Category Archives: Farm Biz

EXPERT WHO SPEAKS: Know Your Worth. Resolve to Get It

As an authentic entrepreneur, I have paid my dues for well over a decade LEARNING the theory and practice of the various solutions I provider.

The client base I boast, comprises over 80% experts in their own right, who have maintained relationships with me for YEARS after making their first ever purchase from me.

It therefore goes without saying that I have proven myself capable of delivering what I promise, to clients’ satisfaction. That effectively makes me an AUTHORITY at what I do -and I refuse to be shy in stating that fact, or asserting myself based on it.

Read: Master Salesmen Use Smart Ideas to Sell. Ordinary Salesmen Don’t! [TIP: Be a Master Salesman – Experience Based Ideas from a Master Salesman]!

If I want to share what I know for FREE, I RESERVE the exclusive right to decide WHERE to do so, WHY I do so.

For instance, to make it easy for any persons trying to make up their minds, I recently published a blog in which I mentioned a FREE talk I offer on entrepreneurship. The others are PAID.

If I want to teach others how to get paid for what they know, it makes sense that I should DEMONSTRATE that I do it myself.

Below is an excellent tweet on this theme, that resonates with me -for obvious reasons.

unpaid-speaker-request

The author rightly notes that he has unique insights to share and the requesting organisation is charging attendees BIG money but offers to pay HIM, the speaker they are inviting, NOTHING.

Like I always say, YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN TO SAY NO!

If you are an expert, take a cue from what I’ve said here.

Know your worth. Resolve to get it.

In the long run, you WILL be glad you did.

 

tks-sdn-unpaid-speaker-request

[GET YOUR FREE PASS] Attend West Africa’s leading agriculture trade show – 27TH TO 28TH NOV. 2018

I’m going to be at the event described below end Nov.

Unlike what I did in 2016 when I last attended, I have begun inviting other members of my network (clients and subscribers) to meet with me at the event venue at Lekki’s Landmark Centre

It would be great to meet up with YOU, if you can make it down on one or both of those days (27 – 28th Nov, 2018)

I plan to take photos and conduct my CEO Spotlight Interview with interested persons while there, which will be published on my blog/website.
====

Attend West Africa’s leading agriculture trade show

Agra Innovate’s free-to-attend seminars are designed to help farmers, agriculture business owners, distributors, resellers, regulators and other industry practitioners working across multiple value chains to effectively grow their agribusinesses and better achieve their objectives.

Please complete this form to register to attend Agra Innovate West Africa 2018 and get free access to the exhibition area, practical seminars and networking activities taking place over the two days.

https://get.knect365.com/agra-innovate/visitor-registration/

agra

PII 138: VIDEO – Ugandan Lawrence Okettayot’s Garden Waste Powered Dryer Boosts Farmer Profits by 400% and Reduces Food Waste by 75%

This week, I offer a verbatim text transcript of a BBC News series report about an excellent invention by a young Ugandan, which has serious potential to solve Africa’s severe food waste crisis. If you are a crop farmer, this is one video you MUST watch.

==STARTS===

[Video Text] Could Lawrence Okettayot hold the answer to Africa’s food waste crisis?

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

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

Monday 15th October 2018

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

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

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

PII 138: VIDEO – Ugandan Lawrence Okettayot’s Garden Waste Powered Dryer Boosts Farmer Profits by 400% and Reduces Food Waste by 75%

This week, I offer a verbatim text transcript of a BBC News series report about an excellent invention by a young Ugandan, which has serious potential to solve Africa’s severe food waste crisis. If you are a crop farmer, this is one video you MUST watch.

sparky-bbc

==STARTS===

[Video Text] Could Lawrence Okettayot hold the answer to Africa’s food waste crisis?

sparky-dryer-first-slide

He’s on a road trip across Uganda to find out.

Lawrence Okettayot: “When you talk to someone they’re like, ‘Man, how do you think you’re going to accomplish this? There are European white people out there who have done a lot of technology. And you’re just a mere African. How do you think you are going to make this thing go big?”

[Video Text] There’s a lot of food waste in Africa. Enough to fee 300 million people every year.

So this is Lawrence’s solution.

It’s called a Sparky Dryer.

Powered by garden waste, it dehydrates fruits and vegetables, extending the shelf life from two days, to two years.

Lawrence Okettayot: So, this is our very own first prototype of the Sparky Dryer.

This is our heat source here.

Then this is the drying chamber, where we dehydrate all our products from.

[Video text] Lawrence is now taking the Sparky Dryer to the world.

Starting in remote northern Uganda.

The people here are still recovering from 20 years of brutal conflict that almost destroyed their farming way of life.

Lawrence Okettayot: We have lost quite a lot of people. So basically we lost how to do a lot of faming and agriculture.

[Video text] The problems here sparked the Sparky Dryer idea

So it happened when I was discussing with my uncle, and I asked him “What is really the problem with agriculture? Because you are telling me you wanted to leave farming and do some other things like building.”

