Category Archives: Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz

COMING SOON: Practical Guide to Commercial Rabbit Farming (PDF)

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This new PDF report will become available for sale at www.lulu.com/sdaproducts from Tuesday 19 Feb 2013.

PRICE = N9,500

Table of Contents

1. Origin & History |

2. Breeding |

3. Housing |

4. Nutritional Requirements & Feeding |

5. Health Management |

6. Slaughtering |

7. Packaging |

8. By-Products Utilization |

9. Record Keeping |

10. Marketing |

11. Cooking Recipes |

Click to view larger cover image

Farm Biz Club Members pay N5,700 (40% off)

NB: You are a Farm Biz Ideas club member (and therefore get 40% lifetime discount on all products/services) if you’ve made purchases worth N8,000 or more in the past.

Order before Tuesday 19th February 2013 & get 12% off.

Email tayo at tksola dot com for details or clarification

Visit my Farm Business Ideas website for screenshots, videos, user guides of other products e.g the Feed Formulation Handbook and Software.

Entrepreneurship

What Happens If/When You Run Out of Cash?

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Has this ever happened to you before? Really? I don’t mean the situation where you know your salary will come next week and you run out this week, and have to borrow till you pay back when your salary comes through.

Nor do I mean a period when you lack cash and have friends bail you out once, after which things return to normal. What I’m talking about here is a situation where you run out of money, have no one to ask for it, and have run out of options of what you can do – or sell – to get money!

Selling Personal Assets Can Be Difficult…and Quite Painful

Incidentally, even trying to sell your personal assets is not easy. For those of you who own expensive assets like cars, VCD players, etc and who imagine you can get good prices for them if/when you need cash, let me give you a challenge.

Except you find someone at your income level/status who appreciates the value of the item you wish to sell (the item being still relatively new/in good condition might help to “up” the perceived value a bit), you will be amazed at the kinds of prices people you approach will offer. Try going out to find a buyer for any personal assetof reasonable value you have, and test my claim. You’ll see that I’m right.

I know this because I have been there too many times to count! I once patrolled the Ikeja computer village for close to 2 months (in 2003), almost daily, trying to find a buyer for a new CD writer I “unintelligently” bought – for N35,000 – few months after launching my new business.

You may not believe me, but I got offers as low as N5,000! (I should add that I often had to do this with my car’s fuel gauge “hovering” threateningly over the red, empty mark. In fact on 2 occasions, I ran out of fuel on the 3rd Mainland Bridge, while trying to squeeze in one extra client visit!).

Even when I got really desperate to sell at any price, buyer after buyer still withdrew, giving various reasons – some sensible, most ridiculous. This, even though I had the original receipt that proved the item was purchased from that same market!

Robert Kiyosaki wrote in one of his books that once a brand new car is driven out of the seller’s lot, it drops in 2nd –hand value by one-third of it’s original price. I agree one hundred per cent with him. And may I add that in Nigeria, I think the drop in value is even worse, and this applies to virtually ANY product you purchase!

What You Can Do

The chapter in James Cook’s book (Start-up Entrepreneur) titled ‘Winning Ways To Keep You Going” really kept me going at these times. His core message was: Lack of money can be a great test of your endurance. But if you refuse to give up – and keep believing that “all will be well” – things eventually improve.

Adding the lessons from that chapter to the wisdom on handling adversity in Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”, I was able to successfully weather the storms of that time, and came out stronger.

Many who met with me during the periods of “suffering” I refer to never even suspected that I was in such dire straits. The audience that listened to me at Corona Schools Trust Council could never have suspected I did not have ANY money on me when I came to deliver my 1 hour talk that day in May 2002, after which I was engaged to speak to staff in all their branches!

I even recall mentioning during my talk about how “you cannot tell when some people don’t have money on them, because they continue to act as confidently as they would, when they do have money!” They all laughed when I said that. What they did not know, was that I was doing exactly that right there and then, while speaking to them!

Someone once said “To become successful, pretend you already are!” Thanks to James Cook and Napoleon Hill for writing their books. They helped me understand that such suffering was the necessary ingredient to make me into the successful entrepreneur I wanted to become.

I’ll end by making this important clarification: I’ve not said here that “suffering” of the kind described above (or any kind at all) is an unavoidable requirement for success.

Instead, I’m suggesting that if you happen to be confronted with a similar situation, the ideas proposed above for making the most of it, could prove useful to you 😉

Entrepreneurship, Public Speaking

Salespeople Succeed More Using THIS!

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Does your company have salespeople? If YES, you’ll want to pass the ideas offered in this issue of my Public Speaking IDEAS newsletter to them. It doesn’t matter if you’re CEO or employee. This information can dramatically boost the sales performance of your company – no matter how small or big. As a member of the team, you have a duty to bring useful ideas to the attention of decision makers and others who can benefit.

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No. 76: Salespeople Succeed More Using THIS!

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

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Publication: Tayo Solagbade’s Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS Page (PSIP) Newsletter
Date: Monday 11th February 2013
No: 76
Title: Salespeople Succeed More Using THIS!
Author & Publisher: Tayo K. Solagbade [234-803-302-1263]
Blog URL: http://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com/blog
Archive (For E-mail only version started 14th May 2012): Click here to view
Archive (For Blog version started 24th September 2011): Click here

Hi,

Please find below the latest issue of my weekly Public Speaking Ideas page for 2013. 

