Self-Devpt. Nuggets™

Download this PDF ebook to read the true story of how I literally single-handedly created a market for my Excel-Visual Basic solutions development service in Nigeria/Africa.

Since 2004, I’ve helped individuals and businesses in Nigeria/Africa (in recent years Asia/America as well) get MORE productivity boosting value out of the Microsoft Excel® on their PCs, at a fraction of what it would cost them if they purchased an off-the-shelf software application.

When I began, NO MARKET existed for solutions of the kind I now sell so readily today. I’ve had to single handedly build demand for them using creativity and persisistence, over the past decade…

My Story: From early 2002 until mid 2004, I continuously marketed my Excel VB Spreadsheet Solutions Development Services to individuals and organisations.

I kept doing this even as I pursued other income generation opportunities.

Despite all the effort I put into creating different flyers, sending our letters, creating case studies to demonstrate the potential benefit of spreadsheet automation, I never got more than one or two invitations for discussion after which I was never called back!

It was in late 2004 – more than two(2) years later that I first found a client willing to consider – and PAY for! – this service.

This gentleman engaged me to build a menu-driven e-version of a 314 page paper-based Department of Petroleum Resources document(Environmental Guidelines And Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria – EGASPIN), for a client company in the Oil & Gas Industry.

I had previously built a website for his company, during which time I had told him about my Excel VB Solutions Development Services.

He would later offer me the DPR project, and even though it wasn’t my idea of how ExcelVB could be best applied, I felt it was at least a start.

Since then, I’ve developed other applications to demonstrate the various uses to which Excel VB solutions can be applied if off-the-shelf commercial software are not flexible enough or are too expensive for their purchase to be justified.

My first breed of applications were not meant for direct sale.

Instead I used them to show prospects (via demonstration) what could be done for them, should they have a need to get more out of Excel.

But since those early years, I have used feed back from various clients to develop a range of time tested apps that I now sell, with on-demand customization to clients in various markets.

Some of my passive income generating custom Excel-VB apps include my Payslip Generator, Ration Formulator and more recently, my Poultry Farm Manager.

You may be wondering how convinced that first Excel VB client was, that I could deliver what he wanted?

Well, if you go by the fact that he paid N100,000(One Hundred Thousand Naira) 100% up front(I can supply FULL evidence to back up this claim), I guess one could say he was quite convinced that it would be worth it.

And I did not disappoint.

That project was completed within ten (10) days, because I got him to specify exactly what he wanted up front. That way I was able to progress without having “scope” changes introduced by him subsequently based on after-thoughts etc.

Today, I have his completed/signed copy of my Job Completion/Feedback Form (which I would be willing to make available to any interested persons to see) indicating that what he got was indeed to his satisfaction.

Not long after I finished that first project, I visited Ghana, to explore opportunities for business partnerships/collaboration, but was unable to make much headway from meetings I had, during my 2 week stay.

Upon returning(mid-July 2005) from thao Ghana, I started a spreadsheet automation project for a restaurant and bar operation in Lagos.

Basically, the owner realised the business had grown too big for paper-based recording and analysis of daily sales and expenses to be adequate for performance monitoring and measurement.

Also, whilst trying to source funding to expand the business, from his bankers, he found they wanted certain detailed historical records of the operations over a period, which were not exactly obtainable in an easily retrievable format in the paper based records.

I successfully completed that project, and later created demos to promote my work to other clients, based on it. As the years passed, I won more complex projects that challenged me to take my work to the next level.

At a point, I realized I had to find ways to add to what I knew, so as to deliver more robust solutions. Eventually, following weeks of research online, apart from useful websites and discussions I learnt from, I purchased the excellent book titled “Professional Excel Development”.

It came with a CD containing very useful workbook examples based on the book’s contents. And they all had their Visual Basic modules accessible.

In no time, I began using what I learnt to build a superior breed of applications. And that has enabled me deliver better value to buyers of my apps, for much greater remuneration.

Over The Years, I’ve Had to Deal With Doubting Thomases of All Kinds

From people in developed societies and even amongst my own countrymen, a seeming stereotype has periodically surfaced in the feedback I’ve gotten.

After browsing through my Excel Heaven website, watching demo videos and downloading sample apps I offered…

1. A Singaporean gentleman (also an ExcelVB developert) wrote me from saying the degree of sophistication of my apps made him doubt that I could be based in Nigeria, as stated on the contact page.

It took calling him from my mobile phone, to convince him it was true. We’ve been online friends since 2007, and even shared ideas on client projects we’ve had to handle over the years.