Then he was like “You know the main problem is when we harvest our product, it’s quite hard for us to store all of it, because we don’t have any other means of storing it, like preserving it.”

[VIDEO TEXT] Browsing the market in the town of Kitgum reveals that more than a third of everything grown here goes to waste.

Lawrence Okettayot: When I see rotten vegetables like these…these quite inspire me to keep on going, so that next time when I get here, I don’t see anything like this. I only see nice fruit, dried fruits and dried vegetables around.

[VIDEO TEXT] But so far Lawrence has only sold seven Sparky Dryers. And one of those was to his uncle. So far has the Sparky Dryer has helped Uncle Joe?

[Uncle Joe] Before the Sparky Dryer, we were wasting a lot of our income. And we were so really poor because of that thing. We could not even take our children at school, because there was no money.

[VIDEO TEXT] But now Uncle Joe can dry his crops in just a few hours, every day. Come rain or shine. So he no longer wastes 75^ of his harvest. In fact, he wastes nothing. And he’s made enough extra money, to pay for this new building on his farm.

[Uncle Joe] When you take these two mangoes in the market, you will get only 500 shillings. A mango like this one, when it is dried, you will get 1000 shillings out of it.

[VIDEO TEXT] So the Sparky Dryer has increased Uncle Joe’s income by 400%.Just what Lawrence wanted to hear. And on the way back to Kitgum there’s more good news. Another order for a Sparky Dryer.

So the product works and demand is growing.

But will that be enough to make the Sparky Dryer a life-changing African innovation?

[Dr. Roy William Mayega – Resilient African Network] People in Uganda tend to prefer products made elsewhere, trusting that this thing really works better, if it comes, let’s say, from outside of Africa, or from some other country that they consider credible.

So that is a real issue that we need to change.

[VIDEO TEXT] But maybe that change has just begun…with Lawrence and his Sparky Dryer innovation.

Lawrence Okettayot: We want to scale this up to reach East Africa, then South African and other parts of the world. And by doing that, I’ll be the happiest man on Earth because I would have saved quite a lot of people going hungry every day.

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

This BBC series was produced with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

sparky-dryer-last-slide

===ENDS===

Click here to watch the video titled “Food Waste Warrior” on the BBC News on Instangram website

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmdguHYHp_g/

Get 1 Year Web Marketing Saupport: Become a member of my Web Marketing for CEOs club

Click here to learn how you can join my Web Marketing for CEOs club, and get my 1 year Web Marketing Support Service

Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator

Click to view larger screenshot

1. Click here to learn more about this app – watch demo videos etc

2.Click here to watch a 4 part video in which I demonstrate how to use this app to formulate rations using real life data sent to me by an Algerian PhD student.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

EXCEL-VB DRIVEN POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGER SOFTWARE

Click here to download a detailed PDF user guide and watch 15 screen shot user guide tutorials of the Monthly Poultry Farm Manager that I now offer Farm CEOs.

Click here to watch a screenshot demonstration of the Excel-VB Driven Poultry Farm Manager I built for a client farm business in Ekiti state, South West Nigeria.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

SDN Blog™

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Successful People Say Making Mistakes Is What YOU Need to Succeed [FREE DOWNLOAD]

For over 25 years I’ve used the ideas I share in this short piece to excel – in spite of adversity – in EVERY area of endeavor I’ve ventured. You can use them too. Click the image under the following body of text to download it as a JPEG version you can read OFFLINE and even print/share to inspire others.

Buckminster Fuller once wrote:

“I know so much because I have made so many mistakes”

Very profound statement, based on deep insight.

Accomplished achievers who defied adversity to succeed, like Robert Kiyosaki have noted that MISTAKE MAKING and the sometimes resultant TEMPORARY DEFEAT (aka FAILURE) are necessary ingredients for authentic success achievement.

I have TESTED the above wisdom for over 25 years, first in paid employment and later self-employment, and found it works.

You become wiser by being willing to take RISKS to try new things you never did before, because doing so helps you LEARN what does not WORK, so you can narrow down to fewer options remaining until you do find WHAT WORKS.

By the time you succeed, you will KNOW MORE and it will show in the CONFIDENCE you display in relating with others.

You will boldly speak and act based on what I call STREET-WISDOM (aka YOUR experience based CONVICTIONS) and NOT textbook or armchair theories!

However, not everyone will LIKE you for that. Some will WRONGLY interpret your “confidence” as “ARROGANCE” and proceed to try discrediting you before others for that reason alone.

My attitude has always been to IGNORE the efforts of such people, even as I feel sorry for them for failing to grab the opportunity to LEARN what they can from me.