SD Nuggets Blog™

 New posts from last week that may interest you!
Public Speaking
[Monday]:

Entrepreneurship [Tuesday]:

Self Development [Wednesday]:

Career Development [Thursday]:

Parenting [Friday]:

Writing/Blogging [Saturday]:
Want me to write for you? Click here…

 

Coming Soon

(In Video, Audio, And Also As A PowerPoint Slide show Presentation!)

Click to view larger screenshot - How African Experts and CEOs Can Use Public Speaking To Win Buyers and Save Money!

I’ll be sending out links to the video narrated version of the above presentation in a few weeks. It’s an Educational Commercial designed to help experts (sales/marketing experts, business executives, entrepreneurs etc) understand the tremendous promotional benefits of public speaking.

It features a special message from Burt Dubin, a renowned mentor of some of the world’s highest paid speakers. There’ll also be a video message from Claude Moller, a highly sought after conference speaker and coach, based in South Africa, who enjoys national and international level success that proves the ideas advocated in this presentation work.

Get Notified When It Goes Live – Click HERE!

 

No. 76: Salespeople Succeed More Using THIS!

**** **********
NB: If you ever find yourself wondering what else I’ve written, some days after you’ve read THIS Speaking Ideas newsletter I send out on a Monday, here’s what you can do to find out: Point your browser to www.sdacademy.org to read at least ONE new post added to my SD Nuggets blog on a different category from Tuesday till Saturday (sometimes even Sundays) in line with this publishing schedule :-)
**********

Does your company have salespeople? If YES, you’ll want to pass the ideas offered in this issue of my Public Speaking IDEAS newsletter to them. It doesn’t matter if you’re CEO or employee. This information can dramatically boost the sales performance of your company – no matter how small or big. As a member of the team, you have a duty to bring useful ideas to the attention of decision makers and others who can benefit.

Any Sales/Marketing System, No Matter How Powerful, Will Still Require You To Do Some Work!

Many business owners I developed Web Marketing Systems (WMS) for over the past five years had sales/marketing "units" or teams. Some were medium sized hotel owners, other ran restaurant and bar operations – sometimes with small lodgings. Some were into real estate.

Then there were those who dealt in physical products, which they either made themselves or resold as major distributors e.g. in building, security and information technology industries.

Whenever I was with them, I tried to point out that having the WMS in place was just the first step. Working it or making it work for you is an even more important step. Even if you purchase a "system" from the world’s best expert, without putting it to use in the recommended manner, you’re highly unlikely to get any useful returns for the long term.

I reminded them that the WMS could enhance their ability to generate a regular inflow of sales leads, through both online and offline channels. However, it had to be used in conjunction with other sales and marketing strategies, if it was to work well.

For instance, the sales and marketing personnel ALL had to understand how it worked, and actively use it in the sales process when interacting with prospects and clients. This was where I often found a major problem lurked.

Poor Understanding of the Sales Process Can Be Fatal

I discovered that some of these CEOs had major difficulty managing their sales personnel. This was due more to a lack of understanding of HOW to do it, and not that they did not try or were not willing. Problems like absenteeism, or poor daily work rate in finding and following up quality leads came up.

Interestingly, some even tried to get me involved in managing that headache for them – while I was working on their projects. Of course, since that was way out of the scope of work agreed with me (and my subtle probing indicated they were not prepared to pay for it), I always tactfully avoided falling into the trap :-)

They and their employees lacked basic understanding of the sales process. Pre-qualifying prospects so as to screen out potential time wasters was alien to them. They also had no standard procedures for following up with potential clients or customers.

This often led to frustrating weekly sales meeting sessions. Blame trading and outright accusations of laziness, incompetence – even sabotage! – by the CEOs against some under performing sales personnel periodically occurred.

I had the opportunity to observe a lot of the above happen back then, because I used to work on site at the time. A very useful experience, through which I gained deep insight into why some clients struggled to make their WMS work optimally for them.

(You Or) Your Sales Team Can Succeed MORE By…

Getting your offer PHYSICALLY in front of as many potential buyers as possible – at the same time.

You need a cheaper way to get the attention of MORE people. This will help you cut down the cost of selling.

It could be said that the Internet does this by putting you in front of a global audience. However, for best results, one cannot depend exclusively on the web. Then there’s also the need to make the most of your local environment by using more targeted offline efforts.

In other words, a more direct strategy – complemented where possible using the web – CAN yield more profitable, and sustainable rewards.

One proven way is to get your sales people in front of groups of people who are potential customers and/or who have access to large numbers of people fitting that description.

Rather than contacting individuals likely to need your products/services, identify groups of influential/trusted individuals and organisations through whom you can reach your target customers.

Then get them to agree to have you/your sales personnel deliver an educational talk to them about how recommending your products/services can actually help them deliver better value to their contacts and clients (many of whom you’ve identified to be potential buyers).

Yes – it’s the use of Public Speaking in a very deliberate manner, to generate direct sales leads and referrals through a group of influencers. If you’ve been reading my write ups on public speaking for a while, you’ll know that I strongly recommend this approach.

It’s beauty lies in the near unlimited variety of ways in which it can be put to use. Each business owner only needs to be prepared to do the thinking and planning to make it happen. And if you’re not sure HOW, getting the help of a mentor can prove beneficial to you.

The CEOs I referred to above did not have any formal sales system in place that their sales people were trained to follow.

Like I said earlier, they did not even understand the sales process, and what to do at each stage of that process. This led to an often haphazard approach to selling. And it was difficult to identify where each person was with respect to a particular prospect.

