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Financial managers are responsible for cash management. This responsibility demands that the financial manager maintains adequate balances of cash and marketable securities. And also see to the efficient operation of cash management at the lowest cost possible.


What are cash and marketable securities?

Cash is the currency on hand and in the demand deposit (checking account) balances maintained at the bank.
Marketable securities are short term securities ranging from overnight loans to maturities of less than a year. They are securities that are quickly converted to cash.

The financial manager has a job to establish optimal cash balances that minimizes idle cash balances that earn nothing and also maintain sufficient cash balances that meet anticipated and unanticipated cash needs.

Before the financial manager could establish optimal cash balances successfully, they have to examine the following considerations and costs:

Select a planning timeframe within which to estimate cash inflows and cash outflows expected to occur expected to occur in each sub period within the time frame. This would require the construction of a cash budget with a forecast on the collection of accounts receivable,
2. The cash budget should be constructed to predict times when shortfall could be expected. This is important because every shortfall incurs costs. These costs could be transactions costs associated with raising cash. Or they could be costs associated with deteriorating credit rating.

3. There are also costs associated with having excessive cash balances. Too much idle cash is a indication of missed investment opportunities. Ideally, every fund should be invested, if only temporarily, at a positive rate of interest.

4. The impact of uncertainty on cash management strategy should never be overlooked. To minimize the impact, an improved forecasting and cash flows that give the financial manager control and increased ability to borrow are necessary.

How does the financial manager determine the cash need (an optimal cash balance)?

There are three approaches:

The Cash budget,
Minimizing-cost model and,
Precautionary balances.
The Cash Budget:
A cash budget is one of the most important budgets prepared in an organization. It is a summary of expected cash receipts and expected cash payments during the budget period.

The consideration of liquidity and cash management as key factors in an organization’s successful operation makes cash budget very important.

Cash budget is the financial manager’s fundamental tool for coordinating and forecasting cash flows. The cash budget shows the effect of budgeted activities, such as cash sales, buying, accounts receivable collections on the cash flow of a business. There are no accruals in the cash budget.

Once estimated cash receipts and expenditures are known, the possibility of having an unexpected shortfall is easily increased.

2. Minimizing- cost model:

The cash budget does not show how the optimal cash balance is arrived at. The job of a good financial manager is to minimize a business’s cost of maintaining cash balances.

For this to be achieved, the financial manager must recognize and minimize the three basic cost categories of short costs, excessive cash costs and procurement costs.

Short costs rise as a business holds less and less cash. On the other hand, long cost (costs incurred for holding idle cash and missing investment opportunities) increases as the idle balances increase.

Another cost that must be considered is the procurement costs associated with operating the cash management system. These are salaries and wages for staff of the cash management unit including overhead of the unit. These costs are fixed.

Now, how are total cash management costs calculated?

Recall that total cash management costs (TC) are made up of;

Procurement costs – P,
Total Short Costs – TSC,
Total Long Costs – TLC

Therefore TC = P + TSC + TLC.

3. Precautionary Cash Balances:

The financial manager has to also determine how much more money to hold in addition to the optimal cash balance. The financial manager has to go back to the history of the business to know what it did when it encountered an unexpected cash need above the optimal balance.

The manager would also have to determine the cost of not having precautionary balances to meet unexpected cash needs.

There are benefits for having precautionary balances. Profit opportunities may suddenly present themselves and a business with precautionary balances would avoid costs associated with the inability to raise cash to meet sudden cash needs.

But there is also a cost for having precautionary balances. One may be forfeited interest that could have been earned if those cash balances were invested.

Therefore, there is need to estimate an optimal level of precautionary cash balances.

Determining the optimal level requires a costs-benefits approach to find where total net profits (benefits minus costs) are maximized.

The benefits (B) could be assumed to be the following:

The average return on the expected profit opportunity – R,
Precautionary Cash Balance level – PCB and,
The fraction of the year over which the opportunity occurred – N.
Therefore, B = R x N x PCB.

The cost (C) of the precautionary balances for the year could be assumed to be:

The forfeited yield on securities for the period held and,
Precautionary Cash Balance level – PCB.
Therefore, C = Y x PCB.

https://ayietim.com/2021/12/13/cash-management-what-is-optimal-cash-balance/

Cindy sat on the couch, her eyes on the TV program but her mind was several mile away from her sitting room.

Nick, her husband of 23 months had not called for six months now. She had made several failed attempts to talk to him within the same period of no communication.

Nick was at the front, engaging the militia in a gorilla warfare that had taken so many military and civilian lives.

He had gone back immediately after the 2 day honey moon. The wedding was hurriedly put together because Nick couldn’t afford to spend more than a weak away from the front.

Now, she had endured six months of not hearing his voice on the phone.

“Life is cruel. Cindy lamented silently. To add to the burden was the fact she was also in a state of confusion. Simeone in her office, was on her neck.

He wanted Cindy to go out with him on a date. A part of her was yelling at her to accept the offer. She was lonely.

“I wouldn’t be doing anything wrong.” Cindy rationalized.

“After all, it would be a harmless date. Drink juice, have a non-romantic talk and come back to my house.” She continued in an effort to free herself of any self-guilt, just in case she accepted Simeone’s offer.

