Tag Archives: To Succeed

Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Writing/Blogging

PII 076 : To Succeed, Your Marketing Should Be Like Breathing i.e. CONTINUOUS!

July 24, 2017 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Evidence abounds in markets across the world that the most talented fashion designer may not always be the best paid. Neither will the best surgeon always be the most financially successful. Nor will the chef with the best culinary skills always have the most successful restaurant!

So being the best at what you do will NOT automatically make YOU BETTER at getting people to pay you to do it, than others NOT as gifted as you are!

SCROLL DOWN TO READ THE FULL ISSUE

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

Monday 24th July 2017

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.

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

PII 076 : To Succeed, Your Marketing Should Be Like Breathing i.e. CONTINUOUS!

Evidence abounds in markets across the world that the most talented fashion designer may not always be the best paid. Neither will the best surgeon always be the most financially successful. Nor will the chef with the best culinary skills always have the most successful restaurant!

So being the best at what you do will NOT automatically make YOU BETTER at getting people to pay you to do it, than others NOT as gifted as you are!

The above examples are pointers to realities we see every day. You probably know one or two examples you can think of that fit this pattern. That guy who never really did well in training but who rakes in more money from his practice that the other person that everyone knew was the school genius? Aha!

But what makes that happen?

Why is it possible that the individual who is so gifted at doing what s/he does (e.g. hairdressing, catering, graphics design, PC repairs, public speaking, consulting etc.) can end up not making as much money doing IT, as his/her counterpart who probably comes across as average?

There are several possible reasons. But the most common one is that those “less” gifted others who sell more, tend to be better at finding and winning profitable buyers than the gifted expert.

Not only do they know how to recruit buyers, but quite often they also know how to DELIVER compelling customer service during and after completion of sales, in a way that leads to repeat business.

So, the client may even admit that they are not the best, yet s/he might decide to stick with them all the same because s/he is sure they will give him/her their best at all times.

That would be better than having to deal with (say) a talented genius with an ego/attitude who acts like s/he is doing the client a favor!

I argue in this piece that if you want long term selling success – regardless of any adversity – you will need to make relentless smart marketing a way of life.

Among other things, you must LEARN how to recruit and make repeatable sales to high quality prequalified prospects. This will help you make money MORE profitably, and avoid shortchanging yourself in use of your wonderful abilities!

I’ve seen business owners who act like they believe announcing their solution as the best there is, will make buyers start falling over themselves to get it.

Nothing could be further from the truth – especially in today’s fast paced PC and Internet technology driven world, in which more and more providers are offering what are increasingly hard to differentiate solutions.

Never has the need to define and differentiate one’s self been more crucial for a business’ survival than the times we are in now.

To achieve name/brand recognition boosting outcome you need RELENTLESS devotion to intelligent in-bound marketing.

Like I always tell clients I coach in the use of Web Marketing Systems (WMS) I develop and implement for them:

“Marketing is the life blood of ANY business. Without it, a slow and certain death of that enterprise is likely!” – Tayo Solagbade

The above truth is not hard to appreciate. Without people (especially new people) getting to know about what you sell, it’s unlikely that you will be able to grow your sales. That could mean you would not be able to boost profits over time.

These are times when costs and expenses have become notorious for climbing higher at short notice – sometimes overnight, in markets like Nigeria.

As a result, NOT actively implementing strategies to drive margins up on a continuous basis can be a serious recipe for disaster and ultimate failure of a business.

Any business owner who wants to succeed for the long term, by defeating the worst possible forms of adversity, must come to terms with the above.

You NEED to have an emotional investment in the marketing of your business.

That requires being in a business for which you have an enduring passion. It simply cannot be something you adopt a detached intellectual disposition to. That’s a mistake very typically made by lots of people.

One reason I’ve noticed some people struggle to do marketing in a way that works for the long term, is they venture into businesses for which they lack passion to keep going.

Typically, it’s the money to be made that attracts them to the venture. But most times they fail to reckon with the challenge of adversity, that often comes in form of prolonged delays, disappointments, and setbacks that complicate life for entrepreneurs in their pursuit of success!

I’ve seen quite a number of people experience poor marketing reach and impact in their businesses, because of this lack of passion.

They just could not find the courage and conviction to put in ENOUGH effort, and to keep going. So they began to complain and ultimately got weary, and eventually quit.

Some people would argue that they only need to hire a specialist to do the marketing for them, while they focus on what matters – the “solution” that they create.

In some market situations and for some business models, this may be true. But even for them, things could turn out better if the brand owner were to develop more interest in the marketing of his/her solutions!

For the larger majority however, the reality, based on abundant historical and contemporary evidence, is that marketing needs to be a way of life.

It has to be something you commit to doing as creatively as possible, on a routine and relentlessly repetitive basis, by coming up with new ideas, concepts and strategies for getting the solutions you SELL noticed by the target audience you’ve identified to be in need of it.

EXAMPLE: The above is what Richard Branson has done SO WELL for his many different companies over the years.

And most times he’s gotten massive marketing exposure for the brands he promotes without spending ANY money!

If you know Branson, you likely know what I mean – he goes around doing all sorts of publicity stunts in ways and places where he knows the media will not resist capturing the moments to publish.

We’ve all seen one or more photos or videos that illustrate the point being made here.

What most of us however may miss is the fact that Branson, in many cases, was using the strategy of “Marketing Without Advertising” to draw the attention of potential buyers to new solutions offered by the Virgin group.

In other words, even though he was not directly asking people to buy, many times he was actually indirectly working to boost increased AWARENESS of his brand amongst larger numbers of the populace (potential buyers) – who then went on to talk about him to others!

“Shrewd” is the word that best captures what this genius of a man does, in my opinion.

But not all of us enjoy the advantage of being a ready target for media news hounds!

So we may not exactly be able to adopt the Branson approach.

However, we can use another strategy he employs – all of us can actually do this. And that is using article writing for low to zero cost marketing!

Branson – and many other highly successful business owners – especially in the developed world, write articles based on their experience and expertise for the consumption of their target audience.

While putting in useful information and education, they also find subtle ways to inject material that gets the readers to learn about solutions they offer.

Entrepreneurs at various levels of success use article writing in the above described manner on a regular basis…

They do it because it works and it costs next to nothing – BUT it’s far from being easy. Writing stuff that makes sense on a regular basis, for the long term is not a walk in the park!

But those who do it know they can use it to reach a potentially unlimited audience of buyers anywhere – especially when done using the web.

And this brings me to the crux of my message in this piece: The World Wide Web makes marketing as a way of life much easier than it used to be

During the pre-Internet days, the idea of marketing to reach a global audience at low to zero cost was more or less unthinkable. Only the big businesses did that, and even for them it was not an easy run.

A lot of money had to be involved.

Today, a virtual nobody (no pun intended) can use the web to inexpensively promote a solution s/he offers to massive numbers of people without leaving his/her home.

This means you and I can do it, if we learn how!

Indeed, and as I’ve said in many of my past articles, I’ve sold my custom Excel-VB software to buyers within and outside Africa who have NEVER seen me in the flesh till this day.

And that was made possible only by the Internet.

When leveraged with use of a Smartphone equipped with video, audio and photo publishing features, a results focused business owner can achieve elaborate marketing reach and impact at the cost of just his/her Internet connection.

But quite often s/he needs to know how to go about it, to get the desired results.

In other words, despite the fact that it promises more cost-effective returns, when used correctly, the Web still needs to be “worked” – often long and hard – by the business owner, for success to come.

And one of the important things s/he needs to understand is that PERSISTENCE is a key requirement for achieving marketing success – even when using the Web.

As one who has successfully used the web to get noticed by those who matter (i.e. potential buyers/partners), for years, I can state categorically that no room exists for overnight success in marketing, offline or via the web.

I should know. I’ve done – and do – both. Though today, I get over 80% of my sales from marketing to – and serving – clients online.

But many long years of hard work done with sweat and blood were required to get this far.

And I continue to put more into the process – which as the theme of this article indicates, is perpetual or never ending,

What has helped me succeed for the long term in marketing has always been my ability to be relentless.

My mental attitude is that no amount of marketing is ever too much…

…and I also believe that any day I do NOT invest quality time and effort in marketing my solutions to pre-qualified prospects is a “lost” day for me, which I will need to win back the next day or week!

To put it simply therefore, marketing, for me, is as essential to my business existence as BREATHING is to my staying alive. If I’m not doing it, then I feel like my business life is dying slowly from a lack of invigorating and rejuvenating OXYGEN.

Only when you adopt that kind of mindset can you be sure of generating a reliable stream of potential sales leads from high quality prospects,

This is because your consistent investment in putting the word out there using various strategies will add up over time in your favor.

People SEE the stream of material you propagate to promote your brand, especially when it’s done the MWA (Marketing Without Advertising) way, and they develop a positive disposition towards you and your brand i.e. they see your work as useful, even as it invites them to buy what you sell – without offending.

Sadly, I see too many business owners in this part of the world who seriously struggle to adopt this approach to promoting their brands.

Examples include Real Estate solutions providers who put in only the barest minimum towards marketing themselves.

For instance, some send out marketing offers with no branded online presence to back up what they are saying – choosing instead to use third party websites they believe deliver the same benefit.

But what they do often sends a negative signal to a serious minded high quality prospect who may conclude that such real estate companies do NOT take themselves seriously enough for him/her to take them seriously. And so s/he moves on!

Do you want to boost your chances of achieve long term, reliable selling success?

One that can defy even the worst periods of “recession” to attract buyers to you when others struggle to find them?

Make your marketing become like breathing for you – as prescribed in this article. Make it a way of life. Let it become second nature – something you do as a natural reflex, almost without thinking i.e. with what we call “Unconscious Competence”.

Do that and your business marketing success will be inevitable in the long term, regardless of adversity.

Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator

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 contact me about purchasing this product.