How To Say What You NEED To Say When You Get in Front of Groups of Potential Buyers

Putting the public speaking strategy to use as explained above will require settling on a formal system for doing things. You’ll have to decide what happens first, and then the next step and so on.

For instance, your sales personnel could initiate contact with decision makers and agree a date for the talk (which would have been prepared before hand in form of a generic content white paper).

But how will you – or your sales person – say what needs to be said, in a way that ensures your audience does what YOU want them to do?

You’re not looking for applause. You and your team want those who hear you speak to ask for more details about how your products and services can help them. But even more importantly, because they have access to MORE people who fit your target audience profile, you want them to go telling those others about what you offer.

This is where the (possible) need for you to get Public Speaking Mentoring comes in.

Your sales people (and you) must develop effective public speaking skills. Note here that we’re not necessarily talking "Motivational" style speaking here – even though a speech can have elements of that.

Download now - Not ALL Speakers Are Motivational Speakers (Introduction to Public Speaking for Business Marketing)

Instead, I refer to an expert speech designed to convince your audience that what you offer can help them get what they want, better than what any other person may offer them.

You can learn public speaking through self-study, by joining toastmasters or with the help of a mentor who understands how to use public speaking for business marketing.

You need to develop the confidence and competence to communicate your message effectively to groups of potential buyers and influencers like those mentioned above.

There’s a lot involved in making the above work for you. And the process employed will vary from business to business. Learning public speaking is just an aspect. You’ll also need to develop a strategy for creating the opportunities your salespeople need to speak.

Burt Dubin, Brian Tracy, Robert Kiyosaki, the late gurus: Zig Ziglar and Jim Rohn, and many other expert speakers who succeeded in business, mostly started out as Champion Salesmen.

They knew how to use their public speaking skills to create selling opportunities. Not just in one-on-one situations. But even more often through addressing large groups of people at once via seminars, workshops and other such events.

Today, a review of their businesses reveals that they (or those who carry on for them) continue to use public speaking in conjunction with web marketing, to cost-effectively promote their businesses to their preferred audiences.

If you can develop a workable system for your sales people to use, based on the above ideas, your company’s ability to generate regular sales leads and earn more revenue will be greatly enhanced.

Need More Details of How to Make The Above Ideas Work for YOUR Company?

If you need more specific details of how to make use of the ideas I’ve shared in this newsletter, call me on 234-803-302-1263 or email tayo at tksola dot com.

Alternatively, send me a message using this request form (with "Re: PSBM enquiry" in the subject line).

Click now

Have a lovely week!

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

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

Mobile: 234-803-302-1263

http://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com

Tayo Solagbade is a Performance Improvement Specialist & multipreneur. He works with individuals/businesses who want to achieve highly profitable outcomes, and also with parents who want to raise real-world competent children.

Tayo earns multiple streams of income providing clients with performance improvement training/coaching, custom MS Excel-VB solutions, web marketing systems, freelance writing services, and best practice extension support services (for farm business owners).

When he’s not amazing clients with his superhuman skills (wink), Tayo works as the creative force behind his Self-Development Nuggets™ blog, and Public Speaking IDEAS newsletter (which he publishes to promote Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring service to experts working across the African continent).
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Have you been undecided about whether or not to become a paid speaker? Or have you been trying to get your speaking career off the ground with little success?

Here’s a tip: Burt Dubin works with people who want to be speakers, and with speakers who want to be masters. Click here to visit his website NOW and submit a contact form message telling him what challenges you’re facing, and how you’d like him to help you. Tell him I sent you, and you’ll get a pleasant surprise offer from him.

Comments?

What do you think of the above message? Do you have any personal experience to share on this subject? Are there some other points you feel can be added, to help persons looking for answers? Please share your thoughts!

Share this issue!

Do you know anyone who might benefit from reading this newsletter issue? Why not hit the forward button now, and send it to him/her with a short recommendation. You can also use share it via your social media channels. Thanks in advance.

View Tayos video tutorials and demonstrations on Facebook Productivity Tips, Web Marketing, and for his Custom MS Excel-VB driven software applicationsConnect with Tayo on LinkedIn.comConnect with Tayo on Facebook.comConnect with Tayo on Twitter.comConnect with Tayo on Google Plus

What fears or doubts are keeping you from (a) taking up Burt Dubin’s monthly speaker mentoring, or (b) buying his products?

You can choose to purchase Burt’s mentoring at any of the three (3) levels listed below:

1. Top Shelf [Click here] | 2. Mid Range [Click here] | 3. Budget Delight [Click here]

Burt’s three mentoring packages can be likened to the seating options offered by airlines: Budget Delight (Economy); Mid Range (Business); and Top Shelf (First Class).

At least that’s how I like to think of them!

All three will get you to your desired destination of "speaking success-ville" – so long as you meet the requirements/play your part well (your fare, abide by the set guidelines etc). During the "flight", the seat you have will determine how much personal service attention and preference the provider will accord you. It’s that simple :-)

So, make your choice:1. Top Shelf [Click here] | 2. Mid Range [Click here] | 3. Budget Delight [Click here]

Send me an e-mail with your questions via tayo at tksola dot com. In the meantime, why not get started by subscribing here to get his 7-Part Course (How To Succeed And Get Paid As A Professional Speaker) .  . . and receive his monthly newsletter (Speaking Biz Strategies Letter) at no cost.

Get mentored by Burt Dubin - coach of some of the world's highest paid public speakers

For over 25 years, Burt Dubin has provided a variety of speaker mentoring products and services to clients worldwide.

