years passed, I won more complex projects that challenged me to take my work to the next level.
At a point, I realized I had to find ways to add to what I knew, so as to deliver more robust solutions. Eventually, following weeks of research online, apart from useful websites and discussions I learnt from, I purchased the excellent book titled “Professional Excel Development”.
It came with a CD containing very useful workbook examples based on the book’s contents. And they all had their Visual Basic modules accessible.
In no time, I began using what I learnt to build a superior breed of applications. And that has enabled me deliver better value to buyers of my apps, for much greater remuneration.
From people in developed societies and even amongst my own countrymen, a seeming stereotype has periodically surfaced in the feedback I’ve gotten.
After browsing through my Excel Heaven website, watching demo videos and downloading sample apps I offered…
1. A Singaporean gentleman (also an ExcelVB developert) wrote me from saying the degree of sophistication of my apps made him doubt that I could be based in Nigeria, as stated on the contact page.
It took calling him from my mobile phone, to convince him it was true. We’ve been online friends since 2007, and even shared ideas on client projects we’ve had to handle over the years.
2. A Pakistani inquirer challenged me to chat with him on Skype, if I was sure my Poulry Farm Manager app existed.
Within 10 minutes of responding to his questions, including posting some screenshots, he post: “Wow. It is good to see something like this coming out of Africa”.
I found that quite amusing.
3. A Nigerian business owner wanted to know if I did my coding myself, or whether I just (like so many do) represent a foreign software development firm, who do all the work, based on specs I send them, and send me the finished apps.
I told him how I began building spreadsheet software using self taught skills from back when I was a trainee brewer in Guinness.
I did it in my spare time. It was not my job. But over time my apps got adopted for formal brewery level reporting, and I enjoyed company wide recognition and rapid career advancement for my efforts.
I only began using MS Excel VB when the company moved from Lotus Smartsuite to MS Office. So, I have been doing this for quite a while – 2 decades to be specific. Hopefully that explains how I am able to turn the quality of apps people see, and use, all by myself.
I work with no one. No partners. I work alone writing my code, designing my spreadsheet and graphic user interfaces to meet clients needs and specifications.
Customizable Excel-VB Driven Poultry Layer Farm Manager Software (Video Demonstration)
Watch screen shot demonstration video of the Excel-Visual Basic Driven Poultry Farm Manager I build from scratch, or customize/scale down to suit the needs of different farm business sizes.
It allows users make daily entries of farm production/operating data.
Click here to watch on YoutubeAnd it instantly generates Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), like Mortality Rates, Feeding rate, Feed to egg conversion ratios, Hen Day Production Percentage (HDP) %, and other parameters.
VIDEO 1: Tayo Solagbade demonstrates how to use the newly introduced “Extra Ingred!” button on the main floating data entry form of his popular Excel VB driven Ration Formulator
Clicking it loads a smaller drop menu driven data entry form that can be used to add up to 7 extra feed ingredients to a ration.
You are now able to formulate rations with 19 ingredients instead of 12 as used to be the case.
All past buyers get it free. Just get in touch via tayo at tksola dot com
It was challenging going through the repeat rejections from those I approached with this service for 2 years. But not once was I discouraged. For one thing I knew what I was offering had enabled me achieve phenomenal success as a process manager – over a 7 year period – in the fast-pace corporate multinational I worked in.
I had repeatedly developed – in my spare time, and with no formal IT training – custom spreadsheets that dramatically boosted workplace productivity. It was because I had seen how useful my applications had been to such a large organisation, that I was convinced other organisations would make similar huge savings by adopting custom spreadsheet solutions.
Back in Guinness, it started like that, until I developed applications that helped individuals finish weekly/monthly reports in a fraction of the time it used to take them – and with more accuracy and reliability. In no time at all, four of my applications were adopted for brewery level reporting. When I entered into business, I knew I only had to continue showing prospects what could be done till someone developed enough interest.
I also tried approaching many IT Training organisations that I noticed offered training in Excel(especially advanced Excel).
But I found repeatedly to my surprise that either the person in charge of the Training had never heard of Excel VB, or s/he believed there could be no value to be had from teaching employees how to automate Excel using VBA, so they could develop in-house solutions cheaply(th way I did as an employee).
In most cases, these IT training persons insisted that developing executable applications using the standalone Visual Basic programming language, and other more conventional coding languages was “better”.
What they failed to realise was the truth stated by a Microsoft Certified Professional, Pierre Leclerc, who runs a widely recognised and successful Excel Spreadsheet automation business (http://www.excel-vba.com).