Then a breaking news on the TV caught her attention. Six officers just lost their lives in the ongoing war.

Their photos and their names were on the screen. Cindy checked photos and names, one after the other. She didn’t know any of them until her eyes got to the last name and photo. was Otti, her husband.

Cindy let out a loud scream and fainted.

1
* * * *
Someone saw the news the same time Cindy saw it. He knew Otti, He drove over, found Cindy spralled on the floor and took her to the hospital.

Seven months later, Cindy had come out of the worst. Otti was a distance memory, Patrick had done a great job to comfort and nurse Cindy back to life.

With Otti dead and with Cindy ready to move on , Patrick asked Cindy the big question. Cindy said “Yes.”

Both decided not to rush things. Cindy was still living alone in the apartment she once shared with Otti.

One evening when Cindy got home from work, she found a surprise package. Otti was lying on the couch.

1
* * * *
Otti didn’t die...

https://ayietim.com/2021/06/29/good-and-evil-are-very-hard-to-explain-or-understand-keith-haring/

Were you aware, that every time procrastinate, you assasinate yet another chance
to live better, healthier and happier?


The more opportunities you assasinate
by surrendering to the urge to procrastinate,

the heavier your basket of regrets;
an unavoidable basket you must carry when it’s too late;

So is it impossible to break the habit of procrastination?

#StopProcrastinatingChallenge.

https://ayietim.com/2021/12/07/victor-kermit-kiam-ii-procrastination-is-opportunitys-assassin/

Every day is an opportunity
to leap from where you are to where you want to be,


Whenever you procrastinate till tomorrow,
to go into the field and sow,


you assasinate yet another chance
to live better, healthier and happier;


The more opportunities you assasinate
by surrendering to the urge to procrastinate,

the heavier your basket of regrets;
an unavoidable basket you must carry when it’s too late;


So don’t procrastinate any more,
to hit the gym, start thet business and go back to school;


Yes, it’s true
and yes I know;


that procrastination is a big monster
but its assasin is the right action taken now.


https://ayietim.com/2021/12/07/victor-kermit-kiam-ii-procrastination-is-opportunitys-assassin/

Many dreams of so many people have been lost to Procrastination.

They always believe that they are never good enough today and not ready now to take actions that could transform their dreams to realities.

So they comfort themselves with, “I’ ll start tomorrow” or “I’ll start when I am good enough and have everything in place.’.
But tomorrow is promised to no one. And no one has ever been good enough without trials and errors.

Those who achieve great things start ‘now: where they are with what they have, fail but persist until they arrive at where others say they are the best. And they know too.
When they realize they are among the best, they also realize that they have garnered so.much experience and goodwill along the way. Years which would have been lost to procrastination have been invested wisely.

Many have said that the major reason they procrastinate is, “The fear of rejection”. In the good news department, rejection nay multiple rejections are bridges that separate almost every human being from their greatness. Not everyone is going to accept you or give you the time to prove yourself. The ‘Noes” are characteristically deafening and ego deflating. This is why only few, very few keep on asking to be heard after many Noes. Then they vaulting over the ‘ No’ barriers until they get to just one “Yes.”

The one “Yes” goes viral and creates a multiplier effect. Success is multiplied and everything begins to look easy. But if they had put off to start until when everything was easy, would they have achieved any life changing success? Unlikely.

You have a lot to gain and nothing to lose by ridding your life of procrastination. It’s achievable. All you have to do is to know

1. How to achieve self-discipline,

2. How to achieve top class laser focus,

3. How to structure a daily routine that is fun to follow,

4. How to set achievable goals,

5. How to draw up

https://ayietim.com/2021/07/08/a-course-on-procrastination-5-strategies-for-overcoming-procrastination/

Ideas rule the world. Do you have one?
If you do, then you’re ready to rule the world,


but you have to design a great plan plus backup plans and start,


The best time to start is now,
not when you’re perfect, but now,


start now and keep going,

in turbulent waters, keep rowing,

don’t attempt to sail against the wind,

use your backup plans to adjust as feedback come in;

With that great idea, you’re going to succeed
But if you’re still doubting your chances to succeed;


Then, “… look at any giant corporation, and I mean the biggies, and they all started with a guy with an idea, doing it well.” – Irv Robbins

https://ayietim.com/2021/12/06/irv-robbins-any-giant-corporationstarted-with-a-guy-with-an-idea-doing-it-well/

Looking for ways to resolve financial issues surrounding your research project is a daunting task.

The list below comprises 39 potential grantors, categorized by disciplines. All the grants are current as of 2021.

We hope this list will save you time and effort that you can dedicate to more creative things.

Multidisciplinary
This category lists funding organizations and databases of grants that cover a wide range of disciplines. Note that some of the resources here are available only through a paid subscription.

1. Grants.gov
This free database lists all the currently available or forecasted grants from 26 institutions of the US government. They comprise the Environmental Protection Agency, USAID, National Science Foundation, Department of Health and Human Services, and many other agencies.

In other words, the website provides access to the most prominent public funders of research in all disciplines.

The website has a mobile app, which is very convenient to check for new grant openings.

