tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51362116410995663132024-03-05T12:01:45.946-08:00Small Business Startups Ideas, Internet Business, Personal Development and Motivational TalksInternet & Small Business Startup Ideas, Motivational Talks, Personal Development and How To Do Just AnythingAdministratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-19274401601130603282013-11-03T17:07:00.000-08:002013-11-03T17:07:02.669-08:00My Personal Letter to Job Seekers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiehP_xULX5q_NRISW2se5bwwzsA6Z0lPZwYdve2qoyuIzuXndcT-OV1-BGmRrXod20FFVJN3c9f0knSD0a3FpoGefT8REmBX8wWUD2XRpQSiJc2_QSwi7j_BUfKEh5o834Nl145VWh2oRJ/s1600/job-seeker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiehP_xULX5q_NRISW2se5bwwzsA6Z0lPZwYdve2qoyuIzuXndcT-OV1-BGmRrXod20FFVJN3c9f0knSD0a3FpoGefT8REmBX8wWUD2XRpQSiJc2_QSwi7j_BUfKEh5o834Nl145VWh2oRJ/s1600/job-seeker.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>" This piece was originally written as a note on my Facebook Page in July 15, 2011. Still a good read. Please read and share"</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">
I woke up this morning thinking about a lot of things especially issues concerning the thousands if not millions of graduates hovering the streets in search of a job; most graduates spend half of their day in a cyber cafe blasting CVs and it could be frustrating that you hardly even get an invite. Most of the top jobs have been hijacked and the openings are just for formality's sake. Only the lucky ones are being picked from the 1-10 slots left open for the public. Considering this scenario, do you possibly think we can all be employed? Every quarter of the year thousands of youths leave the NYSC program, some get jobs ASAP (Those with longer legs) and the others join the already increasing number of jobless graduates. Youths are frustrated and most of them end up doing yahoo yahoo and for the ladies, they just take a trip to Abuja or Port Harcourt to hustle. Is this what we bargained for? After 4, 5, 6 years of </div>
<a name='more'></a>Education, It seems like a waste, does it? Well, no knowledge is lost anyway. Minister of information - Labaran Maku spoke on media sometime last month and said it is high time Youths started thinking of what to do with their hands; the private sector cannot employ all graduates and same goes for public sector. Bearing all these in mind I think it is high time we youths employed our sixth sense and start thinking outside the box.<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">
Take a look around you there are opportunities to leverage on, don't but we are just myopic to see this because our brain has been configured to believe that it's just the job we need and we can't do anything else. I once met a graduate of Economics on the street of Abuja, she sells corporate wears and I never knew she is a graduate till she told me. She was so cheerful and lively even though she still wanted a job but at least she had her hands on something. I could not help but marvel at her natural customer service method that drew people to buy from her. Some persons might not be down with this because of pride and the whole “I am graduate feeling," but will you rather stay home asking your folks for N100 everyday to go to the cafe? Is that what you want to do for the rest of your life? Look for things you can do, proffer solutions to people's problems. Read more, acquire a skill and look for loopholes in the economy to leverage on. What about your talents? There has to be something you are good at; if not build an interest in one and learn the ropes!</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">
Nigeria is a blessed land filled with lots of opportunities all we need to do is to comb the hidden green pastures and we get all we want. I hope this helps all job seekers out there.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">
If you like this note share it with your friends.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">
To your success.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">
Ikenna Agina</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-35099113479063995932013-10-24T12:26:00.001-07:002013-10-24T12:26:13.009-07:00How to Create a Product in China (And Make $100k in a Week on Kickstarter)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KNhFatWgLgBd99WLtO4WnJ9dwlgBXLcqmJiu7ic295coaBYyRQ1jXwVXQxb6yU7Xrf-YXGwIlSpSoXvDcIeNLjfb4jK6o2jUWdjyLYvIFOeZvKC7pSTxry1i-n9hcBMCIuJP5Isjzb9_/s1600/Original-Grain-Watches-600x299.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KNhFatWgLgBd99WLtO4WnJ9dwlgBXLcqmJiu7ic295coaBYyRQ1jXwVXQxb6yU7Xrf-YXGwIlSpSoXvDcIeNLjfb4jK6o2jUWdjyLYvIFOeZvKC7pSTxry1i-n9hcBMCIuJP5Isjzb9_/s320/Original-Grain-Watches-600x299.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Last April I decided to take a trip to China and see what kinds of opportunities I could find for myself over there.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I had three potential markets in mind that I wanted to explore:</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wood Watches</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Backpacks for the “flashpacker”</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Opportunities to import <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">into </em>China.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The one I was most excited about at the time were the watches. My girlfriend Tate has a wooden watch that looks pretty cool, is a unique idea, and is a magnate for comments. Everytime she wears it she gets at least 1 or 2 comments asking about it.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There was a ton of potential in the market, as few people had <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">really </em>started looking into opportunities with making watches out of wood.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I enlisted a couple friends of mine who knew more than I did about manufacturing and doing business in China, and headed to one of the world’s largest sourcing events: The Canton Fair.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here you can literally find someone to make you <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">anything </em>you want. Diapers? Check. Sex toys? Yep. Tractors? Mmmmhmmm. Saunas? You got it.</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So obviously there was a plethora of watch companies that will make you <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">exactly </em>what you were looking for. I even found the factory that manufactured Tate’s watch and bought a sample of essentially the same model at a 90% discount.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, for various reasons I decided it wasn’t the right time for <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">me</em> to start manufacturing. I simply had the other things that I needed to focus on more.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Enter Ryan Beltran.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A good friend and travel companion, he also had a huge interest in watches and saw the same potential as me when we first showed up at the fair.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The difference between us?</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He ran with the idea, and has made almost $100k in his first week on Kickstarter for his latest line of wood watches, Original Grain.</span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ryan is one of the coolest guys I know and has worked his ass off to make this business a reality.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Few people are out there providing <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">really </em>good information on what it takes to not only create a product in China, but to be successful bringing it to market.</span></div>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_5616" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; color: #111111; float: right; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.571em 1.571em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; width: 300px;">
<a href="http://www.seanogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/sean-and-beltran-tuk-tuk.jpg" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Sean Ogle and Ryan Beltran in a Tuk Tuk" class="size-medium wp-image-5616" height="225" src="http://www.seanogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/sean-and-beltran-tuk-tuk-300x225.jpg" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="" width="300" /></span></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ryan and I Tuk Tuk'n in Cambodia last month (notice that sweet watch of his)</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Because of this I wanted to do an interview with him talking about the process for developing the watch, raising the money on Kickstarter, and ultimately, providing a roadmap for others considering doing something similar.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I emailed him some of the most pressing questions I had, below are his answers:</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Where do you even begin looking for people who can actually make a product for you?</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Once you’ve determined the product you’d like sell, knowing where to look for suppliers can easily seem like one of the most overwhelming tasks on your list. Thankfully for me, the largest trade show in China (<a href="http://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Canton Fair">The Canton Fair</a>) was just a quick train ride away. Spanning over three weeks with three different phases, you can literally find any and all products there.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you do decide to invest in a trip to attend the fair, the key is to have a well established game plan prior to going. I can still vividly remember the first time I walked into that massive complex and having no idea where to begin. However, if you come prepared with specific products in mind you can get started from day one meeting with suppliers and setting up visits later that week. I’d highly recommend attending The Canton Fair or similar trade shows to find manufacturers and inspire your product ideas even further.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">If I can’t make it over to a sourcing fair, where should I go? Can I still do this?</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Absolutely. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">For those without the start-up budget to travel and attend a sourcing fair, other alternatives do exist. I’m sure most people are aware of websites like</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://www.alibaba.com/" style="color: #2361a1; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Ali Baba">Ali Baba</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, where you can virtually search for any product and find more suppliers than you’d ever need. This is great place to start. But you’ve gotta be really careful, quality control is</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><em style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">really </em><span style="font-family: inherit;">difficult when you’re not on the ground, and you never quite know what you’re going to get. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is why going to someplace like the Canton Fair is so nice, because you can feel samples of other products and get an idea of the quality. Sean and I went through literally dozens of watch manufacturers and only found a handful that were up to my standards for Original Grain.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you’re really serious about doing this without going to China, you’re best bet is to get in touch with someone on the ground there who knows what they’re doing.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have a couple American friends who do nothing but sourcing for a living, getting in touch with someone like that will ensure that you enter the process with your eyes wide open.</span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">So, the initial idea was for a wood watch. You took it even farther than I could have envisioned, how did you evolve it into something so unique?</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This initial idea goes way back to my original research into the watch market and stemmed from the fact that there was minimal competition. Once we left the fair and I’d determined there truly was a need in this niche, I knew there was one more thing to do…niche down even further and come up with something that hadn’t been done before. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">After talking with consumers, we learned some of the big problems with other products out there were a lack of durability, little reliability in the cheap Chinese movements, and a lack of “day-to-day” wearability. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I went to work, and the result was a hybrid design that features 100% all-natural wood and stainless steel. The evolution was definitely a little more complicated than that, but at the end of the day my goal was to offer an innovative and simply better alternative to the current wood watches available, that you could wear day in and day out in any situation.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">How did you design it? Can the factories pretty much do anything you want?</span></strong></h3>
<div>
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The design process was easily one of the most exciting parts about taking the watch from concept to physical prototype. If you want to create it, you can find a factory to make it. I’m by no means a professional designer, but my previous background in product development definitely made things easier.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Factories are generally very helpful when it comes to developing your product. In my experience with these watches specifically, they had an in-house team of designers that were able to help refine things prior to making a prototype. As a side note, having someone who can speak the native language is essential if you need a lot of help with this. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is also another benefit of being close to the manufacturer, I could hop on a train and meet in person with the team that was actually creating my watch. We made a lot of changes in the early going that I simply don’t think would be possible if I wasn’t there in person. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">What sets you watch apart from other similar watches? (Inspiration, high quality materials etc)</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The number one thing that sets my watch apart from others is the design. It truly is unique. Second, these watches offer a much higher quality feel than their competitors. By incorporating wood and stainless steel into the design, I was able to give it that natural wood look, with a more classic and “real watch” feel.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We source the majority of our materials and parts from around the world, and the factories were a huge help in facilitating that process. For instance, we didn’t want a cheap movement. We wanted the watch to be reliable, and still affordable. So we went with one of the most well-regarded Japanese movements out there. In terms of perceived quality, it’s second only to Swiss movements, which cost many multiples more.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We also sourced our own wood from various countries. <span style="line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">We don’t alter the wood’s natural color, but simply give a protective polish that will maintain it’s original look. </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">How much time did it take from idea to having a working prototype? What big changes took place?</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had the initial idea back in May of 2012 when Sean was in China, sat on it for a while, and then decided to really make it happen in July. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19px;">Once you find a reliable, quality supplier to manufacture your product the timeline really isn’t that long to have a working prototype. You have to understand the fact that these factories are extremely good at what they do and can pump things out in a hurry. Once I had the initial designs ready, it took about a month to receive a prototype. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The majority of your time will be spent tweaking designs and finalizing everything. For example, I had to purchase new molds for the case and band, I shaved off fractions of a millimeter from the wood bezel, and slightly altered my face designs. All of which takes time.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Are there minimum order quantities you have to have to even get a factory to work with you?</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></strong><span style="line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The minimum order quantity (MOQ ) levels will vary depending on the product.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course the cheaper your per unit cost is, the higher the MOQ and vice-versa. When I first started to manufacture products in China, I thought there was little wiggle room to negotiate the minimum order with factories, but what I’ve found is they are actually pretty flexible. This is yet another reason why it’s beneficial to visit the factory in person, as they will be more likely to work with you on this if you do so.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Very rarely is the initially quoted MOQ going to be a deal breaker if you can’t meet their requirement.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">What are all of the costs associated with the manufacturing process? (Design, Proto development, QC,)</span></strong></h3>
<div>
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This will vary by the product you’re dealing with and from person to person depending on skill set, where you live, and personal preference. If you have the ability to do the design yourself then you can factor out that cost. Prototypes can add up quickly if you need to make a lot of adjustments. For example, I had to purchase molds for my watch case and band in order to get the exact specifications I wanted. Then purchase samples to test color combinations and different face designs. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Quality control comes down to your preference, time, and location. For me, I was able to be on the ground from start to finish. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But for most I assume this is not the case. I would suggest for those who are not able to either go visit the factory at all or do quality control, hire out someone to do this for them. Absolutely do not try and do this from your home country and outsource with no help from someone on the ground. And I strongly advise you make a visit to see your factory at some point.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If I were to put a rough estimate on the amount of money one should expect to spend starting a similar type of project, I’d say $5,000…on the high end. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">That would easily get you through the design stage, into factory samples and prototypes with more precise specifications, and a final product with packaging. I’d even go so far to say this much initial capital could get you to China for a factory visit. At that point, you’re going to be a little strapped for cash to market your product/business or get a super baller website, but that’s why platforms like Kickstarter are so great!</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.seanogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ok-kickstarter.png" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Original Grain" class="aligncenter wp-image-5625" height="307" src="http://www.seanogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ok-kickstarter.png" style="border: none; clear: both; display: block; float: none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px;" title="OG kickstarter" width="594" /></span></a></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></strong></h3>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Now let’s jump into the fun stuff. Kickstarter. $25k in 24 hours, going on closer to $100k now after almost a week. What do you think led to so much fast success?</span></strong></h3>
<div>
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As I’m sure most of you know, the key for success with any online business is generating traffic.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, prior to launch that was my number one priority. I reached out to everyone I knew. I told them all about my project and launch date, and really tried to get as many people to contribute in the first few hours of going live as I could. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">No one wants to be the first person to join something, so if I could get the people that had already committed to donating to do so early, I knew that could be a big factor in building momentum.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the biggest unexpected factors was receiving enough momentum to land on the front page of Kickstarter in their “popular” category – which generated even more traffic. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19px;">I had my goal of $10,000 reached in less than 5 hours and I truly believe it was huge for creating a buzz around the project. Who doesn’t want to hop on a fast moving train?</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Your video looks sweet, how’d you put it together? Did you have any experience?</span></strong></h3>
<div>
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This question makes me laugh for a number of reasons. First and foremost, let me come right out and say that I literally had zero hours, minutes, or seconds in video editing experience prior to making the Kickstarter video. That being said, I too was pretty amazed with the finished version. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Like all things when you’re starting your own business, it was yet again another great learning experience…frustrating at times, but invaluable in the long run. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">One piece of advice I can give when it comes to making a video for Kickstarter, is do your research. Watch countless videos, especially projects similar to yours (that were successful), and see what they did. Take bits and pieces from their videos and craft a unique story. People want to connect with you on another level beyond your awesome product.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">With the money you’re raising, what’s next for the brand?</span></strong></h3>
<div>
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ll be honest and say prior to the campaign my answer to the “next steps” question was a little different…for obvious reasons! With the success I’m having and the money I’m raising, knowing where to allocate funds is crucial as I work to manage the growth. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Continuing to build my online presence will remain a priority, however I now have a lot more leverage in finding retailers to carry my brand. Being able to fall back on the fact I’ve received so much demand in only a few days since I launched, immediately establishes a new level of confidence, and more importantly, credibility with my product. With that said, I’m crafting an in-depth sales and marketing strategy to sell my watches beyond an e-commerce platform and extend my reach into as many physical retail outlets as possible. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Exciting times for us at Original Grain and we can’t say thank you enough for all of the support. I welcome an questions people have about the manufacturing process or strategies surrounding the Kickstarter campaign, and will get back to everyone as quickly as possible.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">You Ready to Get Original?</span></strong></h3>
<div>
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m stoked to see how the rest of this year plays out for Ryan and Original Grain. We spent a lot of hours on Tuk Tuks and in the back of buses talking about how he was going to approach this launch, and obviously he did a lot of things right. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ryan was also cool enough to give me a prototype of the maple design, and I get compliments on it every time I wear it. The owner of the highest end watch shop in Portland even said “oh wow, this is a really cool piece” when I took it in to get the links resized.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #111111;">Original Article @ <b><a href="http://www.seanogle.com/entrepreneurship/original-grain-watches-kickstarter" target="_blank">SeanOgle</a></b></span>Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-45125109193652468022013-10-23T07:39:00.000-07:002013-10-23T07:39:14.714-07:00Start a Business on a Low Budget – Let Club080 Help You Today!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBFA6KRb6smDHIakwi2f2BYYKLmSAs53NXdtb9v5G3zELBiEflBjpBsCHG7xotPSa_LpM0E_Cm3VdeqdmWkHyQTmQ0tSnEMzSh7P5nkiD5QG6y8z7LxaeFq8VaFwkvr8v04hzMpcE2njS/s1600/club080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBFA6KRb6smDHIakwi2f2BYYKLmSAs53NXdtb9v5G3zELBiEflBjpBsCHG7xotPSa_LpM0E_Cm3VdeqdmWkHyQTmQ0tSnEMzSh7P5nkiD5QG6y8z7LxaeFq8VaFwkvr8v04hzMpcE2njS/s320/club080.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
Do you
want to start a business and don’t know how to go about it? Have you tried
investing your money in several schemes and got ripped off? Are you on a low
budget but want to start up something to keep you going? Guess what? You can
start a business with as low as N10,000 and as high as N100,000. However, your
earning potentials depend on how much you start with; as you already know in
business world, that’s why the rich get richer! Sometimes, building a business
from scratch could have its own problems, challenges, high level of risk and
uncertainty. Leveraging on an already existing system is not a bad idea. Why do
you think people invest in stocks? Good news is Club080 provides a platform for
‘would be entrepreneurs’ to start up their own business stress free. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75"
coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe"
filled="f" stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/>
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/>
</v:formulas>
<v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/>
<o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/>
</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_13" o:spid="_x0000_i1031" type="#_x0000_t75"
style='width:168pt;height:114pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\CHIOMA\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg"
o:title="club080"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b></div>
<a name='more'></a><b>About Club080<o:p></o:p></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
A 100%
Nigerian business, Club080 was founded by seasoned eBusiness pro, Philip Obin,
after over 10 years of researches and active participation in the telecom
industry. It's a pet project of Potech Integarted Services Ltd., an eBusiness
firm registered and incorporated with the Corporate Affairs Commission with RC
no: 937279 and Tax Identification number (TIN): 14660751-0001.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
Potech
Ltd. has continued to comply with all necessary business regulations in Nigeria
and has continued to support growing entrepreneurs and businesses.Club080
recently signed up ace Nollywood Entertainers, Segun Arinze and Zack Orji as
brand ambassadors and gladly wish to admit that the endorsement and vote of
confidence passed on the business by these credible veterans have been a massive
driving force to the business. Some of Potech's clients include Crownrise
Finance & Investments Plc, Panasonic Nigeria, Actors Guild of Nigeria
(AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Hebron Harvest Ministries
(Thailand), Rudder Blade Productions (USA), Wellstocked Nigeria Ltd., Port
express Services Ltd., Nebstech Ltd., Associated Biotechnology Ltd., The Yoruba
Youth Congress (YYC). Other clients are Dowen College, Lekki phase1, Lagos
Preparatory School, Ikoyi Lagos among others.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Benefits of Club080<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Become a Mobile Gadgets Dealer<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
When you
join Club080.com you qualify to become electronic gadgets dealer or reseller;
which means you will have your own website like www.club080.com/1234 created
and hosted for you FREE, where you can sell various electronic gadgets such as
Smart Phones (Blackberry, Samsung, Nokia Tecno + more), Tabs & Laptops -
fully funded by Club080 so all you'll need to do is sit back, sell and keep 90%
of the profits.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Become a Mobile Money Agent<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
As part
of our business empowerment initiative, we train our members to become
certified mobile money agents, to assist the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in
achieving its goal of a cashless Nigeria. This is another fast selling and
highly profitable business for our members. As Mobile Money Agents, our members
serve as mini banks where people can do limited banking and other related
transactions such as cash deposits/withdrawals, funds transfer to all Nigerian
banks, issuance of ATM cards, bill payments such as PHCN, DSTV, Startimes +
others. With this, members automatically become recharge card resellers</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Become Recharge Card/Voucher Agent<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
Recharge
card printing business is a very lucrative business that has turned many poor
Nigerians into wealthy individuals. Club080 has just sealed a deal with all the
major telecom companies in Nigeria. With this, it’s now very easy for you to
start the business as a member, and you could do it on a part time or full time
basis. You will be thought how to generate or print vouchers of all major
networks, including Glo, MTN, Airtel, Etisalat, Visafone + others. We empower
with all the tools needed, once you join Club080.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Members' ATM Cards<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
All paid
members are entitled to FREE special ATM cards. With this, members' commissions
are paid directly into their ATM cards, anytime and day, including Saturdays
and Sundays, to allow members unlimited access to their hard earned cash. While
this option has proven to be very helpful, members, however, reserve the right
demand that their commissions be paid directly into their bank accounts, which
can also be done anytime and any day of the week. Other payout channels are
Paypal and Liberty Reserve.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Members' Training<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
Members
who signed up for Bronze and Silver membership have access only to Club080
online library, where they learn a lot about understanding, starting,
promoting, supporting and sustaining their businesses, especially through the
use of social media. In addition, Gold members have access to our one-on-one
physical training programmes in Lagos where they also stand the opportunity of
meeting with other members of the club, share ideas, challenges, proffer
solutions and learn from their individual experiences. This is, perhaps, about
the most interesting part of the whole programme.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">6.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Club080 Special deals<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
The
Club080 special deal is a mind-blowing aspect of this programme that favours
members as well as the public at large. It’s a branch of the programme that
allows Club080 go into synergy or strategic partnership with individuals and
corporate organizations wishing to introduce new brands into the market or
simply leverage on the effective and unique power of the Club080 network in
reaching out to every home in Nigeria with their products and service.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
Here,
Club080 secures deals with such partners to help sell their products and
services on commission basis. For example, Mr. ‘A’ has just completed a 200
million naira property and wants to sell it out and considered Club080 the
perfect platform to use for quick results, having considered the large and
active number of members connected to the network. Club080 then agrees to take
5% (ten million naira) of the selling price of the property, then goes ahead to
announce and publish the property to all members via SMS, email and
www.club080.com, asking members to get a buyer for the mentioned property and
earn five million naira (50% of Club080’s commission). With such attractive
offer, all members would immediately start looking for buyers and before you
know it, a lucky member would have got a buyer and lands himself five million
naira commission. Isn’t this awesome?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
For the
special deals, qualified team ensures a concrete agreement with any partner or
group interested in using the Club080 platform to sell their products or
service to avoid litigations as well as indemnify Club080 from any and all
risks that may arise in the ordinary course of the partnership deal. Other
factors to be considered may include exclusivity of rights to products and/or
services sales, quality of products and services, legitimacy and integrity of
such prospective partners – for the utmost interest of Club080 and its members.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Invite text messages (SMS)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
Between
250 - 1,000 units of SMS as seen on above table, are automatically
credited/added to your account on signup. This is to assist you to send
automated invites to all or some phone contacts you might have in your phone,
inviting them to join the club as your downlines. You can also buy more SMS
units from Club080 to enable invite more people.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
For
example, if you are registered as a Gold member, you earn 1,000 SMS units (text
messages). This means that you can instantly send a predefined invites via text
message (SMS) to about 1,000 people if you have access to up to 1,000 mobile
phone numbers. With this, you stand a chance of getting between 10 to 100 new
people to join Club080 through you, out of the 1,000 people invited via SMS.
