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Memoirs of a Lagos City Hustler (LCH) - 2014 #leggo #LCH

Posted by Unknown Selasa, 04 Februari 2014 0 komentar

And kennedy is back! Welcome Ken, we missed you here.

Its the new year, how I miss writing, I guess the slow January got its toll on me. I wasn't all idle, I picked up an e-book on strategic management(for those that are friends with the Flintstones, its an electronic book you can read on a computer or mobile device). Okay, so what is strategic management and how does it affect entrepreneurs?

Strategic management is that aspect of Business that deals with the major intended and emergent initiatives taken by general managers (on behalf of or by the owners), involving utilization of resources, to enhance the performance of an organization in their external environments. It entails specifying the organization's mission, vision and objectives, developing policies and plans, often in terms of projects and programs, which are designed to achieve these objectives, and then allocating resources to implement the policies and plans, projects and programs(long story shey??), simply it is setting an achievable plan, rules, guidelines, mission and vision and you set out to achieve it.

In today's highly competitive business environment, budget-oriented planning(planning with a said amount) or forecast-based planning(anticipating sales) methods are insufficient for a large corporation let alone a small business to survive and prosper. Your business must engage in strategic planning that clearly defines objectives and assesses both the internal and external situation to formulate strategy, implement the strategy, evaluate the progress, and make adjustments as necessary to stay on track.

Environmental factors internal to the business usually can be classified as:
Strengths (S) or Weaknesses (W)
Those external to the firm can be classified as Opportunities (O) or Threats (T).
Such an analysis of the strategic environment is referred to as a SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis provides information that is helpful in matching the firm's resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it operates. It is instrumental in strategy formulation and selection. (Whew...boring shey, let's jump to the cool part)

STRENGTH

A firm's strengths are its resources and capabilities that can be used as a basis for developing a competitive advantage. Examples of such strengths include:
Patents
Strong brand names(not the church-like names, (wait o, what's wrong with a church-like name? Hian))
Good reputation among customers
Cost advantages from proprietary know-how
Exclusive access to high grade raw materials
Favorable access to distribution/delivery networks
Technological know-how
Social media integration and adverts

WEAKNESS

The absence of certain strengths may be viewed as a weakness. For example, each of the following may be considered weaknesses:
lack of patent protection(when you do not brand your products)
a weak brand name
poor reputation among customers
high cost structure
lack of access to the best natural resources
lack of access to key distribution channels
Lack of social media knowledge
In some cases, a weakness may be the flip side of a strength. Take the case in which a firm has a large amount of manufacturing capacity. While this capacity may be considered a strength that competitors do not share, it also may be a considered a weakness if the large investment in manufacturing capacity prevents the firm from reacting quickly to changes in the strategic environment.

OPPORTUNITIES

The external environmental analysis may reveal certain new opportunities for profit and growth. Some examples of such opportunities include:
An unfulfilled customer need(there will always be a customer need that needs to be filled e.g ordering taxi, getting a gift, paying bills, etc)
Arrival of new technologies(eg cashless policy, delivery companies etc)
Loosening of regulations
Removal of international trade barriers

THREATS

Changes in the external environmental also may present threats to the firm. Some examples of such threats include:
Shifts in consumer tastes away from the firm's products
Emergence of substitute products
New regulations
Increased trade barriers

So why not analyse your business today, grab a pen and write out all your strength and edge over your competition; your weakness that makes someone in your genre of business better; foreseeable opportunities in your business and threats posed by either the government or other external sources to your business.
Bear in mind, every weakness can be overturned and fine-tuned into a strength and every threat can be an opportunity(as well as vice versa).

Infact, I challenge you to send me your SWOT analysis to my email for review(tundebisi87@yahoo.com)
Now that we've learnt something new, LCH(the funny and narrative hustler genre resumes next week)
I wish you a very successful business year!!!

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How to stay Motivated.......

Posted by Unknown Minggu, 02 Februari 2014 0 komentar

Sometimes you read stuff from others and you simply have to share. This short piece is from one of my teens at church. I like the points he highlights as well as the way he presents them. We all do need motivation every now and again, so this is worth the read.
Cheers..

Motivation is elusive

Yea, there are many times when you just don't care enough to try.... Found this picture on http://john.do/ and borrowed it because it just captures the struggle to stay motivated

Here are some of the most popular techniques.

1. Take a Break

Taking a break is an obvious fix, but effective. It clears your mind and can even increase your creativity: exposing yourself to new ideas can help you be more creative in your own field. Some people claim to have their best ideas in the shower, or when they’re not actively thinking about

2. Think about Your Customers

One big difference between online businesses and brick-and-mortar stores is the customer interaction, and it affects motivation. While small business owners might see smiles and happy faces all day, other entrepreneurs are (more often than not) staring at their computer screens.