SDN Blog™

New posts from last week*

Monday:

PII 075 : [AUDIO] Use One FREE Email Account To Send & Receive ALL Emails Via Your Official Email Account [Without Logging In!]

[Tuesday]:

[RECOMMENDED] Purchase my Farm Business Support Software & Information Products FOR LESS from these Affiliate Partners of my Best Practice Farm Biz Support Centre (FBSC)™

[Wednesday]:

Proven 6 Step Formula You Need for Successfully Monetizing Your Expertise [Hint: Identifying Your Best Skill to Sell for Money]

[Thursday]:

[RECOMMENDED] Fake LinkedIn profiles used by hackers | Facebook Now Automatically Detects Imposter Accounts

[Friday]:

Signup to Test Drive (and Own) Tayo Solagbade’s Excel-VB Catfish Farm Business Manager [Evaluation Version]

[Saturday]:

N/A

[Sunday]:

Join Prof. Adesope’s Making Services Work Club™ [*You Get 95% Off Expertly Written Feasibility Reports for Real Life Business Startup of Snail Farming, Cassava Farming, Plantain Farming, Oil Palm Farming, Fish Farming, & also Cassava Processing Factory for Chips and Pellets Exports] – Discount Drops to 50% Off AFTER 31st July 2017

Part 4 – How I Built My Automated Cash Book/Bank Reconciliation Software [Adding In-Cell Drop Down Menus to Reduce User Data Entry Errors In The Imprest Cash Book]

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Best Practice Farm Business Support Specialist & Founder of the MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club and Competition

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.

Since 2002, he has earned multiple streams of income providing individuals and organizations with personal development training and coaching, custom MS Excel-VB solutions, web marketing systems/web hosting, 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 organizations, 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).

In a previous life, before leaving to become self-employed, Tayo served for seven years (October 1994 to December 2001) as a high performing manager in Guinness Nigeria. He rose from Shift Brewer to Training & Technical Development Manager, and later acted in senior roles as Production Manager and Technical Manager.

In addition to constantly challenging the status quo and influencing positive work changes, he built a reputation for using self-taught spreadsheet programming skills (starting with Lotus 1-2-3, and later moving to Excel Visual Basic) – in his spare time – to develop Automated Spreadsheet Applications to computerize manual report generation processes in the departments he worked. Over four(4) of his applications were adopted for brewery level reporting.

Tayo holds a B.Sc degree in Agricultural Extension Services from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, having graduated top of his class – with Second Class Upper Division honors – in 1992. He is an Associate Member of the UK Institute & Guild of Brewing, a 1997 National Finalist of the Nigerian Institute of Management’s(NIM) Young Managers’ competition, a Certified Psychometric Test Administrator for Psytech UK, innovator of Spontaneous Coaching for Self-Development™ (SCfS-D™), and Founder of the Self-Development Academy (SDAc).

When he’s not amazing clients with his superhuman skills (wink), Tayo works as the creative force behind his Daily Self-Development Nuggets blog – on which he also publishes The Farm CEO Weekly Newspaper (sent via email to paid subscribers) and his Weekly Performance Improvement IDEAS newsletter.

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

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Recommended Websites & Articles, Self-Development

To Succeed, We Must Help Ourselves – the Government Cannot Help Us

December 8, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

It’s time for us to wake up from our slumber as Nigerians and Africans. I mean that with reference to EACH of us an individual and NOT our collective identity as a people.

I am self-driven, and have always believed no one outside of me (and the Creator) can control what happens in my life. By implication therefore, I never wait around for anyone to do anything for me, and I certainly am never prepared to beg anyone to give me anything either.

Some have called me arrogant because of that. But that’s an incorrect interpretation of my disposition. I simply know myself well enough to be sure I do not need to act subservient or over-humble to anyone, in order to get what I want.

What you need to succeed in life is too get a sound understanding of how things work, and then use that understanding to go after your goals.

My philosophy is that I alone am responsible for moving myself forward.

The actions or in-actions of others are of little or no consequence. For as long as I remain focused and determined, and persistent in pursuit of my goals, with intelligence, and faith, I will be furnished with what I need to get there!

Guess what? THAT is exactly what has happened in my life from as far back as I remember.

Initially, especially during my time in the university and later paid employment, I did it intuitively, without conscious thought. It just came naturally to me. I just knew it worked to be that way,

But when I became an entrepreneur in 2002, and began to dig deeper into principles for success achievement, to deal with severe setbacks I faced, I discovered the Science of Getting Rich (SOGR) philosophy.

It took me time to learn how to make it work (and I continue learning even now), but eventually I got the hang of it, and my ability to succeed with more predictability has since grown tremendously.

A good indicator that one has gained mastery in use of this philosophy, is when you are able to get results you want, even when others complain about general downturn in fortunes e.g. during a recession. That’s what Wallace D. Wattles, the late author of that little book promised.

The World’s Future Prosperity Depends On Digital Multipreneurs™

eBook (PDF), 49 Pages

Subtitle: Sustainable Socio Economic Prosperity Worldwide is Achievable Through Creation and Proliferation of Digital Multipreneurs™ in All Societies This book is based on a White Paper first published online by Tayo Solagbade in January 2006. Tayo has since applied the ideas and strategies described in it to achieve the success he enjoys today as 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 – by providing solutions to buyers within and outside Africa. For policy and decision makers in private and public sectors, seeking tested ways to empower multitudes at less cost, and using less effort/money, this book’s contents offer limitless potentials – IF used correctly. Continue to online store. (Click here to request for a copy of this PDF ebook via email download)

The SOGR philosophy is what has helped me realize that EACH of us can become a viable agent of positive change and progress in his/her own area of influence.

I have been succeeding doing just that, in my interactions with member of my target audience on and off the web, within and outside Africa.

It’s been amazing to see the results – and I know if more of us were to adopt a similar strategy, we would transform our societies for the better.

This is what happens in many developed societies. Everyday ordinary people taking control of their lives, instead of calling on the government.

They take action to create the opportunities they want, starting where they are, with what they have. If it means working completely alone for years, like I have done, they do it. Then when success begins to come, others join in.

If you feel you do not have the time, talent, training or resources, to do it, then look for ways to support others who are doing it, so they can be better equipped to succeed. Their success will still rub off on you and the rest of society.

Let’s stop wasting valuable time waiting for government (or indeed “God”) to do things for us that we can – with focus, determination and persistence – do by and for ourselves.

I refuse to live my life complaining about what I lack because some government failed to do what it promised to do.

Instead, I wake up daily with the mental attitude backed by unshakable faith that ALL I need will be brought within my reach at the right time by the Creator, if I take regular/daily action towards it.

We can do the same thing.

Now don’t get me wrong. Applying the SOGR philosophy will come with delays, disappointments, setbacks and attendant lack/suffering. But all of that serves the necessary purpose of purifying you to EVOLVE to the superior state you are advancing into. Nothing good that lasts comes easy!

So, what matters is for those of us who are willing get the ball rolling, while those looking for ideas decide where to come in. Sooner than later we will succeed.

[REAL LIFE CASE STUDY from Ghana]: A real life example of an INDIVIDUAL home based African doing what I recommend in this article, that the rest of us also adopt as a way of life:

An Indigenous African Church Leader Who Makes World Class Talking Automobiles (Incl. Engines!) From Scratch, Using Local Materials in Ghana: Meet Apostle Dr. Kwadwo Safo

Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, Farm Biz, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Recommended Websites & Articles, The Farm CEO

THE FARM CEO (Issue 67): A BOPMS™ Will Enable You Run Your Farm Business Profitably Even When You’re Away!, To Succeed, Your Farm Does Not Just Need a Software – It Needs a BOPMS!, Your Business Should Free You, Not Restrict You

December 4, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Over the past 2 weeks I have made more sales of my Excel-VB Ration Formulator, Feed Formulation Handbook and Excel-VB Poultry Farm Manager, to Farm CEOs – 2 within Nigeria and one outside (specifically Uganda via Western Union).

Aside from those who have made purchases I have had some call me to make enquiries. For all of them, I ALWAYS did the same thing – which was to challenge them to adopt a best practice mindset in running their farm operations.

Like I always tell them, I have a vision to help Farm CEOs engage best practice strategies to boost their farm output at less cost, using less effort and fewer resources, so they can retain more profits.

In line with that vision, I send them links to articles I’ve written on this best practice theme, as no-strings-attached gifts, regardless of whether they buy from me or not.

In this no-password issue of the Farm CEO newspaper, I offer previews of, and links to 3 of such articles, for your consideration. I hope you find them useful.

1. PII 020: A BOPMS™ Will Enable You Run Your Farm Business Profitably Even When You’re Away!

There is a saying that if you cannot be away from your business for fear of things not going right, that’s not a business – it’s a job.

Now, it is my considered opinion that if there is any kind of business that the owner needs to be able to get time away from, without fear of things going seriously wrong, it’s the farm business.

Why?

Because starting and running a farm business is a very demanding process, that requires investment of money, time, effort and resources by the owners and members of his/her team.

PII 020: A BOPMS™ Will Enable You Run Your Farm Business Profitably Even When You’re Away!

2. PII 015: To Succeed, Your Farm Does Not Just Need a Software – It Needs a BOPMS!

Below is a message I received from a Farm CEO few days ago, asking for a software solution:

“…I’m currently running a piggery business with no record keeping. At best, very poor and would love you developing a software that can help in terms of reporting, analysing and profitability including growth, effectiveness and efficiency.

I also have several colleagues needing same and it would be my pleasure leading them to you based on your productsdelivering my needs.

Let us explore this further please.”

I’ve been getting requests like these more frequently in the recent past, indicating that more Farm CEOs are keen to adopt best practice management of their farm businesses.

PII 015 [TRUE STORY]: To Succeed, Your Farm Does Not Just Need a Software – It Needs a BOPMS!

