Welcome to the world of business people! It is true that starting and running a business can be very challenging. No wonder many shy away from it, preferring the shelter of a paid employment. But there are advantages & disadvantages to whichever option you settle for.
Some people enter the business world well equipped & knowing the rules while others come in without the slightest idea of what it entails to succeed. Just like any other game, business is also a big game & it behoves anyone dabbling into it to know the rules.
Some of us are forced to take on business because we couldn't pick up a paid employment after many years of graduation. And of course, our orientation is to get a job after school life. I belong to this group of people who went into business after many years of no job.
When I entered in, I did many things wrongly & was disappointed with the results I was getting e.g:

* No business plan or direction at onset
* No particular target customer/client
* No business model
* Insufficient customer flow
* Irregular income
* No business records
* No mentor
* No joint venture partners
* No customer acquisition strategies etc

But the good thing is to keep searching for solution & not give up. Soon later, I found help & my business started flying. I've not arrived yet, but at least I've started learning to do things properly & seriously learning the game of business.
One of the important lessons I've learnt from one of my mentors is that you don't need to have money or deep pockets to succeed in business. You only need good thinking. Of course, many of us young business people don't have the money to run our businesses like blue chips.
What I want to do here is share my business expertise & resources with others in my shoes so as to make things easier for those struggling in their businesses now & encourage new comers to jump in!
Here we go.

Important First Steps In Business
1. Research The Market.
This is important to ensure your business idea is viable. Are there people you know doing that same business? If yes, why not ask them how they are thriving. Ask friends for their opinion about your business idea. Also ensure that your business is based on your strength.

2. Decide On A Business Structure
Would you prefer a sole proprietorship, a partnership, limited liability company, a trust or an NGO and why.

3. Blueprint Your Business
This is the equivalent of a business plan but more practicable than a theoretical business plan.

4. Choose A Name.
Your business name must be memorable and immediately tells a prospect what your business does.

5. Register Your Business Name
It's important to get your business registered from the onset rather than getting many customers used to it already only for you to realise that someone else has registered it.

6. Get Your Finances In Order
If it means taking basic accounting lessons to learn to keep your business books, please do. You should know how much expenses & income you are making each month.

There are other things to know and put in place like a website, marketing & advertising etc but the above listed ones are just a few to start you off.

What are your own most pressing business challenges at the moment? How are you finding the business terrain? What advice do you have for other business people needing to learn from your experiences? Why not post them here?
More resources coming up soon. [b]Welcome to the world of business people! It is true that starting and running a business can be very challenging. No wonder many shy away from it, preferring the shelter of a paid employment. But there are advantages & disadvantages to whichever option you settle for.
Some people enter the business world well equipped & knowing the rules while others come in without the slightest idea of what it entails to succeed. Just like any other game, business is also a big game & it behoves anyone dabbling into it to know the rules.
Some of us are forced to take on business because we couldn't pick up a paid employment after many years of graduation. And of course, our orientation is to get a job after school life. I belong to this group of people who went into business after many years of no job.
When I entered in, I did many things wrongly & was disappointed with the results I was getting e.g:

* No business plan or direction at onset
* No particular target customer/client
* No business model
* Insufficient customer flow
* Irregular income
* No business records
* No mentor
* No joint venture partners
* No customer acquisition strategies etc

But the good thing is to keep searching for solution & not give up. Soon later, I found help & my business started flying. I've not arrived yet, but at least I've started learning to do things properly & seriously learning the game of business.
One of the important lessons I've learnt from one of my mentors is that you don't need to have money or deep pockets to succeed in business. You only need good thinking. Of course, many of us young business people don't have the money to run our businesses like blue chips.
What I want to do here is share my business expertise & resources with others in my shoes so as to make things easier for those struggling in their businesses now & encourage new comers to jump in!
Here we go.

Important First Steps In Business
1. Research The Market.
This is important to ensure your business idea is viable. Are there people you know doing that same business? If yes, why not ask them how they are thriving. Ask friends for their opinion about your business idea. Also ensure that your business is based on your strength.

2. Decide On A Business Structure
Would you prefer a sole proprietorship, a partnership, limited liability company, a trust or an NGO and why.

3. Blueprint Your Business
This is the equivalent of a business plan but more practicable than a theoretical business plan.

4. Choose A Name.
Your business name must be memorable and immediately tells a prospect what your business does.

5. Register Your Business Name
It's important to get your business registered from the onset rather than getting many customers used to it already only for you to realise that someone else has registered it.

6. Get Your Finances In Order
If it means taking basic accounting lessons to learn to keep your business books, please do. You should know how much expenses & income you are making each month.