2. CRDF Global
CDRF Global aims to support global entrepreneurship and civilian-oriented research. The non-profit organization is eager to fund projects to make our world more “healthy, safe, and sustainable.”

In particular, it is interested in the research of nuclear, chemical, and biological security, technological innovations, public health, and adjacent disciplines.

However, they do not fund unsolicited proposals, projects related to children (up to secondary-school age), or fundraising initiatives. No subscription is required.

3. FDO (Foundation Directory Online)
Only 10% of US foundations have websites. Where can you find information about the funding opportunities for the remaining 90%?

The Foundation Directory online hosts data from all 239,000 foundations in the United States.

Access to the database is available by paid subscription. Its search results include the number of grants and the funded amount according to the search criteria.

4. NSF (National Science Foundation)
The NSF database provides free access to current funding opportunities. This independent federal agency funds 20% of all federally supported research conducted in American educational institutions.

Here you can look for grants related to engineering, math, physics, biology, geosciences, economy, sociology, and human resource development.

When this article was created, the NSF contained 609 funding opportunities.

5. GRC (Grant Resource Center)
GRC is a subsection of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Access to its database requires a paid institutional membership, meaning that only institutions can apply for grants listed here.

This could work for you if your project involves a group of peers and is supervised by your university staff. Approximately 1,500 private and federal grants are always listed there.

6. GrantForward
This service used to be hosted by the University of Illinois, but now it has moved to an independent website. The access is paid, but you can check out their 30-day trial version.

The resource is more user-friendly than an average funding database. You can create your profile as a researcher, save your previous search results, or listen to webinars and tutorials.

GrantForward has a separate section of grants dedicated to COVID-19 research.

7. Tinker Foundation
The Tinker Foundation supports research of all academic disciplines.

In order to apply, you must be studying for a Master’s or Ph.D. degree at a university in the United States.

In addition, the organization only funds field research in Latin America, specifically Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries. You’ll have a chance to use the grant money to cover field-related expenses and travel costs.

8. Fulbright
Fulbright offers four field-specific awards: the arts; business; journalism and communication; and STEM and public health.

Eligible students should study or carry out research projects at foreign universities in the 140 listed countries.

The requirements vary by country. In general, the application process for a Fulbright scholarship is rather complicated. It is better to consult a Fulbright Program Adviser at your university.

9. IFS Program
This non-commercial organization offers funds to scholars from developing countries.

It gives grants to individual researchers who focus on the relevant or innovative spheres of local or national development.

Donors and collaborating organizations finance the program. This means that the eligibility criteria are grant-specific.

10. GrantWatch
GrantWatch is a multidisciplinary search base available by subscription. It features national and international scholarships for college students of the arts, journalism, science, history, and other disciplines.

The resource also has grant openings for senior citizens, refugees, immigrants, veterans, and out-of-school youth. You can check if the website meets your needs through the trial version.

Biology & Medicine
If you study biology or medicine, you will surely find a funding source in one of the ten resources below. Some of the websites listed here provide grants to specific subject areas, while others fund more general research.

11. NIH Grants
NIH is looking for research proposals of high scientific caliber in the sphere of public health. It frequently identifies priority areas and announces funding opportunities and requests for applications.

Note that the organization welcomes unsolicited proposals that fall within its targeted announcements as well. And if another organization funds your project, NIH will support it as well.

https://ayietim.com/2021/12/04/who-provides-research-grants-a-list-of-39-potential-grantors/

Planning involves selecting future courses of action from available alternatives. There is a formal process for the selection of objectives, goals and the determination of best methods to achieve and attain them.


The formal planning process follows a logical sequence of steps. These steps are;

Situational analysis,
2. Establishment of goals and alternatives

3. Evaluation of goals and plans,

4. Selection of goals and plans,

5. Implementation and,

6. Evaluation.

Situational analysis is the first step in the formal planning process. First, find out, “What is the plan for?” When the planning issue is known, gather every information relevant to the plan.
The relevance of every bit of information gathered is defined by;

a. Resources available,
b. Constraints,
c. Past events and conditions,
d. Current events and conditions needed to aid the making of reliable forcast and,
e. The time.


Situational analysis is the foundation on which clearly defined goals are laid.

2. Establishment of goals and alternatives:
The success or failure of a business depends on the degree of clarity of goals. Therefore, it’s very important to set specific goals that would increase a business’s chances of meeting and surpassing targets.
The goal establishment step is also an opportunity to set realistic and challenging goals understood by all and acceptable to all concern.


At this stage, alternative plans should also be established. This is very important.

3. Evaluation of goals and plans;
After establishing goals (including alternatives), the next step is to prioritize goals and methods designed to achieve them. This should be preceded by the evaluation of advantages and disadvantages of each goal and plan.

4. Selection of goals and plans:
This is the decision making stage. At this stage, the most feasible plans and courses of action with high likehood of helping the attainment of proritized goals are selected.

5. Implementation stage is the plan execution stage.
Adequate resources must be in place to guarantee the successful implementation of selected plans.