3. Think about Your Team

If you forget why you’re doing this, your cofounders and employees might help remind you. Like your customers, they’re also benefiting from your work: they get exciting jobs and the chance to create something new.

4. Get Social

Talking to other entrepreneurs can be reassuring when you’re feeling down (This worked for me on Friday). In particular, it helps you realize that the ups and downs of start-up life are perfectly normal.

5. Get organized

If motivation is the drive to accomplish something, obviously we can’t feel motivated to do things we think are impossible. So when work starts to feel impossible, you can lose your motivation. To get it back, get organized and convince yourself that you can do it .

6. Do something new

A lack of motivation can also come from a feeling of boredom, and shaking up your routine may be just the ticket.

7. Take responsibility

Many people are drawn to entrepreneurship because of the independence. When motivation wanes, remembering that everything is on your shoulders – your actions will determine the success or failure of your startup – can be a motivator. Deadlines and penalties can motivate, even though they are negative incentives.

8. Learn to get focused.

9. Rediscover your inspiration

This is really the root. Remember why you were ever motivated in the first place: why you’re doing what you’re doing. Suck it up, If all else fails, a few entrepreneurs said, just suck it up. That
basically means: tell yourself that being unmotivated isn't an option. You chose this career, you chose this startup, and you are only one who can keep it going.

.....By Seun Jegede.

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Memoirs of a Lagos City Hustler (LCH) - Part 9 #LCH

Posted by Unknown Rabu, 08 Januari 2014 0 komentar

Its was fun when I'd wake up by 10a.m. when everyone in the house had either gone to work or school, reading a newspaper while taking a dump, seeking attention and getting pseudo-relevance on twitter and other social media.….and GBAM!!! You go to the kitchen, no pot on the cooker and the fridge is locked!!!….like seriously?!….at this point, reality dawns on you…you've become a parasite to even your folks! Close to 27 with over 400 or more applications, 32 calls for interviews, 20 interviews, 12 offers…and still no job(sustainable and secured one I mean) and my parents were pretty fed up with my case and demands. (whiny baby, boo hoo)

Business had been slow and I hadn't paid any bills of late in the house! All I did was sleep, bury myself in my computer locked in my room and eat! Its not that the jobs weren't coming but after being a contract staff on a world bank project, the bar had been raised, I wouldn't settle for anything less! I enrolled for my MBA a while back and that served as an excuse for some time but lectures were just for weekends and ASUU succeeded in dragging an 18 month programme to its third year….what's more, my account balance kept mocking me and the little money I made or raked from my folks went to; recharge cards, loading my nairabet account, subscriptions(DSTV, modem, blackberry and my cute android), investing in the small t-shirt business I had been running and to my sisters(they don’t care if I’m jobless). Though I didn't make extras, I made just enough to get me by in the month….then one day I sat down to retrace my steps, there had to be more to making a living than just getting a job if only I could just put more dedication into all I the work of my hands. The regular street hustle could become a regular business if I streamlined and concentrated efforts on a few, I thought.

I started consulting for other entrepreneurs, sourcing and procuring for firms from toiletries to gadgets, I printed my business cards and next I knew, satisfied customers were referring me to friends, I did not go to school to stroll around computer village looking indifferent from those just trying to make a living. I had become a link between those that have (and are willing to part with) and those that need(and are willing to pay for it). I once bought a cow for an client just coming in from Haaj and a carton of Nollywood movies for a family in London. Yea, I am badht like that!

Now people add me up on BBM just to help them push their wares, upcoming artistes call me to connect them to music sites, event planners and managers call to confirm market prices, friends call to get apps, pastors call to send bulk sms to members etc and oh yea, I call my parents once in every few days since I left their house...no more locked fridges and empty pots; just me calling out on my dreams!

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Memoirs of a Lagos City Hustler (LCH) - Part 8 #LCH

Posted by Unknown Sabtu, 28 Desember 2013 0 komentar

This is my chance to post all the backlogs from my hectic week before. Kennedy was on time with submitting this, it was me, all me. No vex abeg.

LCH 8........

