That you are planning to start a small business doesn`t mean you must think small. Every today giant business started small.
Coca Cola started selling cola drink without any bottle, without any can and without any packaging.
You had to go and buy cola drink with your cup or jug. That was odd, isn`t it?
Google started in a garage. Facebook started in a room. Just name that big business and you will probably see it began so small.
But the owners of today`s big companies never thought small. If you think small, you will remain small.
Always think of growth. Always think of expansion. Always think like a giant, even as you are just starting that business in a little way.
Most people who have small businesses (especially in Kenya and Africa) usually start and pray that customers come. They don`t do anything about marketing their businesses.
Starting a business is hard, but growing a business is even harder. Any foolish person can start a business, but only smart entrepreneur can make a business successful.
Coca Cola that`s today the most valuable and the most famous product in the world was started by a smart Chemist but a poor business man, John Pemberton.
Left with him, Coca Cola would have become just another failed product.
Thank God a smart business man (Asa Candler) bought the Coca Cola and turned it into a huge success with his marketing and business skills.
You have to know how to brand your business, how to present yourself to your customers and how to attract more customers by marketing your small business.
Don`t just start a business and think it will grow.
Stay in school, work hard, be the top student, go to University and get a good job. Do these things, and someday you will be successful.
It is really a big discouragement when you do all these things and still end up scrubbing soup containers at your local Mandazi kiosk or picking tea in your village farm for a minimum wage.
Thankfully, we are talented in different ways. Today, there are many entrepreneurs and business leaders who have proved that there is more to life than what the education system has always taught us.
1. Failure is good
In school, we were taught to avoid failure and that is why some of us stooped to nearly unspeakable levels just to “pass exams”.
We sneaked our phones to the exam room so that we could google the correct answers. Some of us invested in mwakenya; while a few others decided to spend the whole night before the exam cramming (otherwise known as trans-nighting).
The “creative ones” hacked into the school system and tried to change their results.
We did all these things just because we feared FAILURE… and that is why to-date we still continue to play hide and seek with failure at our workplaces, with our health and with our families.
One thing you will learn in entrepreneurship however, is that FAILURE is good. Failure is not an exit strategy but rather a learning opportunity. In fact a popular quote goes that “If you have never failed in life, then you have never tried something new.”
So forget about being a “Google-Perfect” person and immerse yourselves into the murky waters of life so that you can fail and learn a lesson or two from that.
2. It’s Good to Be in Many Relationships
Yes, it is good to have many relationships because that’s exactly how networks are built. Probably back in school they told you that “you did not come here to build friends, you came here to learn”.
But in life you can’t sustain without networking and building social connections.
You need to start a business (and you need customers and suppliers), you need someone to refer you to a client or deal, you need to start your social activists group (and you need followers). This all means that you need to be in many relationships.
Perhaps the only point I need to emphasize here is that these need to be “good relationships” not retrogressive ones.
3. It’s not about how many (A) grades you have in your transcript; it’s about what skills you have to offer
“So Juma, if we give you this opportunity what will you bring to the table?”
That is the most frequent question you are going to get in real life – whether you are convincing an investor to fund your business or you are looking for a job.
Yes, getting good grades in school is quite important – but those A’s cannot take you so far if you don’t have the skill base to back them up.
Entrepreneurship teaches us that only those who are able to convert their knowledge into actionable ideas and concepts are recognized in the 21st century.
Irrespective of what grade you got in school, life gives you an opportunity to re-affirm your dominance in your niche. Keep loading up on new skills and keep moving forward.
4. Perfectionism has no place in real life
There was always that one student in class who seemed to do everything right. He understood mathematics, was always in time for his lessons, had a good handwriting and never dozed off even when a boring teacher came in.
Because he was the perfect example of what a good student should be, he was constantly rewarded with free school trips, gifts, luncheons… and was even made the school captain.
Then the rest of us were urged to emulate his ways and strive for perfectionism.
Life however, teaches us that “perfectionism” is a potential detractor. In other words, if you keep waiting for the perfect business idea or the perfect time to launch your dreams, you might as well wait forever.