6. Evaluation; Results should be evaluated as they begin to come in. Evaluation should be done regularly for timely remedial actions to be carried out where actual performances deviate from set standards.

https://ayietim.com/2021/12/02/what-are-the-steps-in-formal-planning-process/

According to The Wall Street Journal,, “The pandemic has unleashed a historic burst in entrepreneurship and self-employment. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are striking out on their own as consultants, retailers and small-business owners.

The move helps explain the ongoing shake-up in the world of work, with more people looking for flexibility, anxious about covid exposure, upset about vaccine mandates or simply disenchanted with pre-pandemic office life. It is also aggravating labor shortages in some industries..”


Probably, circumstances have brought you to the realization that you’re the master of your destiny. You’ve made the right decision to live life by your terms and conditions.


Life I short? This is irrelevant when you follow your heart. Steve Jobs said;

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”


You have high chances of success. Other business owners need your skills, your experience and your expert knowledge to fill gaps being left by departing employees.

But you have to accept the fact that now going forward, you’ll solely decide how much you earn and when you get paid.


You’re going to be the employer of yourself and not an employee any more. You’re getting into a new world where you’ve never been before.

To survive, you must quickly learn and master new set of skills and emotions.


You’ll have to learn and master the skill of effective communication.


This is necessary because you would’ve to sell your ideas, skills and products in volumes that guarantee survival and growth.

It’s almost impossible to succeed as a business owner without mastering the art of effective communication.


What’s your attitude to learning new skills?


The journey into entrepreneurship will require the learning and mastery of new skills to reach and cross milestones. If you weren’t comfortable learning and applying new skills as an employee, you would’ve to develop the ability as a business owner.


Listen to this…and believe; you’re going to experience failures, disappointments and sometimes frustrations. Challenges and tough moments are part of an enterpreneur’s journey.


They are unavoidable but they are surmountable. When things fail to go according to plan, adjust to deviations, exploit new possibilities and turn negative variances to positive ones. Don’t ever quit, remain persistent. Jessica Herrin, said,


“You have to see failure as the beginning and the middle, but never entertain it as an end.”


At all times, have a business strategy that has the potential to set you apart from the competition.”


“Focusing solely on what you can potentially do better than any other organization, Jim Collins said, “is the only path to greatness.”


Now that you’ve decided to be your own boss, greatness is no longer far away from you. Believe in you and maintain a positive focus regarless of what is going on around you now.


As you move forward, one step at a time, always keep in constant view, your past successes. And they will inspire you to achieve your business and life goals. Jack Canfield puts it thus;


“Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to take to get them closer to the fulfillment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them.”


https://ayietim.com/2021/11/30/workers-quit-jobs-to-become-their-own-bosses-but/

Build a product few people love and it will sell more and faster than a product more people kind of like.


We find it rewarding buying what we love. Buying a car you’re in love with lights up the brain’s pleasure centre and makes you feel good.


The good happy-feeling is a motivation that causes you to repeat the behaviour. Then it becomes an addiction.


On the other hand, buying things you don’t love but just kind of like could gnerate a feeling of guilt.

In the depth of your heart, you may realize that, that money would have been spent on a superior alternative. An alternative you would’ve loved to own and be happy to show off to friends and family.

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/29/build-something-100-people-love-not-something-1-million-people-kind-of-like-brian-chesky/

“In marketing I’ve seen only one strategy that can’t miss – to market to your best customers first.” – John Romero.


As a customer, which products are you not happy with?
Have an idea of how to make it better and how to deliver superior sales services?


Then go to work and when you’re done,
market to your best customers first and they will in turn be the one,


to promote you
and come back for more.

https://ayietim.com/2021/10/02/in-marketing-ive-seen-only-one-strategy-that-cant-miss-john-romero/

Create something that makes
lives of others better and you would’ve made


yourself into a creator; a never-to-be forgotten benefactor


and for the thirsty,
the ever flowing stream?


for you; the beneficiary
of an unending goodwill;


But the status of a creator,
is reserved only for,


the little one,
fearless enough,


to let go of certainties
and go for mighty dreams,


surrounded my a raging fire fueled by risks
trapped on the island of uncertainties;


the only thing that’s very certain,
is the possibility of falling never to rise again,
but the creator knows that death is only the end,


to them and not to the creative idea,
someone would come later to give life to the dream


and call to unforgetful rememberance,
the first who took the chance to live forever.

Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. – Gail Sheehy.

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/27/gail-sheehy-creativitivity-letting-go-of-certainties/

When you send your proposal for sponsorship, it must pass through two stages. The primary short listing stage and the committee selection stage.


For your proposal to be on the primary short list, it has to satify the requirements of conformity to the research theme, format, cost, elegibility and duration. After scaling this stage, your proposal will go to the selection committee.


The selection committee is made up of experts in the subject area. Their job is to pick the best proposals for sponsorship consideration.


Proposals are conventionally selected on the following principles;

1. Originality.


The selection committee painstakingly searches proposals for originality of the topic. The committee would want to know what new concepts and ideas a proposal intends to generate.


Suggested new findings the proposed research could make must be a product of a good knowledge of literature (art) review.

2. Relevance.


The selection committee places high consideration on how relevant tthe proposed research topic is to the research theme. Would the research findings solve an urgent socio-economic problem? Your research proposal should clearly state the problem in the “problem statement”.