Emeka and Nkiru were taking a romantic walk down the beach one cool night. Emeka grabs Nkiru's hands, draws her closer to him, kisses her & says, "Baby! You know I love you. There's no one here. Its just us. Let's do WEEWEECHU. Nkiru looks around and says, "My love, I don't want to do WEEWEECHU please". Let's just hold hands & cuddle."Emeka agrees. After a while, Emeka asks her again, "Oh baby! Please my love! Let's do WEEWEECHU!"Nkiru replies: "Baby, don't rush me. I don't want to do it. I just want to be wrapped in your arms" Emeka calms down.After a longer while, Emeka couldn't hold it any longer. He says, "My heartbeat, its not fair oh! Let's do WEEWEECHU nah! Since last year oh!" Nkiru reluctantly agrees! So Emeka immediately grabs her closer to him, hugs her tight, brings out the guitar strapped to his back & they both start singing: "WEEWEECHU A MERRY CHRISTMAS! WEEWEECHU A MERRY CHRISTMAS! WEEWEECHU A MERRY CHRISTMAS! AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!" See your dirty minds! What were you thinking WEEWEECHU was?

Okay, I got you there right?! Its the week of Christmas, decorations everywhere, 'Loooooooong' queues at checkouts in the mall, no where to park on Lagos island, busy shoppers bumping into each other in idumota, answani, trade fair etc, cocks have stopped crowing for fear of being killed for the season, crazy church end-of-the-year revival posters, LASTMA and FRSC having a field time on unsuspecting drivers (I had my fair share of this, by the way), Customs seizing anything and everything, 13th month bonuses, hampers(sade berra send mine too), children crying for Christmas clothes, friends booking a spot at your yearly family party and not to forget a Look back into 2013.

I did a survey on all SMEs on my contacts last week, out of 120 interviewed; 85% believed 2013 wasn't good for business, 55% blamed it on the government, some blamed it on the big malls springing up everywhere, some blamed it on companies training everybody on previously respected crafts (events planning, forex, ankara crafts, soap making etc) others blamed it on lack of funds, a few blamed it on the new start-ups like dealdey, jumia, OLX etc. But I noticed a trend about all those that complained, they have not been able to move with the world and adopt social media as a business tool.

In recent years, social media has become a huge and integral component of how people spend their time online. Between wikis, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and many others, people are spending enormous amounts of time on websites used to share information and connect with people. Not surprisingly, people are easily connecting with others and sharing information (and complaints) more than ever before.

Many people get their news, gossip, and friendship updates via social network sites, sometimes even before breakfast from the convenience of their mobile phone or laptop.(OK,let's get geeky a bit) Social media can be defined as a website or internet service that allows users to interact with each other and create content instantaneously. Examples include Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, etc. These online media facilitate conversation as opposed to traditional media, which delivers content but doesn't allow readers/viewers/listeners to participate in the creation or development of the content. Social media allows people to share content such as life updates, pictures, videos, quotes, or anything the user creates or finds interesting and wants to share.

This has made companies adopt social media as a business tool to share product information, get feedback, receive and treat complaints and have a real-time review of their products. Let me quickly iterate two of the famous social media platforms you can adopt for your businesses and how to go about it

FACEBOOK

A typical Facebook page consists of the insights (number of likes, percentage likes per week, reach of post etc), contents (posts, pictures, links, etc) and the overall design. As an SME trying to cover more ground, it is only expected that you have a Facebook page and a standby IT team(your team could be yourself and a sibling or spouse) to constantly monitor and reply posts.

The number of page likes shows how popular the company or business is. This can be boosted by promotions on websites, social media PR companies and referrals/promo from known fans, post boost, Facebook adverts. One could also pay PR companies to get likes (it is an average of 10,000 naira for every 1000 Facebook likes they fetch you).

It is one thing to have a popular Facebook page, it is another to keep it popular, that is where unique content creation, quizzes, quotes etc comes handy.(If you need help opening a facebook page, promoting and/or maintaining it, you should be talking to me...just call me 08059848080)

TWITTER

Twitter is a micro blogging site that allows sharing of information, pictures, videos etc in very few concise words. Online shopping sites and multinationals use it for adverts, product review and promotion as well as complaint reviews. A simple problem can soon turn to a trend on social media and bring down any government, company or individual (look what happened to Justine Sacco!)

Twitter pages unlike Facebook, involve followers rather than likes which creates the illusion of a more interactive platform and the need to satisfy your followers and listen to them. Trends and promotions are easier to start on twitter and PR companies can as well help promote the brand and fetch one followers and/or audience.

Okay I think I spilled too much on social media, I'm yet to receive hampers(hehehehehe....izz true na) from my dear readers, either ways I'm glad you all enjoy reading from us. In case you need any help with social media integration with your business, do not hesitate to give us a call....2013 is going out slowly, get ready for a prosperous new year!

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Memoirs of a Lagos City Hustler (LCH) - Part 7 #LCH

Posted by Unknown Senin, 16 Desember 2013 0 komentar

Part 7......