Download this flyer as PDF: http://tinyurl.com/bdubin-africa

Burt Dubin now offers his speaker mentoring service to experts based in Africa. Click now to download this flyer as PDF

 


Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, General, Parenting, Public Speaking, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

My Recommended Blog Posts For Week Ending Saturday 9th Feb 2013

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It’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally settled on what I believe will be a sustainable way to share links to stuff I read and find useful online. So, every Saturday (starting today), I’ll publish a post that lists (and links) blog posts I’ve read, which I recommend to others.

Do You "Speed Read" ?

By way of interest, I do a lot of reading. Both online and off the net. It’s important to keep abreast of issues and developments in one’s areas of focus and interest. Thankfully, my use of speed reading techniques advocated by Tony Buzan helps me plough through many write ups daily, without sacrificing comprehension.

Which reminds me: Speed Reading can help you boost your personal productivity many times over – especially if you have to read a lot (like most writers/bloggers do). So if you don’t do it yet, you might want to learn: Googling "learn Speed Reading" could be a good way to get started!

My Recommended Blog Posts For Week Ending Saturday 9th Feb 2013

Below are brief previews and links to blog posts/articles I read online this week, and found compelling enough to recommend for others to read. Remember to apply due diligence before putting any ideas to use for yourself :-)

1. Putting a Stop to Abusive Client Behaviour (7 Part Series) – By John Tabita

Like I always say, this is a subject I feel strongly about. Service providers are so prone to getting abused. And my personal experiences as a multi skilled service provider emphatically confirm it. After being subjected to a number of less-than-dignifying experiences, I began devising strategies to protect myself. And I succeeded.

Then I realised I needed to share my insights with others – because I kept running into colleagues who felt they had no choice but to accept the bad treatment. So, in 2006, I wrote my first piece on the above theme in form of an article titled "The Customer Will NOT Always Be Right: Don’t Be A Victim Of Entrepreneur Abuse™!"

Since then I’ve written a number of other pieces. 2 years ago or so, I discovered John Tabita’s comprehensive series on this theme. In them, I found validation for the opinions I’d expressed in my own articles, which not a few people out here had questioned (not that I’d listened to any of them!).

As you’ll find from reading John Tabita’s powerful series, it’s imperative that you stop letting clients walk all over you, if you want to earn their respect as a professional, and ultimately make tangible progress in your business.

2. Do You Refuse To Work for New Clients? – By James Chartrand

This piece about relating with clients also resonated with me – but in a different way from the one above. James reminds us of the need to act with honour and integrity in dealing with clients.

Even when there’s money to be made, we must ask ourselves if the client will get equivalent value for her investment. Some people feel they don’t owe a client the duty of telling her not to waste money on a project. I believe James is right: we do. Click here to read it.

3. This Deadly Mistake Cost Me a Five Figure Client – By Bamidele Oni

I think it’s safe to say that many people already know Bamidele Oni to be a teenage Guest Blogging expert. He’s proved his mettle by getting his guest posts repeatedly published on some of the most prominent blogs on the web.

That’s why when he writes a post about blogging, guest blogging or handling blogging clients, many people pay attention.

This young man, despite his success still remains humble enough to admit that he makes mistakes. In this article, he shares insights gained from one such instance that cost him a potentially profitable client project. Click here to read it.

4. The Guest Blogging Fails: Again (Video + Infographic) – By Ann Smarty

I’m preparing myself to give guest blogging outside the Farm Business industry another go. Last time out, I only tried three pitches (which were rejected) before I decided I still had a lot to learn.

I felt if I had to send anything to another blog owner’s mail box, I had to make sure I understood how to do it right. And this is why every time I see a write up that offers ideas on how to Guest Blog, I never fail to give it a good read (and re-read if need be).

The infographic created by Ann Smarty really helps to drive home the points she makes in her excellent article. Read it here.

”Spammy

5. The Top Ten Mistakes Writers Make When Self Publishing a Book – By Guy Kawasaki

Everybody knows Guy Kawasaki. In this article (written last month) published on Digital Book World, he offers "a list of Do’s and Don’t’s" for people like us, who (may) use self-publishing to get our books into the marketplace. Read it here.

A Lulu.com blog post (through which I actually found Guy’s article) also offers about 4 additional tips – following from Guy’s piece. Click here to read the Lulu.com blog post.

6. 3 Honest Ways to Raise Startup Money – Entrepreneur.com

During the week – on Tuesday to be exact – I published a post titled 3 Ways to Quickly Raise Money. When 2 days later I came across a post titled 3 Honest Ways to Raise Startup Money on Entrepeneur.com, I was naturally drawn to read it. And afterwards, I knew I wanted to share it :-)

7. Outreach Letters for Link Building [Real Examples] – By Peter Attia

Like I said, I’m constantly looking to learn as much as I can about how to succeed with guest posting. The use of Outreach Letters as a means of pitching guest post ideas is discussed by Peter Attia in a post on the Daily SEO Blog. One thing I (and 80 others who commented on the post) liked about the post was his use of real life examples of letters he had sent out. He also discussed other strategies he employed to achieve success. Very informative and useful piece. Read it here.

Entrepreneurship

3 Ways to Quickly Raise Money

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I’m talking money to keep you going as an entrepreneur – whether you’re already established or just starting up. Quite often it may not even be big money (e.g. millions). But if you do not know what you can do, or where you can go, to get the funds you need, there’s a good chance your business progress will suffer.

