Category Archives: My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, General, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Parenting, Public Speaking, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

Why Farm CEOs Need to Read Non-Farm Related Articles (Hint: Like the multidisciplinry articles on THIS blog)

July 5, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

I believe, from over 2 decades of observation/experience, that one major mistake being made by conventional farm support specialists is that they focus mainly – sometimes exclusively – on farm related issues, in serving farm business owners.

This can be self-defeating, because other aspects of the farm owner’s life can – and do! – interfere with his/her ability to make progress with the farm!

Farm CEOs are human beings like the rest of us: they have to balance different aspects of their lives!

That means virtually everything that we have to contend with in life, outside their core vocation is what they most likely also have to deal with.

Most people do not think about it, but many times stuff that happens in other parts of our lives can – and do – affect our ability to function effectively and successfully in our chosen vocations.

Indeed, many of the most successful people in the world get to be that way because they develop strategies to keep firm control of other areas of their lives, so that nothing interferes with their ability to focus on the core purpose they have.

That’s why many top sportspersons have personal managers, and other people they pass their routine chores to. Down to getting their laundry done, these guys readily pay good money to have someone else handle such tasks.

Farm CEOs can also get very busy, and quite often their work may require spending long periods trying to set standards in place, and study trends to take the right decisions. If they have other areas of their lives going out of control, this becomes more difficult to do.

That’s why this blog’s articles categories are multidisciplinary: I like to see the big picture and offer complete solutions

It goes without saying that some visitors to www.tayosolagbade.com will have wondered why I don’t just write ONLY farm business related stuff all over my website.

Well, the above case in point is the major reasons.

My multidisciplinary write-ups are designed to offer potentially useful best practice information and education, on different aspects of life, in a way that enhances people’s ability to succeed.

Those who pay attention will notice I often use farm related explanations in most of the examples I discuss in my articles.

But as with everything else, the lessons offered can be applied or adapted to suit the needs of people in other fields. And they are. Which is why I also get feedback and enquiries from prospects and clients in non-farm related fields.

Below, I discuss each of my blog categories, and how they are relevant to farm business owners, and their workers.

NB: It’s quite likely that many of them who have visited in the past probably never thought of it this way before. So, I guess I should say: “Now you know!”

1. Parenting

With the exception of those yet to have offspring, Farm CEOs typically have spouses and kids they live with. Whatever happens in that home can – and does – affect the farmer’s state of mind.

Kids in particular, can be a challenge for any adult. I say this as a father of 4 boys and 2 girls. And I also say it as one who has had to endure years of being unable to independently provide for them – while struggling to establish myself as an entrepreneur in Nigeria.

Parenting has little to do with how financially well off you are. After all we know of many people who are financially successful today, whose parent(s) raised them while battling crippling poverty.

However, the training instilled in the kids by the parent(s) helped them develop the character needed to later achieve financial success in life.

The story of Ben Carson, the famed American Neurosurgeon in his book – “Gifted Hands” – describes an excellent example of what I call World Class Parenting – by his mother.

My articles are experience based.I draw from what I went through in my childhood years, as a very naught teenager, before I reformed myself. And I add to that what I did to coach other people’s kids to achieve excellence in my early adulthood.

Lastly, there’s the VERY challenging experience I’m, having currently as a parent to 2 teenage boys, and their siblings.

Some of those who have read my articles on parenting have commented on how useful they found them. Several of my articles have been syndicated on parenting websites outside Africa – in the USA for example. I believe that’s a sign that there’s value to be had in them.

As a farm CEO, with kids, these articles are for you to study, in order to do a better job of parenting your kids. Make use of them.

2. Career Development

I have noted in the past that a growing number of Farm CEOs purchasing my products are persons who hold day jobs. A good number actually work with large companies (e.g. oil service multinationals), and run their farm businesses on the side.

They often use the salary they earn – and/or loans or grants from their employers – to finance their farm businesses. It goes without saying therefore, that their continued good performance at work is crucial to the long term survival of the farm.

Of course, at some point, with good management, the farm business is bound to become self-sustaining. However, depending on the kind of enterprise it is (e.g. poultry layers, broiler, piggery etc), some need for the security of “extra income” to meet periodic shortages may remain for a while.

And even if that’s not the case, discussions with some such farm CEOs suggest they are planning to keep running their farms on the side till retirement – which is not due for 5 or more years.

I have a track record of high performing success from my 7 year stay in a world class multinational. I started as process manager, and later become a people manager – competently holding senior management positions.

What’s more, I received exposure to a wide variety of high profile training on best practice performance improvement and people coaching in the workplace. All of this equips me to help others.

So, Farm CEOs pursuing careers during the day can really benefit from reading my Career Development write-ups.

Many of them have been extensively syndicated online. Some got me invited to speak in places like the Centre for Management Development, while others have been published – with my permission – in international journals.

3. Entrepreneurship

I have written severally in the past about the need for farm CEOs to realize that they need to think like entrepreneurs, if they want to succeed – indeed excel.

My ideas have gotten me invited to speak to audiences at events like Yaba College or Technology’s Centre for Entrepreneurship Development.

That’s apart from many which have been republished across the web, since I began using article marketing in 2005.