3. Objectives.


What are the objectives of the proposed research? The objectives must be clearly stated in the proposal.


Also, the significance of the proposed study should be stated in the proposal; That is, your proposal should indicate answers to “what gaps and how well, would any new knowledge fill?”

4. Qualifications.


Do you as a researcher have relevant training and working experience in the area that is the focus of the proposed research?


If you have not attained satisfactoty level of training or experience, you could include in the proposal, the resume of a contracted qualified supervisor. The supervisor would receive an honorarium.

5. Research Methodoly.


This usually receives a significant level of attention from the selection committee. So, you should take your time to assess and select methods of data collection and data analysis. Describe your methods in detail, state their weaknesses and strengths in your proposal.

6. Consistency.


It is important to show the interrelatedness among all components of the proposed research. All irrelevant sections should be left out completely.

7. Work Plan.


A comprehensive work plan should be in the grant research proposal. Indicate the duration of the project, and commencement and completion dates of each activity.

8. Interest.


This is a very important consideration. How does the end user of the proposed research wantto use the findings? What problems do they intend to solve with the findings? Do you have a letter from the end user and how they have supported or intend to support the research? If you have, attach it.

9. Budget.


A realistic budget, which also conforms to sponsor’s requirements should be in the research proposal.


In conclusion, grant research proposals that receive high marks in the sections explained above, usually, under normal circumstances, get approved for sponsorship.

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/05/how-do-you-write-a-grant-research-proposal-9-things-to-consider/

It took sweat and love,
to build a beautiful home for two on trust;


then slowly that relationship is collapsing,
sadly both are still busy fighting;


what caused this war between two?
one heard a rumor and assumed same to be true,


without asking for proof,
too impatient to find out the real truth;


now two are at the threshold,
of losing their beautiful home

to the termites of assumptions,
what happened to patience, forgiveness and communication?

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/26/are-the-termites-of-relationships-henry-winkler/

***Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer***.” – Joseph Campbell.

When you discover yourself, you will also discover why you are here, how you could have all you want, know which road leads to a fulfilling and a happy life.

The meaning of life is found by seeking to control and direct your thoughts toward where your most beautiful dreams could be realized.

The realization of your most beautiful dreams is the attainment of the feeling of contentment. No longing for more because there wouldn’t be more to ask for.

At that point, you would realize that sufficiency is the awareness that your thoughts are your most priceless assets. Your thoughts are you and you are the answer to the question, “What’s the meaning of life?”

So life is who you think you are, why you think you’re here, what you think happiness is and where you think happiness could be found.

Life and happiness are within you and they are always your thoughts. So stop the search for the meaning for life.

Searching for the meaning of life is like working hard to catch the shadow of the substance you already have. It would lead to frustration and sadness. Albert Camus said,

“***You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”***

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/25/what-is-the-meaning-of-life-2/

Those who make money and keep making it don’t pluck it from money trees. They understand the fact that idle money is like a stagnant pool of water that dries up when spendings are not matched to commensurate or excess volumes of inflow.

Armed with this knowledge, rich people invest their money in ventures they know have chances of making more money for them.

The rich investor doesn’t panic when investments don’t yield expected returns. They are always in it for the long haul. They know that there’s a floor which a drop in value can’t go beyond. The value will eventually hit the floor, rebound and rise above total costs into the profit zone.

The rich investor’s key to success is made up of knowledge, action and continuous learning.

Below are seven things rich people know about making money that poor people don’t.

“Rich people have small TVs and big libraries, and poor people have small libraries and big TVs.” – Zig Ziglar
2. Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” — Jim Rohn

3. Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn’t, pays it.” — Albert Einstein

4. How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case.” — Robert G. Allen

5. Investing should be more like watching paint dry or watching grass grow. If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Las Vegas.” — Paul Samuelson

6. The investor’s chief problem — even his worst enemy — is likely to be himself.” — Benjamin Graham.

7. The person who starts simply with the idea of getting rich won’t succeed; you must have a larger ambition.” — John D. Rockefeller

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/24/7-things-you-should-know-about-investment-and-making-money/

Below is a poem by Robert William Service that mirrors the dilemma men face when it's time to choose among their girlfriends, the one they consider the most suitable to wed.

Which would you wed?


"If you had the choice of two women to wed,
(Though of course the idea is quite absurd)
And the first from her heels to her dainty head
Was charming in every sense of the word:
And yet in the past (I grieve to state),
She never had been exactly “straight”.

And the second — she was beyond all cavil,
A model of virtue, I must confess;
And yet, alas! she was dull as the devil,
And rather a dowd in the way of dress;
Though what she was lacking in wit and beauty,
She more than made up for in “sense of duty”.

Now, suppose you must wed, and make no blunder,
And either would love you, and let you win her —
Which of the two would you choose, I wonder,
The stolid saint or the sparkling sinner

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/22/robert-william-service/

A long lasting marriage is built on trust. Where there is no trust, love is living on borrowed times. A union of two love birds would eventually collapse and one or both lovers would either have to move on with hope or get left behind with a broken heart.

So, since trust is the bedrock of every enduring marriage, how can someone who desires to enjoy the rewards of a happy long lasting marriage build trust? It is by refusing to ask some QUESTIONS and do some things.