NB: This article is the first in a series I’ve decided to write, based on excerpts from an 80 page e-book I wrote in 2003, but never put on sale. I call it the “Entrepreneur’s Survival Reference Manual”. Its full title is “25 Avoidable Mistakes No One Will Warn You About In Starting Your Own Business”.  I however offer a 1 hour talk based on it. For details of how to invite me to deliver that talk to members of your group or organization click here to send me a message.

I now discuss 3 possible ways to quickly get the money you need as an entrepreneur:

1. Use Your Personal Resources

Some people have the mistaken impression that the only time they have to worry about capital for their business is when they are starting up. Then they get the rude awakening that the need for money can re-occur many times during the life of a business, when they have to suffer through repeated excruciating bouts of money outages.

I learnt this truth right from my early startup days in 2002. There were periods when I had NOT one single kobo on me. It was during those periods that I took another look at my some of my personal assets – and decided to sell them off.

To be honest, it wasn’t difficult for me at all. I have never really been attached to, or sentimental about any material assets. So, it did not really bother me that I had to give them up.

To give an example, in October 2001 – two months before I left the company I worked in – armed robbers visited my home and took away a number of valuables including cash etc. But when they left, the FIRST place I went to was the guest room I used as a study.

I went to check that they had not taken any of my business books, videos and manuals, which I believed were essential to starting my new businesses (as if thieves had the time to read books and watch videos on fish farming!). Only after confirming those items were intact, did I settle down enough to notice they had taken my camera, video player, money etc.

You might need to adopt a similar attitude towards your material possessions, if you plan on being an entrepreneur.

An attitude like that will help you tolerate the periods of want, and personal sacrifices you might have to endure at some points in your struggles. If you are the kind of person that believes he/she must always have at least 5 different kinds of shoes, etc, you may find yourself struggling with cash flow for your business survival during inevitable austere periods.

Of course, if you are able to keep funds for personal expenses separate from those for running your business, these suggestions will not be applicable to you. But, from experience, for each person – depending on how “pressed” you get, there might just come a time when these needs conflict/compete directly with each other. When that happens, know that you have the option of adopting my methods, or deriving yours!

“I’ve used up my savings, re-mortgaged my house and sold off every asset I had. You will probably have to take similar steps. – James Cook

2. Find People to Invest In Your Business

This has been described as by far the “quickest and easiest” method of raising funds.

It’s a well known fact that friends and relatives are often the first people entrepreneurs turn to when they need investors. So you could start from there.

But even total strangers can be successfully won over too (over time of course).

It all depends on your ability to present a convincing offer. You must make those you approach believe in you. They must believe that you can use your idea to generate a large and profitable return on their investment. This will make your offer attractive.

In order to achieve the above, you will need to painstakingly research and articulate your ideas on which your offer is based. If you’re already doing it, you’ll want to present results you’ve achieved that confirm the benefits to be had by those who choose to invest.

If you’re just starting out, you’ll need market based data that attests to the feasibility of your idea. And if it’s a new idea, you’ll need to paint a picture of the vision you have, and back it with a display of infectious enthusiasm when speaking to potential investors. That’s really all you’ll have at that point in time :-)

Having said the above, the last thing you want to do is to make overly optimistic projections to “woo” investors. You must give due consideration to the reality of the possible “unexpected” developments that could occur in your unique socio-economic environment. Otherwise you could land yourself in hot water if you’re not careful.

3. Form Strategic Partnerships

Strategic Partnerships with the right individual or organisation can really take the work out of your start-up efforts. And if you’re already in business, it can help you gain readier access to the money or resources you need to take your idea to the next level. I explain…

It’s important to avoid thinking getting physical cash is the only way to go.

Ask yourself, what you need the money for. If it’s a resource or item you wish to purchase, think of possible individuals or organizations that already have it. Consider the possibility of “sharing” access to it, with that individual or organization – and paying for that access if possible in kind or at least at a substantial discount.

It could be warehouse space (if you’re into fast moving consumer goods wholesales), or computer systems (maybe your offer computer based services), alternative power supply (if you run a factory) or printing facilities (if you’re a magazine publisher) – and so on.

If you’re not afraid to do the hard work of investigating and researching potential partners, and preparing a compelling proposal for each one, there’s a good chance you can make this work for you.

The implication of the above is that instead of looking for money, you’d be looking to offer equivalent benefit to this potential partner, in exchange for access to that resource she owns, with you need.

But sometimes it could actually be money that you need.

There will of course be times when what you do need is actual cash. Strategic partnership can of course also help. You can approach a larger business you discover makes regular use of a product or service you offer.

Suggest to them that your company provide that service at zero cost or a substantial discount, in exchange for funding that you need to expand for instance. Historical accounts have it that those who made this work, started by accepting to have their business become a “division” of the larger business, with the entrepreneur allowed to be the CEO of that arm of the business. After making a success of it she was able to go solo.

Get creative here. Depending on the ideas you have, you can negotiate a more suitable arrangement. Quite often what you propose may not get accepted in its exact form. But it could open up the proposed partner’s “eyes” to other possibilities that they might decide to present to you as a counter offer. I say this from personal experience!

Through strategic partnerships you can achieve the combined benefits of sourcing 100% capital you need effortlessly, and/or achieving speedy delivery of your product/service to the right market place.

A WORD OF CAUTION ON PARTNERSHIPS: Just as there are good guys out there looking to give you value in return for what you bring to the table, there also “hungry wolves” looking to devour any entrepreneur prone to naivety.