With Farm CEOs, I have hammered on the need to develop competent sales and marketing know how. Too many of them still thing traditionally. They focus on producing and then start waiting for buyers to come. If you want the best prices, and you want to make timely sales, so as to maximize your farm output capacity, this is an aspect you cannot ignore.

My articles on entrepreneurship can help you.

4. Writing/Blogging

If you’ve been reading my writing for a while, you will know that I have repeatedly stated that farm CEOs need to adopt writing as a strategy for “farm business promotion”. Apart from being zero cost, more or less, it also helps them develop marketing credibility and ultimately achieve authority status.

Why is this important you ask?

Well, we are not all equally ambitious. But why come to the match if you don’t intend to give it your best shot? I argue that farm CEOs should aim to generate income via multiple channels – including those NOT directly related to farm product sales.

How? Well, sell your expertise as a Farm Business Expert. You are effectively already a consultant, by virtue of your being a farm CEO!

Get started by WRITING regularly, to share your experiences. Use a blog – at the least.

Don’t stay on paper – you’ll achieve less reach and impact. Tell readers about successes and failures and what you did to get there. As your writing evolves, package yourself to offer solutions to those aspiring to do what you do, or others who have begun, but need help.

E.g. business plan preparation, farm start-up consultations, feasibility studies, farm personnel training. You could write manuals to help others who come to you – they would pay – gladly too.

Because you already have a farm, they are likely to take you seriously. And when you ask them to pay, they will.

I say this as someone who still has not started a farm business, and yet get farm CEOs from within and outside Africa sending me payment for products and services I offer them.

Want to know more – or need help? Click here to send me a message.

5. Public Speaking

And lastly, people may wonder what concerns Farm CEOs with public speaking. Some may even ask how a farmer can possibly expect to be a speaker.

Well, I argue that if tie-wearing agriculture experts, who only lecture and do not run their own farms, can get paid to address audiences of farmers on farm business, then Farm CEOs can do the same too.

The thing is that too many people fail to think outside the box. Should farm owners, with the right training and preparation, not be able to SPEAK to audiences about what they do. Should they not be able to SHARE their experiences with researchers and farmers from other parts?

Think about it. Some farmers are making smart improvements in the way they run their businesses that others could benefit from.A Farm CEO who can prepare, package, promote and present his/her ideas attractively CAN get invited – as a paid speaker – to international conferences, to share his/her story.

You can plan to do it locally, and also internationally, making intelligent use of the web. And this can open doors to finding better (and bulk) buyers for your farm products in the process.

This is why I offer articles on public speaking. Read them and apply what you learn.

Want to know more – or need help? Click here to send me a message.

6. Self-Development

The study of 1 to 5 above will more or less be an exercise in self-development.

But it goes beyond that. Your physical, mental and emotional fitness also need attention. Regular physical exercise, along with diligent investment in leisure to eliminate stress is crucial to keep yourself going. You cannot afford to let yourself break down.

So many of my articles on Self-Development have been widely read and republished. You would do well to study them.

Final Words: As you can see, Farm CEOs will find some of the above useful at various times in life.

As with everything else, you may not have career concerns today, but a parenting challenge could be on your mind as you drive to your farm.

If you’re lucky, browsing through the parenting articles archives on this blog may turn up something useful (try it now).

Some other day, you may have received an invitation to deliver a talk on Poultry Farming to students in a university…..and you may be wondering how to go about it. The archives section of my Public Speaking IDEAS newsletter may come in handy.

In other words, I am saying that if you’re a farm CEO, virtually all the major products and services on tayosolagbade.com are created with YOU in mind. (No offence to my other clients in various industries, but farm businesses are my primary target audience.)

So, even when you see an article title that does not relate with farming, REMEMBER that you are first and foremost a human being. And you well being, your state of mind, will have an impact, directly or indirectly on your ability to run your farm business competently.

As such, anything that can affect you inn that regard needs to be carefully nurtured. This is why feeding yourself with useful tips, and information, to take care of those areas of your life would be a wise thing to do.

www.tayosolagbade.com offers you a continually growing library of potentially useful resources you can tap into.

Don’t be a stranger – visit daily and learn. In fact, go a step further and subscribe/join the mailing list, so you get notified when new stuff is published. You can only get better that you currently are!

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

Without Adversity, Meaningful Achievement Would Cease to Exist (Why It Is UNWISE to Wish That You Never Fail Again!)

July 2, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

“If it were not for adversity (which has a habit of getting in our way via delays, disappointments, setbacks and failure), the business of achieving AUTHENTIC success, would progress much more quickly and easily for EVERYONE!” – Tayo K. Solagbade

FACT: If adversity stopped showing up, meaningful achievement would no longer exist…!

That’s the truth – and I’m paraphrasing Jim Rohn using the above phrase.

You see, if everything became so easy, the world would simply get over crowded with mediocre persons parading what would otherwise be questionable success trophies. Sooner than later, we would begin to pay the price.

That’s why I tell those who say “Failure is not my portion” or who get prayed for to NEVER fail again, that they might as well say goodbye to authentic success at the same time. Without failure you’re VERY unlikely to achieve it!

Imagine what it takes to qualify to drive a car on the roads….

In most societies, people have to undergo a series of tests – theoretical and practical – to qualify to hold a driver’s license. This process ensures that those who eventually get the go ahead to drive cars on the road will not constitute themselves into a danger to themselves or others.