What are those questions you shouldn’t ask, things you shouldn’t say and do?

Don’t have secrets. Tell your partner everything about what you are doing or intend to do. Let your partner know about your fears and your hopes. Be transparent and be as opened as possible.


Don’t say, ‘You are lying’, or ‘I don’t believe you‘. When you tell your partner that they are lying, you are indirectly telling them that you don’t trust them. When you do this on a consistent basis, you are making it difficult for your partner to tell you the truth about a lot if things. This is because, they would have had the impression that telling you anything is a waste of time, since you would never believe.

Don’t ask, ‘who was that?‘. Okay you should but when it becomes a habit, it becomes a problem. If your partner wants to tell you who they were with and where they were, they would volunteer the information without you asking.

Asking, especially frequently and leaving no room for objectivity, would make them believe that you are trailing them out of suspicion. And suspicion breeds distrust.

https://ayietim.com/2016/09/26/questions-you-mustnt-ask-and-things-you-mustnt-do-if-you-must-build-your-marriage-on-trust/

In most industries, success can only be achieved by finding the strategy that gives and sustains a competitive advantage.


That would require controlling and exploiting competitive forces of barriers to entry, threats from substitutes, bargaining power of suppliers, industry rivalry and bargaining power of buyers.


These forces determine profitability by influencing pricing, investment requirements and cost structure in any industry.


Profitability is a product of selecting the right strategy that gives a business the competitive advantage.


What is competitive advantage?


A competitive advantage is anything that pushes a business’s profit rate higher than the industry rate. That is, a business achieves competitive advantage when it’s gross profit margin is higher than the industry average.


The gross profit margin is given as (total revenues) – (total costs)/(total costs).


Achieving a gross profit margin in excess of the industry depends on the occurrence of at least one of the following;

The business’s unit price must be higher than that of the industry average. And the unit cost must be equal to that of the industry average.

The business’s unit cost must be lower than that of industry average. And the unit price must be the equivalent of the industry’s average.

The business must have both a lower than industry average unit cost and a higher than industry average unit price.


As mentioned above, a business needs a strategy to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Any strategy chosen must not overlook four interrelated relevant factors for building a competitive advantage.


These factors are quality, efficiency, customer responsiveness and innovation.


Conscious of these factors, a business may create and use any of the following strategies (by Michael E Porter) to gain and sustain a competitive advantage;

Focus strategy: This strategy is adopted by a business that selects segments within an industry and focuses all its efforts to serve them to the exclusion of other segments.
It’s the pursuit of a differentiation advantage in a narrow segment of maybe, types of buyers or geographical locations of buyers.

2. Cost-leadership strategy: This strategy is adopted when a business chooses the path of establishing itself as the lowest cost producer within an industry.

For a business to achieve success with this strategy, it must stand out clearly as the cost leader. And also offer products or services which could be compared to those of competitors.

3. Differential strategy: The differential strategy is adopted by a business that wants to make a name for itself by offering products with a unique attribute.


Such an attribute must be different from those offered by competition. It should also be significant enough to justify a premium price that exceeds costs of differentiating.

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/18/how-do-you-create-and-sustain-a-competitive-advantage/

In most industries, success can only be achieved by finding the strategy that gives and sustains a competitive advantage.


That would require controlling and exploiting competitive forces of barriers to entry, threats from substitutes, bargaining power of suppliers, industry rivalry and bargaining power of buyers.


These forces determine profitability by influencing pricing, investment requirements and cost structure in any industry.


Profitability is a product of selecting the right strategy that gives a business the competitive advantage.


What is competitive advantage?


A competitive advantage is anything that pushes a business’s profit rate higher than the industry rate. That is, a business achieves competitive advantage when it’s gross profit margin is higher than the industry average.


The gross profit margin is given as (total revenues) – (total costs)/(total costs).


Achieving a gross profit margin in excess of the industry depends on the occurrence of at least one of the following;

The business’s unit price must be higher than that of the industry average. And the unit cost must be equal to that of the industry average.

The business’s unit cost must be lower than that of industry average. And the unit price must be the equivalent of the industry’s average.

The business must have both a lower than industry average unit cost and a higher than industry average unit price.


As mentioned above, a business needs a strategy to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Any strategy chosen must not overlook four interrelated relevant factors for building a competitive advantage.


These factors are quality, efficiency, customer responsiveness and innovation.


Conscious of these factors, a business may create and use any of the following strategies (by Michael E Porter) to gain and sustain a competitive advantage;

Focus strategy: This strategy is adopted by a business that selects segments within an industry and focuses all its efforts to serve them to the exclusion of other segments.
It’s the pursuit of a differentiation advantage in a narrow segment of maybe, types of buyers or geographical locations of buyers.

2. Cost-leadership strategy: This strategy is adopted when a business chooses the path of establishing itself as the lowest cost producer within an industry.

For a business to achieve success with this strategy, it must stand out clearly as the cost leader. And also offer products or services which could be compared to those of competitors.

3. Differential strategy: The differential strategy is adopted by a business that wants to make a name for itself by offering products with a unique attribute.