3. Your Business Should Free You, Not Restrict You

If you own a business – with employees – that won’t make money/do well unless you’re there, what you have is NOT a business, but a job! This article offers guidance to help you get maximum value from your business – even when you’re not physically present. Indeed if you do it right, you’ll develop a system that actually lets you stay away from your business, and return to find it doing just as well as (if not better than) you left it.

As an extension professional, my aim is to provide farm business owners with useful information and education, to guide them in daily running of their farms. Especially in the routine planning and decision making they have to do. In certain cases, I develop resources to enhance their ability to do what they do better.

Your Business Should Free You, Not Restrict You

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

To Succeed, Expose Bad Employees: Don’t Abuse Them!

November 26, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

About 4 years ago, I resolved to begin selling my custom Excel-VB Software products and Web Marketing Systems Development services remotely – 100% online.

I did this because in working offline, I periodically witnessed the unpleasant situation in which some clients chose NOT to pay their employees what was due and just – and I DID NOT LIKE it one bit.

When I casually inquired to know why these CEOs did that, many indicated they perpetually suspected their employees of stealing from/cheating them in one or more ways they had yet to uncover.

So they used that “feeling” to justify delaying or denying them payment as often as was possible to explain away.

One particular client once traveled for holidays with his family and let over 100 employees without salaries paid from end November till mid-January of the New Year.

I was there, working all through that period as a consultant, developing a custom Excel-VB app for the company.

The conversations my ears overheard during that time there made me weep and at the same time rage.

You see, I found that some of the workers were indeed cutting corners in the workplace, and actually stealing from the company.

But I also saw that MANY more were honest, hardworking easy going persons just trying to support their families.

This latter group ended up being made to needlessly suffer for the sins of a naughty few, not because it was unavoidable, but because the CEO was too intellectually lazy to develop a system to “catch” the bad eggs and also close loop holes they could exploit.

That laziness ultimately costs such CEOs for the long term by way of a prolonged LACK OF PEACE OF MIND/FULFILLMENT.

Personally, I would rather not live life that way. No matter how much money you make, you are most likely to feel miserable most of the time.

The articles below offer ready-to-use ideas CEOs can use to eliminate worries they have about employees, so they can feel happy paying them what is due and just.

Read my articles:

PII 041: Avoid Intellectual Laziness, Learn How Things Work…to Achieve Success [Hint: A Culture of Making Your Own Things is Key to Individual/National Development – See Photos of Home Made Ankara Slippers and Shoes Inside]

Your Business Should Free You, Not Restrict You

Adopt Standard Operating Procedures to Succeed More With Less Effort (This Works for Solopreneurs and Large Organisations)

Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, Farm Biz, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, The Farm CEO

PII 038: To Succeed, Today’s Agricultural Extension Professionals Need Entrepreneurship and Spreadsheet Automation Skills

October 31, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

For success in this century and beyond, African societies hoping to profit from Agriculture MUST first of all accept the reality that developing Agriculture is simply NO longer enough. Deliberate and focused effort must instead be persistently applied to developing AGRIBUSINESS.

At the risk of stating the obvious, there is a MASSIVE difference between both concepts.

Here’s my way of illustrating the difference…

SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE

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

Monday 31st October 2016

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

PII 038: To Succeed, Today’s Agricultural Extension Professionals Need Entrepreneurship and Spreadsheet Automation Skills

At the risk of stating the obvious, there is a MASSIVE difference between both concepts.

Here’s my way of illustrating the difference…

I like to think of “Agriculture” as: Farming the Old Way

This has to do with engagement in the activity of farming, with no conscious attention being given to whether or not that activity translates into – significant and sustainable – profit making, financially, and otherwise, for the practitioners.

There was a time when doing “Agriculture” the old way, even here in Africa, was not an unsafe way of life. Back then, things were not as complex and erratic as they are today. Pries of inputs were more stable and affordable. Ready markets existed for most farm produce, both locally and internationally. Most importantly, majority of the population in most African societies were still comfortable being openly engaged in agriculture/farming as a vocation.

Indeed, back then in Nigeria, schools had anthems that kids were taught to recite, which emphasized the importance of engaging in farming. One such anthem, in Yoruba, read in part as follows:

Iwe kiko lai si oko, at ada (Academic study without the hoe and cutlass)

Ko ipe o. Ko ipe o. (Is not complete. Is not complete.)

Ise agbe ni ise ile wa, Eni ko sise, a ma ja le (Farming is the work of our fatherland. Whoever does not work, will steal)

In the past 20 years of my life, I have NOT heard the above anthem sung in ANY school. During my time in school, we never got asked to sing it, but we heard adults who had left school before us recall the heady days when they did just that as they attended school.

Try getting today’s Nigerian youths at ANY level of schooling to sing that song, and I’ll be surprised if they show any enthusiasm.

Even their teachers will balk at the suggestion. Hey. Try it. Go out there and ask school kids if they’ll sing it in public – or ask school teachers if they’ll ask their learners to sing it.

Go a step further and ask the teachers to actually put what the anthem preaches into practice by having learners adopt physical farm work as part of their normal school curriculum. Not the fancy stuff they do in special uniforms that rarely get dirty – but the one in which they are made to really do the deed!

Chances are good that you’ll get complaints not just from the kids, but also their parents and the teachers themselves.

Why?

Well, that’s because a lot has changed in the value system upheld in the society today, compared to what obtained in the past, when that anthem reigned in school.

Following the economic boom that resulted from the discovery of oil in Nigeria, and general industrial development, white collar jobs became the vogue, mainly because they delivered heftier financial rewards in a shorter time period compared to most farm businesses and with much less physical exertion. It made common sense, for most people to follow the money. So the rural to urban migration happened, as it did in other societies.

The only problem was that in Nigeria, even though who did not have the training or competence to take advantage of the city jobs, also migrated. This latter group, were often those well equipped or gifted with the know-how to continue with farming. As a result, agriculture got neglected.

And I like to think of “Agribusiness” as: Farming the New Way

In other societies, especially in the developed world, rural urban migration also happened, with the advent of industrial development.

However, they were proactive enough to create a model that enables those with farming know-how to go beyond practicing just agriculture, to doing agribusiness.

It is instructive to note here that they’ve been doing this for decades: so it’s not really a new way in the true sense of it – but to the extent that we in Africa have yet to make it a way of life like they have, it remains relatively new.

The ability to do agribusiness enabled those not willing to migrate to the city, to continue farming because they were able to reap returns that made staying in that vocation worthwhile in the long term, even when compared to potential monetary rewards to be had from getting white collar jobs.

The best part was that those who practiced agribusiness got to be their own bosses, and therefore retained relatively more freedom over their personal time, than did those who chose to take up paid employment in the city.

It is for this reason, that one finds many farm business enterprises in places like Europe and America being passed down for 2,3, 4 and more generations – feeding, clothing, schooling and securing the financial futures of the offspring of their founders.

In contrast, out here, most enterprises, no matter how large, often fail and die out within a matter of years after the founder has passed on.

The case for Extension Professionals With Entrepreneurship and Spreadsheet Automation Skills

If Nigeria/Africa is to reap the long term rewards of farming, those who engage in it MUST be able to not just turn out sustainable profits, but also setup systems to keep those profit making farms going long after they pass on!

This is why I argue that a new generation or breed of Extension professionals is needed in any society that wishes to succeed in making farming a reliable means of long term employment and income generation.

Traditional extension experts are often people who take up employment with government agencies or NGOs to support farm businesses in various areas.

The problem I have identified with this approach is that these people often approach their jobs with an employee mindset. Quite often they simply go through the motions of doing whatever is required of them as spelt out in their job descriptions or briefs.

Given the unique challenges found in the typical socio-economic environment of Nigeria/Africa, that kind of disposition generally means there will be little incentive on the extension personnel’s part to go the extra mile to do anything.

Yet, quite often, the key to succeeding in providing support to farm businesses will be the ability to do more than is required as the unique situations that occur on demand.

Entrepreneurial ability can be learned. A key aspect has to do with being able to visualize, and then take action with persistence, till a set goal is achieved.

An Entrepreneurial Extension Professional will be able to see beyond what EACH farm business owner s/he serves sees i.e. the big picture of where the business can go, what it can do etc.

S/he will be able to narrow down to the unique strengths that can be developed and weaknesses that need to be trimmed down, so as to ensure the longevity of the enterprise. Using these insights the extension professional will then act as a catalyst guiding the farm business owner to take the right steps to grow his/her brand over time, beyond the level of traditional farm operations.

In order to play the above role effectively and efficiently, the extension professional will find custom spreadsheet automation know-how to be an invaluable skill to possess.

This is because running an agribusiness enterprise profitably will depend greatly on establishing a firm ability to accurately and reliably carry out routine farm operations data recording, analysis and report generation for timely decision making.

Using spreadsheet automation, s/he will be able to help even PC-novice farm CEOs setup systems to reliably carryout data handling, trending and analysis that help the owner better understand the farm process’ potential, so as to inform more accurate planning.

Most importantly, however, a extension professional with this mix of skills will be able to help farm CEOs eventually see the bigger picture s/he is seeing, so they can then jointly work towards building additional streams of income beyond those from direct sales of farm products e.g. farm products processing, passive income streams from monetization of farm CEOs expertise in form of book sales, training, consultancy, etc.

I say this from over 10 years of providing multidisciplinary extension-type support for farm CEOs within and outside Africa, using the web, and in person. These people go through a lot, and are constantly in need of advisory, as well as resource support.

They come to me via phone, email, Skype, Whatsapp, Facebook and even Twitter, demanding, sometimes pleading for help of all kinds. Sadly, since I am NOT a charity, I find myself unable to offer most of them the support they need without requiring payment.

This is why I believe the state needs extension professional with my mix of abilities, to serve its farmers, if they are to excel (Hint: I hold a B.Sc degree in Agricultural Extension Services from Nigeria’s University of Ibadan).