I have met people who complained about the strict system run in places like the UK, for assessing competence of persons to hold a driver’s license.

Getting it requires meeting a challenging set of standards.

Now, even after you’ve gotten the licence, misbehaving behind the wheel, while driving, can cost you “points”. And if you make a habit of getting into too much trouble, and lose too many points, you could lose the license!

All of these keep holders of licenses on their toes. It also ensures that the roads remain generally free from chaos, and dangers are kept to a minimum.

Those who complain about the strict regulatory procedures put in place, can be said to see them as some form of “adversity”.

That is, some form of difficulty put in their way, as they try to achieve their aim of getting the license. Those procedures also “annoy” others who already hold licenses, but are not keen to observe the driving rules to the letter.

If such people had their way, a little bending of those rules for their benefit would not be a bad idea. If they found themselves in decision making positions, to effect such modifications to the rules, some of them would probably do so.

And subsequently, all sorts of wrong people would begin to get the go ahead to drive cars on the road. Suddenly, driving mishaps would begin to happen more often. And it would not longer be so safe to drive around or even walk the roads, compared to when things were done right.

Whenever I visit home, I look at driving as it is done on Lagos roads and I see this kind of “chaotic” driving situations playing out daily.

Here in Benin Republic, people drive cars alongside persons who ride motorbikes. Very rarely do you see them cross paths, talk less of hurling insults at one another for reckless driving. And seldom do accidents of any sort (bike or car related) happen.

It’s all about the culture.

The rules that guide qualifying to get a license out here are more diligently enforced than they are in Nigeria – Lagos especially.

They are not perfect here, but those in charge in Benin, endeavour to ensure considerable compliance on the part of those who apply for licences.

In Lagos, there is effort being made to do that, by the Road Safety Corps.

However pockets of unregulated activities still happen on a considerable scale, to enable some people get licenses without even doing any tests.

Since they did not have to undergo the “preparation” needed to ensure they attained driving competence, they naturally end up making all sorts of driving mistakes on the road.

I would add that a person who chooses to NOT take the test, could, for his/her own safety at least make out time to do some self-studying of driving rules, and also self-tutoring in his/her private time. This would enable him/her achieve some reasonable driving competence.

Sadly, too many people feel too much in a hurry to bother about putting in the needed work to acquire the competence required to succeed in a chosen endeavour.

That attitude drives them in every area of life. And it ends up pushing them to cut corners at every opportunity.

The truth remains that anyone who desires to be truly competent needs to embrace adversity or difficulty.

S/he will have to accept that competence is unlikely to “come” to him/her, quickly or easily. That is the requirement for developing the competence needed to succeed. You must have a willingness to invest time, and effort to overcome adversity that will inevitably confront you in one form or another.

Even during a private push up session, adversity shows up in form of the pain you feel in your arm muscles.

When pain comes, it’s a sign that you’re building new muscles. That’s why when you finish, you feel as if your arms/biceps are a bit “inflated”. If you stop before you feel any pain, you’ll notice you don’t feel like you’ve done anything.

That’s why the saying “No pain. No gain” is so apt in every area of life.

If you do not exert yourself, you simply cannot reasonably hope to improve yourself enough to succeed.

Final Words: Farm Business CEOs must also observe this rule!

I’ve written in past articles about how my interaction with many farm business owners has revealed that many lack basic know how about the enterprises they run.

So much so, that they make avoidable – yet potentially costly – mistakes in a bid to improve farm performance.

This is why I’m now writing a “Quick Start Guide for Poultry Farm Business”

One version will cater to owners of Broiler Farms, and another to CEOs of Layer Farm operations.

If you’d like to be notified when it becomes available, click here to let me know.

Entrepreneurship, General, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Self-Development

Life is NOT a Competition to Be Won at All Costs (Be It In Business or Society at Large)

July 1, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

UPDATE: 4th October 2024

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: Click https://youtu.be/llt2Ph1ykhg to listen to the audio on my YouTube Channel.

2. DOWNLOAD THE PDF VERSION: Click HERE now.

A client once said to me (not exact words):

“Tayo, over-invoicing will not reduce the money you make from a project. The person who requests that you inflate your invoice amount over your actual fee, simply wants a piece of the action. When payment is approved by the company, you still get paid what you charged.”

I replied to say I would NOT accept to put an amount on my signed invoice, that was different from my officially quoted fee for the job. Anyone who wanted that would have to get someone else to do the job.

I had just finished work on an Excel-VB application I built for his company…

It was an automated spreadsheet based version of a massive 2 part reference document used by professionals in a certain industry. He had engaged me to develop the app, branded in his company’s name, so he could sell it to a large multinational client of his.

As a consultant, he worked with client companies to make use of that voluminous reference document, in tackling a variety of work related crisis or disaster situations.

Due to the sensitive nature of the work to be done, it was imperative that each client’s responsible officers equip themselves with the ability to quickly find needed information in the document. This was however quite difficult to do using the 2 volume paper version.

When he saw the cost-effective applications I’d built for other clients using MS Excel-Visual Basic, he asked if I could develop an easily retrievable dynamic spreadsheet database version. I told him I could. We negotiated, and he agreed to pay N100,000 in full upfront, so I could deliver the app in 10 days.