We live in a world that changes very fast, and as you sit down there waiting to perfect, you’ll be surprised to learn that someone else has already implemented the idea you thought was “not-so-perfect” and has taken your place in the market.
In other words, if you strive for perfectionism in real-life you’ll keep going back to the drawing board and you’ll never accomplish anything in life.
5. Life is a journey not a destination
Your parents told you “Get a good job so that you can raise a family”.
Your teachers told you “Work hard so that you can join the best university.”
All these statements misrepresent life as being a destination rather than a journey.
The destination in this case is “the dream job” which as they suggest will help you fulfill all your basic needs in life.
However, as you will come to learn later in life, there is something more about life than just fulfilling your basic needs.
Life is a journey to be traveled, explored and experienced… so get moving, follow your weirdest dream and live it!
6. Hire those who are better than you
Class-work taught us to be competitive and to some extent the spirit of competitiveness ended up dividing us into cohorts that never mingled.
(A) grade students formed their own study groups so that they could continue dominating the top positions. (C) grade students on the other hand focused on extra-curricular activities and sidelined the (A) grade students because they were book-warms.
Entrepreneurship however teaches us something quite different. Instead of fighting to prove who between (A) grade and (C) grade students are better in life, as an entrepreneur you should now start mending broken links with the other cohort.
If you were an A student and there was a C student who was better in arts than you, then it is high time you think of hiring him so that you can utilize his/her talent in your growing company.
On the other hand, if you were a C student and there was that A student who seemed to understand anything to do with IT, then it’s high time you bring him on board to your company so that his IT brain can propel you to a new level.
Final Word;
Those are some of the important life lessons that life has taught me contrary to what I learned in school.
African American Hands Shopping In Online Ecommerce Store
Today, Nairobi is ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the world appearing at position 97 according to Mercer Cost of Living report.
Rental accommodation which was found to be high is among other services that the survey by the global consulting leader in advancing health, wealth and careers used to determine the expensiveness of Nairobi and other cities worldwide.
It is this high cost of rentals in the capital city especially in the CBD that is forcing small-scale traders to think out of the box by considering e-commerce in place of rental shops.
“I know of my neighbors who were running a small jewelry shop who are now selling their goods online after packing out last year to operate from home,” said John Mungai who runs men’s cloth business along Tom Mboya Street in the CBD.
He says that most of the shops around charges up to Sh.25,000 a month depending on the size and still the traders have to sort out the city council taxmen.
But how are these small-scale traders who have decided to go online operate their businesses and still make good profits?
You will realize that today there are many social media pages with advertisements of people selling goods and services. Most of them are individuals posting shoes, clothes, electronic accessories and cutleries among others.
According to Mungai who also leverages on the power of social media to reach his customers, most of the traders who operate from home post pictures and prices of whatever they sell online on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or WhatsApp groups.
These are then seen by both usual or prospective customers who then order and upon payment, home, and office deliveries are done either in person or through courier services especially for clients outside Nairobi.
In this, the traders are not only saving on rental fees but they have also cut on workers’ salary and county council remittances.
Other than social media which is the popular tool the traders are using to reach more customers and make sales, they are also counting on referrals by usual customers who recommend their good to prospective buyers.
“You see, when you advertise on social media, there are many people who will come across your advert. Some who happen to interact with your advert, even if they do not buy, they may at some point recommend it to someone else,” said Mungai adding that that is the beauty of starting from somewhere.
According to Michael Owiti, Business Development Manager at TDS Marketers, an online marketing and web design service firm in Nairobi’s Westlands, eCommerce has given distressed small-scale traders a better business option.
“Before we could see many of them close shops and dispose of their goods at throw-away prices and vanish but today they have found a lifeline online,” he said.
Furthermore, many entrepreneurs in Nairobi entering in the sales business for the first time have learned the trick and since they might not be having enough cash to set up big shops of cater for rent in the town, they directly opt for social media which has become a wide platform where they can reach many freely or just by spending some little money for product promotional.