Let me take you all back memory lane, I was kind of a bully in primary school, I'd always play the thief in "police and thief" and the "police" were scared to catch me. My school bag weighed nothing less than 30kg with stitches that served as war scars, my understanding maths 1-6, brighter grammar, queen's premier,

Macmillan English, all my notes from primary 1-5 were always in my bag and I would cry anytime my mum asked me to remove them. I remember taking at least 15 sharpened pencils to common entrance. I had my brown bata cortina and my Wednesday canvas.

This must be Kennedy and his cronies from way back! hahaha

I remember agbo, edet, wakama and odion, ada, ali and simbi etc, playing that game of opening pages and counting the number of people on the pages, table soccer, baba dudu, sisi pupa, plucking 'fruint', mangoes and apples, inventing things out of nothing, renting bicycles, nicking coins from our parents(we all did that, chai)! I had fun spending holidays with cousins or at the village, going on excursions, watching kiddie vision, waiting for 4pm for TV to come on; clapperboard was the best movie station, telematch, gboro miro, Sunday rendezvous. Such fun memories from the days of parlie soda, limca, tandi, dr pepper, ginger ale, Christmas clothes, cupboard TVs, daewoo racer, spin dial telephones etc

All these were just primary school experiences, some of us had more fun than others but we all had fun......what happened to all that?! Guess we got too busy growing up. Now I flip News channels and all I see is some bad news in Syria, Egypt or turkey or some train and plane crash. The environment is not friendly let alone subtle for we entrepreneurs. They say we(entrepreneurs) contribute mostly to the GDP of the country yet the dividends are hardly visible. We invest so much money, time, driving, bus jumping, backaches and headaches just to break even. Most of our '9-5' colleagues that envy the amount of time that we have to ourselves are the same that mock us when we ask them for loans. The Government isn't doing much about loans and incentives(how would they when they are busy stockpiling for the next election). Just a week back, I was pissed at Mofolusade (what! is Kennedy taking a shot at me, on my own platform?!) for spanking her boys because they refused to sleep, then I thought to myself; if I was out hustling all day and came home deadbeat and some 'fingerlings'(Na you go born fingerlings!) were running round the study while I was trying to calculate my daily expenditure, I'd probably kick them with a timberland boot.

But the honest truth is; we had fun in Primary(and some till university days) and now we decided to work our 'donkeys' off by ourselves while slowly gathering clients and a network of friends in order to build an empire for ourselves. When we all retire(ourselves and our 9-5 colleagues), they would be living off pensions and begging to invest in our businesses while we are on vacation with our laptops split between bloomberg and skype sessions with our staff and the accounts manager on speed dial to confirm cheques. If you are an entrepreneur struggling now, all you have to do is believe in your struggle and see it through. This we will do! No giving up. No sob stories about government and the environment to hold us back.

Its a Monday after-all, I'm outta here....the street is calling my native name. You can always follow and check out my favorite tweets on @4Qhen(I can't assure you sanity, maturity or responsibility though) like they say, I'm responsible for what I say not what you understand.

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Memoirs of a Lagos City Hustler (LCH) - Part 6 #LCH

Posted by Unknown Senin, 09 Desember 2013 0 komentar

Hi.... byeee (that's all I can muster right now). TIRED.COM!!

Part 6......

I was working my ass off on a research paper to submit as draft for my thesis(yes I'm an educated street boy with a MBA), my stupid modem decided to be a draw back and without hesitation, I carried my laptop and biked to the nearest internet Hotspot to continue my research(partly because I was a week due on submission and also wanted to leave my dark evil room that finds a way of keeping me indoors for days). I was minding my own business but couldn't resist noticing this rough guy beside me with an iPad, Blalackberry Q10, iPhone and a car key on his table, also a half bottle of champagne and a Mac Laptop. So much profanity and vanity couldn't let me concentrate besides, his command of English was a laxative to my bowels yet this guy was way richer than me, How?

After like an hour, he asked me if I could mask his IP(for non-geeks, that's when you hide your computer information and it looks like you are browsing from another country), I told him it was easy and did it in a flash and went back to my thesis, he drew his seat beside me and couldn't stop blabbing. He said if anyone else wanted to do it, they would have charged him 10,000 naira and I asked him if he would prefer to pay me rather than shut up to continue whatever he was doing. He begged if he could learn it from me and ordered a bottle of champagne for me, I told the waiter to hold on to it as I put him through. He gave me 30,000 naira after 2-Hours of teaching him.

I found out he was a 'game-boy'(yahoo-yahoo) and when I asked him why he chose that route, he asked me if I would prefer he robbed houses or be a nuisance to the society. I sat him down and gave him a lecture about businesses he could invest in, matured ethics(and not flashing your possessions). He was so intrigued, right there he registered for a course online at the University of Liverpool, we talked about investing in friends and real estate, a frontier business to have and building a house for himself. He was so excited about our discussion that he gave me 20,000 naira extra(don't know why they carry so much cash) and offered to take me out, I turned down his offer nicely and we exchanged numbers,he paid his bill and left.