On the day our discussion happened, I’d delivered the completed app on CDROM to him. Before then I’d successfully completed a web development project for him, for the same amount.

However, before we parted, he noted that I was so good at what I did, but that with the views I held, it was unlikely I would get big client projects that would reward my skills handsomely.

We had been down that road before. I knew what he was getting at.

I had been with him, when a client representative called and demanded “more” than had been originally agreed, before a discussed project he had put in a bid for, would be awarded to him. After he ended the call, he’d grumbled to me that the man was greedy, but that he had no choice but to give in.

I’d told him we all have choices, noting that personally, with faith in my abilities and the confidence that the creator rewards honestly and integrity, I would resist such advances. But I added that I was not judging him in any way, since we both knew what doing business in the Nigerian society was like.

He was however not satisfied – choosing to literally lecture me about over-invoicing, and why it was not as bad as I made it out to be.

That day, we parted ways smiling. But I’d stuck to my views.

You see, all my life I’d gotten ahead in every endeavour I ventured into, without cutting any corners.

And I was resolute in ensuring that I did that. Today, I remain resolute in ensuring I DO that!

This drive of mine comes from the VERY vivid memories I have of my pre-teen and teenage years when I repeatedly got into avoidable trouble, giving my parents a lot of heartache.

After I got suspended for 2 weeks, for abusing my privileges as Health Prefect, in secondary school, I vowed NEVER to knowingly do wrong again – regardless of pressures.

And I have stayed true to my promise.

But here’s the irony: The society which had rebuked me repeatedly in my formative years, for doing wrong, has dramatically evolved since then to one that no longer holds those values dear.

Back then, even though things were not perfect, people still prided themselves in making money via honest means. They still challenged their children for cheating, stealing, etc.

Today, in Nigeria, most parents do the exact opposite.

Click here to read a recent article I wrote that describes a shocking incident (during the 2014 JAMB exams) that symbolises the widespread decay in today’s Nigeria.

In virtually all facets of society today, it is now almost suicidal to openly or publicly adopt a stance of being incorruptible. And being willing to do the right and honourable thing has a way of making a person more enemies than friends – even among the Nigerians one aims to help by doing so.

A recent example would appear to be the bizarre result of the just concluded Ekiti state governorship elections. Click the preceding link to read a poem by Prof. Niyi Osundare, who ridiculed his fellow Ekiti kinsman (the “winner” of the election), in a poem titled “The People Voted their Stomach-Blues for an Arrested Renaissance”.

The above confirms what I’m saying, that those who do right, with honesty and integrity in Nigeria, (I mean those who actually PRACTICE what they PREACH!) often – though not always – end up being the ones who succeed the least.

Those who cheat, steal, lie, deceive, extort, exploit etc, are today the ones who make more money, who get high exams scores, who gain top admission slots, who pass interviews into the best paying jobs etc.

As a start-up entrepreneur, back when this client of mine spoke with me, I recall many others I interacted with offered me “wise” advice against continuing the way I was headed.

He’d told me I would find it hard to breakthrough. He’d asked me to think of how that would affect my family – in terms of my ability to earn enough to care for them.

The others echoed his “wise warnings” as well. And that included relatives and friends.

One person, a fellow volunteer with an NGO had bluntly told me “Tayo’ people like you end up being frustrated out of Nigeria!”.

[NB: Hmmm…maybe he was right. I am actually doing better today because I moved out of Nigeria. But contrary to conventional wisdom/practice, I did not have to relocate to Europe or America. Just a short trip to neighbouring Benin Republic was enough to enable me get better results for my efforts! And here’s the irony of it all: Over 80% of my clients/buyers are Nigerian CEOs based in Nigeria!]

If truth be told, none of what they said has turned out to be a lie.

I have experienced the full treatment. 99.95% of Nigerians I have had to do business with have displayed the habits I was warned about.

As a result I have suffered great bouts of severe cash shortages, and experienced countless heart-breaking struggles. All because I chose to be upright in my business dealings.

Now, some people will read this article and argue that I’m trying to make myself look like a saint.

They will also claim they have done what I say I’ve been doing.

Well, I can only speak for myself.

However, if you have boldly insisted on not doing any of the dirty nonsense that quietly goes on in the business world and general society of Nigeria, then you cannot deny that those who follow that path often suffer great hardships, and most fail as a result.

Only persons with a rare brand of courage and persistence (to paraphrase James R. Cook, author of The Start-up Entrepreneur), can survive doing business in Nigeria, without cutting corners of any sort.

And they will be people willing to endure humiliation and deprivation on many fronts, for prolonged periods.

In my experience, such people are hard to find in Nigeria. Or indeed across the African continent.

I’m not judging here. Just stating my observations based on 12 solid years of relating with people across this geographical space as I have pursued my dream.

Yet, my success today, proves it can be done: And that my approach ensures LONG TERM repeatable achievement of authentic success.

The only challenge adopting it may pose is that it is SLOW. Often it can be VERY slow…

…Most people out here don’t like THAT!

I still recall my above mentioned client gleefully driving down to show off a new (imported second hand) car he’d bought just after getting paid by his multinational client company.