This alone can earn you between N150.000 to N1.500.000.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Upgrading<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
Apart
from the Gold plan, Bronze and Silver membership are upgradeable – meaning that
new prospects have the option of starting from Bronze membership and allowed to
upgrade to any higher plan in the future. In this case, such member only needs
to pay the difference in amount from his current membership plan to the next
one. For example, if Mr. ‘A’ joins as a Bronze member, with N10.000 but now wishes
to upgrade to Gold membership, he only needs to pay the balance of N20.000 to
be migrated to Gold Membership. For all upgrades, no commissions are paid to
original uplines, that is the member who originally introduced them into the
club. This means that if Mr. ‘A’ refers Mr. ‘B’ into the club on bronze
membership of N10.000, the day Mr. ‘B’ decides to upgrade to a higher plan of
any amount, Mr. ‘A’ who initially referred him (Mr. ‘B’) into the club gets
nothing in commissions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How to register or upgrade?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
Upgrades
and fresh entries take same simple process. You have the online payment option
as well as bank deposit options. However, online payment remains the best
option as the system automatically activates your account instantly once your
payment goes through. If you are existing member and wish to upgrade your
membership plan, kindly login into your account and click on Membership Upgrade
to upgrade your membership.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Club080 Technology<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
The
programme has been carefully deployed on a 21st century cutting-edge technology
to ensure a hitch free user experience. This means that our technology does the
bulk of the job for you, being an automated system, so you could concentrate on
making the best of the programme.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Membership Commission<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
Club080
unilevel programme has the following five membership plans, with the first and
second plans being upgradeable – meaning that you can always start from plan
one (bronze) and upgrade to a higher level anytime, by paying the difference in
fee.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F2F2F2; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background: whitesmoke; border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: outset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100%px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 37.5pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="background: #7BA565; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 37.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MEMBERSHIP PLANS</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">+ BENEFITS</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #7BA565; border-left: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 37.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">BRONZE</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #7BA565; border-left: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 37.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SILVER</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #7BA565; border-left: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 37.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">GOLD</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #7BA565; border-left: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 37.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">DIAMOND</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #7BA565; border-left: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 37.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">PLATINUM</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-top: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Membership
Activation fee</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">N10,000.00</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">N20,000.00</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">N30,000.00</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">N50,000.00</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">N100,000.00</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: .25in; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-top: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Free SMS to invite</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">people</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">250 SMS</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">500 SMS</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1,000 SMS</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2,500 SMS</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5,000 SMS</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: .25in; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-top: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Commission per
referral</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">50% = N5.000</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">50% = N10.000</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">50% = N15,000</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">50%</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">= N25,000</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">50%</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">= N50,000</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-top: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Commission on
voucher sold</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5%</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5%</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5%</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5%</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5%</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 20.25pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-top: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 20.25pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mobile Money
Business Training</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 20.25pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 20.25pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 20.25pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 20.25pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 20.25pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-top: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mobile Gadgets
Resellership</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-top: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Access to Discounted
Deals</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 19.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 21.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-top: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 21.0pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Recharge Card
Printing Machine</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 21.0pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 21.0pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 21.0pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 21.0pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 21.0pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-top: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 18.75pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Club080 Branded
T-shirt</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 18.75pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">N1,500</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 18.75pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">N1,500</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 18.75pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">N1,500</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 18.75pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">FREE</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 18.75pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">FREE</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: .25in; mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-top: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Member's website</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sub domain</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sub domain</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sub domain</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">YourName.com</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">YourName.com</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 20.25pt; mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-top: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 20.25pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Annual Membership
Renewal</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 20.25pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">FREE</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 20.25pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">FREE</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 20.25pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">FREE</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 20.25pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">FREE</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 20.25pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">FREE</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: .25in; mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-top: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">100 referrer target bonus</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">N300,000.00</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">N300,000.00</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">N300,000.00</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">N300,000.00</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #F9F9F9; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: .25in; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">N300,000.00</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 31.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 13; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background: #8AB076; border-top: none; border: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; height: 31.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.club080.com/index.php?option=com_mlmpromo&view=Register&Itemid=72" title=""Click here to sign up now!" "><span style="color: #7ba566; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_i1030" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="http://www.club080.com/images/signup5.jpg"
href="http://www.club080.com/index.php?option=com_mlmpromo&view=Register&Itemid=72"
title=""Click here to sign up now!"" style='width:75pt;height:28.5pt;
visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square' o:button="t">
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\CHIOMA\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg"
o:title="signup5"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="http://www.club080.com/images/signup5.jpg" border="0" height="38" src="file:///C:/Users/CHIOMA/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image003.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_1" width="100" /><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #8AB076; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 31.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.club080.com/index.php?option=com_mlmpromo&view=Register&Itemid=72" title=""Click here to sign up now!" "><span style="color: #7ba566; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_i1029" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="http://www.club080.com/images/signup5.jpg"
href="http://www.club080.com/index.php?option=com_mlmpromo&view=Register&Itemid=72"
title=""Click here to sign up now!"" style='width:75pt;height:28.5pt;
visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square' o:button="t">
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\CHIOMA\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg"
o:title="signup5"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="http://www.club080.com/images/signup5.jpg" border="0" height="38" src="file:///C:/Users/CHIOMA/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image003.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_2" width="100" /><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #8AB076; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 31.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.club080.com/index.php?option=com_mlmpromo&view=Register&Itemid=72" title=""Click here to sign up now!" "><span style="color: #7ba566; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
id="Picture_x0020_3" o:spid="_x0000_i1028" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="http://www.club080.com/images/signup5.jpg"
href="http://www.club080.com/index.php?option=com_mlmpromo&view=Register&Itemid=72"
title=""Click here to sign up now!"" style='width:75pt;height:28.5pt;
visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square' o:button="t">
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\CHIOMA\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg"
o:title="signup5"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="http://www.club080.com/images/signup5.jpg" border="0" height="38" src="file:///C:/Users/CHIOMA/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image003.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_3" width="100" /><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #8AB076; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 31.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.club080.com/index.php?option=com_mlmpromo&view=Register&Itemid=72" title=""Click here to sign up now!" "><span style="color: #7ba566; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
id="Picture_x0020_4" o:spid="_x0000_i1027" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="http://www.club080.com/images/signup5.jpg"
href="http://www.club080.com/index.php?option=com_mlmpromo&view=Register&Itemid=72"
title=""Click here to sign up now!"" style='width:75pt;height:28.5pt;
visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square' o:button="t">
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\CHIOMA\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg"
o:title="signup5"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="http://www.club080.com/images/signup5.jpg" border="0" height="38" src="file:///C:/Users/CHIOMA/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image003.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_4" width="100" /><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #8AB076; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 31.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://www.club080.com/index.php?option=com_mlmpromo&view=Register&Itemid=72" title=""Click here to sign up now!" "><span style="color: #7ba566; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
id="Picture_x0020_5" o:spid="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="http://www.club080.com/images/signup5.jpg"
href="http://www.club080.com/index.php?option=com_mlmpromo&view=Register&Itemid=72"
title=""Click here to sign up now!"" style='width:75pt;height:28.5pt;
visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square' o:button="t">
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\CHIOMA\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg"
o:title="signup5"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="http://www.club080.com/images/signup5.jpg" border="0" height="38" src="file:///C:/Users/CHIOMA/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image003.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_5" width="100" /><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #8AB076; border-bottom: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: inset #CCCCCC 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 31.5pt; mso-border-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: inset #CCCCCC .75pt; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in; width: 100.0%;" width="100%">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://www.club080.com/index.php?option=com_mlmpromo&view=Register&Itemid=72" title=""Click here to sign up now!" "><span style="color: #7ba566; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
id="Picture_x0020_6" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="http://www.club080.com/images/signup5.jpg"
href="http://www.club080.com/index.php?option=com_mlmpromo&view=Register&Itemid=72"
title=""Click here to sign up now!"" style='width:75pt;height:28.5pt;
visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square' o:button="t">
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\CHIOMA\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg"
o:title="signup5"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="http://www.club080.com/images/signup5.jpg" border="0" height="38" src="file:///C:/Users/CHIOMA/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image003.jpg" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_6" width="100" /><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
This
business model is easy and self explanatory with lots of benefits. You can
start up immediately by visiting <a href="http://www.club080.com/">www.club080.com</a>,
hit on the JOIN FREE tab and enter all your personal details, for the Referrer
Phone Number use <b>08037193840. </b>Hit on
the register button below. You can make either payment by:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Using your ATM card on the portal</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Paying
to the Club080 bank account</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Visiting the Club080 office at No. 20 Adeniran
Ogunsanya, Surulere, Lagos</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
If you
have further questions about this business, please call or text <b>08037193840</b> or add me up on blackberry <b>288cf710 <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
I wish
you the best.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
Ikenna
Agina.</div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-26984579734242660102013-10-23T03:12:00.005-07:002013-10-23T03:12:59.336-07:00Dear Otondo, What Next After NYSC?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdpCHDv92YeQmuZQwmf3rQLbWsVAnGi84UIIvJySK01WliBfZgS8zHT67EhAVN7LZjRDrrwSLM2MlBrlPgbtQmYBrnXv9qVcbW-idtP9qQufL7G9Y1UoJw5uGsli7SHWalCL-K9a7-Jp13/s1600/NYSC-corpers1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdpCHDv92YeQmuZQwmf3rQLbWsVAnGi84UIIvJySK01WliBfZgS8zHT67EhAVN7LZjRDrrwSLM2MlBrlPgbtQmYBrnXv9qVcbW-idtP9qQufL7G9Y1UoJw5uGsli7SHWalCL-K9a7-Jp13/s320/NYSC-corpers1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Last night I decided to write a
letter to the ‘otondos’ of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I got motivated to
write this story after a jobless friend of mine received a phone call from
another very fresh jobless friend; an otondo who had just left the NYSC camp,
she was desperately begging for N200 recharge card. So I whispered to my
friend, ‘does she realize you are jobless?’ My friend responded to her repulsively
in these words <b><i>‘you just left camp, you should be the one sending me card, and don’t
you have savings?’</i></b> Oh! Lest I forget, if you are non-Nigerian, Otondo
is a name commonly used to qualify Nigerian graduates undergoing the one year
compulsory National Youth Service Corp program, the intent of the program is to
prepare the fresh graduates for job market.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>Are Youth Corper reading this
piece? I strongly advice that you read its entirety. If you were once a corper;
it’s also a good read for you. For the majority of you, <b><i>‘ life na per head’</i></b> after
you leave the NYSC camp so it’s high time you started planning in advance
because mehnn… The thing hard for plenty otondo oh! Very few with high connect
get jobs immediately after service year, but for the majority you go send CV
taya, you go call people wey promise you job taya, you go waka go Companies wey
dem no invite you and when you exhaust all your options, the harsh reality of
life sets in… Frustration! It seems like your world is falling apart after
spending 5 years in the University… So sad! What do you do to avert this kind
of situation? Now, this is what I need you to do for me, get a piece of paper
and write down; I am waiting! You ready now?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1.<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: large;">What are your goals?</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1fXOspWk5fvfmYJ3eKxm6plezM4t7D3ufLzQchWKGOd6AR9oLrPua1DFFDYYF_AbnV4EpOXlcxa-SVgRIbPZyasu_B9EvvLnatWR9yrpbVZ7CfuxocVKyxUwITcEXPU3sUGhMX5uC3XKt/s1600/goals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1fXOspWk5fvfmYJ3eKxm6plezM4t7D3ufLzQchWKGOd6AR9oLrPua1DFFDYYF_AbnV4EpOXlcxa-SVgRIbPZyasu_B9EvvLnatWR9yrpbVZ7CfuxocVKyxUwITcEXPU3sUGhMX5uC3XKt/s200/goals.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
Have you ever thought about this?
Honestly, I can’t answer that question for you, it’s imperative that you have a
general sense of what you want to be and how you want to get there. Do you want
to build a career? In what field? Do you want to be a CEO? How do you get there?
Do you want to own your own business? What kind of business specifically?
Starting small or big? How do you raise funds? These questions are left for you
to figure out; it’s okay if you don’t have answers yet. You can wake up in the
middle of the night or whenever is convenient or cool for you to seek answers
to these questions. It doesn’t matter if it’s not detailed from the outset,
just write it down, you can always re-write and make it firmer. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><b>2.<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: large;">What
are you good at doing?</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2wSuG-C1fGjbULc5KQGvK09-Zno_2z-us80oGMviG_2yxvx2JK_Bv7Ki2Ikcl_2VjyiRLoXgOXSzy3Eu7e4cYah1fVyY5io16cpQ1wnEzARQ25-HSHu0tg1yHtp9Rda54Pdo5pjK5YTu3/s1600/goodat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2wSuG-C1fGjbULc5KQGvK09-Zno_2z-us80oGMviG_2yxvx2JK_Bv7Ki2Ikcl_2VjyiRLoXgOXSzy3Eu7e4cYah1fVyY5io16cpQ1wnEzARQ25-HSHu0tg1yHtp9Rda54Pdo5pjK5YTu3/s200/goodat.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
Everyone knows how to do at least
one thing! Look within, there has to be something you can do; don’t just say
nothing! You see, I could write but just never knew how well until I asked
myself the same questions; now I am writing and you are reading my piece, isn’t
that cool? If you intend to work, what are your best work attributes or
strengths? Can you effectively make use of the Microsoft Applications? Can you
relate with people in the most courteous manner? Can you fix computers? Write
down at least 5 things you are good at.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><b>3.<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: large;">Do
you have hobbies you would love to turn into business?</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbhVtGblQwwSQ6xd7NXRCwB91UnkGQ2SQ8QQGXQjZCiNG7R3h1OiJF4GpjcS9HNHrD4DDaXi6w6ojcC5BSXyH8U1CruorLkUKxYWjEogaQR9QmLA5zjiu3Fz1AeCeHFxo2ADJEfBgGyU7-/s1600/hobbies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbhVtGblQwwSQ6xd7NXRCwB91UnkGQ2SQ8QQGXQjZCiNG7R3h1OiJF4GpjcS9HNHrD4DDaXi6w6ojcC5BSXyH8U1CruorLkUKxYWjEogaQR9QmLA5zjiu3Fz1AeCeHFxo2ADJEfBgGyU7-/s200/hobbies.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
For most musicians, music was a
hobby that translated to wealth; they just love what they do and if you notice,
many of them started at a young age; they knew what they wanted right from day
one. Is there something you like doing for passion or pleasure? Can you
leverage on that and form a business around it? During my NYSC days, we had
this performer and entertainer by name ‘Eddy Piper’, hope I got the spelling.
He was the <b><i>‘frigidi frogodo’</i></b> master, whatever that meant, I really don’t
know; that was his music lines. He had a plan to get deployed to silver bird so
he could leverage on their platform in order to accentuate and translate his
hobby into business. I saw his video years back, I was happy for him. Look within;
I am so sure you will find a hobby that can be translated into business. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
If you don’t have answers to the
questions above, it’s okay! This is what you can do, learn a skill. As a Youth
Corper, I believe you have the time to invest in a course; it could be a
weekend class! There are hundreds of skills you can acquire; some of them are
free while some are paid. If you have to pay to get knowledge, please do!