I went to the bartender and asked how much a bottle of champagne cost and he said 25,000 naira and I politely asked him to refund 20,000 naira for my champagne paid by the dude and keep the extra 5,000 naira. He couldn't stop thanking me(you don't make that much tip in a week) and by the time I left the cafe, I was 70,000 naira richer(that's an average graduate's salary in Lagos) but with an incomplete thesis. I did not mind, I was ready to retry the annoying modem. It was almost closing time for the banks when I rushed in to deposit 65,000 naira into my account.

I do not support scams and frauds, but I see our leaders siphoning the country's wealth, I see no jobs being created, I see a frustrated education system, I see bad roads, I see an environment where entrepreneurs struggle to stay afloat, I see a failing legal and electoral system, I see the social media being used for the wrong reasons, I see petty 'kleptos' being jailed for life while 'politrobbers' ride around with sirens! If sharing knowledge and ideas could fetch me 70,000 naira in 6 hours, I might as well share with the devil himself, what counts at the end is who you impact change and knowledge to and how much money you get.....well I did both and reaped something.

Do have a great week entrepreneurs(and mum-preneurs) and don't forget to impact into someone and make this.......err.......PAPER!!!!

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Who are you?

Posted by Unknown Selasa, 30 Juli 2013 0 komentar

Back to my story, where was I? Aha, the mentoring program.

2012/2013, IBM Women's mentoring challenge.....

The program opened with a bang. Our convener and chief mentor as we christened her, Remi Abere welcomed us and gave us a brief about the program and what to expect. We were introduced to the prospective mentors and had a few sessions with, Peter Evbota and CFA amongst others. CFA, CFA!! This was my first time of being opportuned to listen to Charles Fred Agbata and I was blown away.

The theme for the program was leveraging social media for business. Before this meeting, I would have sworn I had that covered with my plenty facebook page fans and small attempt at twitter. By the time they were through with us, I realized I was still playing. I was merely scratching the surface with my application of twitter and then my Linkedin profile was more or less non-existent! Linkedin was just one of those many sites I joined from boredom and never visited, I didn't even have a profile picture.

I left that meeting feeling rejuvenated with a renewed resolve to go on with Trezorlandia. Before this time I had been hiding my face, not really wanting to come out and present myself as an entrepreneur. Afraid that if I announced myself as a business person and failed, I would have nowhere to run back to. That night however, I got back home, logged on to Linkedin, put up a smart picture and re-defined my title as "Experienced gift solutions provider" and "Entrepreneur"! I put myself out there for the first time and I was not ashamed, not anymore. This was the path I had chosen, this was who I was - Mofolusade Sonaike, the Gift Consultant.

P.S - You wouldn't believe that 50 women were selected for the program and only about 20 or so came through and participated. Imagine.

Life Skills Learnt

Define who you are without fear, it gives you wings to fly. Wear it like a badge of honor, there is dignity in business.
Myles Munroe wrote in his book, "when purpose is unknown, abuse is inevitable". If your family members, neighbors, friends and acquaintances do not know what you do, then there's a problem.
Linkedin is a very useful platform for networking. Join as many groups as are relevant to your industry or business and participate. Ask for recommendations, don't be ashamed to ask people you have worked with to recommend you.

30 July 2013.....

I know I have said this before, but Lagos traffic can finish you! Gosh. Ayam tire. Meanwhile I finally got all my accounts sorted in terms of online access to spool my statements monthly, UBA was the only one outstanding and I finally settled it on Friday.

Guess what happened today? I had purchased this gift card from some Spa Salon for a client's wife's birthday. At the time of purchase I stressed the ladies that attended to me because I wanted the experience to be seamless for my client, so we took time to confirm everything confirm-able under the sun. This is because they had shown one of my clients pepper before, but even more-so because these two were a new pair at the customer service desk, yet again. This is one major challenge with so many businesses, staff turnover is so high and it's not good for business.

With all of that, I still had to answer a distress call from my client's wife today when they were giving her grief at the Spa, telling her the gift card was purchased at their VI branch (Card that I bought from their Ikeja office o! Shioo) and taking forever to confirm the card. What's the point of a gift card if you can't call up the details from the system pronto?!! What did I go through the trouble to ensure everything was properly recorded for? Could this be the rocket science my bosses from my banking days referred to? Hian!