Below, and on other pages of this website, I feature products I create and sell to Farm CEOs using my spreadsheet automation skills. There is demand from them for more, but I have found that most would benefit more from having in-house support to do it themselves, or the assistance of extension personnel with the skill.

So, How Do You Equip Your Extension Professionals With Entrepreneurship and Spreadsheet Automation Skills?

Sadly, space precludes my covering that in THIS piece.

But it would be my pleasure to formally elaborate on how to go about it, in a paper I’ve prepared on that subject. Click here to invite me.

Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator

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 contact me about purchasing this product.

SDN Blog™

New posts from last week*

Monday:

PII 037: Beware of Naughty/Misguided Advisers [Deciding Who to Listen to When Searching for YOUR Success Formula]

[Tuesday]:

VIDEO: 3 Year Old DJ Arch Jnr wins SA’s Got Talent 2015 [Hint: Classic Example of Best Practice Parenting Empowering a Child to Develop His Genius/Talent Early In Life]

[Wednesday]:

Join my SFi Affiliate Team & Get Multipurpose Web Marketing Support Services (& Coaching) for YOUR Business for ONE YEAR! [4 Days to Launch on 1st Nov. 2016]

[Thursday]:

Thousands of Zimbabweans lose money as MMM crashes – iHarare

[Friday]:

N/A

[Saturday]:

[Book] The Africans who Wrote the Bible: Ancient Secrets Africa and Christianity Have Never Told – by Nana Banchie Darkwah: Originally published 2000 [Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists]

[Sunday]:

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Best Practice Farm Business Support Specialist & Founder of the MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club and Competition

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.

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).

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

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, Farm Biz, General, My DN Travel News, Recommended Websites & Articles, The Farm CEO

To Succeed, You Need to be a Problem Solver [True Story: Real Life Problem Solving Email Conversation With New Buyer of my Excel-VB Ration Formulator App]

September 17, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Finding buyers for your products/services can be hard, but what is even harder is GETTING and KEEPING those buyers satisfied, so they do NOT feel what is called “buyer’s remorse” and demand their money back, or refuse to give you repeat business.

Having said the above, let’s be clear about one thing though:

You CANNOT please all your clients. There will be those with whom you simply will not be a good fit – and it will be NO FAULT OF YOURS. When that happens, you must be ready to let such people go. NEVER make the mistake of assuming you have to keep all clients at all costs.

In other words, client attrition is a necessary evil (I call it a blessing) that ALL of us will have to deal with every now and then.

What is crucial however is that you ensure that you keep it as low as possible, and ensure it does NOT happen with those you know are your ideal clients i.e people who fit your target audience profile.

In my case, I learned YEARS ago that NOT all buyers deserve to be my clients, so I’ve developed a screening system to identify and keep such people out of my network of potential buyers as much as possible.

With that system in place, I then go all out to use my marketing arsenal to rope in those who remain, and ultimately sell to some of them.

However, once a sale happens, I DO NOT go to sleep!

Instead, I stay alert for ANY issues that may be raised by the new buyer – even as I keep close contact (via periodic email, Whatsapp and phonecall “Hellos”) with even older clients.

If s/he (or any of the others) raises ANY issue with the solution provided, I instantly click into my accelerated Support Service Provision mode.

During this phase, I draw on all my knowledge and experience, as well as information from past client interactions, to help the client get the desired outcome in using the solution delivered to him/her.

I’m proud to say that 95% of the time time, I have succeeded in addressing raised issues, earning myself the client’s subsequent appreciation

In many cases, that ended up opening the way for more up-selling opportunities in the future, and at some point a real lasting friendship with him/her.

The screenshots and email transcripts reproduced below, illustrate a real life example in which I employed the strategy described in this article, very recently, to solve a problem for a “newly minted” buyer of my Excel-VB Ration Formulator app.

========

BELOW: His email informing me of the difficulty he was having, getting the app to run normally…

=========

Sep 15 (2 days ago)

Good morning
I was so busy during the Salah break that I was unable to down and run the RF app. However I was able to download the RF-Exports.xls , data-appended.xls and the zipped folder that contains the picture guides. And also the 4 YouTube videos. It seems these 2 excel files are not the main app for the ration Formulator because I could not find the login screen in order to use the password you provided in your email. Thanks

Sent from my iPad

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

BELOW: I send him a reply, after speaking on phone with him – adding URLs to a video on how to enable macros etc….

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

The video shows how. The 2 articles offer additional information and education

1. Start-Up – Excel-VB Ration Formulator.avi – YouTube | 23 Nov 2011 | Tayo Solagbade shows how to enable macros (in Excel 2007) to run his Excel-
VB …

http://youtube.com/watch?v=z8B1yX8e-GY

2. [Tutorial 01 – ExcelVB Coding Tips & Tricks for Accountants: How to Enable Macros in different versions of MS Excel I.e 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2013! | SD Nuggets™

http://tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets/tutorial-01-excelvb-coding-tips-tricks-for-accountants-how-to-enable-macros-in-different-versions-of-ms-excel-i-e-2003-2007-2010-and-2013/

3. Protect Yourself from Macro Viruses [Potential Dangers of Enabling Macros in Excel-VB Workbooks From Unfamiliar Sources] | TayoSolagbade.com

http://excelheaven.tayosolagbade.com/?p=604

I will call you.

Tayo
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
=====

BELOW: The above turns out to have been correctly done by him and NOT the issue he was having. So I send him ANOTHER reply, after speaking on phone with him – this time I add 2 PDF files, with explanatory notes about how their contents may help solve what I suspected to be the likely issue he was having

=====

Tayo Solagbade <tayosolagbade@gmail.com>

AttachmentsSep 16 (1 day ago)

to aliyu, Tayo
Hi Aliyu,

See attached file named Aliyu-PFM-Login-Screenshots.pdf

My conversation with you indicates you’ve most likely got this covered…but I still include it because of the details I added regarding the Mac OS

Excerpt: If you’re having this experience while trying to run it on your Mac then it’s understandable/expected. Like I told you, my apps are built using Windows based MS Excel version which uses VBA code syntax that’s not fully compatible with that in the Mac OS version of MS Excel.

My advice is that you run the app on a PC that runs Windows for best results.

However, below are 2 articles I’ve written to offer information, education and basic support for Mac users who have bought from me:

1. http://tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets/you-need-this-zero-cost-app-for-trouble-free-use-of-excel-vb-windows-based-apps-in-excel-for-mac/

2. http://tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets/useful-question-answer-email-conversation-with-a-new-farm-ceo-user-of-my-excel-vb-driven-poultry-farm-manager-pfm-software/

====

NOW, here’s another possibility to consider:

I just recalled that a past client (by name “Ekene”) experienced a problem (for another of my software – The Poultry Farm Manager) which was due to a compatibility conflict between my app (which was developed for 32 bit MS Office) and 64bit MS Office installation on his system.

I’m not sure if this might be the case with you. The attached PDF explains how to check which of the 32 or 64 bit MS Office versions you have on your PC.

However, as long as what you have on your PC is a licensed version of MS Office, the instructions in the attached PDF will easily resolve the conflict for you.

Otherwise, you may need to reinstall MS office and choose to install the 32 bit version this time around.

Full details of how you may have ended up having the 64 bit version installed for you is given in the attached PDF – based on information I compiled from the Microsoft forums.

I’ll call you once I send this email off to you.

Cheers,

Tayo
PS: Note that the PDF was prepared based on error reports sent me by Ekene, which differ from yours. I’m however not sure if they may be due to the same root cause. So I recommend you read all 3 pages carefully, then follow the -prescribed steps from pages 2 to 3.

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

BELOW: He replies to confirm my suspicion that the second possibility (regarding 64bit MS Office) turned out to be the cause of the problem he was having

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

11:42 PM (15 hours ago)

to me
Good evening I just got back home and finish reading your mail. Both the pc and the Mac are running 64 Bit operating system. I think that is the cause of the issue am having. Thanks a lot

Sent from my iPad

Final Words

I share the above true story to give the reader a real world relevant example of how to use the ideas I advocate – and to provide proof that I practise what I preach – so s/he can feel inspired to do the same.

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News, Self-Development

PII 022: To Succeed, You Need to Ignore Detractors and RELENTLESSLY Speak/Act With Self-Belief!

July 11, 2016 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Do you find yourself trying to stifle a (periodic) urge to speak/act with self-confidence regarding your abilities – possibly for fear of being called “arrogant” by some who may “dislike” you?

If YES, this article offers ideas you can use to LIBERATE yourself from THAT mental prison!

Let’s begin with this popular quote:

“…It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles”

What would you do if anyone tries to put you down?

SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE

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

Monday 11th July 2016

**********

PII 022: To Succeed, You Need to Ignore Detractors and RELENTLESSLY Speak/Act With Self-Belief!

If YES, this article offers ideas you can use to LIBERATE yourself from THAT mental prison!

Let’s begin with this popular quote:

“…It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles”

What would you do if anyone tries to put you down?

I’ll tell you one thing: that’s NOT the time to “try and get along”!

Instead you’ll need to ASSERT yourself – without being combative – by speaking/acting with self-belief, effectively resisting his/her attempt to belittle you, or your achievement(s).

Now, it’s possible that when you do the above, such persons could turn around and label you “arrogant”.

In reality however, the truth is only INSECURE personalities would interprete your display of self-belief as arrogance!

Study great achievers the world over, from all walks of life, and you will notice they exhibit(ed) self-belief without apology – even as they readily acknowledge others – even bitter rivals – who exhibit the same trait.

It is my considered opinion therefore, that if anyone accuses you of being arrogant, when all you did was act or speak based on honest conviction about your abilities, the likely reason is that s/he suffers from a LACK of self-belief, which makes him/her feel inadequate or threatened by those who do not have such difficulty.