No wonder you frequently come across the messages “please retweet and share, my next client could be on your timeline” on social media sites as Kenyans seek business.
Trust me, once such people find their footing in online business, certainly they will not go renting shops or go back there if they ever had one before.
Certainly, e-commerce is eating up the rental business slowly in the city.
Many people have asked me in various ways how to invest in the stock market or how to know which company to invest in or indeed how to start.
Well the first thing we must remember is that we do not literally invest in the stock market. We invest in specific companies or businesses that are listed on the stock market (now referred to as the Nairobi Securites Exchange).
We get overwhelmed because we think we have to understand all the companies in the stock market (they are 66 as at the time of writing this article).
When you go to an actual fruits and vegetable market – you have a choice to buy tomatoes, apples, oranges, pineapples, potatoes, spinach etc.
So when you buy your potatoes, you did not buy the market did you? The market was simply the avenue through which you could access a choice of different fruits and vegetables.
There were probably some items in that market that you did not recognize or even know what they were called. However, you used the market to get to the potatoes that you wanted to buy.
The choice to buy potatoes was yours.
The stock market works in the same way. It is a vehicle through which you can buy shares (ownership) in specific companies that have decided to publicly offer their shares for sale.
You do not need to know about all the companies to invest in, you just keep a keen eye on the ones you are interested in.
So how do we evaluate which company to invest in?
Mary has been running her salon for two years. She is now looking for investors to buy into her salon so that she can take it to the next level.
Mary has invited you to invest in her salon. In exchange for your investment you will get shares in the business. You will be an owner.
What is the information you would need Mary to provide you with or what would you evaluate so that you can make a concrete decision?
Firstly you may need to know why a salon makes sense. It could be that the beauty industry is growing and expected to keep growing as incomes grow.
It is also one of those services that people will always need so demand is always there.
Next you would need to evaluate what is the specific information about Mary’s salon. You would probably look at the location (is it in a high traffic area), target market, other services that she is offering, quality of her hairdressers.
You would evaluate her financials – has she been making money or profit in her years of operation. What is her business plan?
It is all well and good that she has been making money but you would need to be convinced that she is going to keep making money and grow the level of profitability.
Her business plan would probably need to include opening up new salons in new areas that are not already saturated with salons for this to happen.
As an investor there are two reasons you will want to be convinced that she is still making money.
So that she can pay you a dividend (these are the profits that are distributed to the shareholders or business owners)
You can in the future sell your shares in the salon to someone else at a higher price. This is not different from how you evaluate a company on the stock market. You get in because you think that someone in the future will come and buy this share from you at a higher price.
Since Mary’s salon is not listed on the stock market (private company), you would probably need to source this investor yourself. The companies listed on the stock market (NSE) however are public.
Everyday all the people who are interested in buying or selling any of the shares on the stock market are uploaded onto an electronic database through the stockbrokers. So as long as someone wants to buy the share you are selling, the transaction will happen.
What you have to remember to ask yourself as you buy a share is – why would someone want to buy this share from me in the future? What am I seeing now that others are not seeing? In the future someone may want to buy your shares in Mary’s salon because she has now expanded, created a brand, has seen significant financial growth etc.
The first step is asking yourself which industry you are interested in.
The stock market report in the daily papers categorizes the companies into sectors. If you are interested in the Banking sector (and have understood why the banking sector makes sense as an investment) you would then do some research on why Bank A is preferable to Bank B.
There is a lot of information stock brokers can give you. Any decent stockbroker now has a research division that can give you a lot of information on the specific counters.
You do not necessarily have to do the number crunching yourself. However it is your responsibility to know why and be convinced why you have invested in that share. The same way we have evaluated Mary.
You have to know the general logic behind why that business or company makes sense and why you want to be an owner.
The stockbroker did not lose your money when he advised you on a share to invest in. Did you take time to understand the logic or ask the right questions?
The stock market is not as complicated as it is sometimes looks but there is no shortcut to it. Just like going into business is never short term.
If you invested in Mary’s salon you would need to be happy leaving your money in for even 5 years. The same way stock market investments are also long term. They can be up and down market fluctuations so do not put next terms school fees in the stock market.