Afterall NYSC allowi is about N20,000, during my time it was N9,750! Once you have
a skill or a hobby, you can research to learn more about what people in that
field are already doing and how they are doing it. The essence of this is to
enable you have a structured plan on what you want to achieve and also set a
timeline to achieve it. What would you do one year after NYSC if you can’t get
a job? In 5 years time, what would you have achieved? Where do you project your
business would have gotten to? </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
The best time to start planning for
your future is now! If you are stuck in between, you can use the help of a
mentor or contact me, I will be willing to give a word or two. Remember, ‘he
who fails to plan, plans to fail’. It’s high time you started thinking outside
the box! You can avoid that ‘ frustrating situation’ right now, you can be that
fulfilled person in the next 5 years instead of the one who nags and complains
about the situation of things. There is no better time to secure your future
but now! </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
Watch out for the next series!</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
I wish you the best.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: center 3.25in; text-align: justify;">
Ikenna Victor Agina</div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-19258516586000807242013-10-21T01:14:00.001-07:002013-10-21T01:14:48.590-07:00What We Wish We’d Known 5 Years Ago – 13 Successful Entrepreneurs <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSg_E8RhX7mTd0u6NaZQHgZ6Z8YqMgpbSSPla2WpWHjqWDJN14P2bl9EjXfrfkb9A0e3Ij1Exrd8YxX4uGSAXQbym0WKQQMh9O06GU3rRi54uJFSHxv4s5qP9HgUcNnXJtMyQ2gtHqVpWj/s1600/success.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSg_E8RhX7mTd0u6NaZQHgZ6Z8YqMgpbSSPla2WpWHjqWDJN14P2bl9EjXfrfkb9A0e3Ij1Exrd8YxX4uGSAXQbym0WKQQMh9O06GU3rRi54uJFSHxv4s5qP9HgUcNnXJtMyQ2gtHqVpWj/s320/success.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Five years ago I was re-doing my last year of high school, managing a retail store full-time and performing in a play five nights a week. Suffice to say I burned out pretty quickly and in hindsight I can see why.<span id="more-3070"></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Hindsight is a grand thing, but we don’t all go through the same experiences, so the hindsight of others can be beneficial to us as well. These 13 successful entrepreneurs and startupers have some great stories to tell, and I thought asking what they wish they knew five years ago would be a great way to find out what advice they have that could benefit us now.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="background-color: white;"></strong></div>
<a name='more'></a><strong style="background-color: white;">“It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” — Soraya Darabi</strong><br />
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">I wish I knew five years ago what people have been telling me for decades: life, and most everything, is a marathon, not a race.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Soraya Darabi is a Co-Founder of <a href="http://www.foodspotting.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Foodspotting</a> and <a href="https://zady.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">ZADY</a>.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">“I wish I was more sure about content marketing.” — Brian Clark</strong></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><strong></strong>Five years ago we made a bet on the term “content marketing,” which is what Copyblogger had been talking about all along without the terminology. That turned out to be a good bet, but I wish I had known how much the industry would explode. Maybe I would have done things differently, maybe not, but being absolutely sure that a billion-dollar industry was being born would have certainly made the bad days easier to get through.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Brian Clark is the CEO of <a href="http://copyblogger.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Copyblogger</a> Media.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">“Innovation is simpler than you think.” — Nate Kontny</strong></div>
<blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(143, 144, 147); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.6; margin: 1em 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 20px 15px 10px; width: auto;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Most of us are stuck thinking innovation is gathering creative geniuses in a room and brainstorming what life will be like in 10 years. You might come up with something impressive, but you’re going to build something no one has any use for.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">I wish someone had told me five years ago how simple innovation can be: study a task someone has, break it out into its individual steps, eliminate as many steps as possible.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">OXO innovates on household items we take for granted like measuring cups. As they watched real people fill up a traditional measuring cup, they saw one of the steps we have is this awkward bending over to see how much liquid was actually in the cup. We’ll do this four or five times trying to get an accurate amount. Innovation was eliminating the awkward bend. They added the measuring cup’s ruler at an angle so you can read from the top. Simple, but only discovered because they spent the time intently watching the steps people took to get a task done and removed one. They sold a couple million of those measuring cups in the first 18 months.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Nate Kontny is the Founder of <a href="http://draftin.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Draft</a>.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">“You can’t be everything for everyone.” — Gary Swart</strong></div>
<blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(143, 144, 147); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.6; margin: 1em 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 20px 15px 10px; width: auto;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">I wish I had known that even the best team with the best product will fail if the target market is not big enough to support pervasive adoption. And after you think big, I’ve learned you have to think small — a company must choose one or two concrete problems to solve and then solve them brilliantly, because a business will never be successful if it tries to be all things to all people.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Gary Swart is the CEO of <a href="http://odesk.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">oDesk</a>.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">“Building a billion-dollar business starts with a decision.” — Dan Martell</strong></div>
<blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(143, 144, 147); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.6; margin: 1em 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 20px 15px 10px; width: auto;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">I wish I knew that the only different between building a $500K dollar business vs. $10M is deciding. It’s that simple. It doesn’t require more time, more intelligence or more know how. It only requires that you decided up front to set that goal, and every decision you made was aligned with that goal Can it be that simple? Trust me, it is.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Dan Martell is the Founder of <a href="http://clarity.fm/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Clarity.fm</a>.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">“You should know about photos and videos.” — Jay Baer</strong></div>
<blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(143, 144, 147); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.6; margin: 1em 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 20px 15px 10px; width: auto;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Five years ago, I wish I knew how quickly our preferred communication mode would shift from the written word, to photos and videos. Today, if you’re in social media and/or content marketing, a working knowledge of photo and video composition and editing is almost a requirement.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Jay Baer is a social media and content marketing strategist at <a href="http://www.convinceandconvert.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Convince and Convert</a> and best-selling author of <a href="http://www.youtilitybook.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Youtility</a>.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">“Think about branding early.” — Kristi Hines</strong></div>
<blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(143, 144, 147); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.6; margin: 1em 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 20px 15px 10px; width: auto;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">One thing I wish I knew when I got started with blogging and building my online presence was that down the road, I would want everything to be branded under my name as opposed to a nickname. Even now, I have to introduce myself twice — once as Kristi Hines, and then when I get the blank stare, again as Kikolani. It’s getting better now that I’m doing a lot of freelance writing under my real name, but there are still times that people only recognize me by my blog name.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Kristi Hines is a freelance writer at <a href="http://kikolani/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Kikolani</a> and runs <a href="http://blogpostpromotion.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">The Ultimate Course in Blog Post Promotion</a>.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">“Build a mailing list from the beginning.” — Adii Pienaar</strong></div>
<blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(143, 144, 147); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.6; margin: 1em 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 20px 15px 10px; width: auto;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">I’ve being blogging and writing since I started in my first business WooThemes. But one of my biggest mistakes was not building a mailing list from the start. It was something that I thought ‘Internet marketers’ did but I didn’t seize the opportunity to speak directly with my readers in my blog. For anyone starting out as a writer, my advice would be to knock up a simple sign up form and start building your mailing list now.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Adii Pienaar is the Founder of <a href="http://publicbeta.co/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">PublicBeta</a>.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">“It’s easier to build a brand on providing a simple solution.” — Rand Fishkin</strong></div>
<blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(143, 144, 147); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.6; margin: 1em 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 20px 15px 10px; width: auto;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Five years ago, I wished I’d known more about software and product development. Specifically these two: 1) that big software projects have to be built in small, iterative, testable chunks and 2) that it’s much easier to build a brand and be known for simple solution that solves one problem than a complex solution that solves many.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Rand Fishkin is the CEO and Founder of <a href="http://moz.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Moz</a>.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">“Learn from mentors.” — Ryan Hoover</strong></div>
<blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(143, 144, 147); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.6; margin: 1em 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 20px 15px 10px; width: auto;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">I wish I recognized the value of mentors earlier in life. If you’re not seeking advice and learning from others’ experiences, you’re not optimizing your time and missing serendipitous opportunities.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Ryan Hoover is the Director of Product at <a href="http://www.playhaven.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">PlayHaven</a> and creator of <a href="http://startupedition.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Startup Edition</a>.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">“Finding product/market fit is harder than I thought.” — Ben Yoskovitz</strong></div>
<blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(143, 144, 147); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.6; margin: 1em 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 20px 15px 10px; width: auto;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">“One thing I wish I knew five years ago (that I learned the hard way!) was just how hard it is to find the intersection between the right product and the right market — what we now call product/market fit. It’s a Herculean task to get there, most don’t make it, and there’s no obvious road.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Having said that, if I can add in one more thing I wish I knew back then, was that there is a process (Lean Startup) that you can use; a framework for de-risking your startup and searching for the right path. That would have been very helpful five years ago!”</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Ben Yoskovitz is VP of Product at <a href="https://goinstant.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">GoInstant</a> and a partner of <a href="http://www.yearonelabs.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Year One Labs</a>.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">“Be patient.” — Kate Matsudaira</strong></div>
<blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(143, 144, 147); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.6; margin: 1em 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 20px 15px 10px; width: auto;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">A year in the world of startups can feel like five years in a larger company, and every year I seem to learn more and more. One thing I have learned over the last five years that has really stood out in my mind, though, is how important it is to be patient.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">You hear these stories of people making $5k in revenue in the first month, or companies that have 100,000 users right off the bat, and so expectations of what is reasonable start to get somewhat distorted. The reality is that many successful businesses are built step by step, and that even the ones who do achieve crazy results have often had a long buildup (through their audience, founders, etc.).</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">I recently read an <a href="http://99u.com/articles/7255/the-jeff-bezos-school-of-long-term-thinking" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">article that quoted Jeff Bezos</a>, in which he said it takes seven years to build a real business. For me, I have had to learn to focus on the long term and not get disappointed when you don’t see the crazy growth numbers often cited in startup success stories. It can take a lot of time for people to notice real value, but if you focus on your customers and building products people love, then you are on a path that — given enough time — will pan out.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://katemats.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Kate Matsudaira</a> is the Founder of <a href="https://popforms.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Popforms</a>.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">“Ask for help.” — Henry Tsai</strong></div>
<blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(143, 144, 147); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.6; margin: 1em 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 20px 15px 10px; width: auto;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">People are so willing to help. Ask for it then pay it forward.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://htsai.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Henry Tsai</a> currently works at Yahoo, and was formerly part of <a href="http://astrid.com/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Astrid</a>.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">This post originally appeared at <a href="http://blog.bufferapp.com/" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;">Buffer</a>. Copyright 2013.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-31581029864797114172013-10-21T01:05:00.002-07:002013-10-21T01:06:19.561-07:00Tomi Davies: “What is the Nigerian dream?” and “Who was or will be the dreamer?” <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLD-Ix6Mdn951KfxW1tWzYqW2toULUpwsTLlM9j6BbvyBj9lH-GoMqUN_ye_oKUHVrjfwlcu_0hFA-eU7Hg6h7iqJZIgWBMt47M7CP_-DHjBIy0sJLVCkHatuBd88ddHdzqd7KFgfLaYB/s1600/Nigerian-Dream-Nigerian-Flag-Tomi-Davies-The-business-aim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLD-Ix6Mdn951KfxW1tWzYqW2toULUpwsTLlM9j6BbvyBj9lH-GoMqUN_ye_oKUHVrjfwlcu_0hFA-eU7Hg6h7iqJZIgWBMt47M7CP_-DHjBIy0sJLVCkHatuBd88ddHdzqd7KFgfLaYB/s320/Nigerian-Dream-Nigerian-Flag-Tomi-Davies-The-business-aim.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">To answer this question I did some thinking and it hit me that Nigeria’s founding fathers of which <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._O._Davies" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">my old man</a> was one actually did have a dream!<span id="more-3105"></span> It was encapsulated in the country’s <a href="http://tasueddb.com/nwht/anthem.php" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">original National Anthem (1960-1978) </a>which I have paraphrased into the following prayer:</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<em style="background-color: white;">“Oh God of all creation grant this request that we build Nigeria our own dear native land into a nation where though tribe and tongue differ each generation stands in brotherhood to hand on to its children a sovereign Motherland where no man is oppressed”</em></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Let me explain my thinking using some of the key words in the Anthem that leap to mind:</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a>God: Not of the one or the other but of ALL<br />
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Request: A plea for the future – it does not yet exist but is a continuing exercise</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Nigeria our own: Ownership and a clear sense of belonging</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Build a Nation: Develop an identity that resonates with individual nationals</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Though…(we)…Differ: In spite of our differences or because of our similarities (even if its just the fact that we are co-located in the same geography on the planet)</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Tribe: We have an innumerable collection of groups of human beings with various cultures</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Tongue: We are rich with different languages and forms of self-expression</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Brotherhood: Collective harmony not exclusive excellence</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Hand on to our children: Transitional ownership; succession and future focus</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Sovereign: Independent and self-governing without need for unwelcome external influences</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Motherland: A land of ancestors, natives and their successors</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">No man oppressed: Equality under the rule of law</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">I honestly believe that this is the unfulfilled dream Nigerians have all been unconsciously striving to bring to life and are getting frustrated that it’s seeds have been killed along the way and are not being resown nor grown.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Written by <a href="http://www.tomidavies.com/bio" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tomi Davies</a> a recognised expert in the IT-led transformation of businesses and CEO of TVCLabs</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Originally Posted on <a href="http://www.tomidavies.com/what-is-the-nigerian-dream-and-who-was-or-will-be-the-dreamer" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tomidavies.com</a> Copyright 2013</span></div>
<br />Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-41312051701107179612013-10-20T23:56:00.000-07:002013-10-20T23:58:32.013-07:0017 Major Brands Doing Business Along Yaba – Tejuosho – Ojuelegba Axis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj4FVhBEwjtQ9Z6z_HT5K2vqeecTu5efFQygNsdWJGiVKo6fLW8pb_ViDVCOtNQ0gEpfWjZtI8d8diiDH4Z1Gz0dqapCHa3EwvBmfYcCQco-oIRN3owsy6lzn9EUTe5VAxI87u20wOWmaX/s1600/Art-World.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj4FVhBEwjtQ9Z6z_HT5K2vqeecTu5efFQygNsdWJGiVKo6fLW8pb_ViDVCOtNQ0gEpfWjZtI8d8diiDH4Z1Gz0dqapCHa3EwvBmfYcCQco-oIRN3owsy6lzn9EUTe5VAxI87u20wOWmaX/s320/Art-World.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Once you alight from the ever-in-motion-public-transport popularly called ‘danfo’ & your eyes sets on a unique circular structure at an intersection….<span id="more-3088"></span><span style="font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.714285714;">– a concrete structure with a molded traditional hat & reading glasses (symbol of Bola Ahmed Tinubu – Former Lagos State Governor) atop of it, depicting a ’roundabout’ – you need not be told where you are or what to expect.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">You have just gotten to the last bus stop of Yaba/Tejuosho market.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">The first thought that flashes across your mind is that of you entering a hostile environment. That weird feeling that you are ‘behind enemy lines’ grips you.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a>Almost immediately, an obscure scenario in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Commando” movie plays out in your head. You involuntarily gulp saliva. A smile curves around your face as you remember how the actor managed to outwit his attackers. You suddenly feel safe. Well, almost, because this time, you aren’t the only good guy.<br />
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Everyone just like you who has stepped foot into one of Lagos busiest markets can be likened to the good guys. Your senses heighten. You clutch your laptop bag tight to your side as you walk. You unconsciously check your back pockets to be sure your wallet is intact.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Oh yes, your two mobile phones; you confirm that also. And with a sudden sigh of huge relief, you clear all your initial doubts & hasten your steps towards your destination.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">And who are the bad guys? You need not ask. They always have a way of introducing themselves. “Big bros how far nah? You won buy jeans? Buy from your guy naa… I get stock jeans, plain trouser, office shirt, confirm t-shirts…”</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">In a bid to wade them off, you open your mouth to talk to one of them & before you can say ‘Jack Robinson’, you are swarmed with a host of others each echoing the same thing or claiming to have more original stock.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Some get aggressive; you get tugged by the hand, but you suddenly break free. ‘Next time, I won’t say a word’, you mutter to yourself, just as you move along.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Doing business in Yaba-Tejuosho-Ojuelegba metropolis can be quite rewarding judging from the high influx of people who troop in & out of the market daily. Luckily for us, our robust, dedicated & hardworking governor, Dr Raji Fashola is constructing an Ultra modern market, which after completion, would surly compete with any ultra modern shopping complex in the whole of Africa & even the world over. It truly is a master piece.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">After my research, I have painstakingly summarized about 17 or more major brands plying their business in this zone. They are listed in the order when in transit from Yaba, Tejuosho en route Ojuelegba.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Enjoy!</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><strong>1. Diamond Bank</strong><br />This bank recently re-branded their company logo giving it a midas touch. It sure looks a whole lot better. Their branch here is quite a small structure, with a well lighted banking hall. Their ATM unit always has a reasonable queue of people waiting to use the machine. It should be as a result of it been the first bank you come across when you get to Yaba.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><strong>2. Oando Fuel Station + Mr Biggs</strong><br />This fuel station has virtually been over run by Muslim merchants who are in the bureau de change business. You’ll hardly spot cars drive in to re fuel their motors.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Plus, if you get hungry & need a quick snack, you can hop into Mr Biggs’ sales outlet to have a quick munch. Its a small but effective sales unit. Kudos to them.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><strong>3. Tantalizers</strong><br />This fast food brand sure means business. You can tell from the 2 storey building edifice strategically used as an outlet. The ground & first floors are packed filled with mouth-watering consumables while the 2nd floor is reserved for the kids. This floor is equipped with indoor games & play swings for the little ones.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><strong>4.</strong> <strong>Eco Bank</strong><br />This branch is quite in conspicuous. One would have to look keenly to locate this quite commercial institute. It sits quietly at the ground floor of a plaza. Its ATM machine attracts a host of people wanting to do business in yaba.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><strong>5</strong>. <strong>Etisalat Experience Centre</strong></span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Etisalat.jpg" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Etisalat Nigeria, easy blaze, Etisalat centre, Etisalat mobile, Network, GSM" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3092" height="400" src="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Etisalat.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="528" /></a><br />Located at the heart of Yaba, this resource unit beautifies the plaza where it is situated. I think I like their different shades of green. Kudos to this youth friendly brand.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><strong>6.</strong> <strong>Total Fuel Station</strong></span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/TOTAL.jpg" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="TOTAL" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3096" height="400" src="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/TOTAL.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="528" /></a><br />A few meters away from the etisalat hub, with its usual free-air-zone vicinity & its brilliant red color, sits this fuel station. I don’t get to see cars queued up here except during scarcity of PMS. So business is rather slow here if I may add.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">7. FCMB</strong></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/FCMB.jpg" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="FCMB, Best Bank In Nigeria, First City Monumnet Bank, Banks In Africa, Top 10 Banks In Nigeria, " class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3093" height="768" src="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/FCMB.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="1024" /></a><br />I must say, I was wowed when I first noticed this marvelous edifice with four magnificent front pillars. It reminds me always of ‘Count Dracula’s Castle Vania’. The facade of this structure brings to life a medieval design & feel, coupled with its crisp white coating.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">I strongly believe these features depicts the value added services this bank would give to its numerous customers-strength, solidarity & accountability.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">8. UBA</strong></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/UBA.jpg" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="UBA" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3097" height="768" src="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/UBA.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="1024" /></a><br />One would easily walk pass this one storey building. This bank has no ATM machine hereby concealing its existence. People stroll in & out of the bank quietly. All you may notice is the stern looking guards positioned at the gate leading into the banking hall.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">9. Sports BET</strong></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/SPORTS-BET.jpg" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="SPORTS BET, foolball bet, bet, where to bet on sports, gamble, sports betting, sports gamble, EPL betting, " class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3095" height="768" src="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/SPORTS-BET.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="1024" /></a><br />Gambling in Nigeria has taken a new turn for the good because of its get-rich-quick-syndrome. Before now, bets were made in the confines of one’s personal residence, at a pub or bar or usually at a football viewing centre, just before the proposed match.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Now, nicely erected structures with attractive brand names, functional websites & colored pictures of footballing stars has replaced this exciting & lucrative business. As a result, numerous gambling coys have been set up in various strategic positions in Lagos churning out huge profits for the winners & sad faces, for the unlucky betters.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">10. Art World</strong></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Art-World.jpg" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Art World" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3090" height="400" src="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Art-World.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="528" /></a><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">This reminds me of my childhood when as a kid, I would dream of entering a mall full of color crayons and drawing accessories. I used to glue myself to the TV anytime any art-inclined-programme is shown on the screen.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Now, walking into this arts store room sure brings back those memories & sort of gives life to that dream. I’m positive, every art passionate person would have a soft spot for this store room too.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">11. Main Street Bank<a href="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1960.jpg" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;"><br /></a></strong></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">This commercial institution is a product of the now defunct Afribank Plc., whose commercial banking license was revoked sometime in 2011.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">If you ask me, I don’t get to see much people walk into this bank *I may be wrong, besides, I’m not a watch dog*. All I notice are black painted cars packed in front of this 2 storey tall building. But one thing is certain, I never fail to admire their crested logo. That, I would say I like.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">12. 1960 BET</strong></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1960.jpg" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="1960 bet, football betting, sports betting, fottball betting centre in lagos, Yab, Football betting in lagos" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3089" height="240" src="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1960.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="320" /></a><br />This is yet another betting coy doing business in this metropolis. Their office is quite small compared to the former I mentioned. Besides, the betting business is done online along with the rewarding of its customers. These offices are put up for in house logistics & other administrative purposes.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><strong>13. GTB</strong><br />The bank for the NEXT generation. I always like walking into this bank just for the fun of it. All I get to see ate beautiful faces of young, vibrant individuals plying their trades top notch. I dare not look ‘razz’ when entering this bank so as to ‘feel among’ while chatting up the customer care representative, who usually, is a Lady.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">One thing that makes me frown at this bank is the long queues I always encounter anytime I go to make a withdrawal at the ATM unit or at the counter. I guess I am not the only one making this complaint. I think this bank needs to open up more branches to curb their excesses.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">14. Samsung + Stanbic Bank</strong></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Samsung-Stanbic.jpg" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Samsung & Stanbic IBTC, Samsung mobile, Samsung centre" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3094" height="768" src="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Samsung-Stanbic.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="1024" /></a><br />This two unique brands share the same building complex. The Samsung branch is a sales centre, while Stanbic Bank is a financial institute. These two brands do their businesses quietly because I don’t get to see a mammoth crowd going in & out the complex. I must say, the environment sure is quite compared to other Samsung’s offices in other parts of Lagos like Computer Village in Ikeja. The bank’s ATM unit sits neatly at one end of the building while customers walk quietly to use the machine.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><strong>15. Access Bank Plc.</strong><br />With 2 MIKANO generators welcoming you into this bank’s premises, you need not doubt their readiness to do business. This branch was formerly owned by Intercontinental Bank but after the acquisition of 75% of its majority interest by Access Bank in 2012, they had no choice, than to re-brand.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">The bank’s warm blue color, which they share with Intercontinental bank, reminds me of the tides I see when I visit a resort beach. The bank’s ATM unit serves a lot of business people, but funny enough, I don’t get to wait less than 5 minutes before i get to use the machine. Thumps up!!!</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">16. Zenith Bank</strong></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Zenith-Bank.jpg" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Brands Doing Business, Top major brands in nigeria, Top brands, best brands, buisness brands, Yaba, Tejuosho, Ojuelegba Axis, lagos, Yaba Tejuosho market, Lagos busiest markets, mobile phones, computer village, stock jeans, plain trouser, office shirt, Dr Raji Fashola, Ultra modern market, Diamond Bank, Oando Fuel Station + Mr Biggs, Tantalizers, Eco Bank, Etisalat Experience Centre, Total Fuel Station, FCMB, 1960 BET, GTB, Samsung , Stanbic Bank, Samsung + Stanbic Bank, Access Bank Plc, Zenith Bank, Choppies Restaurant, Bank in Nigeria, Bank In Africa" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3098" height="768" src="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Zenith-Bank.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="1024" /></a><br />Sitting on a large expanse of land, is this two storey building constructed solely, for banking activities. It has a car park, a well isolated ATM unit which if you ask me, is always functional & operational, plus its courteous guards who search you thoroughly with metal scanners before ushering you into the banking hall.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">The bank hall has a big reflector mirror which instantly shows a reflection of yourself, standing there on the queue. This perspective gives the hall an artistic feel making the hall look bigger than usual.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">The excellent reception you get at the bank coupled with the bank’s well laid out scenery endears the brand to its customers.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><strong>17: Choppies Restaurant<a href="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Choppies.jpg" style="color: #4b83b0; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Choppies, Brands Doing Business, Top major brands in nigeria, Top brands, best brands, buisness brands, Yaba, Tejuosho, Ojuelegba Axis, lagos, Yaba Tejuosho market, Lagos busiest markets, mobile phones, computer village, stock jeans, plain trouser, office shirt, Dr Raji Fashola, Ultra modern market, Diamond Bank, Oando Fuel Station + Mr Biggs, Tantalizers, Eco Bank, Etisalat Experience Centre, Total Fuel Station, FCMB, 1960 BET, GTB, Samsung , Stanbic Bank, Samsung + Stanbic Bank, Access Bank Plc, Zenith Bank, Choppies Restaurant, best brands in nigeria, Top Brands In africa" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3091" height="768" src="http://thebusinessaim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Choppies.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" width="1024" /></a></strong><br />This is the last brand I have decided to highlight. This fast food restaurant has been in business for as long as I can remember. The brand readily isn’t a known competitor in the fast food industry, but they enjoy a fair share of patronage from customers in their axis.</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">So next time you are at Tejuosho area, don’t forget to visit one of this brands doing business legitimately in that metropolis & enjoy reliable customer service, tasty cuisine & fresh air!</span></div>