Indeed, anytime I encounter such people, I remember the following quote and smile inwardly, as they yap away:

“A person that does not know, BUT does not know, that s/he does NOT know, is a BIG FOOL” – Anonymous

[NB: Capitalized emphasis mine]:

T.K. Solagbade

Lagos, 25th August 2018

Email: tayo@tksola.com Web: www.tayosolagbade.com

sdn-meme-big-fool-rbuck

PII 130: Proven Secret to Generating Repeat Purchases from Buyers

Some people do not sell with integrity – and this is often apparent from the fact they do (what I describe as) “Hit and Run” business

In other words, they sell to buyers, without caring whether or not the latter are satisfied – and often because of that, they never consider trying to sell to the same persons again.

If that describes you, then stop reading right here. This article is NOT for you – as what it recommends is very unlikely to appeal to you…except you wish to turn over a new leaf, and start treating buyers RIGHT!

What I propose in this piece will make people who buy from you WANT to stay on and relate with/buy even more from you, for the long term – because they will be happy to have bought from you!

SCROLL DOWN TO READ THE FULL ISSUE

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

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

Monday 20th August 2018

Logo - Tayo Solagbade's Self-Development Academy


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

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

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

PII 130: Proven Secret to Generating Repeat Purchases from Buyers

Some people do not sell with integrity – and this is often apparent from the fact that they do (what I describe as) “Hit and Run” business

In other words, they sell to buyers, without caring whether or not the latter are satisfied – and often because of that, they never consider trying to sell to the same buyers again.

If the above describes you/what you do to make money in your business, then stop reading right here. This article is NOT for you – as what it recommends is very unlikely to appeal to you…except, of course, if you wish to turn over a new leaf, and start treating buyers RIGHT!

What I propose in this piece will make people who buy from you WANT to stay on and relate with/buy even more, from you, for the long term – because they will be happy to have bought from you the first time!

I say the above, based on my experience based achievements. And I share below a few examples, to illustrate the point I wish to make.

READ: No. 119: How to Achieve Success in Any Field (True Story) -this article has been read over 26,000 (26k) times. Click to read it in a new browser window.

Most of the buyers of my multidisciplinary range of performance improvement products and services (especially since 2010, when I resolved to focus on selling remotely to a globally paying target audience) have NEVER met with me in the flesh

And yet, many of them have – since buying from me (by taking MASSIVE LEAPS OF FAITH) gone on to maintain relationships with me that have gone beyond “business” into real friendships that both parties truly cherish.

READ: Can You Be Trusted?(Real Life Farm Business Sales Conversations With People Just Like You)

Every now and then the possibility of meeting up has of course been raised.

For instance, recently a long time Kano based Farm CEO client – Alhaji Sanni – (who has made repeated purchases from me) called to thank me for sending him a replacement of his personalized version of my Excel-VB Ration Formulator software[NB: He’d lost the one he’d paid for – I send the latest version to EVERY past buyer who requests it, at zero cost to him/her]

Before ending the call, Alhaji expressed the desire to one day meet me in person saying

“Tayo, it would be nice to meet with you one of these days. Look, why not come down to Kano – and we will host you…”

I replied that I wanted that just as much as he did, noting that I would plan such a visit, especially since apart from him, I actually had 4 other Kano based clients – all never having met me before.

TIP: Several times in the past, my efforts to organize a live feed formulation workshop, free for my clients (see example here) had not worked out too well, because we could not agree a date convenient for most of them to attend. That challenge was what led me to create my Practical Feed Formulation (& Compounding) Home Study Video Series.

I’ve had many of my past buyers/clients – from within and outside Nigeria/Africa – express the desire to meet me, like Alhaji did.

Over a year ago, a client based in Ghana’s Accra called to tell me how he’d used my Ration Formulator to improve his custom feed compounding for his Commercial Rabbit farm, to the extent that he’d begun selling custom formulated feed to other livestock farmers.

READ: PII 032: Maximise Returns by Integrating Rabbit Farming into Your Farm Operations [True Story: Excerpts from my response to a tweeted request from Eno, a Nigerian Rabbit farm owner]

At a point he suggested that if I ever came down to Ghana, he would want to introduce me to other farm CEOs in his network who he believed would need my help etc.

More recently, a Real Estate Consultant who has been a Web Marketing client for almost 2 years now , while we were talking on phone suggested it might be good to meet up somewhere in Lagos. We’ll probably be making that happen sometime in the near future.

For now, however, only on a handful of occasions has it so far been possible to make in person meetings with my past buyers happen.

Sometimes it has been through small group coaching events – like the one I organized for members of my MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation club, which I came down from Cotonou, to run in Lagos.

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

At other times, it has been through agreed face to face meetings – like the one I had with the chap – Enuenwemba Chukuyenum (Chuks) – standing with me in the photo below taken back in 2014.

chuks-fbk

Read the article I published about our meeting here (click).

Read the Facebook post I published here (click).

An agribusiness consultant with an agro allied company at the time, Chuks had purchased my Ration Formulator in 2012. That was before I began my Lagos-Cotonou corridor shuttling as a Location Independent Multipreneur.

Over the course of several phone and email conversations we found we were like minded and began to share news of what we were doing with one another – ME doing more of it!

One day, I’d come into town late in the evening, and called him up to say hello/share some new ideas/insights I had, which I thought (based on our past exchanges) might interest him.