It also takes practice. The first time you read a stock market report or even the daily analysis on the papers it may look like Greek. When you do it over and over again even if it is just following information about that one share you have bought, you learn a lot and it starts to make sense.
The decision to sell the car gifted to his wife Catherine Kamau was made with their mutual consent, according to film director Philip Karanja, famously known as Phil Director.
Phil Director stated there is no disagreement between him and his ex-wife in a message posted on his Instagram stories.
“I wish to officially document that the vehicle was sold with mutual consent, and there are no disputes with Kate, contrary to portrayals suggesting otherwise,” he stated.
The actress Cate repeated the assertion, claiming there were no differences between them.
After their breakup, there were several rumors that the director had repossessed and sold his ex-wife’s car.
After years of marriage, the couple announced their divorce in a joint statement made in September.
They requested seclusion for the benefit of their kids and stated that they had broken up some time ago.
“We came to a conclusion to end our marriage a long while ago and are separated. We sincerely request everyone to honour our wishes for privacy for us and our children,” they said.
In response, Phil stated that they will continue to be friends and business associates.
FILE PHOTO: Tennis - ATP Masters 1000 - Shanghai Masters - Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena, Shanghai, China - October 8, 2023 Russia's Daniil Medvedev in action during his round of 32 match against Sebastian Korda of the U.S. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
Daniil Medvedev, the two-time runner-up, defeated Nuno Borges of Portugal in a tough match to secure a spot in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Monday.
After more than three hours on Rod Laver Arena, the brave world number 69 forced the Russian third seed to fight hard before they overcame the line 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 6-1.
For a spot in the final four, he will face Hubert Hurkacz, a Polish player ranked ninth.
Borges’ lack of experience was ultimately exposed; prior to the Australian Open this year, he had never won back-to-back Tour-level matches outside of Davis Cup.
Borges made 66 unforced errors compared to Medvedev’s 34, which was the main difference.
Nevertheless, the 26-year-old, who became the first Portuguese player to advance past the second week in Melbourne, put out a commendable effort.
In the opening set, Medvedev’s baseline strength was particularly noticeable. The Russian dominated lengthy rallies, breaking only once in the sixth game.
In the second set, Borges fought valiantly to even the score at three points, but eventually gave in to the Russian’s relentless groundstrokes and lost the break.
However, the world number three soon became distracted, and the set was leveled at 30-40 in the next game after his fourth double fault of the match.
In the tie-break, Medvedev prevailed after enduring another double fault.
In the third set, the Russian maneuvered to within one game at 5-4, but Borges would not go down without a fight, breaking before winning the next two games to salvage the match.
For Medvedev, who was a new man in the fourth set and breezed through it in 24 minutes as Borges faltered, it was a wake-up call.
Egypt’s football organization said on Sunday that Mohamed Salah will withdraw from the Africa Cup of Nations team in order to continue receiving treatment at his club, Liverpool, for a hamstring injury. Despite this, they hope to see Salah back at the competition in Ivory Coast.
Following his statement that it “makes sense” for the 31-year-old to have treatment in England, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp made the news.
Salah has already been ruled out of the Pharaohs’ final-16 encounter, should they advance, and Monday’s pivotal Group B meeting against Cape Verde in Abidjan.
Although the Egyptian FA had hoped he would return for a potential quarterfinal, they now seem content to be without him until February 7, if that’s when the semi-final takes place.
If Salah can demonstrate his health while Egypt is still in the tournament, Klopp did leave the door open for him to return.
The record seven-time African champions must defeat Cape Verde to ensure their spot in the round of 16 after drawing their first two games in the competition.
In Egypt’s inaugural match, Salah saved a 2-2 draw against Mozambique from the penalty spot before hobbling off in the first half of the draw against Ghana.
The player’s newest unfortunate turn of events at the AFCON is his injury.
He has never taken home the trophy and has lost in the championship game twice, to Senegal two years ago and Cameroon in 2017.
Salah expressed his continued belief that he will be named the African champion “sooner or later” at a press conference on Sunday.