<div style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Enjoy!!!</span></div>
<span style="color: #777777; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Original article at <b><a href="http://thebusinessaim.com/17-major-brands-doing-business-along-yaba-tejuosho-ojuelegba-axis/#more-3088" target="_blank">Thebusinessaim</a></b></span></span>Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-15820824894789575442013-10-18T08:19:00.003-07:002013-10-18T08:19:26.307-07:007 Ways to Get More of the Things You Want in Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2pYh186m3CLNmgWpN436bpajcat121710VT_snQ3EWA8Ss7TpjOasTMZC4DKud0CBZ8G779zvKuEXO0QvfYk_6kipzg5GFhAbtoOlCLNsUBEyPXyh-UTivz6O2Q9vcd7b5iSLWN84Wu1/s1600/get.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2pYh186m3CLNmgWpN436bpajcat121710VT_snQ3EWA8Ss7TpjOasTMZC4DKud0CBZ8G779zvKuEXO0QvfYk_6kipzg5GFhAbtoOlCLNsUBEyPXyh-UTivz6O2Q9vcd7b5iSLWN84Wu1/s1600/get.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Life is a lot more fun when you’re getting the things you want. Wouldn’t you agree?</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, there’s an art and a science to getting more of the things you want on a regular basis, that many people who email me, just haven’t quite figured out. These are the people who talk about how nothing ever seems to go their way, they’re worse off than they were 10 years ago, and their lives just haven’t taken the path that <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">they </em>wanted it to. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you’re one of those people, then this post is for you.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Over the last few years I consider myself remarkably lucky to have more or less achieved the exact lifestyle I’ve always wanted for myself. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I should probably rephrase that though. While yes, there’s a bit of luck involved, I’ve deliberately put myself in a position to be lucky and get the things I want. It doesn’t matter if you’re working a 9 to 5 in a cubicle or if you’re living the</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://www.locationrebel.com/" style="color: #2361a1; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Location Rebel">Location Rebel</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">lifestyle – you can experience this as well with a few key changes in your actions and mindset.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let’s jump in and take a look at what those are.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a name='more'></a>1) Know what you want</span></strong></h3>
<div>
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This one seems so remarkably simple, yet it’s amazing how many people simply don’t know what they want.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When you join our email list, one of the first things I ask you is to “describe your perfect day”. I get way more responses than you’d think that simply say “Wow, good question. I’ve never thought about that before.”</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What do you mean you’ve never thought about it before? What are you spending your days working towards? Simply getting that next paycheck? If you don’t have goals or at the very least a list of things you want to do in life, then you’re never going to get where you want to go – because you don’t know where that is.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Set aside some time today to figure out at least a couple things you want out of life, as well as the type of lifestyle you want to live.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are some questions to get you started:</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What are a couple things you want to be able to do everyday for the rest of your life?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What are three really big long term goals (Buy a house? Travel to some really expensive exotic location? Own your own business?)</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Are their routines you had when you were younger that you’d like to reestablish? What are they?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></li>
</ul>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">2) Look for the Win/Win</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Something I’ve done a lot of over the last few years has been looking for the win/win. Say there’s something I want to do. Ok, how can I do that, yet help a bunch of other people in the process?</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Do I want to stay in a cool hotel? Ok, first off how can I benefit my readers by staying there? What are the things that entertain and inform them? If I asked the hotel for a comped stay or reduced rate, how could they benefit? What is their goal in this whole proposition?</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">By putting the needs of others first, and structuring opportunities that way you’ll not only make more friends, but you’ll be building and establishing your brand and reputation in the process.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Questions to ask before proposing a win/win scenario:</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Does the other party benefit at least as much, if not more than you?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What the real purpose behind the proposal?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How can you do something different than what other people have done in the past?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What have people done in the past that’s worked particularly well?</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">These can be applied to just about any partnership or joint venture you can think of.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">3) Become an Authority</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let’s face it, the better your reputation, the more people are willing to help you.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m a firm believer that everyone is an expert at something. You also have to keep in mind that you don’t need “total expertise”, rather more often than not, you simply need to be a <a href="http://diythemes.com/thesis/relative-expert-business/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="How to Become a Relative Expert">relative expert</a>. Essentially you just need to know more than the people you’re working with or educating.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">By establishing yourself as an authority in one niche, you can leverage that authority across industries as you expand your business and lifestyle goals.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For instance, I’ve built myself up to be an authority on lifestyle businesses. Now that I have that, it’s easier for me to start my <a href="http://www.hdrsoftware.com/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">photography</a> or <a href="http://www.breakingeighty.com/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Breaking Eighty">golf</a> sites, because I’ve already got an audience of people who trust me.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When it comes to getting what you want, people are more receptive to your emails, social media pleas, or other forms of reaching out if they trust you and know you to be knowledgable.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some things to think about in regards to building authority:</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What types of things do you spend your free time thinking a lot about (Think in specifics – hobbies? Sports? Specific locations?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What do your friends always ask you for advice on?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If I held a gun to your head and said tell me three things you better than most people at, what would you say?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you have a blog or website yet? If no, start.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></li>
</ul>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">4) Put Yourself in a Position for Opportunity</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I talk to a lot of readers about this concept. It’s often not until people know you’re in a position to accept an opportunity that they will offer it to you.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For instance, the only reason <a href="http://www.tropicalmba.com/annoucing-the-winner-of-the-tropical-mba-paid-internship-for-digital-nomads/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Tropical MBA">Dan asked me to join him and the Tropical MBA team</a> back in 2009 was because I wrote the post about <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/headline/my-last-day" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="My Last Day…">my last day at work.</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Had I not been in a position to accept, the opportunity never would have showed up.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The point of this? Sometimes in order to get what you want, you have to take a risk that puts you in the position to be open to opportunity to find you.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Not sure if you’re “in a position for opportunity”?</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Are you publicly visible? Meaning do you have active social media profiles, blog, etc?.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you were the person hiring for your dream job or internship, would you approach you, based on your position?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Are you actively reaching out to people who have lives you’re aspiring towards?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></li>
</ul>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">5) Ask</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Also, extremely simple. These days access is no longer an issue. There’s someone out there who can probably make any one of your dreams, goals, or aspirations come true. You can also probably get their contact information in less than 2 minutes of Google searching.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Most people never simply ask. Either because they’re too shy, too afraid of getting rejected, or simply don’t believe anyone will say yes.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve found the vast majority of time I ask for something, especially if I know what I want, think about the win/win, and leverage authority – the answer is usually yes.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can do everything else perfectly, but often getting what you want in life, simply comes down to asking for it.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My buddy Tyler wrote a great post about <a href="http://advancedriskology.com/life-changing-emails/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Life Changing Emails">how life changing a simple email can be.</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Try it today. Go ask for something you want, you may be surprised by what happens. Or you may not, but at least you’ll know you tried.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">6) Announce Publicly</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2009 I wanted to start crossing things off my <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/bucket-list" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Bucket List">bucket list</a>, and make some major lifestyle changes. So what’d I do, I started a blog and told the world about it. This does two very important things:</span></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It holds you accountable</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s an offer for help.</span></li>
</ol>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let’s take a look at both of those, starting with accountability.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you say something once, or worse, simply think about doing it without telling anyone, what are the odds it’s going to happen? Probably not very high. By putting pretty major goals and changes out to the world, in many ways the thought of not doing it, was scarier than the idea of actually following through.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The more people you tell, the easier it gets.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For instance, I’ve had a lot of people ask me about what my next trip is. I’ve been telling everyone I see about a big adventure I have planned for October. The more people I tell, the more it becomes an inevitability that I’ll follow through with it. Expect an entire separate post devoted to this adventure soon.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And secondly, it’s an offer for help.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the things on my bucket list was to both play <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/misc/my-quest-to-play-golf-at-augusta-national" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="My Quest to Play Golf at Augusta National">Augusta National</a> and take a<a href="http://breakingeighty.com/masters-guide" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="A Guide to the Masters"> trip to the Masters.</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A reader, and now good friend, <a href="http://www.questforanewperspective.com/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Quest for a New Perspective">Gene Jennings</a> sent me an email a couple years back saying. ”I can’t get you on the course, but how’d you like to come be my guest at the Masters this year?”</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="450" src="http://breakingeighty.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/sean-masters-edited-1024x768.jpg" style="clear: both; display: block; float: none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px;" title="Masters" width="600" /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">By putting it out there publicly, anyone who is in a position to help often does so.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">7) Study</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This falls back to the conversation about luck. Many people believe the people who get everything they want in life are simply lucky. In some cases, they probably are. But some people have learned how to <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/entrepreneurship/creating-luck" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="How to Create Your Own Luck">create their own luck</a>, and you can as well.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We all sell. Every single day we are selling our ideas, our products, and more. Whether it’s trying to sell someone on buying your latest ebook, or simply selling them on what movie to watch with you, persuasion is part of life.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The better you are at it, the easier it is to get what you want.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So how do you start honing your persuasion muscle?</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are three books I’d recommend checking out:</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://amzn.to/NQ764S" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Influence">Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion</a> – One of the most useful books I’ve ever read. Once you understand the different ways people are trying to persuade you, it becomes much easier to recognize and apply the techniques in your own life.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/21002597/Breakthrough-Advertising-by-Eugene-M-Schwartz" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Breakthrough Advertising">Breakthrough Advertising</a> – Pretty much all of my best marketing friends have told me to read this book. Written by one of the greatest marketers in history, Eugene Schwartz, it’s become my go to book for copywriting. It’s a beast, not an easy read, and incredibly expensive if you can find a copy of it, but well worth it. This link is to a difficult to read (but free) PDF and is a great starting point.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://amzn.to/OWYZPS" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Ca$hvertising">Ca$hvertising</a> – Another copywriting book, but once you’re a good copywriter, you’ll be amazed at how that translates to other aspects of your life.</span></li>
</ul>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Are You Ready to Get More of What You Want?</span></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Like I said in the beginning, there’s an art and a science to getting what you want out of life. However, the more you truly think about what it is you want, and actively work towards getting there, the more fulfilled and happy you’re life will become in the process.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #111111;">Original Article from <b><a href="http://www.seanogle.com/entrepreneurship/get-what-you-want" target="_blank">SeanOgle</a></b></span>Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-55124990862810918972013-10-16T13:19:00.001-07:002013-10-16T13:19:29.508-07:00The Only Post You’ll Need to Do Something Extraordinary <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqycrrVRaoKU6KdLhz1rAWwHCsyeR7oIorOxOQKd8EiCtjthfP7wu3wt9FM1RP1-Lm_o2_PFic5pSfOraizYJTx-fh6Z4USx1Zil17GgPdrjWxsZY4fFe9R7iLpRe0iZZEouuhJ0Y2jFGP/s1600/extraordinary-ones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqycrrVRaoKU6KdLhz1rAWwHCsyeR7oIorOxOQKd8EiCtjthfP7wu3wt9FM1RP1-Lm_o2_PFic5pSfOraizYJTx-fh6Z4USx1Zil17GgPdrjWxsZY4fFe9R7iLpRe0iZZEouuhJ0Y2jFGP/s320/extraordinary-ones.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Recently, my friend Maneesh <a href="http://hackthesystem.com/blog/why-we-bought-an-island/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Why We Bought an Island">bought an island</a>. Seriously, an island! For years I've (half) jokingly talked to my friends about the day when we’re going to do that, and when I saw that Maneesh actually followed through with it, all I could think was, that’s pretty damn cool. Then I started thinking about how many of my friends have done remarkable things. The list is pretty long, but the coolest part about their escapades, is that they are all totally normal people who made a vow to do something great.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Next time you have an idea and someone tells you that you can’t do it, look at any one of these examples </span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">below. These days you can pretty much do whatever you want, if you want it bad enough. </span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here’s the proof:</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris visited <a href="http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/end-of-world/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="End of the World">every single country</a> in the world</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tyler has <a href="http://advancedriskology.com/1-percent-club/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="1 Percent Club">run a marathon</a> on almost every continent (and I thought <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/headline/how-to-run-marathon" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="How to Run a Marathon With (Almost) No Training">I was cool</a>)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Jodi <a href="http://www.legalnomads.com/about" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Legal Nomads">gave up a $250k a year job as a lawyer</a> to explore her passion for soup around the globe</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Steve <a href="http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/09/12/live-like-james-bond/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="How to Live Like James Bond for a Weekend">lived like James Bond for a a weekend.</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.nicholasreese.com/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Nick Reese">Nick</a> organized a <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/lifestyle-design/the-importance-of-play" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The Importance of Play">weeklong retreat in paradise</a> for 12 friends and strangers.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.kyledurand.com/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Kyle Durand">Kyle</a> swam two miles, then biked 110, then rand 26.2.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Within a year of quitting his job <a href="http://www.shopifyninjas.com/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Shopify Ninjas">Tristan</a> was <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/guest-posts/web-development-case-study" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="How to Build a Web Development Business">making 5 figures and spent 3 months traveling through South America with his wife.</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sarah <a href="http://itstartswith.com/2012/09/we-did-it/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The $29,000 Swim">swam across San Franciso Bay…naked.</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Andy and Dane have made over a million dollars and <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/go/foundation-2013" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The Foundation">helped start dozens of software companies</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Adam Baker <a href="http://manvsdebt.com/adam-baker-tedx-talk/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Adam Baker Tedx">paid off $25k in debt and spent a year traveling through Asia/Australia with his wife and 2 year old.</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Nick and Tim have built a <a href="http://www.theelevatorlife.com/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The Elevator Life">wine empire in Southern China.</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.tropicalmba.com/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Tropical MBA">Dan built a 7 figure lifestyle business</a>, all because he didn’t want to work in an office anymore.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Benny <a href="http://www.fluentin3months.com/about/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Fluent in 3 Months">can speak 8 languages</a>…fluently.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Matt Madeiro raised enough money to <a href="http://mattmadeiro.com/twenty-five/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Kopila Valley School Bus">buy a school bus for kids in Nepal.</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ryan <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/travel/quit-your-job-move-to-hawaii-part-1-of-3" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Quit your Job, Move to Hawaii. Part 1 of 3">quit his job and moved to Hawaii.</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A different Ryan <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/entrepreneurship/original-grain-watches-kickstarter" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="How to Create a Product in China (And Make $100k in a Week on Kickstarter)">raised nearly $400k on Kickstarter</a> from his love of watches.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Matt has been a <a href="http://www.nomadicmatt.com/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Nomadic Matt">permanent traveler</a> for over 5 years.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Joel helped <a href="http://impossiblehq.com/guatemala-school-impossible" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="We're Building a School in Guatemala">build a school in Guatemala</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dana moved to Bali and became the <a href="http://www.balimanual.com/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Bali Manual">resident expert on the island.</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Nate <a href="http://www.natedamm.com/how-to-walk-across-america/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="How to Walk Across America">walked across America</a>. WALKED.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">–</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My point? With every single one of these ideas there was someone who said “you can’t do that.”</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes you can.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So go prove the world wrong.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">Original article @ <b><a href="http://www.seanogle.com/travel/extraordinary" target="_blank">seanogle</a></b></span></div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-5369928962840851942013-10-16T12:59:00.000-07:002013-10-16T12:59:32.483-07:00How to Set Reasonable Goals for your Business to Ensure Success.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS22CnNimjNiOFaf27HRSjoMQR5Q1oZhG1ErUdRPpgvV2CSMjfwut5l9CmUoZ1wgpzTSlExoz34bDbxk9i0LHP_p1S0K_IEi9v9DCqrWUJ-_sZcMYgN2WHjjiKL20p9i06gis2jcJaTSlN/s1600/set+goals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS22CnNimjNiOFaf27HRSjoMQR5Q1oZhG1ErUdRPpgvV2CSMjfwut5l9CmUoZ1wgpzTSlExoz34bDbxk9i0LHP_p1S0K_IEi9v9DCqrWUJ-_sZcMYgN2WHjjiKL20p9i06gis2jcJaTSlN/s320/set+goals.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">A smart CEO understands the
inherent value of goal setting in steering a growing business in the right
direction. Goal setting involves establishing specific, measurable, achievable,
realistic and time-</span><span style="line-height: 14px;">targeted</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> goals.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Goals
are a form of motivation that set the standard for success; achieving the goal
that one has set for one's business is a measure of success, and being able to
meet challenges is also a way one can measure success in his or her business.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Speaking
with Dennis Isong; IT Consultant, Professional Web/Mobile programmer, Author
and Entrepreneur,he </span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">gives some useful tips on how one can get started on goal
setting for ones business. He says: ' By definition, your business should be
efficient, profitable and operate without you having to be there. If it
doesn't, then perhaps you don't have a business; but instead, just a job.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">More
than 80% of business owners don't keep track of their business goals, and 77%
are yet to achieve their visions for their business. 80% of businesses do not
survive their first five years. Many business owners and entrepreneurs find
themselves becoming disappointed and discouraged at their apparent inability to
control and prevent the cyclical ups and downs of their business efforts.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Hence
the great and noble dream they originally conceived for their business quickly
disintegrates into a heavy burden and a stressful slog. Suddenly, they no
longer own the business, the business owns them.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Now,
how do you set a workable business goal?</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span>
<b><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Step
1: Start with a Dream</span></b></div>
</span></b>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">The
first stage of goal setting is about considering everything you dream of
accomplishing. It doesn't need to be realistic at this point, so avoid limiting
your thought process to what you think may actually be possible. Now is the
time to consider every possibility, as if there are no boundaries.</span></div>
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">To get
started, grab a piece of paper and think about what you want to be in one year,
five years and ten years. Don't worry about how you will get there, just write
down every possibility - big and small.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span>
<b><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Step
2: Brain Storm the possibilities</span></b></div>
</span></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Once
you have written down your clearest dreams, it's time for a brain storming
session to access some of the ideas waiting in your subconscious.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;">Step 3: Sort the Options</span></b></b></div>
<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
</b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">The
next step involves taking all of the dreams and ideas you have down on paper
from step one to step two and making sense of them. It's useful to sort out
ideas into a few categories based on measures that are important to you.
For example you might create categories based on your priorities, ranking your
ideas by how important they are in your life. Once you create meaningful
categories, and start to put your ideas into groups, you may be surprised at
how much overlap there is.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">In
some cases, once the step is complete, you may find that you have a few
consistent themes that continue to reappear in the process. This is a sign that
you are on the right track in identifying your most important goals.</span></div>
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;">Step 4: Create a Plan</span></b></b></div>
<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
</b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">After
step 3, you should be able to identify one or two loose business goals that you
want to focus on ( if not, go back and start brainstorming again) SMART goal
setting - which means setting goals that are specific, measurable, attainable,
relevant and time-based - is a powerful to move your rough goals from abstract
ideas into specific action steps.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span>
<b><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Step
5: Focus on today</span></b></div>
</span></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Striving
towards a specific business goal can be overwhelming but if you have broken the
goals into bite-sized chunks as suggested in step 4, then you should able to
take a series of small digestible steps each day to get closer to your goal.