Such an attribute must be different from those offered by competition. It should also be significant enough to justify a premium price that exceeds costs of differentiating.

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/18/how-do-you-create-and-sustain-a-competitive-advantage/

A typical consumer market is made up of individuals and households that purchase goods and services for personal and household consumption.


Every consumer market has buyers that differ in several ways that makes market segmentation necessary.

Market segmentation is the conscious effort of dividing a total market into groups (or segments) of people who share similar consumption or product needs.


That is, market segments or subsets have people with similar purchase behaviour that is influenced by similar wants and other similar buying characteristics.


Effective market segmentation is a very important determinant of a good market strategy.

A good market segmentation is a reliable guide for putting consumers with similar valuation of products into easily differentiated groups.

Why is this useful for the purpose of crafting an effective market strategy?

It should help business focus its marketing efforts on the market segment where it has a competitive edge,
2. It should also help business reduce or eliminate the wasting of funds on marketing campaigns that wouldn’t yield significant commensurable results.


Now, for a market segmentation to be effective, it must satisfy some criteria. What are these bases?

Substantiality: A business’s target segment must have a large enough sales potential that guarantees profitability.

There should not be separate marketing programs for any identified market segment that wouldn’t produce high sales volume.

2. Actionability: After identifying target market segments, a business should assess its capacity to effectively serve them.


Does the business have the resources or would it have to get more resources at additional costs to serve identified market segments?


A thorough cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis should be carried out before funds are committed to develop new marketing programs to serve identified segments.

3. Measurability: This refers to the degree to which the size and purchasing power of segments could be assessed.


Buyers’ attributes (especially income and age) on which segmentation would be made should be measurable with reliable accuracy.

4. Accessibility: How easy would it be to reach and effectively serve identified and selected market segments?


Here, a business would have to objectively evaluate its marketing communication strategies and distribution channels.

Where accessibility would be difficult, efforts and funds shouldn’t be wasted on market segmentation.

5. Differentiability: Before dividing up a market into segments, different marketing programs should be used to test responses of hypothetical segements.

If different strategies and programs receive similar responses from hypothetical segments, then market segmentation is unnecessary.


It should be noted that there’s no one-size-fits-all market segmentation strategy. Different segmentation variables should be tried in turns until the one that identifies best market opportunities is found.


The major segmentation variables are;

Demographic segmentation: Demographic variables such as age, sex, family life cycle, income, family size, education, religion and nationality are used to divide a market into segments.

Consumer preferences and wants are regularly associated with demographic variables. This is why these variables are popular.

2. Behavioristic/product-related segmentation: For many marketing experts, product-related variables should be the starting point for creating effective market segments.


They believe that benefits sought, purchase occasion and loyalty status are revealed when buyers are grouped on the basis of their knowledge, response and attitude to an actual product.


It’s believed that by observing a buyer’s present behavior, a deeper understanding of their buying motive is possible.

3. Geographic segmentation: Here, the market is divided into different geographical entities.


This segmentation is based on the assumption that buyers’ needs vary geographically.


A business that uses this form of segmentation concentrates on geographical entities with the highest market potentials and lowest costs (and threats).

4. Psychographic segmentation divides buyers into market segments on the basis of social classes, personality attributes and lifestyles.

It’s important to note that demographics are usually silent on lifestyles and attributes.

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/17/what-is-effective-consumer-market-segmentation-5-bases-and-4-important-segmentation-variables/

I came across this question on Quora.

Some answers were quite interesting. One of them is reproduced below;

"They were very nice. Intelligent, law-abiding and hardworking.

And those are the reasons. If you’re intelligent, hardworking and law abiding, you’ll likely make it in America to a large extent. No matter where you’re from."

Now over to you, "Why are Nigerians so successful in America?"

Chinua Achebe was born on 16 November 1930. He was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic His first novel, “Things Fall Apart”, remains the most widely studied, translated and read African novel.


Below are 17 of the legend’s timeless quotes.

The world is like a Mask dancing. If you want to see it well, you do not stand in one place.
2. One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.

3. While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary.

4. Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.

5. The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.

6. To me, being an intellectual doesn’t mean knowing about intellectual issues; it means taking pleasure in them.

7. Nobody can teach me who I am. You can describe parts of me, but who I am – and what I need – is something I have to find out myself.

8. A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. They all have food in their own homes. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so.

9. There is no story that is not true, […] The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others.

10. We cannot trample upon the humanity of others without devaluing our own. The Igbo, always practical, put it concretely in their proverb Onye ji onye n’ani ji onwe ya: “He who will hold another down in the mud must stay in the mud to keep him down.

11. Charity . . . is the opium of the privileged.

12. There is no story that is not true.

13. When suffering knocks at your door and you say there is no seat for him, he tells you not to worry because he has brought his own stool.

14. If you don’t like my story,write your own

15. If I hold her hand she says, ‘Don’t touch!’
If I hold her foot she says ‘Don’t touch!’
But when I hold her waist-beads she pretends not to know.

16. My weapon is literature

17. When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk.

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/16/chinua-achebe-the-legend-lives-on-17-chinua-achebe-quotes/

The one who wants to build a really tall building doesn’t see the wisdom of diggng a very deep foundation as foolishness.