Police FC Sammy "Pamzo" Omollo reacts against FC Talanta on April 16th 2022 during FKF premier league match played at Ruaraka, Tusker ground.Photo/CHRIS OMOLLO
In an attempt to avoid relegation from the FKF-PL, Shabana FC head coach Sammy “Pamzo” Omolo said his team will take each game as it comes.
Shabana, who are currently four points clear of Nzoia Sugar in last place on the log with 17 points, lost 1-0 to Ulinzi Stars on Saturday at the Raila Odinga Stadium in Homabay.
Since making their comeback to the elite division this season, the Glamour Boys have not fared well, and they have already dissolved their relationship with former strategist Sammy Okoth, whose job was recently given to the more seasoned Pamzo.
With the league already halfway through, it was Pamzo’s first defeat as manager of the Gusii-based team. Now, they must fight against time to avoid being cut.
“Apart from losing the match I am not disappointed with the team especially the way they played in the second half. For the remaining games away from home we must pick at least a point while taking all three points in our home games. What I can say is that the remaining games are like finals to us.” Pamzo said after the loss.
Masita Masuta’s crucial goal for the Soldiers gave Ulinzi Stars maximum points, and head coach Anthony Kimani has lauded his team for the performance.
“Shabana showed a good game and fully committed themselves in the entire match, but we were able to get a goal and control the match in the end.” Said Kimani.
Ulinzi has 21 points after 19 rounds, good for 13th place in the league standings.
Ulinzi will play Talanta FC, and Shabana will next play Nairobi City Stars.
Kenyan musician Hubert Nakitare, well known by his stage name Nonini, has disclosed that he moved to the US mostly because of the difficult economic conditions during the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The well-known Genge musician-turned-entrepreneur stated in a Friday interview on Citizen TV that lockdowns enforced by the government rarely affected musicians, which led him to look into other options.
Nonini, who is in the nation for a musical endeavor, added that he wished to spend more time with his family, particularly his 11-year-old son.
“I relocated because I wanted to be closer to my son, although it was mainly due to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown that restricted creatives from conducting live shows.The government did not offer incentives to creatives, those were tough times” He said.
He clarified that cartel-run CMOs are the reason behind the dire state of the Kenyan music business, pointing out that this has been the situation for the longest period of time under all political administrations.
By including private organizations in addition to the three government associations—the Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP), the Performance Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK), and the Music Publishers Association in Kenya (MPAKE)—the musician demonstrated his tenacity in pushing for reform in the region’s music industry. He claimed that it is terrible that musicians are being forced to join those three associations.
Nonini also made point that we do not support our own musicians, which is a problem plaguing the Kenyan music industry.
The artist agreed with host Lulu Hassan that identity is the primary factor.
He said that the thing that makes money is for Kenyan artistes to promote their products.
At the age of 24, Cori Broadus, the daughter of US artist Snoop Dogg, suffered a “severe stroke”.
The singer, who goes by the stage name CHOC, posted a picture of herself in a hospital bed on her Instagram stories on Thursday. She captioned the image with the words, “I had a severe stroke this am (sic).”
With text hiding her face, she posted a follow-up tale saying, “Like I’m only 24… What actions did I do in the past to earn myself thus much?
After receiving a childhood diagnosis, Cori Broadus talked candidly about her struggle with lupus in September.
She described how switching to a more “natural” lifestyle and off her medicine had improved her health.
Since their 1997 wedding, Snoop Dogg and wife Shante Taylor Broadus have been parents to two kids, Corde, age 29, and Cordell, age 26. Julian, 25, is another child that Snoop Dogg has with his former girlfriend Laurie Holmond.
Snoop had disclosed nothing of his daughter’s health issue to the public as of the time of publishing.
A stroke is defined as a major, potentially fatal medical disease that happens when part of the brain’s blood supply is cut off.
The condition’s primary symptoms might impact a person’s voice, arms, and face.
Broadus is the CEO of Choc Factory Co., a beauty firm, and he has over 650,000 Instagram followers.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