While you don't want to lose sight of the big picture, if you take an ambitious
goal one step at a time, one day at a time, you will start to build momentum
and confidence in yourself and with steady and purposeful progress, you will reach
your destination. You are in business to make money, if you set realistic,
workable and achievable goals it will show in your business and it becomes very
easy to </span><span style="line-height: 14px;">fulfil</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> your company's vision and mission.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Original Article @ success digest newspaper</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span>Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-73051991775767152812013-10-14T15:18:00.002-07:002013-10-14T15:18:47.827-07:00How to Restart as an Entrepreneur After a Big Failure (or False Start)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeO3Pz11n8zq8Ts7U1frYjF7aJzNctDoBXl5qXpwyx9rfSauDKvVEp_Cg7yt8xoJy1FM9na0juAEUtayPmzIWoxJo2YvW87xZ4PYTopUgQ2uiuZMDB6TJuMQONrOOpNvngGImtWnw6tCvF/s1600/freshstart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeO3Pz11n8zq8Ts7U1frYjF7aJzNctDoBXl5qXpwyx9rfSauDKvVEp_Cg7yt8xoJy1FM9na0juAEUtayPmzIWoxJo2YvW87xZ4PYTopUgQ2uiuZMDB6TJuMQONrOOpNvngGImtWnw6tCvF/s320/freshstart.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">One of the hardest things to do as an entrepreneur is to restart after a failed venture. I’m going to let you in on a little secret that I haven’t told many people. </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">When I first launched</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://overcomeuncertainty.com/" style="color: #2361a1; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Overcome Uncertainty">Overcoming the Fear of Uncertainty</a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">, it </span><span style="color: #111111;">didn't</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> go as well as I’d hoped. </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">While I received a lot of positive feedback from the people who did join and actually went through the course – the issue was that</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> </span><em style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">not that many people</em><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">joined and went through the course! </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">It was my first information product, and was released long before I’d ever even</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> </span><em style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">considered </em><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">using the word “marketer” to describe myself in any way shape or form. </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">I made a lot of mistakes with that first product. Some of the biggest ones being:</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Solving a problem people didn’t know they had.</strong> Most people don’t say “man, if only I could get rid of all this uncertainty, then I could do whatever I wanted in life!” Even if that <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">was</em> the root of their inaction, I shouldn’t be the one trying to show them that – at least not by getting them to buy a product.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The content wasn’t clear</strong> – While the title was pretty self explanatory, most people didn’t really understand exactly what they were getting.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">There was no pre-launch warming people up to the idea of joining</strong> – I was still writing the sales page the night before the launch. There was no lead up or anything to build interest and excitement.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So while it was (and is) a good program, the marketing around it was terrible, and ultimately led to the product being a bit of a failure during it’s first year.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Picking Yourself Back Up</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">It can be pretty demoralizing when something you spent months working on and had such high expectations for, didn’t quite get where you wanted it to be. </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">However, it’s how you move forward and recover from that, that really matters. </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">Every single entrepreneur has failures and setbacks – that’s how you learn what works and what </span><span style="color: #111111;">doesn't</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">. </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">We’re going to use my failure with Overcome Uncertainty and subsequent success with</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://www.locationrebel.com/join-c" style="color: #2361a1; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Location Rebel ">Location Rebel</a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">to look at exactly how to restart after a big failure, or just as importantly, a false start.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It can be really easy to get super-excited about a new entrepreneurial venture, only to have it go nowhere. If you’re going to reach your goal lifestyle and have that lifestyle business that allows you to do what you want, when you want, this post is going to be really important.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Assess your situation</span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When you’re trying to bounce back from a failure, you need to be brutally honest with yourself. No more sugar coating things to make yourself feel better – you need to be willing to drill down and rip your process apart in order to get to the root of the issue.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are the questions I ask myself every time I’m trying to regroup and learn form a past flop:</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Was the messaging clear?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Did I sell the features or the benefits?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Was there a need?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Was I creating this product or service for me or for my customers?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If something didn’t even get off the ground, was it because it was a bad idea or because of my own flaws?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What was the conversion rate? Where did people drop off in the process?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Were there competing products or services? Was my price too high? Too low in relation?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have I talked to potential users and asked why they did or did not buy it?</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Did I leverage testimonials or consult with customers during the creating of the product/service?</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Answer these questions, and develop some tangible takeaways and things you could have done differently.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For instance, if the messaging wasn’t clear, decide what would have made it clearer, and be cognizant of this when working on your new project.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Review <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">exactly </em>what worked (and what didn’t) in previous ventures</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I was early in the planning stages for Location Rebel, this is exactly what I did. I assessed everything about the Overcoming Uncertainty launch and really focused first on the things I found to be the biggest issues. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">In this case those were:</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Make the messaging <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">much </em>more clear.</strong> People should know exactly what this product is and what they’re going to get. “Build an online business that you can run from anywhere in the world.” That’s clear.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Get people excited about the product <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">way </em>before I release it. </strong>I just kind of threw up the sales page for Overcome Uncertainty. With Location Rebel I had a 2 and a half month launch process that resulted with me selling out every spot in 48 minutes when I finally launched.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ensure that I’m solving a tangible problem people <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">know </em>they have.</strong> I talked to dozens of people and reviewed hundreds of comments on Location 180 to make sure that people were <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">looking </em>for solutions that allowed them to build this type of business. Not only did my research shape this product, but it completely shaped the foundation of the Location 180 brand.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s important to remember that this assessment works regardless of whether it was a specific product/service that failed, or an entire business venture.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Maybe you tried to build an <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/guest-posts/seo-writing-for-beginners" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="How to Make $3,000 in Two Months with SEO Writing">SEO writing business</a> and things just never panned out for you. These same questions are all still relevant, and can make the difference between success and failure if you try and fire it up again.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Set realistic and measurable goals</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ok, so now you should have a pretty good idea of what went wrong with your last project. But how do you ensure you get and stay on the right track when you restart?</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You need to know what success looks like.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The problem with most goal setting is that people say things like “I want to be making $5k/month within a year.”</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That’s a perfectly respectable goal, but there are two problems with it:</span></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">While tangible, you can’t directly control your income.</strong> Goals that will lead to making the money will keep you from getting frustrated if you don’t get there. Cold call 50 new clients this week is a better goal.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Without many smaller goals, you’ll never feel like you’re making progress.</span></strong></li>
</ol>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let’s talk about that second one a little bit more.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Starting a business is freaking hard. If all you have are big lofty, long term goals you’ll never notice the incremental successes, and all of the little things that lead to long term success.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Outline the process you’re going to have to take to be successful, and set small goals all along the way:</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy a domain name</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Get your first comment or inquiry from your website</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Make your first $1</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Goals like that will remind you to celebrate the little wins, and will get you excited during every step, as opposed to making you feel like you’re stuck in the mud and not making any progress.</span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Make sure you’re offering something that others want (and know they want)</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We mentioned this in the review sections above, but I want to take a minute and really highlight this concept, because in the end it’s probably the most important thing to keep in mind when starting a business.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you can assess what people’s problems are, and offer them they solution they’re looking for – then you’ll never have trouble making money. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Before sinking days, weeks, and months into something make sure you’re going to be offering something that</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><em style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">people know they want. </em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sounds easy enough, but how do you actually figure out what people want? </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">You talk to them.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve seen advice all over the place about sending people a survey (and I’ve probably even given that advice in the past), but the reality is, the information you get is usually worthless.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I did my first survey for <a href="http://www.locationrebel.com/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Location Rebel">Location Rebel</a>, I asked about price. I said how much would you be willing to pay, and gave 4 options, the most being $250+. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you know how many people said they’d pay that?</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Zero. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you know how many people have paid more than that for access? </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hundreds.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">People don’t spend much time on surveys, and even if they did, it can be difficult to get useful information – regardless of how good your questions are. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">So how do you get good,</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><em style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">useful </em><span style="font-family: inherit;">information about what they really want? </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">You ask them questions, and start conversations. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I try and</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://www.seanogle.com/entrepreneurship/email-marketing" style="color: #2361a1; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Email Marketing">start conversations</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">with as many email subscribers and readers as I can, simply by asking them a question and asking then to respond to it.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I get often get much more valuable information from one of those conversations than I would a survey with dozens of responses.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Not to mention I’m building a a relationship in the process which ultimately benefits both myself and the reader. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">So here’s how you find out what people want:</span></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ask people (readers, friends, other contacts, etc) what problems they’re facing right now. If you have a specific product or service in mind, ask him the same question as it relates to that topic directly.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Compile responses in one place.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Review and assess</span></li>
</ol>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pretty simple, huh?</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The more people you talk to and <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">listen </em>to, the more information you’re going to get that will help you build a business around a major pain point people have.</span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Accountability</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There’s one other very important piece to the startup puzzle: accountability.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Many people simply can’t hold themselves accountable, in fact, that’s probably one of the biggest reasons you failed to begin with.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So when you restart you <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">have </em>to find a way to hold yourself accountable.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Find a community of likeminded people and work together to ensure you’re reaching your goals.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Write a check to your significant other for $500 and put it on the fridge – if you don’t do everything you said, they get an extravagant gift.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Try a <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/entrepreneurship/stop-working" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Why You Should Stop Working at Noon Everyday">more condensed work schedule </a>to keep you focused.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Whatever it is, think about what it’s going to take to find accountability and treat it as one of the most important parts of the process.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Moving Forward</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Starting a new business after a previous failure or false start can be an intimidating process. However, success lies from proper planning if you follow these steps, plan accordingly, and remember to celebrate the little wins all along the way, you’ll be successfully working on your own in no time!</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image Credit: <a href="http://www.bigstockphoto.com/image-21307442/stock-photo-fresh-start" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Fresh Start">Fresh Start</a> via Big Stock</span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #111111;">Originally Posted on <b><a href="http://www.seanogle.com/entrepreneurship/restart" target="_blank">SeanOgle</a></b></span>Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-905321092524922132013-10-14T15:09:00.000-07:002013-10-14T15:09:25.831-07:00The 13 Approaches to Quitting Your Job (Without Burning Bridges) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwlhaFcJ5UngS-Ze99oteluoHv5v_y3FveCMzeYws6YEunH_k4C4IKYAOex97k6XuyTkKbfZWYbG-0jK7LxnzCR3_AIrv53L4kcIs8xcw2418xaRnZAwFS9szP9NWR4sVcOTofCpXtr-6/s1600/burning-bridge-598x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwlhaFcJ5UngS-Ze99oteluoHv5v_y3FveCMzeYws6YEunH_k4C4IKYAOex97k6XuyTkKbfZWYbG-0jK7LxnzCR3_AIrv53L4kcIs8xcw2418xaRnZAwFS9szP9NWR4sVcOTofCpXtr-6/s320/burning-bridge-598x300.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #111111;">Often times</span></span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> the most difficult aspect of quitting your job isn’t figuring out what to do next. </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">You could go climb a mountain. Build out any number of a hundred business ideas you already have. Sit on a beach in the tropics for a month. There’s no shortage of things to do with free time. </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">No, the hardest part of quitting your job is often the simplest:</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> </span><strong style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">telling your boss or current employer that you plan to leave.</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It doesn’t matter if you’ve been working with them for 6 months or 6 years, when you’re spending more time with them than your own family, it can be an agonizingly personal endeavor to tell them you want to go elsewhere. It’s almost like going through a breakup after years of dating.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the three years I’ve been working with people to help them quit their jobs and build sustainable businesses, I’ve seen all kinds of different ways to approach that fateful day where you march in and say “hey boss, I’m outta here.”</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sometimes it goes really well.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Other times? Well, not so much.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So if you’re thinking about quitting your job, how are you going to approach it? What’s your reasoning going to be? How are you going to get them to understand exactly why you’re doing this? What do you need to do in order to prepare for the big day?</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Easy, you’re going to read this guide.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here we will talk about 13 different approaches to leaving your job, the potential objections/responses to each, and how you can prepare yourself <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">beforehand </em>to give yourself the best shot of remaining on good terms after your last day. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">My goal with these was to make the departure as positive as possible for both parties, however there are a couple that may lead to hard feelings. Keep this in mind if going one of these routes. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also as you’re preparing to make the leap, there’s definitely some recommended reading before jumping right in and peacing out:</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.seanogle.com/entrepreneurship/quitting-your-job-questions" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="6 6 Questions You Must Answer Before Quitting Your Job">6 Questions You Must Answer Before Quitting Your Job</a>. Use this as a guide to figure out if you’re <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">actually </em>ready to leave your job.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.seanogle.com/lifestyle-design/how-to-enjoy-your-job" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="How to Enjoy Your Day Job">How to Get More Value and Enjoyment Out of Your Day Job.</a> If you’ve answered the previous questions, and come to the conclusion, you aren’t quite ready yet, then use this post to ensure you’re still making the most of the time you have.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, onto the 13 approaches for quitting your job!</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">#1: The Quarter Life Crisis</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the most common approaches to leaving your job comes from those who have graduated within the last five years and are often still in their first job out of college.</span></div>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_2234" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; color: #111111; float: right; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.571em 1.571em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; width: 300px;">
<a href="http://www.seanogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/sean-suit.jpg" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Sean Ogle in a suit and tie" class="size-medium wp-image-2234" height="199" src="http://www.seanogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/sean-suit-300x199.jpg" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="sean-suit" width="300" /></span></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Me at the height of my quarter life crisis</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a tough place to be.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m willing to bet your first job out of school <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">wasn’t </em>your dream job, yet here you find yourself still working away without much to show for it.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Even worse, you may have a completely unwarranted sense of obligation to your employer. I did. I felt like since they took a shot on me, I had to stick around forever.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">False.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can use the quarter-life crisis approach in numerous ways. Tell them you need more life experiences, need to figure out what gets you excited.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the absolute best approach when the only thing you know is school and this one job. You need to have a myriad of experiences so you can figure out what’s <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">actually </em>right for you, not just what’s easiest.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Common Objection: </strong></em><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Are you sure you know what you’re doing? You’re just going to have to start over again in 6 months.</strong></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Reality: </em></strong>Taking time off to travel and figure out what you want out of life is only going to make you <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">more </em>marketable to employers in the future. If you get back and have realized exactly the type of work you want to be doing in the future, they will have <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">more </em>confidence in your long term commitment to the organization.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">#2: The Timebomb</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So you know you want to leave, but you know you won’t be ready for another 6-12 months. You <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">also </em>know that you don’t want to leave your boss out in the lurch and want to make sure he isn’t blindsided. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">So what do you do? You adopt the</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://www.seanogle.com/headline/timebomb-principle" style="color: #2361a1; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="The Timebomb Principle">Timebomb Principle</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">like John Devries and others have done.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What does this mean? </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Essentially you pick a date in the future that you’re absolutely, no matter what going to leave. Assuming you have a good, trusting relationship with your boss you tell them about your plan. You explain all the reasons you need to go (of which I’m sure there are many), and work together on your exit date. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">During the final few months you can help to find and train your replacement to ensure there is no lost progress. This leaves your boss ahead of the game, and you’re able to really put a good exit plan into place over the long term.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_2481" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; color: #111111; float: right; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.571em 1.571em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; width: 225px;">
<a href="http://www.seanogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/john-devries-moto.jpg" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="John Devries on his motorcycle" class="size-medium wp-image-2481" height="300" src="http://www.seanogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/john-devries-moto-225x300.jpg" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="John Devries Motorcycle" width="225" /></span></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">John DeVries perfected the Timebomb Method</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Common Objection: Why shouldn’t I just fire you right now?</span></strong></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></strong></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Reality:</strong></em> Knowing that you’re going to be leaving helps keep things on the right track during your final months. If your boss knows you’re going soon, and you’re one of their star employees, they’ll want to utilize you for every day they have. They are also getting the benefit of a a new hire, trained by the expert (you) rather than having to start from scratch.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Again, this works best if you have a <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">really </em>good relationship with your boss, and I’ve seen numerous people have success with this in the last couple years.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">#3: The Entrepreneur</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you’re anything like me, you want to own your own business. You want the freedom, responsibility, and rewards that go along with being an entrepreneur. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you’re stuck working for someone else, regardless of how sweet the job is, your lust for entrepreneurship will never be satiated until you give it a shot. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Until you do it, you’ll always be left wondering “what if” – a feeling no one should have to experience.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">So if this is you, think long and hard about the type of business you want to run. Get started on the weekends and in your spare time, and once </span><span style="color: #111111;">you've</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> got some proof that the idea is viable, it’s time to break the news. </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">Talk to your boss and tell them about your entrepreneurial visions. This works</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> </span><em style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">especially </em><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">well for small businesses where</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> </span><em style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">they </em><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">are also entrepreneurs – they’ll get it, trust me.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Depending on the type of services or products you’re offering in your new business, your current employer could potentially be a great first client.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For instance, my friend Zach quit his job as a developer so he could focus more on the projects he was actually passionate about. His company couldn’t stand the thought of him leaving, so they asked him to continue to do some work part time even after he left. He now gets to work remotely, works half as many hours, and still makes almost as much as he was making before. <a href="http://amzn.to/No3wOI" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Linchpin">Talk about a Linchpin</a>.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Common Objection: In this economy you’ll never be able to make it alone, you should be lucky to have any job at all, why would you want to throw that all away?</span></strong></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Reality:</strong></em> Even if you stay there are no guarantees. They can sack you anytime they want, so by working for yourself you’re beginning down the path of <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">true </em>job security, or job security 2.0 as I call it in <a href="http://www.locationrebel.com/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Location Rebel">Location Rebel</a>.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Worst case scenario? You go back and get a job when you need to – but at least you’ll no longer be wondering “what if?”</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">#4: The Remote Work Agreement</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This can be a great approach depending on a few key aspects of where you’re at:</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Your job is 80% “remotable”.</strong> Meaning, if given a computer and internet connection you can theoretically do your job from anywhere. Note: This could mean you’re making major changes to your routine, but if this rule holds true, there’s always ways to make it possible.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You’re willing to leave sooner rather than later if it doesn’t work out.</strong> I pitched a remote agreement and it ended in “we will not accept your proposal, but we will accept this as your resignation” – be prepared for this response.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You’re truly committed to working hard if the agreement is accepted.</strong> If you just want to use this as an excuse to slack off, don’t bother.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I love the remote work agreement because it gets you one step closer to becoming a location rebel. It allows you to go somewhere new, set your own schedule (usually), and shows you what it’s really like to be on your own.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This can be a great test case for whether or not you’re really ready to branch out on your own accord.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://about.me/evanlovely" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Evan Lovely">Evan Lovely</a> is one of the best examples of this. He talked his boss into letting him travel through Asia for 6 months while still taking a full salary and working on the road. We hung out in Bali for a few weeks late last year, and don’t get me wrong, <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">he worked hard</em>, but he essentially had all the benefits of being on his own, while still having the stability of a real job.</span></div>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_4634" style="background-color: #eeeeee; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; color: #111111; float: right; font-style: italic; margin: 0px 0px 1.571em 1.571em; padding: 0px; text-align: center; width: 300px;">
<a href="http://www.seanogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/evan-lovely.jpeg" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Evan Lovely in Ubud, Bali" class="size-medium wp-image-4634" height="225" src="http://www.seanogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/evan-lovely-300x225.jpg" style="border: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="evan lovely" width="300" /></span></a><div class="wp-caption-text" style="padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Evan in Ubud, Bali in one of many remote offices</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This can be good either way. If they accept your proposal, sweet! You’re one step closer to your goals. If they don’t, well then you gave it a shot, and you and your boss may just realize your employment isn’t a good fit.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Or door #3 is they simply say no, and you have to move onto one of these other approaches to quitting your job.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Common Objection: Why should you be able to take off to Bali, Belize or Boise while we’re still here in the office? You’ll be way less productive.</span></strong></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Reality:</strong></em> If you’re serious about this, your remote work can actually be a huge asset to the company. It has the potential to save them money (depending on the agreed upon terms), bring their business into the 21st century with improved security and remote computer access, while also potentially opening up a whole new client base due to your new location.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you work for a small company in the US, they could even potentially use you as their “international” office and make themselves seem like more of a global institution.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">#5: The Upping the Ante</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Maybe you want to leave your job, but it’s mostly because you aren’t being compensated fairly, or you’re otherwise not happy with the effort vs return. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">With the upping the ante, we strive to get to the point where you’re either getting the compensation you feel you deserve, or you cut all ties and move onto something more worth your time. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">My friend Beau moved down to the Bay Area from Portland last year after his company asked him to head down for a series of projects. He was only supposed to be there for 6-12 months, but then they asked him to stay longer. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">He owns a house in Portland, has a large social circle up here, and really would prefer to be in Oregon than California. So he initially told his company he wanted to head back to PDX. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">They said: </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">“How much would it take for you to stay?”</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The result: He ended up with a huge raise, better benefits and an increased living stipend to stick it out for another year or two. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">When you</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><em style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">know </em><span style="font-family: inherit;">your company needs you and you’re willing to stay for a price, don’t mess around. Give them the real number or offer that will make it worth your while to stick it out for awhile.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If they can’t get reasonably close to matching it, then find someone who will.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Common Objection: We’ve never given anyone a 50% raise! That’s insane!</span></strong></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Reality: What’s more expensive for them? Give the dude that’s killing it for them and making them millions of dollars a year a little extra money? Or have to go through the entire hiring and training process all over again? If you’re legitimately good at what you do, they’ll understand why they need to pay you.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">#6: The Bluff</span></strong></h3>