As our conversation got more animated, he said it would be nice to meet face to face, so he could put a real life face to the name. I thought THAT made sense  – so we discussed ways to make it happen.

A few days later, we met up for the first time EVER, since he became a paying client over 2 years earlier. But we hugged one another like old friends, back patting and all – on lookers would have been fooled!

Venue was the inside of the Mr. Bigg’s outlet located at Maryland bus stop area.

The photo of us was taken by my first son – who was 15 years old at the time.

By way of interest, I took the boy along to witness my meeting with this never-before-seen client of mine, so he could UNDERSTAND how I made/make money remotely, selling digital products and services to buyers, who are mostly total strangers when we first begin “talking”.

Indeed, I do this with my kids all the time – as part of what I call Best Practice Parenting.

READ: Selling Skills Development in Tayo Solagbade’s Personal Achievement Coaching for Kids (PACK)™ Project [Hint: Finding Buyers for Cakes Made Without Oven]

At my coaching/speaking events, I take one of more of my kids along to SEE what I do and how, so as to give them a mental preparation towards doing similar stuff at some point in their lives, when they eventually discover the purpose and passion.

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

READ: TRUE STORY: An Invitation from The Ministry of Youth and Social Development to Discuss My Paper Titled “Schooling Is a Means to an End and NOT an End In Itself”

READ: PII108: Why I Do NOT Want My Kids to Get the Same Formal Schooling I Got [PDF Report]

Final Words

Having said all of the above, it goes without saying, that if the product/service they’d bought from me had not met their expectations,  my clients would not be staying in touch with me, for so long (year in year out, some for OVER 7 years now – and buying more!) like they do, talk less of asking to meet with me in person.

So what have I been doing that’s made my buyers often act this way towards me?

Well, it’s simple.

I ALWAYS – and I do mean ALWAYS – under-promise to over-deliver in terms of what I SELL to them.

And by under-promising, I do not imply aiming to undercut or cheat/deny the client of what is due to him/her.

No.

Instead, what I do is to assess the client’s need, based on what s/he tells me, and then decide whether THAT need is something the SOLUTION I offer can MEET.

If YES, I tell him/her so, and if s/he’s convinced, I make the sale and deliver to him/her.

BUT…I do NOT stop there…

Instead after delivering what s/he has paid for and is expecting, I begin, over time, to give him/her all kinds of follow up benefits in various forms e.g. surprise bonuses targeted to meet the unique needs I have DEDUCED, from our “conversations” that s/he has.

And as I do that, I gently check for any challenges s/he may be having with using the solution I’ve delivered, or with making progress towards a valued goal s/he has told me about.

Wherever I discover an opportunity to add value, I go out of my way, to offer it – most times at little or no additional cost to him/her i.e. FREE.

Why do I do this?

I do it because I KNOW that when people buy from vendors, most times they do not expect that kind of passionate, enthusiastic no-strings-attached follow up from a seller who has nothing to gain by doing so.

And THAT makes them take a second look at me, and it clicks in their minds that I REALLY care.

Once they realize that I am honestly interested in helping them succeed, they open up and subsequently begin to reach out.

Over time, the relationship grows and sooner than later, the natural happens: TRUST is cemented.

As is common knowledge, when there is trust, sales become so much easier to close.

READ: Can You Be Trusted?(Real Life Farm Business Sales Conversations With People Just Like You)

And THAT is the reason why it pays to under-promise and over-deliver!

Those you serve, in that manner, with your products and services, WILL notice the difference between YOU and others who do what you do.

And they will want to bring you closer to them, so they can have constant access to benefit from you – translating to REPEAT SALES OPPORTUNITIES for you!

 

Other Articles

[OFFER] Attract High Quality Buyers At Zero Cost: Become a member of my Web Marketing for CEOs club

Click here to learn how you can join my Web Marketing for CEOs club, and get my 1 year Web Marketing Support Service

Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator

Click to view larger screenshot

1. Click here to learn more about this app – watch demo videos etc

2.Click here to watch a 4 part video in which I demonstrate how to use this app to formulate rations using real life data sent to me by an Algerian PhD student.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

EXCEL-VB DRIVEN POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGER SOFTWARE

Click here to download a detailed PDF user guide and watch 15 screen shot user guide tutorials of the Monthly Poultry Farm Manager that I now offer Farm CEOs.

Click here to watch a screenshot demonstration of the Excel-VB Driven Poultry Farm Manager I built for a client farm business in Ekiti state, South West Nigeria.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

SDN Blog™

New posts from last week*

Monday:

[Thursday]:

[DVAM] EXTRA REPORT: Husband Battering, A New Face of Domestic Violence

[DVAM] Group laments increase in violence against men

[DVAM] Who will save men from domestic violence?