It amused me to see that he thought doing so would impress or sway me. He did not say so. But his body language shouted it so loud it was deafening.

I felt so sorry for him – because past experience had taught me that anytime one gets something one had not earned, universally applicable laws begin to SILENTLY exert their influence to redress that imbalance.

You may not know it, but one way or another, you will eventually pay the penalty for it. What’s more, since you did not earn it, you will perpetually lack the competence to repeat that “success”.

And so, to record more of such successes, you will be forced to do the crooked things you did before. Sooner than later, you will be unable to do without doing it.

You will effectively become a phoney.

It does not matter if only you know it. What matters is that in your heart the truth will be obvious – and of course your creator will be just as aware as you.

I do not do religion. But I have a VERY close relationship with my creator. And it is with his guidance that I have found the direction to build my brand, and succeed progressively – in spite of great adversity – the way I do today.

My faith keeps working for me. And the results are obvious.

The resulting competence I have, enables me bounce back from setbacks to new heights of success.

This is why I am literally unstoppable today!

And now, more people are discovering me, and reaching out to benefit from my knowledge and expertise, by inviting me to speak to their team members.

They invite me unconditionally. I never need to offer them any gratification, and they readily pay my fees to hear me speak, or to hire me to implement solutions for them.

That says it all doesn’t it?

Final Words: That is what I like to call being AUTHENTICALLY successful!

I’d rather take 12 years to achieve that, than do over-invoicing, or any other naughty things, so I can build a house in 5 years.

Many people do not realize it’s futile to be in a hurry to succeed. There’s no point competing to get to “success” before others.

Life is NOT a competition you have to win ahead of others at all costs.

We all have our roles to play in this world. Be it in business or society at large. What another person does cannot stop you doing what you are meant to do.

I wish you well as you pursue your definition of success in life – and I hope your faith in the creator will make you take the honourable path to achieve it

Good luck!

Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Public Speaking, Self-Development

No. 147: Some Startup CEOs Fail to Do the Easiest Self-Preparation Needed (How to Help Them)

June 23, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Over a decade of delivering Best Practice Solutions to Farm Businesses, has revealed one interesting fact to me: Many who own farm businesses in Nigeria, do NOT have formal training in agriculture.

Yet, Despite Lacking Training in Agriculture, They Succeed!

SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE

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

Publication: Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS Newsletter

Date: Monday 23rd June 2014

No:147

Title: Some Startup CEOs Fail to Do the Easiest Self-Preparation Needed (How to Help Them)

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

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

Archive (E-mail version started 14th May 2012): Click here to view

Archive (Blog version started 24th September 2011): Click here

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

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IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS newsletter is published online on the “reincarnated” version of my Self-Development (SD) Nuggets blog. I continue to put finishing touches to the content. If you encounter ANY bad/dead links, and you can spare the time, email it to me via tayo at tksola dot com. Thanks in advance

No. 147: Some Startup CEOs Fail to Do the Easiest Self-Preparation Needed (How to Help Them)

Yet, Despite Lacking Training in Agriculture, They Succeed!

Indeed, there is little to suggest those who studied agriculture do better that those who do not.

From the total illiterate who runs a thriving catfish farm (which even , provides training for aspiring others to start theirs), to the PhD holder who runs a commercial poultry layer farm combined with a feed mill (which provides milling services to other farm businesses).

This fact has significant implications.

Even Unschooled Persons, Given Enough Training, Can Run Successful Farming Ventures…

I still recall watching a video demonstration produced by a Lagos based aquaculture consultant, who graduated from the University of Lagos. In it, he shared a testimonial about one of the “graduates” of his monthly Catfish Farming Business Start-up workshops.

The illiterate Alhaji learnt how to competently inject female catfish to induce ovulation…to strip ripe eggs from the female fish…and to subsequently extract milt (semen) from male catfish, to use in fertilising the stripped eggs…which post hatching, he reared to table size!

In the past, most farm owners would not dare venture into fish farming without hiring a “graduate” of fisheries. This was because the latter were often the only ones who had the “competence” to carry out such delicate tasks.

They Can Do Even Better By Adopting Best Practice Operations...

I’ve noted that people who lack formal agribusiness training have been repeatedly able to start-up and run operations that succeed fairly well.

However, one consistent trend I’ve observed (and it’s been there for decades, as noted in Prof. J. A Oluyemi’s “Poultry Production in Warm Wet Climates”), in Nigeria, is that most farm owners (even including those with formal training) do not have well organised farm workplaces.

Most of their daily routine operations are carried out in a haphazard manner.

One can therefore imagine that if despite lacking formal training, and failing to operate based on established best practices, they can do so well, their potential for even higher profitability and long term success can only be greater!

With best practice operation, apart from ensuring more predictable long term performance, they would also develop reliable competence to prevent problems (e.g. disease outbreaks etc), and/or recover from them.

To start a Poultry layer farm, for instance, there are well laid out rules and regulations guiding selection of chicks, housing, transportation, feeding, down to slaughtering and/or sales.

In developed societies, a start-up farm typically needs to meet stringent requirements to get approval to commence operations. Periodic checks by regulatory authorities ensure continued adherence or conformance.

This is why most farm owners in developed countries diligently keep farm records covering all areas of their operations – including data to facilitate tracing virtually all inputs and outputs to/from their processes.