That’s why in the event that an individual or organisation makes you an offer, you must watch for signs that will give you an idea of how sincere they are.

For instance, frequent informal questions about how much you’ve already made with the idea may suggest they don’t really care about your vision, and are only interested in getting a share of the “big money” they think you’re making.

A useful step you can take would be to consult a knowledgeable legal consultant before agreeing to any specifics.

Goodluck!

Entrepreneurship

Learn To Accurately Evaluate Clients

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Finding new clients and customers is an important activity that should never be neglected. However it’s also important to develop the ability to accurately identify clients that will be a good fit for you as against those that will limit your ability to give your best on the job, and in the process deny you the satisfaction you derive from your work.

They’re Everywhere – But Mostly In Few Numbers

These personalties can be found in all markets, industries and niches. They’re not bad people. They only nurse extreme preferences that can be too demanding or that they are unwilling to pay enough for.

Service providers who encounter them often have emotional and psychological scars to show for it.

To be fair to most of them however, they rarely hide their true nature from us. The truth is that many of us sometimes become a bit blind to all the warning signals they unconsciously give off when we get into sales mode :-)

I’ve been guilty of this on more than one occasion. And I’ve suffered considerable distress EACH time as a result.

Now I’m wiser, having learnt my lesson.

Be Alert To The Signs Of A Difficult or Troublesome Client

Even when the money being offered is mouth watering, it pays to try looking beyond the present.

Visualise what working with the prospective client to deliver the purchased service will be like.

Imagine having a prospective client tell you he knows just about everything to know about the expert service he’s asking you to provide. And therefore he does not see any reason to pay anything close to your quote fees.

“It’s just that I no longer have the time to do it myself” he says.

Of coure he could be right, since it is quite possible he could have the training and experience to do what you do.
However, you need to remember that if he had the time to do it without involving you, he would not have called you in!

And THAT is the value you’ll be adding, in addition to bringing your unique skills set and experience to bear on work to be done. The keyword here being “unique”.

But it could be worse!

What if you take the money and then find that he wants to micromanage you in a manner that would make it difficult for you to do a good job within the agreed deadline, for instance?

He could insist on reminding you at every opportunity that he has paid, and that he’s seen nothing you’ve done so far, to justify your fees!

Quite often the idea would be to pressure you into doing more work than was agreed for the money he paid.

How you handle such requests from the start will set the tone for your relationship with that client.

Just remember that as an expert service provider YOU must maintain control over what happens to you, and the project (while you’re handling it), without rubbing it in the client’s face.

Always assert yourself like the confident professional you are.

Not All Sales Leads Are Worth Converting! (A True Story)

A few years ago, I got into discussion with a hotel manager who wanted me to make my Hotel Records Manager ExcelVB application communicate with their newly installeds electronic security doors system computer database. This was to enable automated hotel billing records preparation for registered guests.

After I demonstrated it was possible to the manager, we had our final negotiation meeting, and I picked up my advance payment cheque, only to see that it was half what we’d agreed.

When I asked the hotel manager why, she told me that was what they could afford. I replied that I could not afford to work that way.

Long story short: I returned the cheque, and walked away. Jobs like that often end up choking you to death.

They want to pay little to nothing, but they’ll demand you put in everything…I’d learnt from painful past experience to walk away…:-)

Final Words

So many bad things can happen to us when we choose our clients wrongly.

That’s why we must hone our abilities to quickly and accurately evaluate the behavioural tendencies of those we approach for business.

Their character will quite often show through in the way they relate with others.

Use what you learn from observing (and interacting with) a prospective client, to guage how easy it will be to get him to say he’s satisfied with the work you’ve done.

Like I said earlier, they hardly ever bother to hide their tendencies.

And even if they wanted to, human nature would not allow it: As the proverbial saying in Yoruba language goes

“Character is like smoke. No matter how hard you try to keep it hidden, it always finds a way to show itself.”

So keep all your senses alert when interacting with prospective clients. You’re likely to save yourself a boat-load of potential client trouble by doing so!

Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz

VIDEO: FREE UPGRADE Excel-VB Ration Formulator Stores & Exports Derived Formulas

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FREE UPGRADE Version of the popular Excel VB Ration Formulator. Tayo Solagbade demonstrates how to use the newly introduced “Store and Manage DERIVED Formulas Ration Interface” in the application.

You are able to store formulas you derive and export them into a seperate workbook.

All past buyers get it free. Just get in touch via tayo at tksola dot com or 234-803-302-1263


 

Click here to watch on Youtube

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Self-Development

Post Employment Survival Strategies & Biz Startup Ideas

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This article has been moved from it’s original page on my Web Marketing Systems development service mini-site. It was originally published on 20th June 2011.

==

Hello,

This will interest you if you are:

a. preparing for retirement

b. an organisational decision maker who prepares employees for retirement

c. planning to start a business part-time, while remaining in paid employment

d. planning to quit your job to start/run your own business full time

Many people spend a substantial part of their lives working for their employer without giving thought to the day they will have to leave – often by way of retirement. There are of course those who resign to start their own businesses. And…there is that not so lucky group who get asked to leave :-(

The question is how prepared WILL the people who fall into the above categories BE, for the real world of their societies when they find themselves in it?

For many who have made that transition out here, in Nigeria, the experiences were often traumatising.

The truth is that in Nigeria, going from salary to self-employment is NOTHING like what obtains in America, or other developed societies! There are NO social security safety nets. Few “protection” bodies exist that diligently help those who get “knocked” down unfairly as often happens out here.