[Friday]:

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[Saturday]:

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[Sunday]:

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PII 129: These Ideas Will Help You Defy Any Adversity to Succeed Anywhere, Doing Anything! [FREE PDF DOWNLOAD]

Even though I discuss this subject with specific reference to succeeding in business, the ideas I share in this 1,000 word (<5 min read) piece apply to achievement in ANY endeavour. I know that because I have used them successfully in paid as well as self-employment.

Indeed, for those who know me and have wondered how I have continually succeeded in achieving my goals, despite repeated visitations of adversity, what I share here provides the answers to your unasked questions!

First, let me begin with a quote I have always found powerfully insightful and inspiring:

“I have no special talents, and in high school I was far below average. I believe that the writings of (Napoleon) Hill sparked my rise, changing the way I thought about my inadequacies and removing many self-imposed limitations. I have no other explanations for the startling success of a person who had been so mediocre.” – James R. Cook, Millionaire Entrepreneur, in his New York Times Bestseller, The Startup Entrepreneur

SCROLL DOWN TO READ THE FULL ISSUE

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

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

Monday 13th August 2018

Logo - Tayo Solagbade's Self-Development Academy


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

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

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

PII 129: These Ideas Will Help You Defy Any Adversity to Succeed Anywhere, Doing Anything!

Even though I discuss this subject with specific reference to succeeding in business, the ideas I share in this 1,000 word (<5 min read) piece apply to achievement in ANY endeavour. I know that because I have used them successfully in paid as well as self-employment.

Indeed, for those who know me and have wondered how I have continually succeeded in achieving my goals, despite repeated visitations of adversity, what I share here provides the answers to your unasked questions!

First, let me begin with a quote I have always found powerfully insightful and inspiring:

“I have no special talents, and in high school I was far below average. I believe that the writings of (Napoleon) Hill sparked my rise, changing the way I thought about my inadequacies and removing many self-imposed limitations. I have no other explanations for the startling success of a person who had been so mediocre.” – James R. Cook, Millionaire Entrepreneur, in his New York Times Bestseller, The Startup Entrepreneur

cooks-book

You need to read Cook’s book (no pun intended) see it on sale here – to get a REAL feel for what he meant in the above quote.

But basically, the story in his book reveals how he went from neophyte entrepreneur, falling flat on his face many times for years, after quitting a salary job and starting a business without a business plan.

It provides elaborate details and eye opening insights what he went through and the lessons he learned about how to keep going, no matter what – until success is achieved.

Hear him…

“Like many others, I assumed that simply because I went into business, quick success would follow. I grievously under-estimated (and still do) the time necessary for a new project to get into the black (i.e. to make profit). Most of the difficulties I encountered couldn’t have been forecast; they always managed to catch me by surprise.” – James R. Cook

It is most often the repeated mistakes, setbacks and disappointments that many aspiring entrepreneurs in Nigeria experience that makes them abandon the idea of running their own businesses.

Many people in this country do not have the mental attitude needed to relentlessly pursue the achievement of sustained successes in their chosen endeavour.

During his active playing days, Michael Jordan was revered by his peers, coaches and fans for his “mental toughness”.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti was the same in his pursuit of musical excellence and human rights activism.

Time and time again he emerged from prison and/or nasty confrontations with agents of oppressive government regimes, especially during the military era, to continue preaching his message.
He had mental stamina, and this enabled him persist despite tremendous physical and psychological suffering he went through.

Gani Fawehinmi and Nelson Mandela also did the same in their respective lives.

It’s not enough to know how to do something; you must also have the mental stamina to deal with the attendant challenges/difficulties that will come up when you are engaged in your chosen endeavor.

Sadly, this requirement is not recognized in Nigeria. Yes, a sound understanding of the need for a success conscious mental attitude is missing in our society. It is neglected in all the various forms of formal/informal education provided in virtually every facet of our society.

This mental preparation is what is lacking when many people start up their businesses. They would often have consulted the right people, attended the right learning events, and mastered the technical aspects of running the business. But they often neglect…

====Excerpt Ends===

The above is an excerpt from a special FREE PDF DOWNLOAD edition of my weekly Performance Improvement Ideas (PII) newsletter. Any interested person can download the PDF version and share FREELY. See download link below.

Download THIS PDF using the link provided below…

Click HERE to download the full PDF version of this newsletter now (NO SIGNUP Needed)

sdn-pdf-seriesPII129

 

Other Articles

[OFFER] Attract High Quality Buyers At Zero Cost: Become a member of my Web Marketing for CEOs club

Click here to learn how you can join my Web Marketing for CEOs club, and get my 1 year Web Marketing Support Service

Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator

Click to view larger screenshot

1. Click here to learn more about this app – watch demo videos etc

2.Click here to watch a 4 part video in which I demonstrate how to use this app to formulate rations using real life data sent to me by an Algerian PhD student.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

EXCEL-VB DRIVEN POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGER SOFTWARE

Click here to download a detailed PDF user guide and watch 15 screen shot user guide tutorials of the Monthly Poultry Farm Manager that I now offer Farm CEOs.