And it is also why many of them tend to achieve optimal output and profitability relative to capacity.

In Nigeria However, Formal Best Practice Standards Simply Do Not Exist!

Some people seem to wake up one morning with an itch in their pockets following some financial windfall of sorts.

After doing a little thinking, a person could decide to start a poultry layer farm based on what s/he’s been told about profits to be had. Within a matter of weeks s/he contacts a hatchery to order chicks.

Now, maybe an old friend once told him his family owned a poultry business.

Rather than have a formal consulting relationship with a competent professional in this field, s/he would choose to ask that friend questions about what to do and how.

This really does happen quite often!

If s/he decides to be a bit more painstaking, s/he could visit the friend’s farm and take pictures of the structures and animal.

Next, s/he calls in workers to build pens, and install cages etc e.g someone who knows someone who does such work gets people in, mostly informally. S/he gets to pay as little as possible, because most times it’s like they’re “helping” as friends etc

As a result, most times farm owners who start like this simply “wing it” i.e. they try to cut as many corners as possible, to get rear their chicks into laying birds, while spending as little as possible.

These people often focus ONLY or mainly, on the money to be made from eggs sales.

The time, effort and money to be invested in getting the right quality of chicks and creating the right housing environment, coupled with proper balanced feeding, to ensure long term egg laying performance, is something they have little patience for.

Many Such Farm CEOs Fail to Do the Easiest Self-Preparation Needed i.e. Reading Up!

You see, one good thing about farm businesses is that, with luck (e.g poultry and fish farming) is that they can quickly yield useful returns that make lapses on the part of the owner NOT matter much.

They thus fail to realize how costly the “corner cutting” risks they blindly took could have been.

That is, until one day, when disaster strikes!

And then in trying to get help, they connect with a support specialist (like me). And I never stop being amazed to discover just how little they know about the farm businesses they run!

Yet books abound, as do websites, where one can learn virtually all one needs to know about starting up and successfully running farm businesses of all kinds.

Any smart farm business owner will arm him/herself with sound knowledge of the theory and practice of the enterprise s/he chooses.

Without this, s/he would be shooting in the dark.

Considering the substantial financial investment that starting some enterprises requires, this will seldom be a wise thing to do.

Yet many still do it till today – because they see others seemingly getting away with it.

On Example: A few weeks ago, I read through a Nairaland.com discussion thread. Certain individuals announced the launch of small scale commercial poultry farm operations.

Over a period of weeks spanning about 6 months, they shared details of the progress (or lack of it) that they were making.

However, the requests for help made, and responses to questions by others, given by the start-up farm CEOs, revealed that they’d begun in some cases without doing the most basic things.

In one case, a CEO posted an update explaining how the chicks received weeks earlier had to be moved out of the new broiler brooding pens, because the flooring was badly done.

It was so bad that sections had cracked open, over time resulting in infection, which led to complications – and deaths.

When asked about – among other things – vaccination regimes administered to the new birds, the CEO had basically no clue!

It was most disheartening to see that people adopted such a haphazard approach to embarking upon ventures so well practised by many for decades!

I Have However Discovered That Not All Such CEOs Were Being Lazy or Careless…

Like I’ve noted in past articles, most of my Farm CEO clients are actually persons who hold day jobs, and run their businesses on the side, employing trusted hands they can find.

As a result, time can sometimes be hard for them to efficiently manage. So they get overwhelmed. Especially in the peculiar Nigerian climate.

This probably explains why some have had to request my help in finding reliable persons to employ as farm managers etc.

While reflecting on this challenge, it occurred to me that it’s not easy to find a quick-start-guide that persons – especially those untrained in agriculture – can quickly and easily consult.

The few available are bulky publications with greater detail than most of these kinds of farm owners really need.

Such farm CEOs contact me more often these days.

When they buy my Ration Formulator app, rather than read through the detailed PDF guide I include with the app, some prefer to repeatedly call me at their own expense to have me verbally guide them in learning to use the app!

When this kept happening, I created one page annotated JPEG diagrams based on user interfaces from my app, which I began sending to each buyer.

I soon discovered – not surprisingly – that distilling the essential elements into such smarter formats made it easier for them to learn.

There was LESS to read, and more visuals to relate with.

If you know how the human brain works, you know people learn better when presented with graphic materials.

And That Brings Me to My “Take-Away” Message for This Week…

Don’t insist clients accept the way you present solutions you offer.

Instead, use feedback they give you – directly and/or indirectly – to develop better ways to help them make successful use of your products/services.

That will endear you to them in ways you cannot imagine. And that can only mean greater success, for you, for the long term.

In my case, rather than stop at questioning farm CEOs for NOT following best practices, I choose to THINK up ways to help those willing, to overcome this challenge.

I learnt to do this from the earlier mentioned experience with farm CEO users of my Excel-VB driven Ration Formulator software.

When they kept coming to me instead of studying the elaborate PDF I’d sent them, I used their questions to create “smarter” one page JPEG versions of my user guide. And that has worked quite well!

Final Words: The Above Explains Why I’ve Begun Writing a “Quick Start Guide for Poultry Farm Business”

One version will cater to owners of Broiler Farms, and another to CEOs of Layer Farm operations.