<div>
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Similar to upping the ante, the bluff isn’t really a straight up tactic for quitting, but rather an understanding of the importance of your place in the company.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Jennifer did this and didn’t even realize it. We’d been talking back and forth on strategies for building her new writing business, while also getting her to the point where she was willing to take the nerve-wracking step of quitting her cush job. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">After </span><em style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">finally </em><span style="font-family: inherit;">getting to the point where she worked up the nerve to do it, you know what her boss said? </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">“No. I can’t let you quit.”</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How’s that for a momentum killer?</span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She was already nervous enough as it was, and then her boss took away all her confidence and she didn’t know what to do. She agreed to stay on for a month, which gave her boss more time to plan out what was next. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">She realized in that month just how valuable she was – she knew there was a way to get much more than she was currently, while still setting a timeline for her departure.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After some back and forth, she agreed to a big raise and to stay on until the rest of the year. All the while, she’s still been growing her business, and has landed a couple HUGE writing gigs.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now not only will she have the money to really pursue her new business early next year, but she’ll already have the brand, contacts, and confidence in place to do it.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Common Objection: You can’t quit no one will ever hire you again, you need this. (This was the experience Jennifer actually had).</span></strong></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Reality:</em></strong><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> You don’t need </span><em style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">any </em><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">job, however there’s a very good chance they </span><em style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">need </em><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">you. If you know this is the case, leverage it, and consider a bluff. That said you should be prepared for them to call it. If you </span><span style="color: #111111;">aren't</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> in a place where you’d follow through with your resignation if they don’t give in, then you should probably stick around for awhile longer or try a safer approach.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">#7: The Lack of Heart </span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">No boss can ever get mad at you for being honest about this one. If they do – then you </span><span style="color: #111111;">didn't</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> want to be there in the first place. </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">The best example of the “lack of heart” I’ve seen is from Lizzie Presson. Here’s the email she sent to me detailing her situation:</span></div>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: #666666; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I quit my job, packed my bags and moved to NYC one year ago (July 23rd to be exact). My mentor (<a href="http://www.heyamberrae.com/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Hey Amber Rae">Amber Rae</a>) called me and said she wanted me to come work with her in NYC. My boss was on a two week vacation. I called him and told him that I hated to tell him over the phone, but I had to be upfront and honest.</span></div>
<div style="padding: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I remembered that a couple of days before I had the news to share he said, “I don’t want anyone working here who isn’t in 100%.” I reminded him of that moment, and I told him that I’d never want to give less than 100%. I would be if I didn’t leave at that very moment (with proper notice of course).</span></div>
<div style="padding: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After I landed what I thought was my dream job and taking the risk, it became apparent that the job was not the right fit. I was jobless for the first time ever, living in NYC alone and more confused and scared than ever.</span></div>
<div style="padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That fear ended up being the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Now, I’m co-founding a new business with someone I respect, and I’ve launch a meaningful project, <a href="http://workingremote.ly/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">WorkingRemote.ly</a>.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Any good boss (you know, or human being) will respect this, and will likely do whatever they can to support your decision.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you’re struggling with a lack of heart, then think about what <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">would </em>inspire you. Start looking for opportunities that are in line with that, or simply create your own and become “the entrepreneur” <img alt=":)" class="wp-smiley" src="http://www.seanogle.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Common Objection: What could we do to help you rekindle your passion within our organization?</span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Reality:</strong></em> This is actually a valid objection. Before you go to your boss and talk to them, consider an answer to that question. Is there anything that <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">would</em> get your heart back in it? If not, recognize this and stick to your guns.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you think there is a way you could re-find that passion, try setting up a meeting to chat about it before quitting. Give them a chance to make the situation better. If 2-3 months later nothing has improved, then say peace and move on to bigger and better things.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">#8: The Budget Cut</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ah the dreaded budget cut. The re-org. The downsizing. Whatever name you want to give it, it can be a terrifying thing for a lot of employees. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But what if you were already thinking about quitting? Then maybe it doesn’t have to be such a scary thing. In fact, maybe it can be a positive for both you</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><em style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">and </em><span style="font-family: inherit;">your boss.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you know there’s a round of layoffs coming, go to your boss or whoever is in charge of making the layoff decisions and have an honest conversation, and see if it would help them out if you volunteered to be laid off.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Often times that’s one less person they have to break bad news to, and that also means that you could be eligible for severance, and at the very least, unemployment benefits.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Approach this one delicately, as your boss could simply fire you (justly) on the spot. That said, if you have a good relationship, maybe go out for a drink or coffee. Tell them what you’re thinking and see how they feel about it. When executed properly this is one of the best ways to leave because every party wins, and you get some help financially while you start your business or figure out what’s next.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Common Objection: Why are you telling me you don’t want to work here anymore? You know I can fire you now because of that?</span></strong></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; padding: 0px;">
<em style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Reality:</strong></em><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> If you do it right, they should sense the empathy you have for their situation, as well as your desire to make a change in your own life. If you’re considering this, then that means at the very least you </span><span style="color: #111111;">aren't</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: inherit;"> happy there anyway, so worst case they fire you and you don’t get severance. Best case, you stay good friends, and get a head start on your new path.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">#9 The Ease Out</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Still not feeling good about leaving your old company hanging out to dry? Propose easing yourself out of the position. Pick a time frame, maybe 3 months or so, and come up with a plan for slowly taking yourself out of the position. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Part of that could include training new employees, current employees taking over your duties, and documenting all of your daily processes/tasks. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Month one could be you working full time, month two has you going down to 3 days a week, and maybe the final month is once a week or working remotely and simply coming in as needed. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The goal of the ease out is to reduce the shock, confusion, and stress of suddenly losing a vital part of the organization.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This also allows you some time to slowly ramp down your time commitment on the old job, which allows you to ramp up your new business, while still having some financial security during those first few months.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Common Objection: We have too many valuable things going on to deal with this, we should probably just let you go now.</span></strong></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></strong></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Reality:</strong></em> Offer to handle the details. Before you approach, this lay out a detailed plan. You’re already a part of the team, so make sure you think through how current projects will be finished up if you’re easing out. If you’re not organized or don’t have a plan, they’ll see no benefit to the ease out – they’ll just walk you out right then and there.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">#10: The Template</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Figuring out exactly how to word your departure, or exactly how what to say when you give your two weeks notice can be incredibly difficult. Lucky for you there’s no shortage of templates out there to help you figure out exactly what to say. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you want to cover your bases and make sure you cover the necessities, take this actual resignation letter that</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://www.livingformonday.com/" style="color: #2361a1; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Living for Monday">Barrett</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">so kindly submitted, fill in the blanks, and set up an appointment with your boss.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.seanogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Job-Resignation-Template.docx" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Job Resignation Template"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Resignation Letter Template</span></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Be honest. Tell them exactly how you feel, and why it’s time for you to go elsewhere. Don’t like this template? That’s cool, just do a quick Google search for “job resignation template” and you’ll find all sorts of other routes you can take.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Common Objection (from Barrett’s Boss): Where are you going? What are they paying you?</span></strong></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Reality:</strong></em> Like any good person, after Barrett told his boss that he was setting out to start his own business, the response immediately changed to “how can I help.”</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As with many of the approaches we’re looking at today, if your goal is genuinely to improve you life and do something meaningful, they’ll usually respect your decision.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">#11: The Milestone</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oftentimes having a milestone in mind that you can use to fuel your fire for leaving is an incredible help.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Stuart gave me a great example of this:</span></div>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: #666666; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div style="padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On August 23 I will have been with my current employer for 5yrs and I thought there is no way I want to cross that milestone (for fear I may never get out). So, I decided that I should leave on August 22 and not look back.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The longer you’re on a job, the harder it is to leave, simple as that. In my own case, the recession and financial crisis proved to be a blessing in disguise. Had the economy gone the opposite way, my job situation would have been a lot more comfortable, and there’s a good chance I’d still be there today.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">By picking a milestone, 5 years for Stuart, and saying I’m going to be out by then, it allows you to start planning accordingly. This is similar to the Timebomb Method, but with “the milestone” you may or may not work with your employer to make it happen.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Stuart said both his coworkers and boss tried to convince him to stay, but he held true to his guns and mentioned that 5 years is a long time to be somewhere these days, and he needed to do this for himself.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Common Objection: Why would you want to leave now? At 5 years you get better benefits and an extra week of vacation!</span></strong></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Reality:</strong></em> Being anywhere for 5 years leaves you with a greater sense of commitment than ever. If you’ve been doing it for 5 years, what’s another 5 or 10? You have to know yourself and trust your gut. If you know that you’re susceptible to routine and comfort, <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">and </em>are unhappy with where you’re at. Pick a day, and never look back.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">#12: The Globe Trotter</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Did you go to college in the same city you grew up in? Still living in grandmas basement? Do you even own a passport? </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you answered yes to any of these questions, well hot damn son, it’s time to go out and see the world! My former boss once told me the best two years of his life were when he bought a VW van and spent 2 years traveling over Europe. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">While I was in my first job, I’d never really had that cool travel experience, and you know what?</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><em style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">I needed it. </em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<em style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If your boss is significantly older than you, there’s a good chance that they’ve had this experience. They’ve had some kind of cool travel story that they got out of their system, which has allowed them to settle into their current position. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you haven’t had a similar experience (or even if you have, and are lusting for it again) tell your boss this when you’re submitting your resignation. What are they going to say?</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><strong style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“No, seeing the world is for schmucks. You should stay right here in Scranton and never go anywhere. Ever.”</strong></div>
<h2 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I don’t think so.</span></strong></h2>
<div>
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Common Objection: It’s dangerous out there, why would you want to leave a place as great as America?</span></strong></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Reality:</strong></em> Once you’ve seen the world you’ll have an entirely different perspective on Americans, as well as most aspects of your personal life. Studying abroad should be an obligation in universities, and if you haven’t done this yet, you owe it to yourself to go outside the US. This is an easy excuse. Just make sure you mail your boss a postcard.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">#13: The Sandbagger</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This final approach falls into the category of “use with caution”.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Don’t have the balls to actually resign on your own? Well, you could always go the route of the sandbagger. Stop meeting deadlines, stop being reliable, show up late – essentially stop trying.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I personally don’t think this is the best route to go. However, when I polled Twitter I got a few people who took different variations of this route. Exercise extreme caution when becoming the sandbagger, because it could tarnish your reputation and hurt your chances for future employment.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Common Objection: You’ve been completely slacking off and not doing anything! </span></strong></em></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Reality:</strong></em> They’re right, your ass deserves to get fired. Bridge probably equals burned, but hey, at least you’re free of your job!</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Moving Forward After Quitting</span></strong></h3>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hopefully this post has provided you with some creative ideas for how you and your employer can part ways on good terms, or at least come to an agreement that is more beneficial for both of you.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Quitting your job is never easy. Emotions will almost always be high, and even if you have something else lined up or a good business in place, the <a href="http://www.overcomeuncertainty.com/" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Overcome Uncertainty">uncertainty</a> can be brutal.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Stay positive. The worst case scenario almost never happens, and remember, you’re leaving for a reason. Even if things get temporarily more difficult, I promise they won’t stay that way forever.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Once you finally do it? Check out this post about <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/entrepreneurship/after-quitting-your-job" style="color: #2361a1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="What to do immediately after quitting your job">what to do immediately after quitting your job</a>.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #111111; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What did I miss? How did <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">you </em>break it to your boss that you were heading elsewhere?</span></strong></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #111111;">Originally posted at <b><a href="http://www.seanogle.com/entrepreneurship/approaches-to-quitting-your-job" target="_blank">seanoggle</a></b></span>Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-29190464405814410082013-10-14T14:55:00.002-07:002013-10-14T14:55:58.545-07:00How To Find A Job When You Have No Ties<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4wjBUoJ33aB-tZdp-x0cw3jSU7Fz6uSU_EpyPDexVQR8-irjWqTTeWgJmsbffjYfZA3FTVyHHoH0iO1vwsNMlV3gOu9blnaFliT1xAXd18KAQEVrdVK-I7zgrDsj0yXZmotdwLED32pLC/s1600/job+without+tie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4wjBUoJ33aB-tZdp-x0cw3jSU7Fz6uSU_EpyPDexVQR8-irjWqTTeWgJmsbffjYfZA3FTVyHHoH0iO1vwsNMlV3gOu9blnaFliT1xAXd18KAQEVrdVK-I7zgrDsj0yXZmotdwLED32pLC/s320/job+without+tie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Finding a job can often be a challenge, particularly if you’re sewn into personal obligations like a relationship or have strong financial commitments that limit your career opportunities and the places you can look.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
However, if you have none of these ties, or have commitments that allow you to be upwardly mobile, then finding a job can be much easier, and you’ll find yourself with the ability to say yes to far more opportunities.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here’s how you should go about it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b></b></div>
<a name='more'></a><b>Think About What You Want</b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Many of us, particularly at a young age, fall into a job out of the sheer necessity of having one. Why do you think you see so many young people working in fast food restaurants, shops, or in clerical positions?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
No one grows up dreaming of doing that for a living. If you’re in a position where you have no ties, you can do pretty much whatever you want. You should take advantage of it, too, for there will probably come a time when you have to put your own passions to one side and think about a partner or young family when making your choices.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Start Your Own Business</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you have a business idea and the means to make a go of it, then you could always become an entrepreneur. Starting a business is renowned for being a great drain on time, but at this stage in your life you’re well set to dedicate all the resources you need to making your venture a success.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Don’t be fooled into thinking that you have to come up with a groundbreaking new idea, product, or service. Despite the economic recession, numerous industries still enjoy growth and can cope with new businesses joining the market.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Look to Travel</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When people talk about travelling, they automatically have visions of backpacking around Australia or walking through the lush forests of South East Asia. However, if you love travelling and meeting new people, you’ll have many opportunities to build this into your career.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
An obvious place to start would be with a summer job as a holiday rep, or an internship or placement in an office somewhere around the world. Depending on your long-term career ambitions, you might stay closer to home.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Building on the earlier starting a business idea, you might start a haulage company, for example; you can still travel and see a lot in a truck, while truck insurance at XYZ and other business services makes it easy to get started in this field.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Try Something Different</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What job would you never ordinarily consider or might have done but didn’t apply through fear of perhaps not enjoying it? Now is the time to think about these roles; if they’re not what you think they’re going to be, there isn’t the pressure of paying for a house or having many mouths to feed to keep you doing something you don’t enjoy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
However, you’ll probably find you actually really enjoy some of the unusual jobs you’ll find; try working on a farm or something similar, it’ll be a surprisingly rewarding experience.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Make the most of your independence when looking for a job; if you don’t, you might live to regret it later when you’re focused on fulfilling obligations to those around you.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Article Source <b><a href="http://thebusinessaim.com/how-to-find-a-job-when-you-have-no-ties/" target="_blank">thebusinessaim</a></b></div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-8258098423625058172013-10-14T14:48:00.004-07:002013-10-14T14:48:59.462-07:00Ken Igbokwe Speaks - In Life, Where You Get To And How You Get There Is In Your Head <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDQq9St1I2cw_ADXE1CpDUDroyHUlIqk6vm_9OgKI-45H7DjNdLtNtpatXq5zWczUrTAr5isqv0fzWU4LBZLmD9sWmarwc2vymplnsG2WCrhIDHe6E3kxE7-NWxjUav69Tj5M1MAovd57k/s1600/Ken-Igbokwe-pwc-thebusinessaim-consulting-taxation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDQq9St1I2cw_ADXE1CpDUDroyHUlIqk6vm_9OgKI-45H7DjNdLtNtpatXq5zWczUrTAr5isqv0fzWU4LBZLmD9sWmarwc2vymplnsG2WCrhIDHe6E3kxE7-NWxjUav69Tj5M1MAovd57k/s1600/Ken-Igbokwe-pwc-thebusinessaim-consulting-taxation.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was opportune to attend the Speaker series a few weeks back, where Country Senior Partner, PWC Ken Igbokwe shared his business and life experiences. Ken has 35 years experience in business advisory, assurance provision, taxation and consulting services. On regular basis he contributes to public debates and discourse on the transformation of the public sector in Nigeria.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The session was for 90 minutes and I was able to jot down a few inspiring lines to share with you. When </div>
<a name='more'></a>asked if he got to PWC by chance, why he’s been in PWC for so long and if he had been tempted by a more lucrative offer at some point. Mr. Ken smiled as if the very questions were on point.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“It’s not the money, PWC is actually an extremely unique environment of about 700 talented young Nigerians who want to give it their all thinking about the future and everything career here. Not everybody has the opportunity to influence this people and show them we can be all we want to be.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“Once in 1988 and 1989 I had the opportunity to strike out, go do my own thing, it was very tempting. As a partner and senior partner I get job offers, but it’s not the offers per say, It’s the opportunity to go do something very dear to my heart which is to manage my own business outside PWC, that was over 25years ago, but I also saw the same opportunity in PWC and I took it.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“Getting into PWC was not by chance, it’s actually interesting. I studied mechanical engineering at a very young age, and before I went to college I had actually worked in Shell. When I got to college I discovered technology as the very exciting thing in life and during one of our classes in operation management, we were making a lot of noise and the professor said; “this is the problem with you engineers, brilliant boys and girls, you don’t want learn anything outside technical, you don’t pay attention, and when you leave school, you go and join companies and then the highest you can go is be the head of technical, but where the action is, is not in the technical, it’s in running the business.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“As he was saying this we all kept quiet. After the lecture I ran up to him, and said, I found what you said intriguing, because I’ve worked at shell and I have seen engineers who were all Shell scholars climb the ladder but never run the business and you can’t run the business without engineers. He explained that to run the business, it’s not just the technical skills but the leadership and management skills. In teaching them operation management, the idea was to broaden the spectrum on how to build a successful career. I inquired the part of engineering he studied and it turned out he was an accountant and again emphasizing the angle that it’s really about the technical skills.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mr. Ken later joined PW in London, and then it was still the leading accounting firm in the world. He joined a view into understanding accounting and getting into businesses. It was very easy for him to transition from technical into the business. According to him, people don’t understand that everything in life is actually easy; they just need to make their mind and say this is what they want to do. What they will find is that it comes easy to them and they will find the right people to help them when they see how determined they are.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“I have always been ambitious” Mr Ken said. “My childhood ambitions I still haven’t achieved which is to be an astronaut and fly to the moon. I always wanted to own a business the helps people find solutions to problems, my dad always wanted me to be a doctor, I also wanted to be a doctor and be other things. I liked to fix things but then I realized that I may be too attached to patients so I knew that medicine was not for me. You have to be ambitious and focused, you have to decide and just go for it, and the worst that can happen is that at the end of your life you say; ‘that was a good struggle’. In the process of trying to get to that goal, you were spending your life in a focused manner and in the manner that you want. I think it’s really about you, your life and how you drive it.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“Practically everything about life, where you get to and how you get there is in your head. Life is about you, how you think about the people you relate to, whether you are religious or not, how deeply religious you are is all in your head.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“We all got indoctrinated while growing up, by our parents and society but you a get to a point as an adult and encounter that moment where it occurs to you that life is what you make of it. There are many people we think are poor, but they are content. Contentment is about you and what is in your head and what you define as what makes you happy and what you strive for. By the time I got out of school and joined PW I wanted to ‘fulfill my potential’. It’s the only thing that drives me. Your potential is about you, how you define it, focus and drive it. It’s disappointing to see people not aiming for their potential. If your ambitions and goals are sufficiently challenging, they give you a life time of fun just trying to reach that potential.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“Nigeria has the greatest potential in the world. We have the best that anybody can be given; the issue is what have we made of all that talent? We’ve got mineral resources, sunshine, fertile lands and yet much of this is not used. We haven’t reached that potential as we are yet to address the issues of political governance and what is required to build a country. We are not fulfilling our potential. It’s quite difficult to manage especially with the 250 different tribal groups, but we can still do something about it.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
“Reason why we are still here is that on the lower level we are afraid to go out there and say we want this and don’t want that. In the leadership it’s about too many vested interest with short term thinking, we neither think strategically nor act so, even when do, we sacrifice them on short term accommodation. All of this is hard work, no nation was ever built by people who don’t work hard, and we are not giving it our all.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mr. Ken hammered more on advice, decision, taking responsibilities. Nobody listens to advice he says, but we want to blame somebody else for their advice given whereas the final decision to act is ours. What advice does is provide additional information to make a decision, and that is yours to make and not that of the advice giver.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He stressed more on seriousness amongst young people trying to going into business. In his words; “There is no free lunch”. By saying this he wanted to communicate to young people that it’s all about them driving something with a valid proposition and not just aiming to get everything free.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Originally posted on <b><a href="http://thebusinessaim.com/in-life-where-you-get-to-and-how-you-get-there-is-in-your-head-ken-igbokwe/" target="_blank">thebusinessaim</a></b></div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-33959114887891240292013-10-14T14:43:00.002-07:002013-10-14T14:43:53.927-07:0014 Reasons Why Jeff Bezos Is A Total Genius<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1c4ANF6m8j5vd1W2U-TKaxIv1uWcaGtNfPYXMlPSzmDDoXQ5kJN3gV0YIegrwWnIx0mHQkqf2XMKQY34Qa4OhXansKLHGDBKIVr_n1FYA4nqMeEjFBS15K84OUajQVU_FsFycyoHIKB-/s1600/jeffrey-k.-bezos.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1c4ANF6m8j5vd1W2U-TKaxIv1uWcaGtNfPYXMlPSzmDDoXQ5kJN3gV0YIegrwWnIx0mHQkqf2XMKQY34Qa4OhXansKLHGDBKIVr_n1FYA4nqMeEjFBS15K84OUajQVU_FsFycyoHIKB-/s320/jeffrey-k.-bezos.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, is a billionaire who’s had an amazing life and career: He’s building a mysterious 10,000-year clock in a West Texas cave.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Earlier this year, he bought the Washington Post for $250 million. You wouldn’t want to get on his bad side. Bezos achieved so much success by being incredibly smart and business savvy, and so we rounded up some quotes that show his genius.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b></b></div>