Click here to watch a screenshot demonstration of the Excel-VB Driven Poultry Farm Manager I built for a client farm business in Ekiti state, South West Nigeria.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

SDN Blog™

New posts from last week*

Monday:

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[Wednesday]:

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[Thursday]:

N/A

[Friday]:

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[Saturday]:

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[Sunday]:

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PII 128 – Commandment No. 5 of 10 – You Shall Confidently Offer to Solve Real Life Problems For Your Target Audience [Features TRUE STORY of Teenager Who Started Making Custom Shoes for Himself Because Shoe Sellers Rarely Have Shoes Fitting His Size 46 Feet]

This week I publish commandment No. 5 of 10 from my 10 part/10 week educational audio series titled “Ten Commandments of Web Marketing for Business Success“.

This is a special FREE DOWNLOAD edition. Any interested person can download the MP3 and PDF versions and share FREELY.

Commandment No. 5 of 10 – You Shall Confidently Offer to Solve Real Life Problems For Your Target Audience [Features TRUE STORY of Teenager Who Started Making Custom Shoes for Himself Because Shoe Sellers Rarely Have Shoes Fitting His Size 46 Feet]

Preview:

To market successfully, you need to present yourself as an AUTHENTIC PROBLEM SOLVER to your target audience. But that may not be as easy as it sounds, because first of all you need to know how to decide on what problem to solve, plus how much to charge for it, and who to offer your solution to you, that’d be willing to pay what you ask.

SCROLL DOWN TO READ THE FULL ISSUE

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

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

Monday 6th August 2018

Logo - Tayo Solagbade's Self-Development Academy


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

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

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

PII 128 – Commandment No. 5 of 10 – You Shall Confidently Offer to Solve Real Life Problems For Your Target Audience [Features TRUE STORY of Teenager Who Started Making Custom Shoes for Himself Because Shoe Sellers Rarely Have Shoes Fitting His Size 46 Feet]

[Ten Commandments of Web Marketing for Money Making Success]

This week I publish commandment No. 5 of 10 from my 10 part/10 week educational audio series titled “Ten Commandments of Web Marketing for Money Making Success“.

This is a special FREE DOWNLOAD edition. Any interested person can download the MP3 and PDF versions and share FREELY. See download links below.

Preview: To market successfully, you need to present yourself as an AUTHENTIC PROBLEM SOLVER to your target audience. But that may not be as easy as it sounds, because first of all you need to know how to decide on what problem to solve, plus how much to charge for it, and who to offer your solution to you, that’d be willing to pay what you ask.

To get my message across I share the true story of my 17 year old son, who – being rather big for his age – wears size 46 shoes (mine are 44!).

For a long time we often struggled to find shoes to buy for him. Very few vendors had shoes his size! So he often wore odd looking, worn shoes on outings. We had a problem!

Today, we have a lasting SOLUTION: he makes his own custom footwear (see photos on his website) – and now offers PAID custom footwear making solutions to others.

Read full PDF or listen to the MP3 audio version of this commandment for my full message!

Download THIS PDF &  the MP3 Audio version of Commandment No. 5 FREE using the links provided below…

1. Download the MP3 podcast here: Part 1 of 2 | Part 2 of 2

2. Download the PDF Transcript of the MP3 podcast HERE 

10-Commandments-Part5

Signup to join my Web Marketing for CEOs club and you’ll get ALL MP3 podcasts and PDF text transcript versions of Commandments No. 1 to 10 in this series, sent to you, with 4 additional gift resources you can study to learn how to achieve smart web marketing success.

Related Articles

[OFFER] Attract High Quality Buyers At Zero Cost: Become a member of my Web Marketing for CEOs club

Click here to learn how you can join my Web Marketing for CEOs club, and get my 1 year Web Marketing Support Service

Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator

Click to view larger screenshot

1. Click here to learn more about this app – watch demo videos etc

2.Click here to watch a 4 part video in which I demonstrate how to use this app to formulate rations using real life data sent to me by an Algerian PhD student.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

EXCEL-VB DRIVEN POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGER SOFTWARE

Click here to download a detailed PDF user guide and watch 15 screen shot user guide tutorials of the Monthly Poultry Farm Manager that I now offer Farm CEOs.

Click here to watch a screenshot demonstration of the Excel-VB Driven Poultry Farm Manager I built for a client farm business in Ekiti state, South West Nigeria.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

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Go Hard: Keep Watering Your Dream] by Les Brown [Verbatim Video Text Transcript by Tayo K. Solagbade to celebrate turning 48 on 6th July 2018]

Go Hard [Keep Watering Your Dream] by Les Brown ]

[Verbatim Video Text Transcript by Tayo K. Solagbade to celebrate turning 48 on 6th July 2018]

“…That it’s not gonna happen as quickly as you want it to happen. Lots of things gonna happen that will catch you off guard. And so therefore you have to deal with and handle it as it comes. And not only that…But that faith and patience, drives you into action. You’ve got to keep moving and keep plugging away. In the Far East, they have something that’s called the “Chinese Bamboo tree”.