If you’d like to be notified when it becomes available, click here to let me know.

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Tayo K. Solagbade*

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

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

http://www.tayosolagbade.com

Tayo K. Solagbade is a Location Independent Performance Improvement Specialist and Multipreneur (i.e. a highly versatile/multi-skilled entrepreneur), with a bias for delivering Best Practice solutions to

Farm Businesses and others.

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

Tayo is the author of the Self-Development (SD) Bible™ and the popular Livestock Feed Formulation Handbook. He is also the developer of its accompanying Excel-VB driven Ration Formulator™ and the Poultry Farm Manager™ software.

He has delivered talks/papers to audiences in various groups and organisations, including the Centre for Management Development, University of Lagos, Christ Baptist Church, Volunteer Corps, Tantalisers Fast Foods

and others.

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

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

His key purpose is to deliver talks, seminars

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

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

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

Visit Tayo Solagbade Dot Com, to download over over 10 performance improvement resources to boost your personal and work related productivity.

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

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

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

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

he’s published.

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

Click “Tayo, What Happened to SpontaneousDevelopmentDotCom ?” to read a detailed narrative about how the above event occurred :-))

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

Succeed by Emerging from Adversity Like a Phoenix (TayoSolagbade.com launches extra Hosting plan with FREE Web Marketing!)

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

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

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

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NEW: Your Practical Feed Formulation (& Compounding) Home Study Video Series Is Now Available

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FREE TALK: How a Best Operating Process Management Sysem (BOPMS)™Will Earn Your Farm MORE Profits!

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NEW: Coaching Program for Farm Products Marketing Success

THEY WROTE…

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

—————————–

“Tayo, I honestly believe you are one of those who will succeed at anything he does. Your commitment and effort has been outstanding….Thanks for all your hard work since I’ve been here – you will be sorely missed. I don’t need to wish you good luck, you have the ability to make your own luck. – Andy”(R. Jones)*

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

———————–

Click here to contact Tayo…




SD Nuggets Blog™	New posts from last week that may interest you! *
Public Speaking[Monday]:	No. 146: Secret to Finding Bulk Buyers Online for Your Farm Products (PDF Report)
Entrepreneurship[Tuesday]:	To Achieve Success, Be Prepared to Give, In Order to Get (Lesson from an 11 year old boy, and his 13 year old brother)
Self-Development [Wednesday]:	Request My Report on Finding Bulk Buyers Online for Your Farm Products (Plus Read Answers to Questions You Have!)
Entrepreneurship[Thursday]:	To Succeed, Develop Spreadsheet Software for Co-workers (Conversation With a Multinational Employee About My Practical MS Excel-Visual Basic Coaching Service)
General [Friday]:	Conversation With a Prospect Seeking a Feasibility Study for a Startup Poultry Farm and Feed Mill
Writing/Blogging/Entrepreneurship [Saturday]:	The Secret to Finding the Right Vocation to Guarantee Your Success

Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring

for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Public Speaking, Self-Development

No. 146: Secret to Finding Bulk Buyers Online for Your Farm Products (PDF Report)

June 16, 2014 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

When poultry Farmers in Jos, reportedly asked the MD of Grand Cereals and Oils in Plateau state to buy up their excess eggs arising from a market glut, he challenged them to find outlets for their products, but offered to buy some, and donate to schools.

He’s since swung into action to fulfill his promise as reported on his company’s blog, and on the Vanguard news site.

I However Believe Farm CEOs Must LEARN to Do Their Own Marketing!

They need to take ownership of finding buyers, and stop “pleading” for help to make sales and keep profits.

In my opinion, that makes a mockery of the whole idea of being a “business owner”.

And there’s no need for that!

Burt Dubin (speakingsuccess.com), once wrote in a business marketing article for experts he coaches to speak as follows:

“Be a markerter first, an expert next, a speaker last”…

SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE

Publication: Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS Newsletter

Date: Monday 16th June 2014

No:146

Title: Secret to Finding Bulk Buyers Online for Your Farm Products (PDF Report)

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

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

Archive (E-mail version started 14th May 2012): Click here to view

Archive (Blog version started 24th September 2011): Click here

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IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS newsletter is published online on the “reincarnated” version of my Self-Development (SD) Nuggets blog. I continue to put finishing touches to the content. If you encounter ANY bad/dead links, and you can spare the time, email it to me via tayo at tksola dot com. Thanks in advance

No. 146: Secret to Finding Bulk Buyers Online for Your Farm Products (PDF Report)

He’s since swung into action to fulfill his promise as reported on his company’s blog, and on the Vanguard news site.

I However Believe Farm CEOs Must LEARN to Do Their Own Marketing!

They need to take ownership of finding buyers, and stop “pleading” for help to make sales and keep profits.

In my opinion, that makes a mockery of the whole idea of being a “business owner”.

And there’s no need for that!

Burt Dubin (speakingsuccess.com), once wrote in a business marketing article for experts he coaches to speak as follows:

“Be a markerter first, an expert next, a speaker last”…read more

In several other articles accessble here(click), he hammered on the same theme…see excerpt below:

“You must make yourself a competent marketer of your speaking services. Only then do you go to deliver your speaking services. So you get to figure out who to call”...read more.