<a name='more'></a><b>On complacency:</b> “A company shouldn’t get addicted to being shiny, because shiny doesn’t last.”<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>On innovation:</b> “I think frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do. One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>On progress:</b> “If you’re competitor-focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer-focused allows you to be more pioneering.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>On developing company culture: </b>“Part of company culture is path-dependent—it’s the lessons you learn along the way.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>On new ideas: </b>“There’ll always be serendipity involved in discovery.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>On haters:</b> “If you never want to be criticized, for goodness’ sake don’t do anything new.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>On motivation:</b> “I strongly believe that missionaries make better products. They care more. For a missionary, it’s not just about the business. There has to be a business, and the business has to make sense, but that’s not why you do it. You do it because you have something meaningful that motivates you.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>On choosing friends:</b> “Life’s too short to hang out with people who aren’t resourceful.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>On morals:</b> “The one thing that offends me the most is when I walk by a bank and see ads trying to convince people to take out second mortgages on their home so they can go on vacation. That’s approaching evil.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>One strategy: </b>“We’ve had three big ideas at Amazon that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they’re the reason we’re successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>On growth:</b> “All businesses need to be young forever. If your customer base ages with you, you’re Woolworth’s.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>On pivoting:</b> “If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>On marketing:</b> “In the old world, you devoted 30% of your time to building a great service and 70% of your time to shouting about it. In the new world, that inverts.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>On pricing:</b> “There are two kinds of companies, those that work to try to charge more and those that work to charge less. We will be the second.”</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Originally on <b><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-inspiring-business-quotes-2013-10?op=1#ixzz2hgybTC7f" target="_blank">businessinsider</a></b></div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-56067590075120918592013-10-13T11:39:00.000-07:002013-10-13T11:39:23.135-07:00Plunge Into The Sea – Face The Sharks!<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXE_Q-uyJTMhmG5qWXbd6Ugk87TxaMVIoiXeejp5uLh_EhgyM7K5fbB-pQi7_IAdge7pgteSPyRVc2PedzkyMFM5RIaplu_wRVvuVRVDubKoHScKWU1IgQBs3H2diRb06zPka7aYNo5WP/s1600/Shark-Feed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXE_Q-uyJTMhmG5qWXbd6Ugk87TxaMVIoiXeejp5uLh_EhgyM7K5fbB-pQi7_IAdge7pgteSPyRVc2PedzkyMFM5RIaplu_wRVvuVRVDubKoHScKWU1IgQBs3H2diRb06zPka7aYNo5WP/s320/Shark-Feed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">Why did it bite me? Why did it have to?” The words of a diver from a Nat Geo Wild documentary series. I laughed when I heard those questions. Right in mind I thought <b><i>‘Who Send You Message?</i></b>’<span id="more-3047"></span> She had been bitten by a shark while in the deep sea; it was a deep cut, she was bleeding profusely, but did it stop her from going into the sea after recovery? NO, it didn’t. This piece isn’t really about her exclamation, but about her courage to do what she needed to do despite the high level of risk. She knew sharks existed in the sea, but she plunged into it because of her love and passion for what she does.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="background-color: white;">These guys take risks because they love what they do. I try to relate this kind of situation to other life experiences. We humans are just too scared to get out there and face life as it is. Life is not for the feeble minded, neither is it for those who are not willing to get out of their comfort zones and do what is needed to be fulfilled in life.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Are you scared of failing? Are you scared of death? We are all going to die someday anyway. I have learnt a lot about animals because the guys at Nat Geo Wild have decided to do something differently; it amazes me how these guys go about playing around with wild animals, it’s risky but it’s fun and they love what they do. Listen, I am not asking you to join the Nat Geo Wild team. But the point is, you have got to do something different and take certain level of risks in order to achieve most of your set goals. Your life becomes an inspiration and learning reference for younger generations to come.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Get out there, get bitten by wild animals, face your fears and fail as many times as possible, it is in failing that you learn more and get better. I am not going to mention the names of prominent people who have failed, we all know the stories; what kept them going despite all odds was the believe that someday they will get it right. I hear a lot of workers whining and complaining about how unfulfilling their jobs are, how they are underpaid and made to work their asses off, how they work 9-5 or 5-9 as with the typical Lagos scenario and burn themselves out, how their social life is dead and how their jobs consume them so much leaving them with little time for themselves and bla bla bla. Enough of all these complaints! You are not happy where you are and you think they don’t have a choice, you think you are going to die without your monthly pay, you expect a miracle; some kind of change like a better job with a better pay but the truth is you still complain when you get the so-called ‘ better job’. Remember lifestyle changes with a pay raise.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">My question is this; are you happy where you are? Are you one of those who nag about the situation of things? Do you honestly think complaining is going to change things for good? How much longer are you going to hang in there? Are you using your God given potential to its fullest? It’s a pity that most people die with their talents after slaving for other people. I am not advising you to quit your paid job, I am just saying, if it’s not fulfilling, why stay there and nag yourself to death! Well, it’s true that most workers are clueless of what to do outside their jobs; this is because their brain and mind have been configured to work based on a system structured by another man, a system setup to drain you. They always take back what they give to you. If you are feeling lost and don’t know what to do, invest in a business course!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">There are people who work for others, love what they do and try not to complain; these kind of people are so comfortable in their comfort zone, they are going to work and retire on their job and receive pension; if you are this person, it’s good I give you kudos but just wait until you retire or get laid off then you face the reality of life when you are least prepared or when your strength has been zapped! On a final note, some people are meant to work for others; like a friend said, if everyone has a business, who will serve in the Marines? Who will teach the students? Everyone can’t own a school right? Well, this message is not meant for everyone. If you want to be remembered after you are gone, do something worth writing about or write something worth reading. Ask yourself, what are you known for? When your name is mentioned what do people think of? I am not trying to base my analogy on those who work for people; if you find yourself complaining about life and everything around you, this is also for you. Stop nagging, do something differently! You have an idea, put it down on paper, structure it, and implement it; you can start working on a project with your little savings while you work, but if your work gets in your way, QUIT! You will be glad you did! Are you scared? Did I make your heart skip a beat? Do you feel gel in your knees? I will say no further! The ball is on your court my dear friend! Don’t be scared, you have got all it takes; first you need to understand your purpose in life. The world is yours for the taking.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">I wish you the best!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Cheers!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXE_Q-uyJTMhmG5qWXbd6Ugk87TxaMVIoiXeejp5uLh_EhgyM7K5fbB-pQi7_IAdge7pgteSPyRVc2PedzkyMFM5RIaplu_wRVvuVRVDubKoHScKWU1IgQBs3H2diRb06zPka7aYNo5WP/s1600/Shark-Feed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXE_Q-uyJTMhmG5qWXbd6Ugk87TxaMVIoiXeejp5uLh_EhgyM7K5fbB-pQi7_IAdge7pgteSPyRVc2PedzkyMFM5RIaplu_wRVvuVRVDubKoHScKWU1IgQBs3H2diRb06zPka7aYNo5WP/s320/Shark-Feed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-38601520743396059992013-10-06T04:33:00.000-07:002013-10-06T04:33:21.300-07:00He was Banker But Now Raises Fish and Grow Plants in her Apartment in New York<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirLMNxGNTicdZQJgA7u81KFk63hDF4bPWTyDe5yFWjbmNODsAWQcw6-obQY7oTC6Y8kDG9lov68401Dy0evx8zEOB17l6jw-7SnPsUiaSmjvLkDm7rNGdsHRcohd5IqC-9AOOV0GvHX36R/s1600/christopher-toole+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirLMNxGNTicdZQJgA7u81KFk63hDF4bPWTyDe5yFWjbmNODsAWQcw6-obQY7oTC6Y8kDG9lov68401Dy0evx8zEOB17l6jw-7SnPsUiaSmjvLkDm7rNGdsHRcohd5IqC-9AOOV0GvHX36R/s320/christopher-toole+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">You can</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;"> </span></span><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">recycle</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;"> </span></span><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">, drive a small car and try to eat organic foods.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">But you can also go further and raise fish
with eco-sustainable technology and have a garden with natural fertilization and
own an apartment in a city like New York.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> <strong><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Christopher Toole and Anya
Pozdeeva,</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"> </span></span><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">two former bankers who founded the Big Apple</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"> </span></span><strong style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Securities Company aquaponic and Education</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"> </span></span><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">(SAVE, for its acronym in English), have a
story to tell.</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;">"We call it 'beyond organic,'"</span></span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"> </span></span><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">said Pozdeeva, 39.</span></span> <span class="notranslate"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">The technique</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"> </span></span><strong style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">aquaponics</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"> </span></span><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">is a sustainable food production, which
combines fish farming (aquaculture) </span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a>with the cultivation of plants in water
(hydroponics).<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;">It is a perfect system, ecological miniature
that can produce healthy food in a small apartment with simple equipment, they
said.</span></span><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"> <em><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">"We
built our system from garbage cans,"</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="notranslate">said Pozdeeva,
a thin woman who emigrated from the Siberian region of Russia 20 years ago and
still speaks English with a slight accent.</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;">If
raising fish in an apartment in New York seems unlikely, Toole and Pozdeeva
seem even more improbable as urban ecological pioneers.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">Until recently were bankers who met working long hours among the
skyscrapers of Manhattan, far from bleak Bronx where they currently live.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">But after the financial meltdown of 2008
brought down the banking sector, Toole, vice president of Sovereign Bank,
discovered he had a serious eye problem, which he said was caused by stress.</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">Both he and Pozdeeva were very disappointed
with their careers.</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><em style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">"They know how to squeeze
every last drop from you and then throw you away,"</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;"> </span></span><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">said Pozdeeva.</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><em style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">"We wanted to keep our feet on the ground,"</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;"> </span></span><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">said Toole, 47, gray beard and hat pigskin.</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">Instead, put your feet in the water.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 18.45pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; outline: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">Toole knew a little about fish by his childhood summers with his
father scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts
(northeast), a famous centre for research in marine biology in the Cape Cod
area aquaponics, he estimated, would allow him to join the sustainable food
production with what he hopes is a business model also sustainable.</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">A risky idea?</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">Yes</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;"> </span></span><em style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">"But understanding risk is something they teach you a lot in
the banking sector,"</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;"> </span></span><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">he said.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 18.45pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; outline: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;">Each week Toole and Pozdeeva aquaponics technique taught about 80
children at the headquarters of SAVE in a community center in the South Bronx,
one of the more socio-economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the United
States.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 18.45pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; outline: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; outline: 0px;"><span class="notranslate"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.45pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">During one recent class, the couple engaged
in what young people do; everything from cleaning fish tanks to planting mint,
cabbage and other vegetables. Children, despite being more familiar with the
concrete jungle of the Bronx, were soon involved. "I have fear that the fishes
will come and bite me" he said, laughing at a little girl as she put her
hand on the top of a barrel with large tilapia. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.45pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.45pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">When two kids gardening set aside to start a
fight with mud, Pozdeeva calmly intervened."The earth is precious,"
he said. The boys went back to gardening. Toole said there are several types of
fish farming in their farms, but tilapias are best. They require 19-38 liters
of water and in nine months can be eaten. They can be totally vegetarian and
seem to like duckweed, a plant of green beans and Pozdeeva Toole collected from
ponds in Van Cortland Park in the Bronx. "It's illegal, but on the other
hand these plants are choking ponds, so you could argue that we are doing them
a favor," said Toole on his expeditions to collect this type of plant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.45pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.45pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">In addition to teaching, Toole and Pozdeeva
sell small fingerlings at 5 dollars apiece through its www.vifarms.com website,
Facebook and other websites. Just a year ago they created SAVE, but Toole and
Pozdeeva have many more fish to fry. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 18.45pt;">Toole plans partnerships with chefs, other
urban fish breeders, and consultancy work for newcomers. But after fleeing global
banking, it does not seem like working for anyone, or "selling our
soul" as he says. It seems unlikely to happen.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.45pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 18.45pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.45pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Pozdeeva has discovered that fungi, raised on
a simple piece of cardboard, thrive in the same conditions of warmth, darkness
and humidity that favor the breeding of tilapia. And Toole is excited to diversify
into the production of honey. "Right now I have 10,000 bees in our living
room," he said. "So not only am I sleeping with fish, but with
bees."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.45pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">In fact, the only thing that could hinder the
green revolution, it seems, are particularly strict rules of New York in
connection with pets in apartment buildings. "Basically, we need to be
somewhat discreet," said Pozdeeva on domestic colonies of fish. "But
that's the beauty of the fish."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-53765138211037926452013-10-05T21:10:00.001-07:002013-10-05T21:11:46.276-07:00Unemployed Graduates Should Seek Self Employment! Uche Amadi; CEO of Virgin Veil Classic Events Speaks <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzuDQjEHThaJ_9evE4FLFw_-kXGvcaLlge46JnDWV_HweQtHTWa9zyjYaX6gF57TeiQbUt-DscVE3-7zWD-Mmurn6XToDEQse0sjbBl4zbhyunovNDPwRbNl3KZ5IQ9dQs9bcl64tRgBT/s1600/ucheblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzuDQjEHThaJ_9evE4FLFw_-kXGvcaLlge46JnDWV_HweQtHTWa9zyjYaX6gF57TeiQbUt-DscVE3-7zWD-Mmurn6XToDEQse0sjbBl4zbhyunovNDPwRbNl3KZ5IQ9dQs9bcl64tRgBT/s320/ucheblog.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you had seen the movie ‘Just a Night’ in the early 90’s, you would remember the young chubby guy who drove a coaster bus at night after the bus driver was attacked by strange forces while on an excursion from school. It’s been donkey years since we saw after our Secondary education. I must say Uche Amadi has done well for himself; he is a full time business man engaged in Event Management, Interior Decoration and Makeup-Artistry. So I made him create time for an interview; he spoke about his business and advised unemployed graduates to endeavor to start up their own businesses and become employers of labor. It was exciting experience learning from him about his business, challenges, failures and success. Listen to him. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b>Let’s Meet You! </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Smiling, he introduced himself as Uche Amadi the CEO of Virgin Veil Classic Events. I hail from Imo State. Virgin Veil is an indigenous event Management Coy located in Lagos State. Virgin Veil was established in 1995 with the intent of planning and organizing events such as wedding receptions, birthday parties, get together etc. Apart from managing events, we also engage in Makeup Artistry, Fashion Designing and Interior Decoration of homes and offices. We ensure the smooth running of events by planning, strategizing, designing and implementation of all activities during the events. The Makeup aspect of my business was integrated so as to effectively handle the overall appearance of the bride and/or celebrants; this makes it easier for us to have everything under our control. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Did it Start? </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My Mum has been in the business for over 10 years; as a young growing man I usually accompanied her whenever she had events to handle, my desire to learn about the business increased each time I had to opportunity to join her during business hours. My first practical learning experience manifested one fateful day when my Mum was disappointed by her staff; I had no choice but to assist her in ensuring the job doesn’t turn out to be a flop. We did well and it turned out fantastic; so I said to myself, ‘why can’t I take this as a full time business?’ Ever since then, I started taking jobs for myself and registered my own Company to kick start my business.
What’s the Minimum Requirement to Start a Makeup Business?
You don’t need millions to start; the most important thing is to acquire the skill through adequate training. You can start makeup business with just N50,000; the said sum is for purchase of makeup kits which include like brushes, foundation, eye liners etc. The good thing about this business is that you do not need a shop to startup. Most makeup artistes are freelance; you just need appropriate networking and good quality of work. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What’s the Minimum Requirement to Startup an Event Management Coy?</b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There are different aspects of event management and I really can’t say precisely how much it would cost to startup as the business includes several aspects and would also depend on the kind of events that you are handling. A registered company name is imperative and also adequate knowledge of the business.
Have You Ever Experienced Failure?
Chuckling, he said ‘honestly I don’t think so’, but my worst experience was when a couple didn’t show up after I had successfully planned their wedding event. We had worked tirelessly just to put things to make the wedding ceremony unique. It was all hyped and the environment was awesome. We did the decoration both for the Church and the reception venue. But something was missing; guess what? The couple did not show up, I really don’t know the reason but they didn’t show up! Everyone was well seated waiting for their arrival, after a while I called and there was no response from the couple. Some minutes late I got a text from the groom informing me that the wedding had been called off. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Did You Handle The Situation?</b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Laughing… Well, we employed the ‘whisper and pass the message method,’ before we knew it, everyone started leaving one after the other and that was it. I got the pay for the job but somehow I was not happy. The couple called some months after and told me they had rescheduled the wedding for a later date; they paid again and this time around they were available for the wedding ceremony. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Do You Handle Competition?</b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There are lots of people in the event management and makeup artistry business, how do you handle competition? Uche speaks – On this issue, like I earlier on mentioned, your quality of work has to differ from that of your competitors. I started this business because of the passion I had for it; it’s fun having to put things in place for people’s occasion, it’s more like footballers who play because they love to play and make money while they do what they love. If you implore this mindset, you will over deliver; competition wouldn’t be an issue because the quality of your work will naturally sell you. Competition is normal in every business, you just have to strategize and find out what works best for you. However, competition shouldn’t deter you from starting your business. Do business for the passion first and not for the money; when you start getting referrals through ‘word of mouth’, money will keep rolling in because people would naturally recommend your services. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What’s Your Advice to the Unemployed in Nigeria? </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have never been a ‘work for anybody’ kind of person. I knew what I wanted; I had the platform and I leveraged on it. My sincere advice to unemployed graduates is to acquire a skill and start from somewhere, business grows and gets better as you practice and forge ahead. You don’t need all the money in the world, starting on a small scale will help you better understand your business and also reduce the risk of heavy loss; just in case. Money is not the problem here; it’s the lack of skill and adequate planning that is lagging in the quest for Entrepreneurship. You need to find out what you can do that gives you joy, then acquire the skills on start up.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What are the Challenges of The Business?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Hmmm… Well, my major challenge is
clients over expectation from jobs. Sometimes you do a wonderful job and you
think you have nailed it, not for someone to come up and tell you to do it the
other way round. It could be frustrating sometimes but then you have no choice
but to satisfy your clients because they are the reason why you are in
business. You just have to get it right! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The 30 minute interview ended and
I thanked Uche Amadi for his time. I began to wonder, what if we had thousands
of unemployed graduate with an Entrepreneurial spirit and the drive to succeed.
There are lots of programs out there advocating self employment but the problem
is with the youths themselves. The ‘ get rich quick’ mentality has impaired
their frequency of reasoning, most people get into business with the mindset of
making millions in the first 1-3 months and when this doesn’t happen, they get
frustrated and quit with money going down the drain. This is a wakeup call for
the unemployed, stop complaining about the situation of the country, open your
eyes as there are lots of opportunities waiting for you to tap into. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Uche Amadi also offers
consultation and training services. You can visit his website on <a href="http://www.virginveilweddingplace.gnbo.com.ng/">www.virginveilweddingplace.gnbo.com.ng</a>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Phone:</b> 08038440996, 08123789891</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Email:</b> <a href="mailto:virginveilplace@gmail.com">virginveilplace@gmail.com</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/uche.amadi.940?fref=ts" target="_blank">Click Here to Add Friend</a></b></div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-10909393891191606122013-09-27T01:30:00.000-07:002013-09-27T01:30:04.447-07:00Facebook's Got a Heavy Contender! Vir2o is Set To Change to Social Media World<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysuNmtOhq3CPrJOtvMq7ua-n0nXJAGlV0G64zZ-Omd_0Ui13ne8Rd_eCX8NLBB_if_2Vh0guIL1Q9mEmfPD0eCWzjpyxlRR1M6seJpdV12DurOhzOwmNXZJMEuXejT9H05btZwr2F01jh/s1600/vir2o-live-community-social-media.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysuNmtOhq3CPrJOtvMq7ua-n0nXJAGlV0G64zZ-Omd_0Ui13ne8Rd_eCX8NLBB_if_2Vh0guIL1Q9mEmfPD0eCWzjpyxlRR1M6seJpdV12DurOhzOwmNXZJMEuXejT9H05btZwr2F01jh/s320/vir2o-live-community-social-media.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">Thousands of ideas spring up everyday but only just a few put down these ideas in writing and implement them. Now this ' implemented idea' is going to shock you! A major competitor has finally emerged for facebook! Yes you heard that right. An Atlanta based company, East Coast Diversified Corps has launched its unique social media platform Vir2o; this platform comes with unique features perfectly integrated into it to give the user a completely new social media experience while interacting in real time with friends and loved ones. The intent of the Vir2o is to be the “local pub and community center” of the Internet. The startup is backed by $1 million in seed financing.<span id="more-2883"></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="background-color: white;">The Vir2o site integrates various components from other social media networks to create a broader platform with more capabilities. Users can share pictures, listen to music, play games, post and watch videos, and shop in private “rooms.” Using the “nVite” feature, people can invite groups of friends to join them in these rooms and all their voice, audio, and screen views are synchronized. Vir2o seeks to take the offline experience of hanging out and put it online. Founder Kayode Aladesuyi said its like a more advanced version of Google +.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">“Vir2o is disruptive to the current state of social media, taking the concept of socialization beyond the community poster board to enhancing relationships on the Web,” said Aladesuyi to VentureBeat. “Interactive user engagement is what’s new, different and innovative. It is not screen-sharing, it is session-sharing. Social media in its current state, while it serves desired business purposes, may in the long run become a platform where people are further separated and alienated rather than harmonizing relationships regardless of place or distance.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Social media has ingrained itself deeply into every aspect of our lives. Yet despite the proliferation of communication methods, people still question whether this technology actually strengthens relationships, or whether it supports quantity over quality of social interactions. This is a hot button issue and a significant amount has been published over the past few years on the topics of loneliness, American alienation, and the dissolution of the American community, such as Loneliness, Bowling Alone, Alone Together, and The Pursuit of Loneliness.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">For many users, Facebook is no longer about your close circle of friends. Its where you reconnect with a classmate from high school or share pictures of your weekend with the world. Alternative social networks like Path try to create a more intimate experience, but Path has struggled to find a viable monetization scheme and also with user fatigue — many people are already overwhelmed with social media and don’t want to add more networks into the equation. Vir2o will face these issues as well.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Vir2o has adopted a mixed revenue business model based on advertising and revenue share with content providers and retailers. There are campaigns and sponsored and banner ads in all the “rooms.” In the “music room”, Vir2o also makes money by taking a commission on any albums or songs that are purchased through its VMaestro service. In the “movie room,” it earns revenue on a pay per view basis for broadcasted content like live concerts and sporting matches, as well as fees from movie subscriptions and rentals. Vir2o also has a marketplace where it makes a commission on all products sold on the site by third party retailers.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Vir2o attracted approximately 20,000 beta users and is targeted people in emerging markets with a focus on BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China). The company was founded in 2012 and operates under parent company East Coast Diversified Corp. It has 17 employees and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">This post was Originally on <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/22/vir2o-takes-on-facebook-google-path-to-combat-internet-loneliness/" style="outline: none !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">venturebeat</a></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
Culled from <a href="http://www.thebusinessaim.com/" target="_blank">The Business Aim</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-61365388429303995532013-09-21T07:56:00.001-07:002013-10-05T21:23:34.495-07:00She Made 20k in 9 Hours Making Spring Rolls, Samusa, Small Chops and Fried Meat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg_7_AIJfvV1GHASIh4AyWzeaauO2MOLk2T8JcsZt9DB8paON8nbdZvbMnu03vhVQIjsAlPMacCpdsc7Omgn0Da0U2McSxb33M3iN3RCM8JRfPMevK904nXp0wKFPlB-f8zL-9mMerGTfX/s1600/entrepreneurship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg_7_AIJfvV1GHASIh4AyWzeaauO2MOLk2T8JcsZt9DB8paON8nbdZvbMnu03vhVQIjsAlPMacCpdsc7Omgn0Da0U2McSxb33M3iN3RCM8JRfPMevK904nXp0wKFPlB-f8zL-9mMerGTfX/s320/entrepreneurship.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you are unemployed
and don't have any skill or hand work then I am sorry for you. It's imperative
to learn at least one skill or leverage on the use of your talent to render
services and make money for yourself. Obviously, there are no jobs to accommodate
the thousands to millions of unemployed graduate so you need to shine your eyes
and give yourself some value. Yesterday I paid a visit to my younger sister, I
could perceive the </span></div>
<a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">aroma coming from the kitchen and was curious to know what
she and her friends were doing. Well, it turned out to be spring rolls, samusa,
puff and fried meat. I had watched the ladies do their thing and I wish I could
do same; well, I learnt a bit of it. In some hours time, they were already
packaging the products ready for delivery. I got in there by 8:00am and
by 4:00pm, they were heading out to deliver. I became more curious and began to
ask questions as I wondered how much profit she could have made from her
services. Honestly, I thought it would be between 5k - 10k! See final output!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZsJOB_dltslGBzVjTUp70QNguzhJhg2LoLYpwbo3STAPXgXNPJvR26jKIdZIYHrfvsFb6NbEUcii4FhVBjr71NCTobsfpFSIHlDdN9O2qFQYIX2_qHDsxJYrfSzpnBReHCjh60CuVDbs/s1600/springrolls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZsJOB_dltslGBzVjTUp70QNguzhJhg2LoLYpwbo3STAPXgXNPJvR26jKIdZIYHrfvsFb6NbEUcii4FhVBjr71NCTobsfpFSIHlDdN9O2qFQYIX2_qHDsxJYrfSzpnBReHCjh60CuVDbs/s200/springrolls.jpg" width="200" /></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_ZAS5ymoowAFIxDU02duqW8r3sTUoSOefAWemE3aatjBZaIg0NRc2YQhcHpiy-GoBa6VvbRTaMVtwNflLZNv5YZqlMxtZgT_tthDtbuWAKBVBHBFuoYX8RWDyOzCfFyQLBnCv9fuhOme/s1600/springrolls2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_ZAS5ymoowAFIxDU02duqW8r3sTUoSOefAWemE3aatjBZaIg0NRc2YQhcHpiy-GoBa6VvbRTaMVtwNflLZNv5YZqlMxtZgT_tthDtbuWAKBVBHBFuoYX8RWDyOzCfFyQLBnCv9fuhOme/s200/springrolls2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After having disturbed
her continuously, she opened up and told me she made 20k from that delivery; I
opened my mouth in awe! In just 9 hours? Whao, that's what some graduates are
being paid in a month! I asked even more questions and she reluctantly answered;
guess she was so tired. I garnered that she was paid 30k to deliver 100 packs
of the edibles. She spent a total of 10k to buy the ingredients and materials
needed for the job and the rest was her profit. I had earlier on blogged about
how she enrolled for with a catering school and how she had learned to bake and
do all these stuffs. What would have become of her if she had kept on waiting
for that paid job to come? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear unemployed or under
employed, the time has come for you to take charge of your life and stop
complaining. Everyday I receive emails of people looking for jobs and I begin
to wonder why these people can't do something useful with themselves by
acquiring skills. Everyone cannot be employed! You can do something differently
today by equipping yourself with skills and make money while rendering
services. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you are interested in
learning how to make spring rolls, samusa, puff, fried meat, baking of cake,
sharwama at an affordable price, please contact me via email
agina.ikenna@gmail.com or call +2348037193840<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">To your success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ikenna Agina<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-87004283892387579432013-09-19T06:47:00.001-07:002013-09-19T06:55:49.870-07:00How to Make Money Writing on iWriter - Your $600 Monthly Journey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNXtCyNG0wKx5vmjyWMOFdUQVVdHNet7oIbyEUUYgllkOQX-VHwrfapqYaanjymLlSDgRlbgGw5odXSvhh-fv-MMtb6sDwToqxpkwZom1mQPWrtl-cNA-GX8bEAmRtHg86aMd4Q8dtguEV/s1600/article+writing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNXtCyNG0wKx5vmjyWMOFdUQVVdHNet7oIbyEUUYgllkOQX-VHwrfapqYaanjymLlSDgRlbgGw5odXSvhh-fv-MMtb6sDwToqxpkwZom1mQPWrtl-cNA-GX8bEAmRtHg86aMd4Q8dtguEV/s320/article+writing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Once again, from personal experience I have decided to share a simple and straightforward way of writing on iwriter and making up to $600 monthly. Are you a writer who needs some little extra money? Would you want to improve your writing skills while performing writing jobs for clients? Articles and website contents are always high in demand by website owners as it helps them keep their visitors on their website for a long time and also drive targeted traffic to their website. Thousands to millions of people are getting their business online, webmasters worldwide are budgeting heavily for articles and contents since they can't handle all the writing jobs. iWriter provides a platform for website owners and article writers to meet and transact business in a more secure and convenient way. The webmaster gets quality articles for his money and the article writer gets paid for writing, it's that simple. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Much Will I be Paid?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
iWriter pays it's writers based on their levels( Standard, Premium or Elite). Writers get paid 81% the total price of the written article. The other 19% is the transaction fees taken by Paypal to process payments. This should not discourage you as you can still earn as much as you want for your writing works. Article writers earn $1.62 for a 300 word article, $2.43 for a 500 word article and $4.05 for a 700 word article. Elite article writers can earn as much as $15 for each written article. The trick is getting as much articles written and upgrading your article status to receive a much higher pay for your work. Your initial focus should be to write up to 30 good articles in order to get good reviews and a 4-5 star rating. You still earn money on writing these articles. So let's assume you write 10 articles a day which amounts to $24.30 articles, you would have earned $729 by the time your write for 30 days. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Want to See A Screen Shot?</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>JUST TODAY!</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyyElyaNFt5x4ON8oO4MWZJXejXHgeurJTfFNDFpKJQdQ5NCXXQMSSB6865KAsUD3z5WfZHCpV5fod3Djb3DJD51MO4-wmA7Aa4D38xsIohcBG8XKcL4tOJgc_tv-zVtGZ2gxgo9dZ1RS/s1600/iwriteraccount.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyyElyaNFt5x4ON8oO4MWZJXejXHgeurJTfFNDFpKJQdQ5NCXXQMSSB6865KAsUD3z5WfZHCpV5fod3Djb3DJD51MO4-wmA7Aa4D38xsIohcBG8XKcL4tOJgc_tv-zVtGZ2gxgo9dZ1RS/s400/iwriteraccount.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How do I Collect My Money?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Payments on iWriter is made via Paypal. The funds are disbursed to your paypal email either weekly, every two weeks or on the 5th of every month. I don't have a paypal, how can I collect my money? This used to be a problem for me but I had someone create a sub-account for me on his paypal account, he takes a little percentage of the money and sends the balance to my local bank account. Friends and relatives who operate Paypal accounts can help you receive the money and send via Western Union Transfer. This shouldn't be a hitch.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You can visit the iWriter website here www.iwriter.com to familiarize yourself with the website. In the next few days I will create another tutorial to teach you how to create an account and start writing to get paid.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To your success.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ikenna Agina.</div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-31833634085488950272013-09-16T11:12:00.000-07:002013-09-16T11:12:06.566-07:00Why Bloggers Fail to Make it Like Linda Ikeji - Chinedu Ekeke<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:ApplyBreakingRules/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="//img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" />
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8zncMMflkTn0YoRg7lpIxnMKXkkIYS4a-Xy2PfIFtKMZUX53TPxajjosE2YYZ0uipDwqBzzYNvb7ImKi-JbEno_rxzGCYOZNRr9OLkkVS3PE755xJl6T0vqi8d0u7dIRV-6XmOMPJYYV/s1600/nedu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8zncMMflkTn0YoRg7lpIxnMKXkkIYS4a-Xy2PfIFtKMZUX53TPxajjosE2YYZ0uipDwqBzzYNvb7ImKi-JbEno_rxzGCYOZNRr9OLkkVS3PE755xJl6T0vqi8d0u7dIRV-6XmOMPJYYV/s320/nedu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“When
the going gets tough as a blogger, it’s easier to start up a new thing than to
remain consistent. It gets to a stage where you think you chose a wrong niche,
a wrong business name, a wrong this and that, then you is pushed to quit your
present project to pursue a new one with the intent of changing your niche and
maybe the business name. But don’t do that, because by so doing you end up
running in circles, starting up new ventures and never truly driving any home.