Which is why having access to INFORMATION and EDUCATION from a credible and reliable source about what lies ahead, and how to proceed – by way of special reports, feasibility studies and even non-formal background checks/investigations, can be something of a God-send.

I nurse a special interest in this group of people and offer a customised range of products/services designed to help them prepare for that inevitable exit from paid employment.

No matter what anyone says, my experiences have taught me that apart from being COMPETENT, there is a serious need to develop the proper mindset needed for adapting to life without “steady salaried income”, as well as the need to “control bad/unhealthy spending habits” among a lot of other issues.

Most importantly, taking the decision about WHAT to do after you leave your job– and how to prepare for it, so as to increase your chances of success, is a major task to be given quality attention.

Read my article:

Even When Competent, You CAN STILL Fail: 3 Abilities You MUST Develop To Protect Yourself!

Click this link: http://tinyurl.com/69h5vag

You need information – the RIGHT information.

Unbiased, down to earth, factual, and experience based observations (and up-to-date data) from someone who has been on the streets.

This is Nigeria. Many times what you read in papers and hear on radio/TV, especially about what business is good to venture into, is NOT so accurate.

Why not minimise the risks you expose yourself to? And the pain that frequently accompanies resultant losses?

You can do that by signing up for my confidential service in which I help you do all the ground work – running around to gather information, insights, data etc into reports and feasibility studies and other analyses you can use to make intelligent decisions?

The best part is that the required investment for this service entitles you to get – up to 25% discount – ALL my products/services (Custom Spreadsheet Software development, Web Marketing, Best Practice Farm Biz etc) which are designed to support business owners.

 

Getting Started With My Confidential Service

Fill/submit the form athttp://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com/contact.htmthen call me on 234-803-302-1263 tofind out how to get started today.

Decision Makers? Invite Me To Speak To Your Prospective Retirees

Many responsible companies organise “Pre-Retirement Seminars” for their outgoing employees. I think it’s a great thing.

However, I have – in a past life – functioned as Training & Technical Development Manager in a large multinational manufacturer.

Looking back, I honestly believe – going by my experiences over the past 10 years as an entrepreneur – that most of those events rarely offer THE REAL-WORLD (NIGERIA) RELEVANT information or education, that is badly needed by these people.

That’s why I now offer to give specially developed talks and seminars for employees of interested companies. If you are a decision maker, please consider engaging my services. Your retirees WILL thank you.

Fill/submit the form at http://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com/contact.htm then call me on 234-803-302-1263.

Trying To Decide IF You Should Quit Your Job? My Personal Story Can Help You:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Should-You-Quit-Your-Job-or-Start-Your-Business-Part-time?&id=172008

If the above link is broken click this short url: http://tinyurl.com/6ddpz4f

 

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Tayo K. Solagbade
Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

 

Mobile: 234-803-302-1263
http://www.tksola.com
www.spontaneousdevelopment.com
http://www.excelheaven.spontaneousdevelopment.com
http://www.iff.spontaneousdevelopment.com
http://www.facebook.com/tayo.solagbade

Self-Development/Performance Enhancement Specialist – Tayo Solagbade –devotes his time to exploring new frontiers of Self-Development Education, especially as it relates to showing people what they can do by themselves for themselves to achieve their set goals at work and/or in life – despite the limitations of their circumstances or environment.

To do this effectively, he regularly applies proven self-development techniques -using himself as a guinea pig of sorts(and his high aptitude for Multipreneuring) – to explore, discover, document and implement best practice ways of successfully venturing into various fields.

His message is basically that development of a positive mind set, mental stamina and visualization are the most crucial elements needed to succeed in any areas of human endeavour.

Learn more about Tayo at :http://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com/abouttayosolagbade.htm

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Self-Development

ON-DEMAND LEARNING EVENT: In-House Excel-VB Programming Coaching For Your Employees

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This article has been moved from it’s original page on my Web Marketing Systems development service mini-site. It was originally published on 19th August 2011.

Minimise Expensive Software Purchase By Developing In-House Excel-VB Programming Expertise Among Your Staff.

Your company can eliminate vital decision making delays due to IT personnel being overloaded for instance, by empowering champion employees within individual departments to quickly and easily develop solutions to that address the immediate business data analysis/reporting needs of their respective units.

Other benefits of having In-House Excel-VB Solutions Development expertise:

(a). It will provide temporary alternative to – or relieve pressure on – the IT department.

(b). Provides users a useful/friendly development environment for new reports and analyses – which in turn enhances software needs definition – reducing software development or purchase costs.

(c). Empowers employees to analyse company data to improve performance.

It is my belief that just as I was able to develop over four(4) automated spreadsheet applications to solve real-life problems in my spare time – as a non-IT staff in Guinness Nigeria Plc (read details on the about page at www.excelheaven.spontaneousdevelopment.com), your staff, if equipped with similar skills, can do the same for your company and possibly help you AVOID expending scarce cash (1). buying expensive commercial software or (2). hiring “pricey” software developers.

Click here to learn how I have built custom Excel-VB driven software for client companies for as much as N200,000.00(Proof Available). While there you can request/download my FREE MS Excel Coaching Skills Matrix workbook and a one-page Excel VB Programming Coaching Course Outline.

Call 234-803-302-1263 to request further details.

Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News

Now That YOUR Website Is Up, What Do You Do Next?

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NB: This original version of this article was first published online on 2011-11-04 (November 2011) on my 9 year old spontaneousdevelopment.com domain (now defunct).