The Chinese Bamboo tree takes five years to grow. And when they go through a process of growing it, they have to water and fertilize the ground where it is, every day. And it doesn’t break through the ground, until the fifth year. Okay. But once it breaks through the ground, within 5 weeks, it grows 90 feet tall!

Now the question is does it grow 90 feet tall in 5 weeks, if 5 years? The answer is obvious: It grows 90 feet tall in 5 years! Because at any time, had that person stopped watering and nurturing and fertilizing that dream, that bamboo tree would have died in the ground.

I can see people coming out, talking to a guy out there watering and fertilizing the ground that’s not showing anything. “Hey, what ya doing? You’ve been out here a long time men! And the conversation in the neighborhood is you growing the Chinese Bamboo tree. Is that right?”

“Yeah that’s right”

“Well ah, even Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder can see that ain’t nothing showing!” You know that’s how people gonna do you. “So how long you’ve been working on this? How long have you been working on your dream – and you have nothing to show…THIS is all you got to show???”

People gonna do that to you. And some people ladies and gentlemen, they stop. Because they don’t see instant results. It doesn’t happen quickly – they stop.

Oh no, no, no, no. You gotta keep on watering your dreams. And when it begins to happen…they stop laughing. They say “Look! Woah, okay, it’s, look at…Hey men, I knew you could do it. Look here, you got a job here?” [Laughter + Applause]

===Ends===

The ideas shared by Les in his talk resonate greatly with me. [Watch video at www.tinyurl.com/lesbrowncbamboo]

Read my March 2007 piece titled “There Is Nothing Wrong With A Humble Beginning- Achieve YOUR Success With Honour & Integrity” at www.tinyurl.com/tkshumblestart

gohard1

I created the above PDF digital flyer as a gift for persons in my network of contacts who reach out to me on my 48th birthday anniversary and any others who indicate interest in having it.

Click here to download the above verbatim transcript flyer.

Please share freely.

Tayo K. Solagbade, Location Independent Performance Improvement Specialist & Multiptreneur

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PII 125 – No. 2 of 10 – You Shall Become Slightly Famous at Zero Cost [Ten Commandments of Web Marketing for Money Making Success]

This week I publish commandment No. 2 of 10 from my 10 part/10 week educational audio series titled “Ten Commandments of Web Marketing for Business Success“.

Commandment No. 2: You Shall Become Slightly Famous at Zero Cost

Preview: I want to advise you. Let’s assume you decide you don’t even want to use my method. This thinking, this mental attitude, that helps you to understand and appreciate the fact that you need to make people discover you on their own, rather than you being the one to reach out to them…

SCROLL DOWN TO READ THE FULL ISSUE

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

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

Monday 9th July 2018

Logo - Tayo Solagbade's Self-Development Academy


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

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

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

PII 125 – No. 2 of 10 – You Shall Become Slightly Famous at Zero Cost [Ten Commandments of Web Marketing for Money Making Success]

 

This week I publish commandment No. 2 of 10 from my 10 part/10 week educational audio series titled “Ten Commandments of Web Marketing for Money Making Success“.

Commandment No. 2: You Shall Become Slightly Famous at Zero Cost

Preview: I want to advise you. Let’s assume you decide you don’t even want to use my method. This thinking, this mental attitude, that helps you to understand and appreciate the fact that you need to make people discover you on their own, rather than you being the one to reach out to them…If you can adopt THAT mental attitude, it’s gonna help you a lot. I can tell you categorically, based on more than 7 to 8 years now, of using my (Web Marketing) system, that the best clients I’ve had have been the ones that never knew me from Adam, found me through my Web Marketing System – in other words, some other remote resource I put on the web, not that I reached out to them, and then contacted me based on what they had encountered on the web, or wherever else they’d seen my marketing materials.

1. Request the MP3 podcast HERE (click)

2. Request the PDF Transcript of the MP3 podcast HERE (click)

10-Commandments-Part2

Signup to join my Web Marketing for CEOs club and you’ll get ALL MP3 podcasts and PDF text transcript versions of Commandments No. 1 to 10 in this series, sent to you, with 4 additional gift resources you can study to learn how to achieve smart web marketing success.

 

Related Article

[OFFER] Attract High Quality Buyers At Zero Cost: Become a member of my Web Marketing for CEOs club

Click here to learn how you can join my Web Marketing for CEOs club, and get my 1 year Web Marketing Support Service

Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator

Click to view larger screenshot

1. Click here to learn more about this app – watch demo videos etc

2.Click here to watch a 4 part video in which I demonstrate how to use this app to formulate rations using real life data sent to me by an Algerian PhD student.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

EXCEL-VB DRIVEN POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGER SOFTWARE

Click here to download a detailed PDF user guide and watch 15 screen shot user guide tutorials of the Monthly Poultry Farm Manager that I now offer Farm CEOs.