“Let’s say that VB is for programmers and VBA is for users (or developers). Personally, I took hundreds of hours of training in VB but I do all my work in VBA (Excel and Access). You don’t need to learn VB to be good at VBA. I adopted VBA because most of the functions I need to organize and analyse data are pre-programmed in Excel and Access. It costs a lot less to develop financial and management applications in Excel and Access than to re-invent the wheel and do everything in VB.”
By the way, if you’re still wondering what the difference is between Excel VBA and Visual Basic, click here for an explanation.
Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s legend has spread globally, decades after he passed on, because he practised what he preached i.e being a mentally emancipated, proud black African (free from what he termed “Colonial Mentality”).
His story is as compelling as the Afrobeat music he invented, and used to preach his messages.
Fela stood unapologetically, for the rights of the oppressed Nigerian masses, despite suffering repeated physical abuse at the hands of corrupt government regimes that he relentlessy challenged on behalf of the people.
And that’s why people all over the world recognize him today.
If you want people to buy into you, then you need to first SHOW them that YOU are already sold on yourself. That you are the number ONE fan of yourself. Not just by saying, but also – and much more importantly thinking and acting it – ANYWHERE you go, in relating with ANYONE you meet.
Your choice of name, hair style, food, clothes, language(s) etc that you invest in, will speak loudest to those around you about how well you’ve bought into yourself, and it will determine how willing others will be, to buy into you.
Fela Anikulapo Kuti, in an interview I once listened to, said:
“No, no, no, no. English is not expression. Expression is in all other languages all over Nigeria.”
And to prove his point, he asked the interviewer to translate “E ku ile” the common Yoruba greeting to English. The latter could not.
All his life Fela tried to help us embrace our Africanness with pride.
The Lyrics of his 1976 hit song, “Upside Down” reproduced below are very instructive in this regard (Source: http://becomingpeople.tumblr.com/post/19172536132/lyrics-that-make-sense-upside-down-by-fela-kuti)
=starts=
UPSIDE DOWN
Open that book dem call dictionary
…..OPEN AM MAKE YOU SEE*** (After every line)
I said, Open that book dem call dictionary
Upside down na there dey proper
Dem recognize the word for sure, yes
Because him get him meaning too
…..HEAD FOR DOWN, YANSH* FOR UP [CHORUS After every line] *(ass)
Because him get him meaning too
Upside down get him meaning too
Upside down get him meaning too
I don* travel, I don see *(do)
Like any professor* for this land *(teacher)
The thing wey I see, I go talk
About upside up, and down-side down
For overseas, where I see:
Communication Organize
….PATA PATA* [CHORUS After every line] *Totally
Agriculture Organize
Electric Organize
Dem system Organize
Dem people Organize
Dem people OrganizeEnglishman get English name
American man get American name
German man get German name
Russian man get Russian name
Chinese man get Chinese nameFor Africa man house, I don’t see
Like any professor for this land
I no have to travel anywhere
Everything der under my nose
For Africa man house, I don’t seeVillage boku* road no der (there) *(plenty)[there are not many villages]
Land boku food no der [there isn’t much good food]
Area boku house no der [there are not many city houses]People no give their African name
People no dey think African style
People no know Africa way
For Africa man house, I don’t seeCommunication Disorganize
….PATA PATA* [CHORUS After every line] *(Totally)
Agriculture Disorganize
Electric Disorganize
Everything is Upside Down
Everything is Upside Down
…Disorganize
…Disorganize
Everything Upside Down
Everything Upside Down
…Disorganize
…Disorganize
Everything Upside Down
Everything Upside Down
[REPEAT LAST 4 LINES// Horns enter]=Ends=
The song “Upside Down”was released by Fela in 1976.
I was 6 years old then, and it’s message really resonated with me.
Note what he said about us not bearing African names. Way back then, over half a century ago…
Isn’t it sad that today, we’re even worse off?
We love what is ours even less than was the case in the 70s!
We can individually infuence a reorientation in society, by starting with ourselves.
For instance, in my home, my wife, Nkechi, who hails from Obosi in Anambra state, has always communicated daily with our kids in her native Igbo language. As a result, the kids are gradually speaking it to her, and to themselves.
I have been trying to do same with the kids (when I’m home), in Yoruba, my native language (which my wife also speaks proficiently). But I have not been able to do it as often as she does.
To pick up the slack at my end, I’ve recently begun creating quick start learning resources, based on Yoruba proverbs, which I discuss with kids, and publish for use by others.
An example is my new ebook, the first in a series: Ten (10) ‘Storyfied’ Yoruba Proverbs for Children – Tayo Solagbade
I chose this approach to overcome the limitation arising from my work related travels, which forces me to employ unconventional (e.g remote) parenting/coaching strategies to better connect with my kids.
Let each person search him/herself and make needed changes, at least for the sake of our offspring, and our African heritage.