I visited the venue of the “Getting Nigerian Businesses Online”(GNBO) 5 day event (at Grandeur Events Centre at Billings way, Oregun) on day 2 – Tuesday 1st November 2011 – and was intrigued by the turnout of Nigerian business owners to take advantage of the offer:

The packed venue was a reminder of the fact that PEOPLE love freebies!

Due to other commitments I did not however plan to stay long.

I quickly made enquiries about stages involved in getting the promised FREE websites up (so I could pass the details on to interested others), and learnt the only payment required was for domain registration.

That made sense, since Google’s hosting came FREE. The customised system used by the providers is based on Google’s FREE wizard driven SITE BUILDER interface.

Before I left, I struck up a conversation with one CEO who was leaving, after having setup up his site. In the course of our discussion, I asked him:

“Now that you’ve gotten YOUR website up, what next?…What will you say on it?…How will you do promote it?…Are you going to be placing adverts on TV, Radio, in papers, or on Facebook, Google?”

Guess what? He thought I was “blowing grammar!”Needless to say our discussion did not last long. Hmm, I guess NOT everyone sees what is possible. Some people are just OK doing what others are doing.

I started building websites FREE for clients over 3 years ago, because I understood this often overlooked, but crucial point.

Many prospects often asked me in surprise “But why do you build websites free? How then do you make money?”

I always pointed out that advancements in web technology now equip ANYONE, including 5 year olds, to build dynamic/database driven websites with a few clicks, and without ANY technical knowledge.

An example is Joomla! – a powerful open source Content Management System used by millions to build websites. Yet another is WordPress. So, what I do is get clients to pay me for content copy writing, and custom automated web marketing systems development.

Sadly, many web professionals out here failed to “get it”, and suggested that I built sites FREE, only because my design skills were poor.

In reality however, I never waste my time doing much design. Way back in 2007, I began offering to do it FREE – using 3rd party customizable templates and themes for clients.

If a client insists on a particular aesthetic appearance that I cannot fit into my FREE design offer, I encourage him/her to engage someone to get it done to his/her “tastes”.

But I emphasize that s/he make sure to provide usability features and functions I specify, to enable me develop and implement a Web Marketing System that works – using the finished website design that is handed over to me.

With this GNBO FREE offer (promoted via TV, Radio, Print media and online) to millions in their target market, I’m certain that not a few of those short sighted developers will be having nightmares right now.

For me, many GNBO beneficiaries are now potential Web Marketing clients I can approach!

To make money, you need to make sales. Building a website is only the FIRST step in the process.

Making your website BRING you potential customers should be your focus.

If you don’t have a plan for making that happen (a plan that should ideally influence the building/design of the site itself), your website will be a DRAIN pipe for your money. Period.

Now That Your Site Is Up, I Propose You Take (At Least) The Steps Below

These are basic components of a plan I would recommend. You can learn about other components, by reading other articles I have written on business marketing.

1. Your Website Content:

This should ideally happen during setup. But it’s never too late. Your site’s content should be response generating i.e. compelling enough to make some visitors contact you, or respond to your offer(s). Evaluate your content. If you can’t do it yourself, hire a competent specialist to give you a CONTENT CRITIQU! E. S/he can help you re-write it, should that become necessary. If you need help, call me.

2. Your Mailing List:

You NEED to generate sales leads, that you can follow up. If setup right, your website should periodically HARVEST contact information of potential customers, into your website mailing list. Mailing list software with signup forms abound.

Many hosting providers offer single click installation of these tools. Offer freebies on your site, to entice visitors to leave their names, emails, phone numbers etc. Over time, you will be able to MINE this data, to achieve financially rewarding responses.

3. Your Follow Up:

2 ideas readily come to mind here.

Launch a branded website newsletter, and an Article Marketing campaign. Use your mailing list software to send messages at decent intervals to subscribers – intelligently making product/service offers and announcements in those broadcasts, every now and then. Keep at it long enough, and you’ll notice MORE subscribers and opportunities to close sales will come up.

Ignore Nay Sayers: Adopt A Custom Web Marketing Plan & Make It Work For You

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

Sometimes it’s just NOT smart to follow the majority.

If there’s someone who KNOWS the importance of being different, and who used it to get AHEAD, to the benefit of himself, and MILLIONS of people worldwide, it’s SIR RICHARD BRANSON.

Here’s what he recently had to say about ANOTHER person who CHANGED the world, by THINKING differently….

—————Starts————-

“Sometimes, pursuing your vision means that you will have to ignore others’ warnings and even jeers…As you pursue your own entrepreneurial vision, take heart if building your company involves (confronting) obstacles and ignoring your critics.

Pursue your passion; admit when you encounter something you are not good at, and either delegate it or find a way around it (even Jobs hired great professionals to lead public relations efforts, and he famously formed alliances with Apple’s competitors, IBM and Microsoft); and when things go wrong, pick yourself up and keep going. This is an adventure that takes courage and conviction.

Throughout his life, Jobs encouraged everyone he worked with to “Think different.” It is advice I have taken to heart. He meant entrepreneurs; he meant you…”

Richard Branson (Branson on Sunday), “Steve Jobs, an entrepreneur who thought differently.” Sunday Punch, October 30, 2011

—————Ends————-

Final Words

Back in February this year, I wrote an article on a similar theme. I hope you find it a useful read:

You-Cannot-Beat-Competitors-If-You-Keep-Doing-The-SAME-Things-They-Do

Contact me if you need further details or need any clarifications.