Simply put, s/he needs help building his/her self-esteem, so as to make the most of him/herself!

Here’s a good example I’ve used in a similarly themed article in the past:

As a young boxer Muhammad Ali (then called Cassius Clay) was bold, and unapologetic in the way he spoke about what he could do, AND who he could/would do it to e.g he habitually predicted who he would knockout and what round he would do it in!

That attitude got him booed a lot by boxing spectators in the arena during his fights. Yep. Check the records. Ali used to get booed despite being good – and he got called names too for his “talkative” nature e.g The Louisville Lip”.

But Ali believed too much in himself to take any serious notice. Instead he proved he was right by winning.

Time and time again over the course of his career he got quoted using taunting, provocative language designed to “mess” with his opponents minds.

Most importantly, Muhammad Ali repeatedly, defiantly, relentlessly, loudly and unapologetically called himself “The Greatest” right from when he won Olympic Gold at the age of 18, until he retired.

What the whole world calls him today is what he began calling himself decades before I.e “The Greatest Of All Time”!

Some (indeed many) of those who began by calling him arrogant over time saw that Ali was simply speaking the truth about his abilities as he saw it – and his performances PROVED he was right: he WAS the best!

This truth illustrated in Ali’s story, applies to Nigeria’s Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

Fela’s uncompromising demonstration of unapologetic self-belief – as a musical inventor and rights activist – is what propelled him to international stardom and now earned him legendary status in the global music industry.

It goes without saying that this same truth applies to every single authentic ahiever anywhere in the world – including YOU(if you work for it)!

Self-belief will make you unafraid to announce your strengths and achievements to others

“People don’t realise what they had until it’s gone. Like President Kennedy, nobody like him. Like The Beatles, there will never be anything like them. Like my man, Elvis Presley. I was the Elvis of boxing.” – Muhammad Ali

That’s self-belief right there in that quote!

if you have it, you won’t hesitate to make statements of fact about yourself and your abilities/accomplishments.

What’s more, you’d do it without worrying about what others might think or say.

Why?

Because you’d know it to be the truth!

Self-belief will also make you willing to take a stand on issues that matter

Muhammad Ali said he should be rememebered “As a man who never sold out his people. But if that’s too much, then just a good boxer”

Everyone knows how Ali famously refused to be drafted to fight in the Vietnam war, and how he later won a Supreme Court victory as a Religious Conscientious Objector.

After that he continued using his fame and fortune to challenge discrimination against black people.

He did not have to do all that, yet he did it – without bothering whose Ox was gored.

It takes tremendous self-belief to take a stand on serious issues in life

Ali had bucket loads of self-belief. So did Fela!

Little wonder that they lived the way they did – challenging the status quo. No wonder they are legends even in death today.

When next you worry about speaking your mind, about what you can do, remember Ali, Fela and others like them. They did not stifle the urge to speak truths they knew. Even when it cost them in terms of money, pain, loss of freedom etc – they kept speaking/acting with self-belief.

Follow their example and you will not go wrong.

And if fear grips your heart, read Marianne Williamson’s words (above) again, and be inspired!

SDN Blog™

New posts from last week*

Monday:

PII 021: Proven Secret to Succeeding in Making Your Own Animal Feed

[Tuesday]:

You Need This to Sell More Successfully (True Stories)

[Wednesday]:

NEW FRAUD. PLS BEWARE!! [Phony Kidnappers Playing Mind Games Over The Phone to Get Money]

[Thursday]:

[RECOMMENDED] Comparative Feed Values for Swine

[Friday]:

[Spontaneous Coaching™] Practical Strategies you need to Achieve Your Goals at Will: The Secret to Becoming Super Productive!

[Saturday]:

Protected: Two Books You Need to Become a Highly Paid Professional Spreadsheet Software Developer

[Sunday]:

Protected: THE FARM CEO (Issue 53): Chlorophyll Meters for Nitrogen Fertilizer Management, Satellite Driven Tractor That Downloads Soil/Crop Data, Sensors, Food, Automation & Engineering

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Best Practice Farm Business Support Specialist & Founder of the MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club and Competition

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.

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).

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

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, General, My DN Travel News, Public Speaking, Self-Development

No. 203: To Succeed, Speak to Solve Problems!

July 27, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

One proven way to succeed is to develop viable solutions to problems others will gladly reward you for. By implication, your success as an expert-who-speaks will be determined by how well your message empowers your audience to solve the problem(s) they face.

The reason: Human Beings dislike problems & often want to eliminate them QUICKLY!

As a result, people always welcome anyone who offers a speedy resolution.

SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE

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

Tayo K. Solagade‘s

Weekly Public Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS Newsletter

Date: Monday 27th July 2015

No:203

Title: To Succeed, Speak to Solve Problems!

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

Last Week: Read articles published on my blog here

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

Is this email not displaying correctly?

View it in your browser.[Click to view Archives]

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

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

**********

GET LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP OF MY INNER CIRCLE (OVER $250 USD!) WHEN YOU BUY BURT DUBIN’S SPEAKER MENTORING PRODUCTS/SERVICES – LEARN MORE HERE!

1 of 2: PUBLIC SPEAKING – To Succeed, Speak to Solve Problems!

The reason: Human Beings dislike problems & often want to eliminate them QUICKLY!

As a result, people always welcome anyone who offers a speedy resolution.

That’s why it is said that if you want to get rich, find a solution to a real problem being experienced by people in your society or market.

In Nigeria for instance, lack of constant power supply creates a unique challenge not faced in most other countries…

So you’ll find, in Nigeria’s markets, all sorts of alternatives to public power supply – from generators to power banks, solar power generators, inverters etc – on sale/actively purchased.

For obvious reasons, the above solutions command much less attention from paying buyers in neighbouring Benin Republic, who ironically buy their electricity from Nigeria!

So, compared to their smaller/poorer Beninese neighbours Nigerians in Nigeria have to spend EXTRA money daily to buy and fuel generators to power their homes and offices.

That has multiple implications: The avoidable extra expense of buying, servicing and replacing generators, the noise and smoke pollution associated with using generators, and the LOSS of pure profit by way of the extra expense associated. These annoyances face the average Nigerian in business – and general society.

The inadvertent extra spending directly impacts on the bottom line for a business owner, or disposable income for a salary earner in Nigeria. Both consequently end up with LESS money than they should, in their pockets or bank accounts every single month.

As you can imagine, for people who are forced to incur EXTRA expenses generating power, ANY opportunity to cut down on spending in other areas would be welcome.

To achieve speaking success with your target audience, address them where they “hurt”!

Identify your client’s unique situation and challenges. Add whatever you find out, to whatever s/he tells you is/are the “goals”.

Then come up with workable ideas and strategies to us in solving the problems/achieving the goals.

a. For instance, in reaching out to individual or organizational clients with my speaking solutions, I typically offer to share ideas and strategies for getting more done, with less effort, in less time, and at less cost.

All of that translates to making them more productive, at increasingly lower cost.

The above is a key reason why over 80% of my Feed Formulation Handbook and Software sales are to Nigerian Farm Business Owners. Many of them tell me their main reason for buying is to learn how to make their own feed, and cut down the huge sums they spend on feeding their livestock.

b. Here’s another perspective: More members of my target audience are inquiring about and purchasing information products, talks and services I offer on passive income generation.

Most already make money doing what they do, but they WANT to make even MORE money, without necessarily having to do more work.

It goes without saying that people all over the world have the same preferences. Everybody wants that kind of benefit.

However, the Nigerians in Nigeria are under much greater pressure to find ways to earn more, without spending, because a chunk of the INCOME they earn is ROUTINELY spent in generating power that government should normally provide them…!

Since no viable short/medium term alternative exists for them to stop spending on power generation, the opportunity to earn MORE money without needing to run their generators for LONGER periods is one that appeals to them.

That’s why I always say the following to my target audience:

“No matter how much money you are making on your job, or in your business, creating passive income streams to COMPLEMENT your efforts WILL leave you better off!” – Tayo K. Solagbade

People LIKE that kind of message. You telling them they don’t need to keep spending time/effort/money in order to keep making money.

People LOVE anyone who can give them a solution to the challenge of not-enough-money.

In speaking to your target audience, you must give them workable ideas to use in solving:

(a) The problems they tell you they face

(b) The problems your own diligent research and investigations tell you they need to address.

In my case, I often go out of my way to find out where the shoe pinches EACH client/member of my target audience – especially those in Nigeria…

Basically, for most of them, their profit margins (in business) and disposable incomes (in paid employment) are LESS than they should be…

That knowledge guides me in speaking to them, so that I know what to say to MAKE THEM feel a need to take action and hire (or buy from) me!

I doing so, I share my tested and proven ideas for getting things done, and making MORE money in the process, without necessarily having to spend ANY money.

One example: Last week, I told the story about a 2 part audio DVD product I purchased, at what I called a criminally LOW price of N100 (half a dollar) per disk.

To make matters worse, I was told that 3rd parties were paid to prepare the audio recording in a studio, and to mass produce the branded labels and jackets used.

Unfortunately, after the heavy spending, sales barely trickled in for months. The sales shop had boxes of unsold disks and books (in thousands) stacked on the floor when I visited.

The staff explained many potential buyers kept asking them to LOWER the price, but despite dropping prices to as low as N100 (about $0.5 USD) per disk, nothing had changed!

I told them to tell their boss…

a. That they needed to take the price back up to something more respectable, noting that my lowest priced audio DVD product sells for N1,000.0…and that, despite the fact that I do NOT use a rented sales shop.

b. That they could have saved A LOT of money by doing some of their product development in-house (at least for starters)…

In this regard, I explained that ALL my branded DVD labels and book covers were designed by me, using Photoshop, on my laptop. I also noted that ALL my audio pod casts and video tutorials/demos are recorded on my laptop.