As if that wasn't enough, they now print out the receipt and hand to her at the end of the service!!! Who does that? It's a pre-paid gift card for God's sake. Besides, they already issued a receipt to me at purchase. Awon alakoba. Her hubby didn't find it funny at all, neither did I. But my saving grace was that, I didn't inflate the price and what they got was exactly what I had told her husband they would. I would have lost a client today, because I could have chosen a slightly cheaper treatment, there's no way of knowing really, but I didn't. An extra thousand here and there was not worth doing that for. These people are going to be getting a good lashing from me though. I would cut them off if I could, but for now, they're the best in that area, so we must work this out somehow. Where's that my "Supplier management 101 handout? hehe.

Entrepreneur Tips

Do what you say you would. Things as basic as "I will call you back" make the difference between choosing you and the next competition.
Think long term in all that you do, don't sacrifice long term profit for short term gains
Do something everyday, no matter how small, towards achieving your goals.

Source: http://www.sangay.com/ecuadorguide/thoughts-opinions/just-create-it-defines-you/

Slowly but surely, you will get there.......

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Banking Consolidation........ @asktrezorlandia @oyamagng

Posted by Unknown Jumat, 07 Juni 2013 0 komentar

The Banking Consolidation…..

Enter Soludo with the banking consolidation and reforms, banks were scrambling to survive. It was a case of acquire, get acquired or die. We had to transform as well, we embarked on an overhaul of our IT system, moving from Kapiti (a truly ancient version of it) to finnacle, we also acquired two banks, Nigerian American Merchant bank and Cooperative Development bank! It was a clash of cultures, software systems and accounts.

I know everyone had their fair share of pressure but IT ehn, e no get part two (second to none, for those of you who don’t do pidgin). It was bad enough that we were already perceived as “those people that cause trouble and make our work hard” by other units of the bank, then now there was so much more to deal with. We were doing Monday to Sunday, closing very late and in the midst of this I had to deal with the mainland to island commute and be at work for 7, 7:30 and we wonder why life expectancy has dropped to 45years. Tufia! (i.e God forbid)

It was obvious we needed new direction and a strong leader on management level or close to save our drowning IT unit. Then came Mr. Oni, a high flying all rounder from Accenture. The task ahead of him was huge, but he did all he could to measure up. At this point however, I was feeling like I was in a tornado, no purpose, no direction, no hope. It was that time again, I had to get out…….. To be Contd.

Life Skills Learnt

Be prepared! The banking consolidation favored those who saw the future. They were in the know.
It’s not obvious in the post, but I learnt to “document” every single thing. I would try to tell my boss (before Mr. Oni) something verbally and he would say, “document it” by this he meant through a mail (for mail trail) or a memo. This was a period of immense heat and you could get fired for any slip ups.
I was on every committee you can imagine like the IT steering committee for one, it was like I had secretary written on my head. Well I learnt how to write minutes from being every meeting’s secretary and believe me, it’s a skill! Lol

2013…….06 June, 2013

At the end of each day, especially the not so fruitful days, I sit down and review the day, did I achieve anything, what did I do, what did I not do and then I look for things that I need to do better or new things I need to try. I need to step up my marketing, seriously step it up, this is a no brainer and sounds so very basic, but it is not at all (especially when there is no money!)

I recently found out that one young Ife student who attends my church runs a social media marketing service, Oyamagng; he’s a twitter maestro and is not doing badly for himself. He runs social media campaigns for small growing companies like me. If you run a small business, or need to introduce a new product, you should try them out; encourage young enterprising students who are not yahoo yahooing! Anyway I have engaged the young man, we’re one week into this father’s day campaign and I’m feeling his work.

I now have a new handle called @asktrezorlandia, its dedicated to answering questions about gifts e.g. what can I buy for my boss, what can I buy for my daughter, what kind of flowers should I send for a birthday and so on. I thought about setting it up a while back but never came round to it, then when I engaged oyamagng and gave him his brief voila, I check my twitter timeline and what do I see “introducing #asktrezorlandia a platform for getting ideas for gifts”! Talk about running with a brief, this boy is on fire. So I had no choice but to sharply go and create the handle that had been in the cooler for yonks. I do hope the handle @asktrezorlandia would be to gifts what @Gidi_traffic is to dealing with Lagos traffic. AMEN!!! J

I also finally sent out that mail introducing Trezorlandia as a supplier of corporate gift items to the people on the list I compiled. I figured, I can send to the ones I have for now and I’ll send when I have more. If not I would still be compiling this said list a year from now. By the way, I didn’t get one single reply, imagine that. Maybe I need to re-word the body of the mail or edit the subject, I need ideas! Uncle Leke Alder where are you?