2. A Pakistani inquirer challenged me to chat with him on Skype, if I was sure my Poulry Farm Manager app existed.

Within 10 minutes of responding to his questions, including posting some screenshots, he post: “Wow. It is good to see something like this coming out of Africa”.

I found that quite amusing.

3. A Nigerian business owner wanted to know if I did my coding myself, or whether I just (like so many do) represent a foreign software development firm, who do all the work, based on specs I send them, and send me the finished apps.

I told him how I began building spreadsheet software using self taught skills from back when I was a trainee brewer in Guinness.

I did it in my spare time. It was not my job. But over time my apps got adopted for formal brewery level reporting, and I enjoyed company wide recognition and rapid career advancement for my efforts.

It is instructive to note here, that I began buiding spreadsheet apps by writing macro programs in Lotus 1-2-3 in 1995, as a Graduate Management Trainee in Guinness.

I only began using MS Excel VB when the company moved from Lotus Smartsuite to MS Office. So, I have been doing this for quite a while – 2 decades to be specific. Hopefully that explains how I am able to turn the quality of apps people see, and use, all by myself.

I work with no one. No partners. I work alone writing my code, designing my spreadsheet and graphic user interfaces to meet clients needs and specifications.

Customizable Excel-VB Driven Poultry Layer Farm Manager Software (Video Demonstration)

Watch screen shot demonstration video of the Excel-Visual Basic Driven Poultry Farm Manager I build from scratch, or customize/scale down to suit the needs of different farm business sizes.

It allows users make daily entries of farm production/operating data.

Click here to watch on Youtube

And it instantly generates Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), like Mortality Rates, Feeding rate, Feed to egg conversion ratios, Hen Day Production Percentage (HDP) %, and other parameters.

VIDEO 1: Tayo Solagbade demonstrates how to use the newly introduced “Extra Ingred!” button on the main floating data entry form of his popular Excel VB driven Ration Formulator

Clicking it loads a smaller drop menu driven data entry form that can be used to add up to 7 extra feed ingredients to a ration.

You are now able to formulate rations with 19 ingredients instead of 12 as used to be the case.

All past buyers get it free. Just get in touch via tayo at tksola dot com

Click here to watch on Youtube

Many People Don’t Know Excel’s Amazing Capabilities

It was challenging going through the repeat rejections from those I approached with this service for 2 years. But not once was I discouraged. For one thing I knew what I was offering had enabled me achieve phenomenal success as a process manager – over a 7 year period – in the fast-pace corporate multinational I worked in.

I had repeatedly developed – in my spare time, and with no formal IT training – custom spreadsheets that dramatically boosted workplace productivity. It was because I had seen how useful my applications had been to such a large organisation, that I was convinced other organisations would make similar huge savings by adopting custom spreadsheet solutions.

I KNEW the response was poor due to the fact that those I spoke to, did not really understand what I was telling them I could do

Back in Guinness, it started like that, until I developed applications that helped individuals finish weekly/monthly reports in a fraction of the time it used to take them – and with more accuracy and reliability. In no time at all, four of my applications were adopted for brewery level reporting. When I entered into business, I knew I only had to continue showing prospects what could be done till someone developed enough interest.

I also tried approaching many IT Training organisations that I noticed offered training in Excel(especially advanced Excel).

But I found repeatedly to my surprise that either the person in charge of the Training had never heard of Excel VB, or s/he believed there could be no value to be had from teaching employees how to automate Excel using VBA, so they could develop in-house solutions cheaply(th way I did as an employee).

In most cases, these IT training persons insisted that developing executable applications using the standalone Visual Basic programming language, and other more conventional coding languages was “better”.

A Microsoft Certified Expert Explains Why Excel-VB is a Smarter Way to Achieve Rapid Custom Solutions Development

What they failed to realise was the truth stated by a Microsoft Certified Professional, Pierre Leclerc, who runs a widely recognised and successful Excel Spreadsheet automation business (http://www.excel-vba.com).

“Let’s say that VB is for programmers and VBA is for users (or developers). Personally, I took hundreds of hours of training in VB but I do all my work in VBA (Excel and Access). You don’t need to learn VB to be good at VBA. I adopted VBA because most of the functions I need to organize and analyse data are pre-programmed in Excel and Access. It costs a lot less to develop financial and management applications in Excel and Access than to re-invent the wheel and do everything in VB.”

By the way, if you’re still wondering what the difference is between Excel VBA and Visual Basic, click here for an explanation.