Click here to watch a screenshot demonstration of the Excel-VB Driven Poultry Farm Manager I built for a client farm business in Ekiti state, South West Nigeria.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

SDN Blog™

New posts from last week*

Monday:

N/A

[Thursday]:

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[Friday]:

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[Saturday]:

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[Sunday]:

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Pineapple: Farmers Lament Low Patronage [The Farm CEO’s Review of Guardian Newspaper Agribusiness Report of 1st July 2018]

 

Below: Screenshot of news report by Nigeria’s Guardian newspaper titled “Pineapple Farmers Lament Low Patronage”.

pineapple-farmers-lament

This report reveals some truths I have tried to point out to other stakeholders in Nigeria’s Agribusiness industry, in the past.

For instance, about 2 years ago, | attended an international agribusiness conference on Lagos’s Victoria Island, where companies from different parts of the world came together to show what they had to offer, exchange ideas and explore potential areas of collaboration with counterparts from across Nigeria.

Farm business owners running enterprises of all sizes, from micro operators to large scale commercial agro enterprises, were present.

Dansa, a subsidiary of Dangote Group PLC, was one of the indigenous large scale brands that was present, and whose stands I visited that day.

Read THE FARM CEO (Issue 26): Farm CEOs Lack of Sales and Marketing Savvy REMAINS a major problem, Products (e.g. Delicious Chin Chin) made from Cassava – Going beyond Fufu, Gari etc, Agro Nigeria: a 100% Nigerian magazine on Agriculture, 300 Ha Pineapple Plantation in Nigeria’s Calabar – Rivers State, Specialty Fats & Oils Made From Different Parts of the Palm Fruit [FREE Download – Complimentary: Special Issue. Agra Innovate Exhibition Visit Report]

My main interest was in their displayed sample of Smooth Cayenne pineapple variety, which the lady I spoke with told me they had devoted large hectares of land to cultivating in Cross Rivers state.

It so happens, that this Guardian newspaper report mentions the same company, as having invested 45m USD in their above mentioned production and processing plant.

That is not a small amount of money, and it goes without saying that the problem of low patronage highlighted by the newspaper, with reference to the Nigerian Smooth Cayenne variety must give producers like Dansa, and others, cause for serious concern.

This is especially true when one considers the fact that the Sugar Loaf pineapple variety imported from next door Benin Republic, continues to enjoy good patronage from the same market that the Smooth Cayenne variety producers are complaining is not buying enough from them!

Efforts by the Guardian to narrow down, via questions posed to stakeholders and experts interviewed in the Nigerian agribusiness industry, to the root causes of the poor sales performance of local pineapple producers yielded the following responses:

  1. Price difference: Pineapples grown in Nigeria are priced significantly high, compared to others flooding the market from neighboring markets. Examples:
  • Small sized locally produced sells for N250 upwards

 

  • Average sized imported sells for N100 to N150

 

  • Bigger sized imported sells for N150 to N200

Looking at the above profile of prices, and considering the limited purchasing power of majority in the Nigerian market, their tendency to buy more of the imported variety can be understood.

  1. Availability: Current local production of pineapples in the Nigerian market is low, and due to its bulk use from production in industrial enterprises, limited amounts remain that locals can buy and eat.
  1. Preference: Nigerians supposedly prefer foreign pineapples, especially the one imported from Benin Republic due to its taste.

I think this last point, is linked to the first one.

One of the experts interviewed – Ambassador Sola Bunmi Adeniyi – Executive Director of a Non-Profit outfit, GoGreen Africa Initiative, argued that availability, and NOT preference for imported varieties was the reason for the low selling performance of Smooth Cayenne recorded.

I’m not too sure I agree totally with that point of view. It is true that a lot of what is produced currently in Nigeria, is being used for what Guardian’s report correctly describes as “alcoholic, beverages and food industry production purposes.

However, the fact remains that if one had to choose (and I say this as one who has shuttled the Lagos-Cotonou axis countless times and lived on both sides), people openly express preference for the Cotonou sourced Sugar Loaf variety.

When asked why, most tell me it tastes better, even though it is smaller in size.

It so happens that having tasted both varieties, at least those I found during my travels, I also prefer the Cotonou pineapple for its taste.

I cannot say for sure, if the taste of the local variety that I have sampled was in any way affected by the nature of soil in which it was farmed, or the treatment it was subjected to. What I do know is that it tended not to be as pleasing to taste, in terms of sweetness I could enjoy, as the one from Cotonou.

Whether or not this is something people who eat pineapples in other parts of the country, also experience, I cannot say.

If this issue raised is checked across other states and found to be valid, can anything be done to improve the taste performance of Smooth Cayenne grown here, to match that from Benin?

If not, what are the implications for growth prospects of this variety?

In light of the above issues, I cannot help wondering how Nigeria decided to choose Smooth Cayenne. Did we not explore the possibility of growing Sugar Loaf? Or are there restrictions placed on growing a variety from other markets?

These are some of the questions I believe need careful consideration by decision makers and stakeholders, if progress is to be made on this front.