Entrepreneur tips

Do something every day that you haven’t done before. No matter how small. Nothing is irrelevant; continuously improve on the finer details of your business.
Just do it! You’ve been playing with this thought in your head for some time, how do you know it’ll fail without even trying?
Build a team, we know you have skills in every area, still you can’t do everything yourself. Dispel the thought that you have no money to pay for services, consider forming mutually beneficial alliances with people and other companies.

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My first Resignation..... Integrity in Business

Posted by Unknown Rabu, 05 Juni 2013 0 komentar

Fast forward 2004……

All the highs of Tara systems started to wear off when my take home pay could no longer take me home. Something about me (can be good or bad, depends), when I want a change, I want it so badly, I can’t see straight, I start to get very restless, like someone is choking me. It gets really bad and at this point, nothing else matters. So although no job offers had been made from the handful of interviews I had attended, I resigned! My very first resignation letter J, bye bye Seni Williams.

My colleagues then thought, “this girl is mad”. You don’t have another job and you resign, who does that! Oh well, I only sat at home for about 2 weeks, because believe it or not FCMB called me for a final interview, with my 2’2. The interview was with one of the Executive Directors at the time, Biodun Oyapero and I was so sure I wasn't getting the job! You see, I had this fancy CV template I got online and copied “summa cum laude” straight from it because I thought it sounded cool, didn't even know what it meant *embarrassed*. Well, Mr. Oyapero’s eyes went straight there and the discussion was about just that! Yikes! He asked me, were you top of your class and I say no and he goes so why do you have “summa cum laude” on your resume….. blank stare*. He could have thrown me out just then (some interviewers get that nasty), but he was gracious enough to explain what it meant to me before dismissing me. So it was a great shock, a pleasant one too when I got a call to come and pick up my letter. Yaaay me!

Life skills learnt

Don’t just sit there and wait, make a move:
You can seek advice from other people about life decisions, but in the end it all comes back to you. It’s about you, you have to know what you want and go for it. Don’t stay there if it’s not working for you, overcome your fear!

2013…. 04 June 3, 2013

Ok, I know this is not exactly the 4^th of June, but I typed most of this yesterday but didn’t get to post it because of other pressing issues like homework! Doing homework with my older son is like a huge task and I used to leave it to the lesson teacher till I realized he wasn’t really learning anything, yes the assignments were done, but more like a dictation. I am so firing him, but how to do this is a current dilemma I am in! Anyway, so we do homework now and the shouting and screaming that came with it initially has reduced (don’t look at me like that! It’s not easy). I had to tell myself, I survived engineering, I can do this! Yes!

So back to business, the delivery yesterday went well, eventually. The cake survived the long wait without falling apart. Delivering cream cakes is a lot of work. We picked up the cake and headed out but couldn’t reach the recipient to clarify her address on time (the thing with surprises ehn!). That was how we were left holding on to a cream cake in Lagos hot sun. Come and see panic! I had to find a solution fast; I buzzed people I knew in the area. SOS!! Who has a fridge to keep this cake while we try to reach the birthday girl? Luckily my good friend Okwudili has a fridge in his office and was reachable (this too is key in Nigeria, networks can kill you in an emergency).

After a few hours, we reached the birthday girl and guess what the address wasn’t too far from Okwudili’s office, whew! We delivered and were heading back when I reach for my hand bag and find a missing piece of the hair accessory themed hamper there!! Oh no! Not like she would have noticed, it was a surprise gift anyway and there were a lot of things in the hamper already but I couldn’t let it go. At first I thought, I can’t turn back joo, I’ll just keep it and put it in another hamper later but I was uncomfortable. So yea, I turned back. I tried not to look at my staff’s face, sure she was thinking, this madam sef get wahala too much! Whatever! We were in Yaba and had to still go to Adeniyi Jones to customize a bathrobe but I had to give this back. Luckily, we hadn’t gone too far off and the road was free.

All in all, it was a good day; I didn’t open Xero to update my accounts though! Between homework, typing this halfway and dinner, yours truly more or less passed out on the couch.

Entrepreneur tips

Prioritize! In all of your business pursuits make time for the things that matter.
In business you are constantly looking for solutions to problems, apart from the overall problem that you built your business around in the first place. Your brain has to be alert, keep calculating, and keep planning. Perhaps I should call next time before picking the cake, maybe.
You need people, business is not a walk in the park and you can be tempted to bury your head in it and forget family and friends DON’T. After all is said and done, they’re all you’ve got plus, you can’t just spring up out of the blues to ask for help.
Integrity matters. You think you’re trying to prove something to someone else, but no, you need to prove it to yourself. Let it be part of you. You must be known for it if you want to build a sustainable business.