What’s more, I use my laptop’s DVD drive to burn the needed copies of ALL my products to CD/DVD, which I then label and put in sleeves or plastic casings etc.

Now, don’t get me wrong. In other climes, it could be smarter to give this out to some “provider”…

But when you are an individual or micro to small business in a market like Nigeria, where buyer attitudes make selling of products like this difficult, it’s best to minimize the expense overheads to give yourself the best possible chance of earning tangible profits per sale.

Then over time, as your brand becomes more established, nothing stops you from outsourcing any areas you want, so long as you’re sure you’ll remain profitable.

There’s also the relatively higher cost of doing it. For instance in Cotonou, I print ONE A4 page in black and white for N8, but in Lagos, it costs me N50…over 10 times more!

NB: In case you’re wondering “What if the numbers of disks to be duplicated are many?” the answer is simple: purchase a CD duplicator!

It will pay for itself many times over. I know this because of the results being enjoyed by a young Beninese friend in Cotonou, who I encouraged to revive his own CD duplicator, which he’d abandoned in his parents’ home for months.

Today, he uses it in a business centre he’s opened in that spare room in the family house!

Moral: The fact that you have money does NOT mean you have to spend it to get MORE of the results you want.

Quite often, deep thinking and analysis of how you currently do what you do, can help you conceive superior ways to IMPROVE the results you get – at zero cost!

As you can see from the above, in speaking to my clients, I offer to share ideas and strategies, about how to earn MORE, and SPEND LESS money, time, and effort in doing what they do better.

In other words, I describe to them practical solutions to problems they face…and every now and then, that leads them to hire (or buy from) me.

If you adopt a similar problem solving focus in speaking to your clients(be it as individuals or in groups), you’ll dramatically boost the response generating impact of your sales/marketing messages on them!

*******

This newsletter (which I use to promote Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Products/Services) serves experts-who-speak. Starting – Monday 13th April 2015 – it MORPHED in name and content served, to a 2 part Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter, to better serve them. You just read the “Public Speaking IDEAS” part above. What follows below is the “Web Marketing IDEAS” part.

*******

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

Burt Dubin’s monthly Speaking Biz Strategies Letter [Signup & get a 7-Part Email Course on “How To Succeed And Get Paid As A Professional Speaker“]

Get Burt’s mentoring at any of the 3 levels below:

1. Top Shelf [Click here]

2. Mid Range [Click here]

3. Budget Delight [Click here]

2 of 2: WEB MARKETING: To Achieve Sustainable Success, Closely Monitor News About Current Affairs and Politics! [FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD]

“If you want to achieve sustainable success in business (especially in a volatile market place like Nigeria), it’s in your best interest to develop interest in current affairs and politics, because those are the two key ingredients that really keep this country from having a stable sociopolitical climate.
And for as long as that stable sociopolitical climate does not exist, every person running a business will probably have to sleep with one eye open.” – Tayo K. Solagbade

It’s FREE for all my Web Marketing/farm business clients, and ALL members of my Inner Circle as well as for ALL subscribers to THIS newsletter.

If you are not yet ANY of the above, just send me a message here to let me know.

If you want me to send you the full MP3 recording, just say so in your message.

NB: If you’re already a client or subscriber, email me via tayo at tksola dot com and let me know you want it

Alternatively, click here to request the FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD.

******

SPECIAL OFFER TO READERS OF THIS SPEAKING/WEB MARKETING IDEAS NEWSLETTER

Did you know that as an expert in your field you can make more money by speaking professionally? Or do you already speak-for-money, but want to know how to do it better AND/OR how to make more money even when you do not speak?

If you said YES to any of the above, THIS offer is for you.

Burt Dubin can teach you to do ALL the above and more. You can learn from him via direct mentoring (regardless of distance) or using the many home study packages he offers.

Get FREE Lifetime Membership of My Inner Circle (OVER $250 USD) when you do 1 or more of the following:

1. Signup for Burt’s Speaker Mentoring Service (click here for details)…

2. Purchase Burt’s Speaker Mentoring Products up to $500 USD or more (click here to see a popular one)…

NB: Membership of my Inner Circle comes with a FREE product of your choice e.g. my custom Excel-VB software, Information Products etc. (click here for full details of what my Inner Circle members get)…PLUS you get a LIFETIME 65% discount on ALL my other existing/future products and services.

HERE’S AN ADDED BONUS YOU GET FROM ME, IF YOU BUY FROM BURT…

If, upon commencing or completing Burt’s mentoring you choose to launch your speaking business formally, I WILL (at no cost to you) develop and implement for YOU, in line with guidance from Burt, a Web Marketing System to cost-effectively promote your brand.

Click here to tell me which of Burt’s speaker mentoring products or services you are interested in.

ALSO GET MY PERSONALIZED MS EXCEL-VB VIDEO TUTORIALS (N100K) WHEN YOU BUY FROM BURT…

Buying up to $500 USD or more from Burt will also qualify you to receive my personalized MS Excel VB home study tutorial workbooks/videos – over N100k value.

Learn more on my Excel Heaven solutions website at www.excelheaven.biz

Click here to tell me which of Burt’s speaker mentoring products or services you are interested in.

Question: But who is Burt Dubin, and why do I (Tayo K. Solagbade) think you should you learn from him?

Answer: Burt is a 3 decade veteran in the professional speaking business. After achieving top level cross continental success as an expert-speaker, he has established a reputation for mentoring some of the highest paid speakers in the world. He owns SpeakingBizSuccess.com, SpeakingSuccess.com and BurtDubin.com.

Burt helps those he mentors (experts-who-speak) to Position, Package, Promote, and Present* themselves successfully to clients (*He calls them the 4Ps). That’s why it’s no surprise that on Burt’s website, considerable space capital is devoted to useful business marketing articles as well as products.

It might also interest you to know that MANY years back, Burt established himself as one of the best marketing minds in the world. To really put this FACT in proper perspective, I’ll provide more specific details in form of an example.

A few years ago, Burt contributed an article to a powerful publication titled “The Most Effective Articles Ever – By The World’s Top Marketers“. That 574 page ebook features timeless marketing advice from 71 of the world’s top marketers – including Jack Trout, Joe Vitale, Yanik Silver…and Burt Dubin.

That’s ample proof that (in addition to Public Speaking), Burt would be a great resource to learn business marketing from!

Full Disclosure: I represent Burt as Sole Agent for his products/services, which means if YOU buy from him, I get paid.

But that’s NOT the main reason I represent and recommend him. I have benefited in many ways by learning from Burt. Through his writing, his audio recordings, and from directly relating with him.

Before we teamed up in 2011, I’d been studying his work and adapting it to succeed in my work from way back in 2002. It does not matter what part of the world you’re in. If you know how to adapt them to suit your peculiar local needs, Burt’s ideas and strategies WILL work for you. I am living proof of it!

That’s why I never tire of CONFIDENTLY recommending him to others.

If you need help putting the ideas shared above to use, let me know HERE.

Click here to tell me which of Burt’s speaker mentoring products or services you are interested in.

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

Learn about Burt Dubin’s speaker mentoring products (books, audios etc) below…

If you need help purchasing ANY of Burt’s products (like “Presentation Magic”), call me on +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic, my base) or +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or email tayo@tksola.com

Have a great week :-))

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

SPECIAL PRODUCT FEATURE

“Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets”

In this offer, Burt Dubin promises to show you how to generate PASSIVE incomes streams WHETHER YOU SPEAK OR NOT.

Plus, you learn a proven shortcut to top level speaking business success across corporate markets.

So, with diligent persistent application of what you learn you’ll start (as Burt says)…”bringing home high speaking fees”…whether you speak or not…in a matter of weeks….

Sooner than later you’ll find you’re ready to go for Burt’s mentoring at Diamond or higher Inner Circle membership level.

The best part is: every cent of your fee to purchase this product counts toward your membership in Burt’s Inner Circle.

In other words, you effectively get to eat your cake and still have it!

CLICK HERE to get full details of what it takes to make yourself a true speaking business champion in Burt’s Boot Camp V: Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets

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

Get Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring
for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

Useful Resources for Speakers

177 Wow! Wow!

Showmanship Stratagems

Discover these secrets of making your programs more interesting and valuable to your clients and audiences now.

more information

Burt’s Flagship Album

This is the product to own if you can own only one. Why? Because in it you discover principles of platform mastership available to you nowhere else at any price.

You hear performance strategies you can emulate. You shorten your learning curve. You see ways to engage and delight audiences with both content and stories . . . plus you experience a bit of fun.

With its Money back if not delighted Guarantee hardly any are returned.

Find out why

Presentation Magic

A live example, including a complete audio recording of a program Burt created from scratch–on a topic he knew nothing about and never, ever presented before! See how you, guided by your personal Learning Guide, (Presentation Magic), can do this too and thrill audiences as often as you want.

Presentation Magic Manual with new pages added plus 3 audio CDs.

more information

How To Create a Great Program Manual

Discover how you can produce a precious memento of you and your program. Capture over 44 model pages you can easily adapt for your use. Engage proven principles that add value to the experience of sitting at your feet and learning from you.

This is a reprise of the historic presentation that launched the Speaking Success System.

No copy of this 2 CD program and 50 page Learning Guide has ever been returned.

more information

*******

NEW: Speaking Ideas: 25 Articles and True Stories for Experts Who Speak and Those Aspiring (Volume 1)

Download above PDF

******

NEW: KUKURU DANGER™: 5 True Stories About the Adventures – & Misadventures! – of a School Age Child Trying to Find Purpose in Life

Download above PDF

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. 202: If People Write You Off ?
[Tuesday]:	THE FARM CEO (Issue 07): Formulating Farm Specific Swine Diets, Feeding L/stock During Feed Shortages, 7 Tips to Reduce Feed Waste and Save Money, Raising Meat Rabbits to Save The World, Farm Software & Worksheets
[Wednesday]:	Why You Are Not Making (Enough) Sales!
[Thursday]:	Your Response to Life’s Challenges Determines How Well You Succeed
[Friday]:	People Who Succeed Are Often Driven By A Compelling Need (True Story About My ExcelVB Income & Expense Manager – Get it for N1,000 instead of N5,000)
[Saturday]:	N/A
Want me to write for you? Click here to send me a message

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*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).