My comment: ALL CEOs, in ANY line of business, who want profitable results, MUST accept the above stated truth!

Your Success In Marketing, Will Determine How Well Your Business Does…

That is, assuming, of course, that your competence in delivering to satisfy the buyers’ needs is not in question.

Since 2004, I’ve related with Farm CEOs buyers from across Nigeria (and also parts of Africa/beyond).

With Nigerian Farm CEOs in particular, I’ve identified ONE weakness common to 80% of them.

And it’s shared by CEO clients I’ve worked with in other industries (real estate, interior design, consulting, IT etc).

What is this weakness I’ve noticed in 80% of Nigerian Farm (and other) CEOs?

Well, it’s a seeming severe aversion for developing and implementing an intelligent, reliable, and REPEATEABLE system for finding PROFITABLE potential buyers for their products and services.

They say they want more buyers, and more sales. And they want as much profit as possible per sale.

But their daily actions suggest otherwise.

They focus too much on routine daily operations, and spare little thought for planning their marketing.

Instead they wait till their products are ready, and then depend on “existing” buyers, for sales. As a result, insightful buyers (who know they lack alternatives) sometimes make them “unfair” offers.

And they may be forced to accept, to avoid losses or costs of keeping market ready stocks on the farm!

“Many Roads Leading to the Marketplace!” (A Proverb)

The above phrase is based on a well known proverb in my country. Yorubas and Igbos use it quite a bit.

And it brings me to what is really the point of this week’s issue of my newsletter.

I argue that we do not – and need not (probably cannot!) – all use the same marketing channels, methods or strategies, in the same way, to find buyers.

1. For one thing, we run different kinds of business or offer varying genres of products and services.

2. In addition, we operate in different socio-economic environments.

3. And not just that, we also have different personalities, educational backgrounds, preferences and of course different target audiences we’re aiming at.

Simply put therefore, what works well for me, may not work so well, or at all for you. So, even when you learn from others, never be afraid to put your own twist on it!

That’s Why I Favour a Cost-effective Marketing Approach That Is Adaptable to Unique Needs

Indeed, using such an approach, we can both be involved in the same business (e.g. fashion design) and I could employ a completely different strategy from yours, to win new, or generate repeat, sales.

The difference would be mainly be in the time, effort, and resources that go into doing it our different ways – and of course the QUALITY of results we get.

And if we’re each smart, we’ll constantly test and explore new ways to get better results. Every smart business owner – be you a solo act or a multinational – needs to think this way.

NB: What I just said IS the Continuous Improvement aspect of using Best Practices in your operations!

If You Knew a Strategy That Could Win New Buyer At Lesser Cost, Would You Adopt It?

Incidentally, this is not the first time I have asked that question in my writing.

If your answer is YES, then I have a new report prepared that describes 2 such strategies you can use.

The first one has actually been used – online of course – by a smart thinking Nigerian farm CEO, since 2012.

He did it and got impressive results using an online discussion forum to recruit bulk buyers – from other states! – to buy his Eggs, in bulk, from his farm in Oyo State, South West Nigeria.

One month in 2012, he began using it. And a few later, the first prospects, on their own, began finding him!

He began by offering to deliver to EACH buyer with his new farm.

But at a point he got so many buyers coming to “Pick Up” that he actually announced he could no longer deliver to any buyers.

Think about it. He came online to post invitations to potential buyers because he needed buyers.

He was so in need that he offered to deliver to them, if they so wished.

Then this system – which he was paying NO MONEY to use – worked so well, that he got more demand from buyers than he could cope with!

Wouldn’t you just LOVE to learn what that system is, and how your farm can make similar use of it?

If YES, get in touch here for details…click now.

Final Words: Stop Limiting Your Thinking About Where You Can Find Buyers!

I spoke with a Farm CEO client in Jos, about a week ago. He told me one out of every 3 homes in Jos rears egg laying birds. Some do not produce to sell – only for consumption.

According to him, that was why egg selling farms sometimes struggled to make good sales.

I replied that each CEO simply needed to change his/her mindset, and think more creatively.

For heaven’s sake, must your buyers be from your neighbourhood, state…or even country???

Of course not :-))

Human beings with the same number of other body parts like you get buyers from across the world!

Some are actually home based businesses in Nigeria/Ghana etc who export farm based products of all kinds (e.g. Shea Butter, Pepper etc) as far as the USA!

If Jos is so full of eggs, why not look for buyers outside of Jos???

If you asked “HOW”, I’d reply “Now you’re talking!”

First, it need not involve spending money you do not have.

The Farm CEO in Oyo state likely knew that taking out a newspaper ad (which has a mere 24 hour shelf-life!) was NOT the answer.

That would simply eat up any margins to be had from the eggs sales. And there was no assurance that any sale would be made that way.

So he wisely adopted the use of the web – which offers TIMELESS MARKETING benefits.

Doing so involved doing more WORK. But he could afford that!

What he did was so simple, even a 10 year old could have done it. I exaggerate NOT.

No special IT or web skills needed.

Just smart thinking…of which we are all capable, if we put in the effort!

I describe everything he did in my special “blueprint” report.

But I also describe a second approach, much more advanced compared to that used by the Oyo state CEO, that yields even better results – for the LONG TERM – with even less effort.

Click here to request details of how to get it.