See Pictures below of the cream cake that almost gave up and the birthday hamper

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The beginning..

Posted by Unknown Senin, 03 Juni 2013 0 komentar

2001….

Someone asked what I wanted to be 10years from now and I said I just want to be happy. That’s all I could think of after surviving unilag chemical engineering with no extra year (trust me, this was a big deal! Don’t laugh). Honestly I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do next. I thought of travelling, studying French, acting, anything but more books.

Then that moment comes when you realize you need money to do anything plus you need somewhere to go every day before your parents drive you crazy. This was how I began my job hunt armed with my miserable 2’2 degree. That’s how it now looked to me as doors were slammed in my face. So much for my dreams of plenty oil money! Isho.

A dear friend at the time advised me to consider a career in information technology and this was how I got my first chance with Mr. Seni Williams. Working in Tara was like the best thing that happened to me then. I was full of enthusiasm, eager to learn and try new things and Seni Williams was the type of boss that would throw you into the deep and leave you. It was here that I developed research skills. You couldn’t be given a task and go back to Seni to say, I don’t know. I don’t know ke!! When there was Google and Ayotunde Itayemi (genius! I bet he’ll freak out when he sees his name here. hehe).

Life skills learnt

Unilag – Determination, Hard work, Friendship (I met the most amazing people), Problem analysis and dare I say Chemical Engineering (hahaha)

Nobody is an Island, you need people. I survived chemical engineering because of the wonderful family I had there. Till today many of us are still supporting each other. No business can survive without people, you need a team, you need to know how to relate with, motivate and generally manage your team or else you cannot succeed.

Tara Systems – Research, Just ask (No shame in that), nothing is impossible, IT appreciation, Web design

As an entrepreneur you are constantly doing research, looking for ways to re-invent yourself, your business, keeping yourself abreast of what is trending in your industry, doing research on what the customers want at every point in time (because customer needs and tastes are constantly changing) and so on.

My time in Tara taught me that nothing is impossible; someone somewhere has done what you are trying to do. It’s on Google or just ask your own Ayotunde Itayemi

2013…. 03 June, 2013

A client I had lost contact with called me today. I was so happy, last week was so dry. Business on a Monday is a good sign! And it’s a birthday hamper, putting those things together gives me great joy. Can’t wait for the delivery tomorrow, that look on the recipient’s face when they see the hamper coming their way, priceless!

On the other hand, I am still working on my accounts with Xero, the new accounting software I recently got introduced to. Omo, the thing is not a easy something. Accountants try. We should appreciate what they do. I have a headache but this is because I haven’t really been keeping good records. It’s all scattered everywhere. This is where Mofe comes in, my new accountant; together I hope we can keep proper records going forward.

Entrepreneur tips

- 1. Open a book to record money that comes in and money that goes out in relation to your business daily! That simple. Unless you are running a charity or mom and pop shop (As Seni Williams used to say), you must sort out your accounting. It paints a picture of the state of your business.

- 2. Keep receipts of everything as much as possible. Sort them out week by week. I.e. staple the ones for each week together (I am still trying to get used to this myself, I hate paper!). But you’ll need them for tax and audit.

- 3. Build a customer database with full name, email address and phone number at least. You want to constantly be in touch with your customers. My mentor told me that it costs less in time and money to keep and existing customer than to get a new one. It’s so true.

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About the blog "An Entreprener's journey"

Posted by Unknown 0 komentar

As I sit here and type, my older son is banging on the piano and his baby bro playing a game on my ipad with full blast sound. I am trying not to pull my hair out but I have wanted to do this for ages, write. I have had a few false starts but I keep coming back to this….. WRITE. So here goes nothing.

Entrepreneurship is a journey, a life-long journey, if you’re on this road and on it in Nigeria, then it’s safe to add HARD! Not like it’s easy anywhere else per say, nothing is easy really, heck life itself is hard, but towing the line of entrepreneurship in Nigeria……… nuff said! Nonetheless, succeed we must against all odds. I am not starting this blog to whine about the challenges I face as an entrepreneur nor as a mother of two boys, no! I want to tell the story of an entrepreneur and I hope that as you follow you would learn a thing or two and be inspired to be all that you were made to be.

Believe!

P.S

Here’s how it’s going to be, we’ll have a flashback and then we’ll come back to the present. It’ll be like this till the stories intersect hopefully. I feel the need to include the flashbacks because every little experience contributed to where I am today. This will be summed up at the end of each flashback.

Do not expect pure Queen’s English please, this is a real blog for real people, no embellishments, no forming (as we Nigerians would say, meaning no pretence). Secondly, I am not an expert, I am a learner just like you, so if you don’t agree with my tips or whatever I say, don’t crucify me.

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