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).

In a previous life, before leaving to become self-employed, Tayo served for seven years as a high performing manager in Guinness Nigeria. He rose from Shift Brewer, to Training & Technical Development Manager, and then later acted in senior management roles as Production Manager and Technical Manager.

He is an Associate Member of the UK Institute & Guild of Brewing, a 1997 National Finalist of the Nigerian Institute of Management’s(NIM) Young Managers’ competition, a Certified Psychometric Test Administrator for Psytech UK, innovator of Spontaneous Coaching for Self-Development™ (SCfS-D™), and Founder of the Self-Development Academy Limited.

When he’s not amazing clients with his superhuman skills (wink), Tayo works as the creative force behind his Daily Self-Development Nuggets blog – on which he also publishes his Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS

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

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

Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring

for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, General, My DN Travel News, Parenting, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

To Succeed, Understand That Suffering Can Be Good for You!

March 14, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Viewing adversity in a positive light(be it in business or everyday life) can sometimes amount to asking too much of some of us. As soon as a problem/difficulty appears to go on for longer than we feel we can tolerate. Or if it happens once too often for us to rationalize, we begin looking for someone or something to blame. Then the “Devil”(poor guy) gets accused of trying to make us fail.

Or someone in the “village” is fingered for “using remote control” to make our fortunes go sour. It can get worse – sometimes friends/relatives tell the affected person s/he must have done something wrong and ask him to pray for God to stop demonic attacks etc. This article presents timeless wisdom (based on testimonies by entrepreneurs of repute), and a narrative of a personal experience, that completely invalidate these frequently perpetuated myths.

Some People (Wrongly) Believe “Suffering” Only Comes To Those Who Do “Wrong”

Certain people wrongly believe that difficulty should never come the way of a person who strives honestly to achieve success – especially if s/he proclaims faith in God. Yet the evidence all around us proves irrevocably that it is often those who have passed through difficulty successfully, that end up achieving the successes they desire.

To drive home the point I’m trying to make here, I will refer to the very illuminating insight offered by a veteran entrepreneur – James R. Cook – in his best selling book “The Start up Entrepreneur”. He said that based on elaborate studies he had done of the lives of hundreds of entrepreneurs, he had come to the conclusion that there is a correlation between the amount of suffering a person undergoes before succeeding, and the degree of success s/he eventually achieves.

Going further, he explained that persons who set big goals for themselves should look forward to enduring long drawn periods of worry and painful adversity, adding that as the amount of suffering endured increases, so is the success ultimately recorded likely to increase too.

What Is The Purpose Of Suffering?

Any aspiring entrepreneur with a sound understanding of the “purpose of adversity” at the back of his/her mind, will be able to face squarely the business of paying his/her dues, ultimately, earning the right to enviable heights of success aimed for.

Jim Rohn advises that we should learn to view life as requiring us to succeed in spite of adversity and not in its absence. This is because, if there is no adversity, there cannot be achievement! Sounds simple – yet it CAN be so difficult to remember when one is going through adversity(I KNOW this because I have been “there” many times!). Which is why reading – as a habit – is essential. Reading helps to maintain mental stamina through repeated contact with words that communicate truths like those Jim Rohn shares, to us, so we can stay strong in those times of true testing.

A Personal Experience

I think I should give a personal example here. Some years ago, I placed an advertisement in The Guardian newspaper for a seminar, only to have a ZERO turnout of attendees on the scheduled date! After discussing about it for a while with a friend, I was able to arrive at 4 major faults with my plans/preparations that could have led to the problem. But rather than leave it at that, I decided to document the experience for use in future seminars as an EXAMPLE of how things can go wrong.

So, while still at the venue, I got my video cameraman to do a 10 minute recording of me, speaking about what had happened and what we believed had led to it. We deliberately added humour to the video clip by showing all the EMPTY seats in the seminar hall, and finally focusing on the wall clock, which showed it was already 1.00pm(planned seminar start time was 11.00am!).
You see, I made up my mind to use the lessons learnt from that “failure” to make myself better in every way possible. The memory of that failure DROVE me to be extra prepared for every project I undertake. And this has helped me win more high profile clients in my work.

It’s a habit I developed years ago – and it made me quite successful when I was in paid employment. Read my article titled “How To Turn A Major Blunder At Work Into A Career Advancement Opportunity ” to learn more.

Summary

So, let me challenge you. From today, stop asking why your plans are not going as well as another person’s. Begin to understand and appreciate the fact that you will have to find YOUR own unique path to achieve YOUR own success, which will require you to periodically deal with the challenge of unpleasant situations, in form of diverse visitations of adversity.

Know today that suffering – or adversity – is not bad – except you see it as bad. The perspective you adopt is what determines whether a particular experience is bad or good for you. If you choose to actively search for, and utilise the (ever present – but often hidden – potential equivalent) benefits of every experience of suffering you undergo, you will be better off for it over time.

PS: This article is based on a piece that was first published online on Submitted On March 22, 2011

Entrepreneurship, General, My DN Travel News, Public Speaking, Self-Development

No. 183: To Succeed, You Need to Make Yourself More Appealing

March 2, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

I’ve written articles about many heart breaking struggles I passed through, to achieve the growing success I now enjoy as a Location Independent Multipreneur. However, rather than moan about the “suffering” I endured, I want to point out that I NOW succeed MAINLY because I NEVER quit, during those hard times!

SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE

Publication: Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS Newsletter

Date: Monday 2nd March 2015

No:183

Title: To Succeed, You Need to Make Yourself More Appealing

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

Last Week: Read articles published on my blog here

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

Is this email not displaying correctly?

View it in your browser.[Click to view Archives]

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

**********

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 them to me via tayo at tksola dot com. Thanks in advance

No. 183: To Succeed, You Need to Make Yourself More Appealing

For years I struggled to find my feet as an entrepreneur…making mistake after mistake, and falling flat on my face, more times than I care to remember.

Some people close to me, who knew what I was going through (sometimes tactlessly) suggested that I pack it in and “do something else” that was, to them “proven to work”.

For instance, they took serious objection to my demonstrated commitment to offering custom Excel-VB driven software development services to individuals and businesses in Nigeria.

When I mentioned to them that I believed I could get paid to sell such solutions to across Africa and even beyond, I could see the pity they felt for me in their eyes.

[Note to reader: By way of interest, over 70% of my income today, comes from building/selling custom Excel-VB driven apps to a growing international base of Farm CEOs and others. The rest comes from developing Web Marketing Systems, selling information products and speaking/training others based on these solutions I provide.]

One day it struck me that these people often offered their “advice” only when news of my latest failure had broken…

After reflecting a bit, I realized they often wanted to act wise based on the hindsight of MY FALURES!

They never EVER foresaw any of the setbacks I had, talk less of warning me about it.

They never EVER came around to offer me tips on what to do to avoid having setbacks.

In fact, they NEVER EVER had anything useful to tell me about how to achieve my goals.

Instead, anytime they came around, I got the feeling that they just came to “fish” for latest news about how I was doing, so they could go back and discuss with others!

But it takes no special skill to go sniffing around in other people’s affairs – and told me such persons had nothing to say that would be worth acting on. So I formed the habit of pressing a MENTAL DELETE BUTTON anytime they began offering “advice”.

To counter their negativity, I reminded myself of WHY I WAS DOING WHAT I WAS DOING…and re-discovered my core reasons for wanting to succeed (like the following):

a. I want(ed) to provide farm CEOs and others flexible low cost custom software to run their businesses more profitably: so I offer(ed) customizable Excel-VB driven software like my Ration Formulator, Poultry Farm Manager and Payslip Generator.

b. I want(ed) to help them develop long lasting low to zero cost techniques, to find buyers for their products and services faster and with less effort: so I offer(ed) Web Marketing Systems Development.

c. I want(ed) to help everyday people achieve their full God-given potentials: so I offer(ed) educations articles, special reports, books, and other multidisciplinary educational products, and I also offer(ed) learning events (talks, training, coaching/mentoring etc).

NB: My relentless publishing of Best Practice Parenting Articles and Books is relevant here. I am DETERMINED to empower my kids, and those of other willing parents, to succeed smarter in their adult lives – by sharing the mistakes I made. I aim especially to coach them to overcome the limitations imposed on people’s thinking by exposure to conventional schooling, which no one warned me about during MY schooling!

d. I want(ed) to inform, educate and inspire others to be their best in life, by TELLING my stories of achievement in spite of adversity: So I actively got/get more experiences under my belt, which I then use(d) in my writing and especially in my speaking events. My true stories have repeatedly won me the admiration and friendship of total strangers in my “audience”, who sometimes go on to become paying clients!

Over the years, every time I’ve faced hardship, the above reasons have given me a renewed surge of conviction and determination to continue!

Today, I’m glad I NEVER stopped.

If I had quit, I would NOT now have serious minded business owners and those aspiring, as clients, who have joined my Inner Circle as paid members, to gain cost access to my solutions.

Nor would I be preparing to deliver a one hour talk, which – all things being equal – will hold 3 days from now, on Thursday 5th March 2015, where I will speak to Small Business CEOs and Network Marketing Professionals.

Because I DO NOT Quit, My Credentials Never Remain the Same, Making Me Increasingly “Appealing” to my Target Audience

Here’s how it works..

I cannot quit, because my core reasons keep pushing me to do more and be more.