There are other things to know and put in place like a website, marketing & advertising etc but the above listed ones are just a few to start you off.

What are your own most pressing business challenges at the moment? How are you finding the business terrain? What advice do you have for other business people needing to learn from your experiences? Why not post them here?
More resources coming up soon. [/b]Welcome to the world of business people! It is true that starting and running a business can be very challenging. No wonder many shy away from it, preferring the shelter of a paid employment. But there are advantages & disadvantages to whichever option you settle for.
Some people enter the business world well equipped & knowing the rules while others come in without the slightest idea of what it entails to succeed. Just like any other game, business is also a big game & it behoves anyone dabbling into it to know the rules.
Some of us are forced to take on business because we couldn't pick up a paid employment after many years of graduation. And of course, our orientation is to get a job after school life. I belong to this group of people who went into business after many years of no job.
When I entered in, I did many things wrongly & was disappointed with the results I was getting e.g:

* No business plan or direction at onset
* No particular target customer/client
* No business model
* Insufficient customer flow
* Irregular income
* No business records
* No mentor
* No joint venture partners
* No customer acquisition strategies etc

But the good thing is to keep searching for solution & not give up. Soon later, I found help & my business started flying. I've not arrived yet, but at least I've started learning to do things properly & seriously learning the game of business.
One of the important lessons I've learnt from one of my mentors is that you don't need to have money or deep pockets to succeed in business. You only need good thinking. Of course, many of us young business people don't have the money to run our businesses like blue chips.
What I want to do here is share my business expertise & resources with others in my shoes so as to make things easier for those struggling in their businesses now & encourage new comers to jump in!
Here we go.

Important First Steps In Business
1. Research The Market.
This is important to ensure your business idea is viable. Are there people you know doing that same business? If yes, why not ask them how they are thriving. Ask friends for their opinion about your business idea. Also ensure that your business is based on your strength.

2. Decide On A Business Structure
Would you prefer a sole proprietorship, a partnership, limited liability company, a trust or an NGO and why.

3. Blueprint Your Business
This is the equivalent of a business plan but more practicable than a theoretical business plan.

4. Choose A Name.
Your business name must be memorable and immediately tells a prospect what your business does.

5. Register Your Business Name
It's important to get your business registered from the onset rather than getting many customers used to it already only for you to realise that someone else has registered it.

6. Get Your Finances In Order
If it means taking basic accounting lessons to learn to keep your business books, please do. You should know how much expenses & income you are making each month.

There are other things to know and put in place like a website, marketing & advertising etc but the above listed ones are just a few to start you off.

What are your own most pressing business challenges at the moment? How are you finding the business terrain? What advice do you have for other business people needing to learn from your experiences? Why not post them here?
More resources coming up soon.

Successful Entrepreneurs Are Marketers! Marketing is one area most entrepreneurs find difficult to cope with or even understand. What is marketing? It is bringing the marketplace to desire your product or service! When you market effectively, the market will have no choice other than to buy your offer because they cannot resist it! The hunger or drive you've created in them won't be satisfied until they give you their money in exchange for what you are selling. The truth is that only 3 per cent of the market is actively shopping and actively looking for what your business offers. The competition for this small percentage is usually high because many businesses in the same niche are all looking to acquire a part of this percentage! The remaining 97 percent are divided into different categories thus: 7 percent - are open to your offer but not actively shopping! 30 percent- are aware for the future. They see they might need your product at a future time. 30 percent - are simply unconscious of their need for your product unless someone awaken them! 30 - the remaining percentage are simply uninterested in your product and should be ruled out or overlooked. From the foregoing, the entrepreneur has got to be a good marketer to be able to catch this huge and neglected market instead of scrambling for the actively shopping 3 percent! This calls for what is known as education-based marketing which allows you as the entrepreneur to enlighten and educate the market to see and feel a deep need for what you are offering. This can be done in various ways such as organising a free seminar, public speaking events, electronic media, webinars etc It is important to do this free of charge to enable so many people attend. This first simple step in bringing them in the door is very important and will lead to the next until your prospects become buyers. This education-based marketing should be 80 percent solid content and only 20 percent pitching to the extent your prospect won't even suspect you are going to sell anything! Their guards are down and they come to like and trust you. By the time you put in your offer, they just swallow it hook, line and sinker! You get it? It's awesome! You cannot leave the marketing of your business in the hands of other people who do not know your business as much as you do! Neither can you hire someone to do it for you. You've got to do it yourself and it all starts with your willingness to learn. No one was born a perfect marketer. It all comes by learning. You can learn from successful business owners or mentors. All the best in your marketing efforts. Your feedback or comments is very important. Take some time to drop some comments and thanks for doing so.

