Be Your Own Boss (Entrepreneur Movement)

As far as business and entrepreneurship is concerned, branding plays a key role. Let's face it, you are first seen before you are heard. But being a brand is more than just being aesthetically pleasing. We have come to see that personal branding has become more of a necessity and requirement than a mere competitive edge. Unfortunately, many business men and entrepreneurs do not know this and have become prone to personal branding errors. In this post, we will learn of real life personal branding errors and mistakes and how to avoid them.

      We cannot deny how incredibly important social media has become in today's business world. Brands are built with more social media work these days. Unfortunately, if you are a small player or a startup, getting the attention of people on social media can prove to be a herculean task.  It is at this point that you need to focus on getting the attention of a social influencer just so you can leverage on their already established popularity. It is not as easy as it sounds but with the steps written here, you wont find it as hard as most people do. Influence

     Rockefeller Foundation Cassava Innovation Challenge, a global competition offering up to $1 million in funding to novel solutions that can increase the shelf life of cassava. Cassava Innovation Challenge 

      Before you ask,  No,  this is neither a fraudulent get rich quick scheme or a bunch of BS. It is facts we all know but for one reason or another have chosen to ignore and relegate to the deepest recesses of our mind.  Let's start with a story of two men Money Growth 

      There are several reasons to open a website.  For a vast majority,  it is to make money,  adding value comes later.  But how do you make money on a website that can not even keep it's readers? You may have tried your best,  paid for ads,  spammed several pages and tried every means necessary,  but it's not working. Internet 

     The most important and fundamental need of any organization is the right kind of people with the right attitude to run the business.  They are called committed employees and their well being as well as their growth should be handled meticulously.      Employers should learn to understand the emotions and personalities of their staff in order to get the best out of them.  A successful businesses is made based on the effort of the team and your business will fail irrespective of your level of commitment if your team is not as committed. A great player does not make a great team.     Below are a few tips to help you grow your employees and assist them in their individual careers: Employees 

     Today,  I won't go on and on and on about how useful social media is for business growth.  There have been earlier posts about  harnessing the power of facebook  and  Snapchat .  Today,  I will be teaching you how to grow your social media presence and followership and trust me,  it can be pretty hard without the right guidance. Social media

      As you begin to to journey into the world of business,  you will realize that a name and reputation play a major role in determining the success of the business.  You will have to make a brand, a reputable one, out of your business.  In your attempt to establish yourself as a major player in whatever field you choose to go into,  there are rules you should play by and mistakes avoid.  Here are some common mistakes to avoid when trying to establish a brand.  Brand

     In recent times social media has become an important tool for marketing.  Businesses that have learnt to use social media have seen significant growth  in revenue and reduction in the cost of advertising.     In the first part   of this social media series,  we learnt how to use facebook to widen our reach and expand our audience. Today, we'll be learning how to use Snapchat to grow our market.  Snapchat 

     Leadership is a skill set every entrepreneur must possess.  Without it. businesses fail,  enterprises crumble and dreams die from wrong decisions.  We all have mentors we look up to and there are lessons we have learnt from their lives  ( business wise and otherwise) . Majority of entrepreneurs see Bill Gates as a role model  ( the ultimate role model)  as a matter of fact,  we have role models who have him as their role model in other words , he's your role model's role model ( pun intended) . If we are to learn about leadership,  we might as well learn from the very best. The man himself. Source: thetab.com

     The first step to starting any business or creating a brand is to have an idea of what you want to do. The idea is the very foundation on which every other thing pertaining to the brand or enterprise is built.  But what exactly makes an idea a good one?  I am of the opinion that it is the return on investment of that idea that determines how good the idea is.   Unfortunately,  it takes more than just a good idea to create a profitable venture. Good ideas on paper do not necessarily translate to success in reality.  What is the reason for this?   Good idea,  bad idea

     Marketing is an essential part of business.  It is the a way to get your brand,  product or service into the consciousness of the consumers.  Marketing takes up a large share of the yearly budget of any enterprise.  It requires immense effort and enough money.  For start-ups,  spending so much on marketing would probably do the business more harm than good because  start-ups work with very limited capital and human resource,  and they cannot correctly predict the effect of their marketing strategy .  There is however a cost effective ( by cost effective,  I mean free)  and more efficient way to do marketing.  They are called CUSTOMERS.  Customers 

      Marketing in the last decade has evolved from just TV adverts, posters and billboards to targeted and customer specific adverts on the internet.  The internet guarantees a wider reach and a bigger audience than TV,  posters and billboards combined. Facebook has been a key player and a veritable tool in the hands of internet markerters,  not just because of the numbers they can provide in terms of audience, but because they can ensure that your post ad gets to an audience interested in it. Let me tell you something creepy ( depending on your stand point) Facebook 

     Time and again,  we have been lectured on the importance of investors in our business. Time and again,  we have told ourselves that our businesses will do better with outside investment.  Time and again,  we have overemphasized the importance of outside investment. For instance,  we are in a period where most of marketing can actually be done on social media and it won't be cost intensive.   Don't get me wrong there comes a time when outside investment becomes a necessity. The question here is,  is your business at that stage yet? Photo credit: foxcitiesregionalnews.com

     Let's say your head has finally been swayed by the thought of the freedom that comes with entrepreneurship,  but you don't have any particular business in mind,  or you are just scared of starting from the scratch.  Buying an existing business may just be your best bet because even if it costs more than starting from the bottom,  it offers less risk.   Photo credit : adwewk.com

     I am not going to pretend it's all sunshine and rainbows when beginning a business.  It hardly ever is.  It's more of sunshine,  thunderstorm, thunderstorm, hurricane,  whirlwind and rainbows.  The failure of some start-ups could cause the owner more than just the financial pain.  It's an unpredictable world out there,  but the signs of  a failed start up remain the same.      Below are some signs you should look out for,  and nip in the bud before it destroys your business. Downward Sloping 

     Are you tired of your day job and intend to start your own,  but still need the security of your day job just in case starting up your start-up (pun intended) does not exactly go well?  There are many others like you,  and the transition can be quite harrowing especially when your day job is not one that gives you joy.  In truth, you may have the ambition,  but sometimes, ambition is not just enough. You need drive and motivation.      Here are some steps to ease you through the transition process and help you avoid them pitfall of discouragement. 9-5 Job

      Nobody ever starts out something with the the intention of failing, if not,  why even start.  However, we are humans, and we make human errors some of which are avoidable and others which we can't control.  In this post,  I'll be writing out tested and proven ways people fail in business to either help you with failing ( hopefully not) or to help you avoid them. All fall down

How does the idea of graduating from the university, starting a business and becoming an instant millionaire in less than six months Sound? Fantastic right?  Yes,  yes it is.  But it is as fantastic as it is unreal.  Things are not usually as easy and you may face a couple of challenges that could eventually kill the dream.  Here's a couple of challenges, Just to give you a heads up.  Expectation, Reality Curve

      Yesterday, I gave out 15 tips for entrepreneurs free of charge ( because I'm good like that ).... Here's another 15 I hope you learn from.