And as I do that, my appeal as a “solution provider” continues to “grow”: People (who fit my target audience profile, and who are READY for my message) naturally feel drawn read or hear what I have to say…

The same will happen to you, for you…IF you do NOT quit!

If you need help putting the ideas shared above to use, let me know HERE.

Click here to tell me which of Burt’s speaker mentoring products or services you are interested in.

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

Learn about Burt Dubin’s speaker mentoring products (books, audios etc) below…

Have a great week :-))

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

SPECIAL PRODUCT FEATURE

“Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets”

In this offer, Burt Dubin promises to show you how to generate PASSIVE incomes streams WHETHER YOU SPEAK OR NOT.

Plus, you learn a proven shortcut to top level speaking business success across corporate markets.

So, with diligent persistent application of what you learn you’ll start (as Burt says)…”bringing home high speaking fees”…whether you speak or not…in a matter of weeks….

Sooner than later you’ll find you’re ready to go for Burt’s mentoring at Diamond or higher Inner Circle membership level.

The best part is: every cent of your fee to purchase this product counts toward your membership in Burt’s Inner Circle.

In other words, you effectively get to eat your cake and still have it!

CLICK HERE to get full details of what it takes to make yourself a true speaking business champion in Burt’s Boot Camp V: Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets

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

Get Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring
for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)


SD Nuggets Blog™	New posts from last week that may interest you! *
Public Speaking[Monday]:	No. 182: You Need to Persevere and Innovate In spite of Adversity
Entrepreneurship[Tuesday]:	7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Spend Money (Hint: If You Worry About Paying More Than You Should, THIS Article is for YOU!)
Farm Business [Wednesday]:	Does Your Website Repay the Money You Spend to Keep it Online? (If NOT, Here’s How to Make It Do So!)
Farm Business [Thursday]:	Preparing Young People To Become Successful Adults – Using Extracurricular Activities
Entrepreneurship [Friday]:	To Succeed, Your Child Needs to Develop Purpose in Life
Parenting [Saturday]:	Speaking Ideas: The 90 Word Secret To Remembering Your Speech Outline
Learning Event [Sunday]:	[Coming Up…FREE ONE Hour Talk!] Spend Less Money & Time to Make Customers Find & Contact You, Even While You Sleep (True Stories About How)! – Thursday 5th March 2015
Want me to write for you? Click here to send me a message

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*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

Farm Businesses and others.

Since 2002, he has earned multiple streams of income providing individuals and organisations with personal development training and coaching, custom MS Excel-VB solutions, web marketing systems/web hosting,

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

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

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

Useful Resources for Speakers

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

Burt Dubin’s monthly Speaking Biz Strategies Letter [Signup & get a 7-Part Email Course on “How To Succeed And Get Paid As A Professional Speaker“]

Get Burt’s mentoring at any of the 3 levels below:

1. Top Shelf [Click here]

2. Mid Range [Click here]

3. Budget Delight [Click here]

Publications

Burt Dubin’s latest book: “On Being a Master”

Download Chapter 1 Preview as PDF

Visit the “On Being a Master” website

177 Wow! Wow!

Showmanship Stratagems

Discover these secrets of making your programs more interesting and valuable to your clients and audiences now.

more information

Burt’s Flagship Album

This is the product to own if you can own only one. Why? Because in it you discover principles of platform mastership available to you nowhere else at any price.

With its Money back if not delighted Guarantee hardly any are returned.

Find out why

Presentation Magic

Presentation Magic Manual with new pages added plus 3 audio CDs.

more information

How To Create a Great Program Manual

This is a reprise of the historic presentation that launched the Speaking Success System.

No copy of this 2 CD program and 50 page Learning Guide has ever been returned.

more information

Smart Exercising Will Keep You Fit, Healthy and Alive - Click to read

*******

NEW: Speaking Ideas: 25 Articles and True Stories for Experts Who Speak and Those Aspiring (Volume 1)

Download above PDF

******

NEW: Get 2 Real Life Poultry Layer Farm Start-up Business Plans (PLUS Customization)!

Download above PDF

*******

New Ebook (55 pages): Best Practice Farm Management (& Performance Measurement) for Profits – No. 1 of 4

Download above PDF

*******

New Ebook (57 pages): Farm Business Start-up (Information, Education & Inspiration) – No. 2 of 4

Download above PDF

*******

New Ebook (55 pages): Best Practice Livestock Farm Business Feed Formulation – No. 3 of 4

Download above PDF

*******

New Ebook (58 pages): Best Practice Farm Business Marketing – No. 3 of 4

Download above PDF

*******

NEW: KUKURU DANGER™: 5 True Stories About the Adventures – & Misadventures! – of a School Age Child Trying to Find Purpose in Life

Download above PDF

Download above PDF

*******

NEW: EXCEL-VB DRIVEN POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGER SOFTWARE

Learn more here

*******

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

Click here to learn more

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

Download above PDF

FREE TALK: 3 Zero Cost Strategies to Attract Profitable Buyers for Your Farm Products!

Download above PDF

NEW: Coaching Program for Farm Products Marketing Success

THEY WROTE…

—————————–

*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…

Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring

for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

So being the best at what you do will NOT automatically make YOU BETTER at getting people to pay you to do it, than others NOT as gifted as you are!

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

PII 076 : To Succeed, Your Marketing Should Be Like Breathing i.e. CONTINUOUS!

So being the best at what you do will NOT automatically make YOU BETTER at getting people to pay you to do it, than others NOT as gifted as you are!

I argue in this piece that if you want long term selling success – regardless of any adversity – you will need to make relentless smart marketing a way of life.

Like I always tell clients I coach in the use of Web Marketing Systems (WMS) I develop and implement for them:

You NEED to have an emotional investment in the marketing of your business.

I’ve seen quite a number of people experience poor marketing reach and impact in their businesses, because of this lack of passion.

EXAMPLE: The above is what Richard Branson has done SO WELL for his many different companies over the years.

But not all of us enjoy the advantage of being a ready target for media news hounds!

Entrepreneurs at various levels of success use article writing in the above described manner on a regular basis…

During the pre-Internet days, the idea of marketing to reach a global audience at low to zero cost was more or less unthinkable. Only the big businesses did that, and even for them it was not an easy run.

But quite often s/he needs to know how to go about it, to get the desired results.

My mental attitude is that no amount of marketing is ever too much…

Sadly, I see too many business owners in this part of the world who seriously struggle to adopt this approach to promoting their brands.

Do you want to boost your chances of achieve long term, reliable selling success?

Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

EXCEL-VB DRIVEN POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGER SOFTWARE

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

SDN Blog™

[Tuesday]:

[Friday]:

[Saturday]:

N/A

[Sunday]:

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

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:

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:

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

PII 038: To Succeed, Today’s Agricultural Extension Professionals Need Entrepreneurship and Spreadsheet Automation Skills

I like to think of “Agriculture” as: Farming the Old Way

And I like to think of “Agribusiness” as: Farming the New Way

The case for Extension Professionals With Entrepreneurship and Spreadsheet Automation Skills

Traditional extension experts are often people who take up employment with government agencies or NGOs to support farm businesses in various areas.

In order to play the above role effectively and efficiently, the extension professional will find custom spreadsheet automation know-how to be an invaluable skill to possess.

I say this from over 10 years of providing multidisciplinary extension-type support for farm CEOs within and outside Africa, using the web, and in person. These people go through a lot, and are constantly in need of advisory, as well as resource support.

So, How Do You Equip Your Extension Professionals With Entrepreneurship and Spreadsheet Automation Skills?

Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

EXCEL-VB DRIVEN POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGER SOFTWARE

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

SDN Blog™

N/A

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

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:

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:

Having said the above, let’s be clear about one thing though:

However, once a sale happens, I DO NOT go to sleep!

BELOW: His email informing me of the difficulty he was having, getting the app to run normally…

BELOW: I send him a reply, after speaking on phone with him – adding URLs to a video on how to enable macros etc….

BELOW: He replies to confirm my suspicion that the second possibility (regarding 64bit MS Office) turned out to be the cause of the problem he was having

Final Words

Let’s begin with this popular quote:

What would you do if anyone tries to put you down?

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

PII 022: To Succeed, You Need to Ignore Detractors and RELENTLESSLY Speak/Act With Self-Belief!

Let’s begin with this popular quote:

What would you do if anyone tries to put you down?

This truth illustrated in Ali’s story, applies to Nigeria’s Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

Self-belief will make you unafraid to announce your strengths and achievements to others

Self-belief will also make you willing to take a stand on issues that matter

SDN Blog™

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

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:

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:

The reason: Human Beings dislike problems & often want to eliminate them QUICKLY!

Tayo K. Solagade‘s

Weekly Public Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS Newsletter

GET LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP OF MY INNER CIRCLE (OVER $250 USD!) WHEN YOU BUY BURT DUBIN’S SPEAKER MENTORING PRODUCTS/SERVICES – LEARN MORE HERE!

1 of 2: PUBLIC SPEAKING – To Succeed, Speak to Solve Problems!

The reason: Human Beings dislike problems & often want to eliminate them QUICKLY!

In Nigeria for instance, lack of constant power supply creates a unique challenge not faced in most other countries…

To achieve speaking success with your target audience, address them where they “hurt”!

However, the Nigerians in Nigeria are under much greater pressure to find ways to earn more, without spending, because a chunk of the INCOME they earn is ROUTINELY spent in generating power that government should normally provide them…!

In speaking to your target audience, you must give them workable ideas to use in solving:

In my case, I often go out of my way to find out where the shoe pinches EACH client/member of my target audience – especially those in Nigeria…

One example: Last week, I told the story about a 2 part audio DVD product I purchased, at what I called a criminally LOW price of N100 (half a dollar) per disk.

I told them to tell their boss…

Now, don’t get me wrong. In other climes, it could be smarter to give this out to some “provider”…

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

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

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

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

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

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