With the rise in popularity of online marketing, many proven offline methods are simply
forgotten when marketing campaigns are planned. Of course, online marketing is hugely important in today’s Internet- connected world, but offline engagement with customers still has unique and distinct value that shouldn’t be forgotten.
If you want to give your business a real marketing
boost this year, start looking outside the box. Here
are five forgotten offline marketing tactics that
don’t require a big marketing budget.

1. Engage in offline guerrilla marketing

Guerrilla marketing is a generic term for the use
of unconventional marketing strategies, and
because online marketing channels are so
narrowly structured, offline is the best arena to
flex your small business’s guerrilla marketing
muscle. So, starting now, ignore what you know
about marketing channels, and let your inner child
out to play.
Offline guerrilla marketing ideas:
Leave sticky notes in random places (bars,
coffee shops).
Use chalk to advertise promotions on a
sidewalk.
“Accidentally” leave a branded pen at the bank.
Donate branded bookmarks to your local
library.
Use sticky notes to create temporary images
on buildings, cars, etc.

2. Drop business cards

This is one offline guerrilla marketing strategy that
I want to talk about specifically. It’s more of a
necessity than an option. If you run a small
business, you must have business cards and dole
them out! Don’t just share them when you first
meet someone new. Drop them everywhere.
Places to drop business cards:
Leave a business card with your tip at a
restaurant.
See a public bulletin board? Put up a business
card.
Go to the library and place business cards in
books related to your business.
When you see a contest fish bowl asking for
business cards, drop yours in. Always.

3. Take pictures/videos of everything

Because social media marketing takes place
online, many business owners and marketers
forget that social campaigns can be boosted by
offline efforts. One way to do this is by taking
photos of company events and daily activities, and
then posting those online. Videos help too. If
someone from your company speaks at an event,
for example, record it and upload it to YouTube.
Real-life photos from the offline world show the
personality of your company and increase online
user engagement. Facebook posts with photos, for
example, receive 84% more clicks and twice as
many Likes than text-only posts, according to
Kissmetrics. And some of the most popular social
networks (Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr) are
image-based, making photos ever more important
for online marketing.

4. Donate gift certificates or products as prizes

By offering your product or service as the prize for
a local contest, you can build visibility for your
business while showing your commitment to the
community.
If your business provides computer repairs, for
example, you could donate a gift certificate for a 2-
hour repair to a local non-profit organization. The
organization may announce your branded prize to
a room full of sponsors. Your business could also
be listed in various publications, such as the
organization’s website, newsletter, or even a press
release.

5. Speak at events

Professional events offer a great way to meet new
people, share your ideas, and build brand
awareness. They’re even more effective if you
speak at them. Find a local event related to your
industry, come up with an educational topic you
can speak on, and volunteer. If you don’t yet have
the level of clout required to speak at an event,
attending events can be just as helpful.
Remember, you don’t have to adopt all of these
offline marketing strategies. Just try one. Write a
promotion on a couple sticky notes, and put them
in your pocket for the day. Who knows what could
happen.

Jayson DeMers is the founder & CEO
of AudienceBloom, a Seattle-based
content marketing & social media
agency. You can contact him on
LinkedIn, Google+, or Twitter.

Why Am I Still Unemployed?

Well, because you either lack the entrepreneurial drive or unwilling to unleash it!
Entrepreneurs are huge risk takers, problem solvers, economy drivers, job creators, and of course they are the hope of the people!
Without entrepreneurs, the future will be so bleak because the hope of college graduates, school leavers, and the labour force in general of leading decent lives with a good job will be dashed!
Many go to school to earn degrees qualifying them to become employees but very few ever think of becoming job creators to employ others!
Definitely, the ratio of 'employees-to-be' versus 'employers-to-be' is so imbalanced and is the reason many are suffering from the unemployment saga
today.
Come to think of it- where would you rather be? In the camp of 'employees-to-be' or 'employers-to-be'?
Afterall, all it takes to be an employer is the entrepreneurial drive coupled with the right knowledge of how successful businesses are run!
Since everyone has at least a talent, it means we all have something unique to us with which we can start a thriving business.
Many people who are successful in business today started dreaming about their business early and had ample time to process it.
If you are not an early starter, you can still make it big in business if you address yourself to it and go all out!
Start by finding the seed of your future business which is your talent coupled with your skills, training and experiences.
Look for a good niche where your strength will fits in, get a successful business coach to mentor you and start your own empire that will benefit not only you
but many others!
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