I have seen it happen over and over again.” Before you delve into blogging, it
is imperative to have a plan and a reason to blog; if these are not clearly
defined, you would end up creating hundreds of defunct blogs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a>“Sometimes
people come to me and say they want to start blogging and I ask them if they
can withstand blogging as a beginner. Do you know the problem with blogging?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“People have this notion that once you own a blog, you
become popular, and then because of Linda’s success as a blogger; they assume
you will make money, and none of those things are entirely true.”</span></i></b><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These
are the words of Chinedu Ekeke; activist, writer, blogger and Co-owner of
Ekekeee.com and (El communications).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“There’s
a side of blogging that people have to know” he continued,“Why it might make
you popular is that if people kept reading, at some time they may want to know
the brain behind the blog, and the money will take you quite a while but not
everyone can get to that ‘while’ point. There’s a side of blogging that people
ought to know. <b>You</b> create a blog and think it’s beautiful; you start
publishing and publicising but few months into it, the initial excitement
wanes. You begin to look at the demands of owning a blog, reality sets in; you
need to publish every day, you have no strength or zeal, and money is not even
coming in to encourage you, rather you are spending, just then you want to
quit. You begin to look at the mistakes you have made, brand name, niche, and
then you want to dump it and start something else. But I must say that at this
time one must persevere and just keep doing it.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
remember meeting Chinedu Ekeke around this same time last year at a conference
after I had noticed and observed the part he played as a motivator and
influencer during the Occupy Nigeria protest in response to the removal of fuel
subsidy. I had benignly read his numerous articles on Sahara Reporters and
other media platforms. These pieces so factual and distinctive; you wouldn’t
need a native doctor’s calabash or mantras to decipher the brilliance and power
behind the man who stood 5ft7″ tall and in his early 30’s. Nedu as he’s fondly
called is a thoughtful, intelligent and an ‘angry’ young individual as Japhet
Omojuwa once wrote and Abati once inferred. Honest, unbiased, patriotic, and has
words that readily tells of his disapproval, disappointment, disdain and
sadness over Nigeria’s
condition and the failing decisions of the Federal Government today.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Before
meeting Nedu last year, I’d kept up with him on twitter by following his
@Nedunaija handle. I tried to read every of his tweet, joined his twitter
debates, insights, arguments. And when he launched his blog Ekekeee.com; a
platform that offers Nigerian youths a base to articulate, debate and express
their diverse views on the state and affairs of the country, I was among the
first people to write comments if not the first. I remember tweeting at him
saying; “Nedu, the love and anger you bear for Nigeria’s affairs is just as that
flint that bear fire. You remind me of the man I once was”. Ekekee.com the blog
today is of course different from what it was last year when we first met. Nedu
apparently at some point decided to drive the blog into new territories and
which of course would stretch resources, and hopefully generate revenue.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yes new
sections were added to the blog in bid to have diversified new content other
than just politics. We still hold our political views and have no plans of
leaving it. The Ekekeee model still remains. I and Jude still write and so do
others. We have expanded; we now get fresh news, very fresh. We have our
sources and can be quoted. Sports and entertainment are the new grounds we are
about to conquer. The ‘<i>commenteriat</i>’ which is the key of the Ekekeee
blog still plays its role. The idea is to build a community of ardent readers
and followers to drive <b>political</b> views and otherwise and then money
should come, or shouldn’t money come?” He asked rhetorically. “Because I have
been committed to that blog for two years now, we’ve been investing money on
data management, on everything; time and energy sourcing for information and
news, the bills have to be paid so long we don’t go begging PDP or government
officials for stolen money. Where we are now is the plan, we still have a long
way to go.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The
monetization of the blog all those times didn’t pay much. Many see Google
adsense ads and think that so much money is being made but let me ask, how much
is Google adsense paying? Do you want me tell you how much I made in Google
adsense in 2 years? Stipends! Do you know that adsense has been modified, such
that even with all your hits, the amount per click is too insignificant,
because advertisers aren’t paying much, and 75% of your visitors come through
mobile and you know the people who click ads on mobile are a lot fewer than on
desktop. Thus, Ekekeee blog is still an ongoing project as we are still trying
to fine tune its path towards a certain future.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“My
company El Communications of which the Ekekeee blog is a product of, runs PR.
We manage images of companies and individuals, do press releases for
organisations and companies and use social media to drive it. Very soon I
shall discontinue twitter marketing although I’m still yet to finally decide.
In the last 3 months I’ve had to turn down some offers because of my unwillingness.
I have no reasons in mind though”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In one
of his articles ‘<i>Opportunity</i><i> cost of
corruption’, </i>one could feel his pains and utmost chagrin as he wrote; <b><i>“This
article will be not be taken seriously by those who need it; the president and
his team. They don’t run a government of common sense; they run a regime of
miracles. They squander billions in subsidy fraud, dubious budgets for cutlery
and banquet halls, and then ‘trust God’ with our national development”</i></b><i>.
</i>So much power in the tongue i am thinking, as I inquire his beef with the
Nigerian presidents.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
still have some respect for OBJ compared to the present one who doesn’t have
any clue, force and will. I have a lot of aversion for Mr Jonathan. I can’t
stand him. There’s nothing he is doing right. He gets everything wrong. If I
had five minutes with Jonathan, I will tell him that one cannot govern any
country without knowing that corruption and impunity will eat up any effort one
makes. Corruption has to be stopped first then we will have money. Look at it
this way, governing Nigeria
well is about money because if we have enough money, we will build power
stations, roads, standard rails, electric trains, there will be water
everywhere and more infrastructures. We need so much money to massively develop
Nigeria.
There’s no way we can do this things because some people keep stealing this
money and nothing happens to them. Can you imagine that we are still on the
case of three trillion naira that was stolen from subsidy up till today? Thus,
only a joker would try to govern a state with such level of corruption”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nedu
is a remarkable character. On one hand there is a man driven by old fashioned
values of integrity, hard work and passion for his country. On the other is a
new-age thinker, who believes in washing away old depleted structures and
having new ones erected. When I talk of the occupy Nigeria protest, results, personal
goals and future, his interest is awoken.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Once
you take care of corruption every other thing works. If you know that as a
lecturer you are well paid and you go to school and do not do your research but
rather teach your students excerpts from your lecture notes of 1990, and you
know that you would be sacked, you won’t do such a thing. Someday I will
retire as a lecturer, maybe at 50 – 55. As a trained accountant I still
consult, set up accounting systems for businesses; thus I hope to teach
‘modern’, accounting, taxation, pay rolls etc. I was not ok with the impact of
the Occupy Nigeria. I expected a result that will come with a bang, a total
reversal of the price increment which never happened because a group of people
‘the labour people’ who did not understand what was at stake got
frightened by the powers of the senate, got promised committee
appointments, got bribed and chickened out. If we the real people involved in
those protests had gone to represent us, we wouldn’t have been in this same
place; the outcome would have been different. If a total reversal was achieved,
the government would have been starved of that extra fund they wanted, thereby
forcing them to look inward and question why such amount of money was spent on
subsidy then eventually be forced to recover the money by prosecuting the
people involved”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the
difference between Nedunaija and Ekekeee, he replied; “Nedunaija was on twitter
as Nedunaija, Ekekeee is a blog that was built, but Nedunaija handled the
Ekekeee twitter account as one entity. Ekekeee is a media platform owned by El
communications which in turn is owned by me and a partner Jude Egbas. Thus, Ekekeee
had to be separate. Nedunaija is my personal account while Ekekeee is an
official account. The Nedunaija is Chinedu who is actually obsessed with the
Nigerian quagmire, challenge and story.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When
asked about ASUU Vs FG and the ongoing crisis in Syria, his eyes lit up with this
patriotic flare I swore I’d seen many times in a Mel Gibson movie.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
would have started bombing Syria,
you don’t kill your people because they don’t want you. You don’t kill the
weak. This is a moral war and not one driven by greed like the one in George
bush’s administration. I saw the pictures of the activists killed by the
chemical weapon, i felt so sad. I think America should go ahead with the
assault and let’s see what happens next. The weak must be defended.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Many
say ASUU is greedy, what a foolish utterance. They are ill-informed. What is
the greed? A common legislator earns as much as 30 million a month and a
professor earns maybe 200,000 naira after 25 or years. Do the math. What are
ASUU’s demands? Better working conditions salaries and allowances, money for
research, conditions of the universities. We can keep pretending that all is
well. The government has no political will and is not willing to do anything
good in Nigeria”.
The talk is still ongoing, the students are losing time and you know the labor
market doesn’t employ you if you are beyond a certain age, so what then
happens?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nedu
says most of this people in the government calling the shots have their
children studying abroad where there is no time lapse. That this should be
interpreted as another war against the poor so that their children would be the
only ones that can get employed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span>Source: www.thebusinessaim.com </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-69496544496352577622013-09-13T23:42:00.002-07:002013-09-13T23:42:22.681-07:00Need to Promote Your Website or Products? Get Promo Nigeria Free Advertising Vouchers & Coupons <div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHfnEWUjp5MPH8iWaZ8ahWxcuGhmchghMRr7g67oogsani4ral6Fp3BqUR4wiZ4s6Prg9g_sgrNggxjm05iYxDf9RTaLdTBonEXJBck8OX9_XKurj4no576ajnnzMGyXY6VT5HbQnaxby/s1600/promonaija.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHfnEWUjp5MPH8iWaZ8ahWxcuGhmchghMRr7g67oogsani4ral6Fp3BqUR4wiZ4s6Prg9g_sgrNggxjm05iYxDf9RTaLdTBonEXJBck8OX9_XKurj4no576ajnnzMGyXY6VT5HbQnaxby/s400/promonaija.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Promo Nigeria free promotional coupons or vouchers were created to give advertisers an opportunity to test the effectiveness of the Promo Nigeria digital advertising platform. The coupons come in N15,000,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
N10,000 and N5,000 units.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We are giving out <b><a href="http://promo.com.ng/signup/bizmogul" target="_blank">10 FREE advertising vouchers</a></b> on first come first serve basis!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>For an account to qualify to use these free advertising vouchers, it must fulfil the following conditions:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Only active accounts created after September 12th 2013 is qualified to use the Promo Nigeria advertising coupons.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Only one coupon or advert voucher is allowed per account.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Dummy accounts created with the intension of using multiple coupon codes are not also accepted.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Your eWallet must have at least a cash balance of N2,500 to claim any coupon.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Coupons should be used for the fixed-monthly advertising plans only.</li>
</ol>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><a href="http://promo.com.ng/signup/bizmogul" target="_blank">Coupons</a></b> are distributed through our publishers’ network. You can contact any of the Promo Nigeria publishers for FREE advertising coupon. Since you are here you can request for your coupons.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Promo Nigeria is Nigeria #1 digital advertising platform, it exposes your products and services to millions of Nigerians using a network of social media promoters, blogs and websites. We currently reach over</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
5million Nigerians daily. Your adverts once approve is seen live on over 1,600 Nigeria websites and blogs.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>To sign up as an advertiser on Promo Nigeria, please follow the link below: </b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://promo.com.ng/signup/bizmogul" style="background-color: white; color: #660000; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration: none;">http://promo.com.ng/signup/bizmogul</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After registration, please send an email to agina.ikenna@gmail.com for coupon codes. This is an offer you shouldn't resist.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-16112437369263491602013-09-13T00:47:00.001-07:002013-09-13T01:05:29.109-07:00SISEL International Health And Nutrition Products<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>[MUST WATCH VIDEO INSIDE]</b>The <b><a href="http://bizmogul.mysiselpro.com/" target="_blank">Sisel Business</a></b> gives you an opportunity to live a healthy lifestyle while also making a recurring source of income. Join the thousands of people making money and helping others to do so. With Sisel, the possibilities are endless. Join us today <b>http://bizmogul.mysiselpro.com</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/aHoPLKpB3Tk" width="480"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136211641099566313.post-42123487164089965302013-09-11T11:10:00.001-07:002013-09-11T11:14:31.444-07:00[ MUST READ] Here are the Benefits of Online Business<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilSWNvs162hWE9C3F22OE1c2F2vxmqdoUvTe4-hyrzNvbZ_6QXW_czMXzkzKyTqrHUKHjUNteWFWuovLCTrz8fbPRhAyz2moSlqDAe-dCioSRzTrUzQTulVSNJL1_kQ74V7sAcXSszgUtY/s1600/onlinebusiness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilSWNvs162hWE9C3F22OE1c2F2vxmqdoUvTe4-hyrzNvbZ_6QXW_czMXzkzKyTqrHUKHjUNteWFWuovLCTrz8fbPRhAyz2moSlqDAe-dCioSRzTrUzQTulVSNJL1_kQ74V7sAcXSszgUtY/s320/onlinebusiness.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.65pt; margin-bottom: 13.1pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It isn’t all that easy
to run an online business. There will be a whole lot of obstacles in your way.
You may even feel like giving up at different times. The key is to emerge
successful by overcoming these obstacles. This isn’t as easy as it sounds but if
you wish to succeed then, it has to be done. Yes, running an online business is
quite a struggle but with zeal and passion, you can successfully achieve your
goals. It will take a long time but you have to be </span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">patient and continue with
the struggle. You will be able to reap the benefits in no time. Zeal and
passion are the only things required to run a business successfully. No matter
if it is online or offline, if you are passionate about it then, you are going
to succeed. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.65pt; margin-bottom: 13.1pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Business traits aren’t something that is acquired. These traits
exist naturally amongst people and have to be used accordingly. If you do so,
you will find your online business touching great heights in absolutely no
time. You only need to imbibe the necessary business traits in order to succeed.
This isn’t all that difficult and can be very easily done. You will very soon
have a successful and well established business if you follow the necessary
traits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.65pt; margin-bottom: 13.1pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Ways Of Doing It</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.65pt; margin-bottom: 13.1pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Any kind of business
has its own highs and lows and they have to be dealt with accordingly. You
don’t have to get complacent on the highs or give up on the lows. You need to
be steady all the while if you wish to succeed. Success will slowly and
eventually come to you. You will soon be a setting example for everyone. There
will be times when you will have a whole lot of traffic and conversions while
there will be times when you will have no revenue at all. You need to breeze
through these phases in a balanced manner. You can either promote your brand
through the conventional ways online or you could go non-conventional.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.65pt; margin-bottom: 13.1pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Online Business</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.65pt; margin-bottom: 13.1pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The foremost benefit
of having an online business is that it lets you communicate with your
customers. Other benefits of online business are as follows –</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.65pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Proximity to consumers</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.65pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Better description of
products</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.65pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Introduction to deals</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.65pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Better interaction</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.65pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ability and
empowerment to adopt to the ways of the consumer</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.65pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Provisions to the
customers</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.65pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Flexibility to the
consumer</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.65pt; text-align: justify;">Thus, running a
business online has a whole lot of benefits of its own. Therefore, it is a
fairly good idea to be running an online business. Hence, if you have been
thinking about it for a while, then it is a fairly good idea.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 19.65pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.65pt; margin-bottom: 13.1pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>An Online Business Is
Also Taxing</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.65pt; margin-bottom: 13.1pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In spite, of all the
benefits, it isn’t like you’ll never hit a low because your business is online.
You will have the same dosage of highs and lows to cope up with as with any
other kind of business. Sometimes, conversions i.e. sales hit an all time low
and these times are really testing ones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.5in 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<hr noshade="" size="1" width="100%" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.65pt; margin-bottom: 13.1pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Author
Bio:</b> <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/113838601398151265676?rel=author" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Matthew Anton</span></a> of <a href="http://backlinksvault.com/"><span style="text-decoration: none;">backlinksvault</span></a> has
complete solutions for promoting online businesses. He provides a complete
package for link building of SEO and SMO i.e. Social Media Marketing services
to you. His services are completely reliable and fairly priced and hence, they
are worth hiring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Article Source:</b> www.thebusinessaim.com</span></div>
Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12273158225406653719noreply@blogger.com1