This high rise builder knows that the more the lower body strength you build the higher you jump.

The wise builder prefers to spend the early years learning to earn without stopping than earning only to lose everything to the first real test, which never fails to come.

So at the beginning when all efforts to make it work seem futile and the only word of encouragement you hear is ‘quit’, hang in there.

You know why? You’re not a failure, you’re just working hard to lay the foundation of a very tall building.

Very soon, the knowledge, the experience and skills you’re acquiring while laying that deep foundation are going to pay off.

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/15/taller-buildings-need-deeper-foundations/

Individuals and businesses are familiar with the fact that risk and uncertainty are part of life.


Techniques have been developed to manage risks associated with human existence.


Risk management is the identification, assessment and economic control of risks that have the capacity to adversely affect assets and earning capacity of individuals and businesses.

One of the risk management techniques is self-insurance.


Self-insurance is an alternative to purchasing insurance to insure the first layer of a claim. It is an arrangement where an individual or a business set aside funds to meet insurable losses.


It must be noted that self-insurance is a conscious risk decisin in which a business or individual sets aside a pool of money to be used to remedy unexpected losses.

This is different from non-insurance where no fund is consciously set aside.


Does self-insurance have advantages? Yes it does, some of the advantages are;

Self-insurance could be the source of constant reminder to control and reduce the risk of loss. That is, it could be used as an incentive to encourage and reward strict adherence to precautionary measures within a defined financial year.
2. If the funds set aside to self-insure were invested, the self-insured would claim the accrued profits.

A proportion of the profits could be used to increase the amount set aside for insurable losses and another invested in a new business.

3. A business that chooses the risk management technique of self-insurance pays lower premiums. This is because broker’s commission and insurers’ administration costs are eliminated.


Self-Insurance has disadvantages too. They are;

A big loss that may wipe off the set aside fund could occur. The consequence may lead to the reduction or elimination of assets and earning capacity.
2. A business that chooses the Self-Insurance route may not have reach or spread of investments that an insurance company has.

Therefore, the fund set aside to meet insurable losses may be tied up in low yield short term investments.


At the end, taking the Self-Insurance option may not be a good investment decision.

3. Another disadvantage is the non-availability of technical advice on risk prevention.
Insurers’ manage risks for many individuals in diverse professions and businesses providing different services.

These relationships are a great source of useful knowledge which clients could benefit from.

4. Premium payments are allowable charge against corporation tax (for businesses) and income tax (for individual with life insurance – through tax rebate).

Contributions to funds set aside for self-insurance do not qualify as a charge against tax.

There may arise pressure on management to make ex gratia payments, that is payments outside the cover. Such payments will deplete the fund.

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/14/risk-management-technique-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-self-insurance/

The calculation of the cost of a service with similar service centers or functions and cost units that are an appropriate measure of the service provided is a form of Activity Based Costing (ABC).


ABC identifies activitiies which cause costs (known as cost drivers) and puts costs into cost pools.


ABC attempts to overcome problems associated with traditional approach to product costing.


The traditional approach absorbs overheads on production volume as measured by labor or machine hours.

What this means is that, products with high volume standards are charged with most overheads while short run production are charged with lower overheads.


The overhead absorption associated with the traditional volume tends to overcost products made in long runs and undercoat products made in short run.


ABC solves this problem by relating associated overheads by cost drivers and not by production volume.

With ABC, a product or service cost is made up of it’s direct costs and an appropriate share of overheads related to the number of cost units the production causes.


After a service company has determined the appropriate cost unit, the cost per service unit could be calculated.

An example will be given presently but first, what is service costing?


What is service (function) costing?


Service costing is a cost accounting for clearly specified services or functions, which may be service centers or functions.


Another definition is; Service costing is the process of identifying all costs associated with building, supporting, and delivering your service (Stanford).


What is the formula for calculating cost per service unit?


Cost per service unit = Total costs per period/Number of service units supplied in the period.


If in a particular financial year, the records of a hotel showed the following information;

Number of rooms = 500,
2. Guests. = 100,000

3. Average stay. = 1 day

4. 90% occupancy.

5. Total costs (food, drinks, laundry and lodging) = $2,000,000


The cost per guest per day would be = 2,000,000/100,000 = $20.


There is often a difficulty to define and agree on a realistic cost unit that is an appropriate measure of the service provided. It’s because of this difficulty that a composite cost unit is often used.


Also, the unit cost has limitations. The major problem is that it is a summary figure that ignores quality of performance.

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/12/how-do-you-calculate-service-cost-service-costing/

Do you have a contract that has the following characteristics?

1. Problems of cost control concerning pilferage, material usage, labor utilization and supervision, vandalism and sometimes losses. The scale and size of the site may be responsible for these problems,

2. Direct costs traceable to the contract are in high proportion. Such direct costs may include transportation, design cost, wages and salaries, telephony and power usage,

3. Are the indirect costs low? And is there a likelihood of having surplus materials at the end of the contract?

The above are characteristics of a contract which progress payments are made at specific stages or intervals of the work.

Progress or interim payments are usually made on the basis of certificate of work (job completion certificate) satisfactorily done. It is usually issued by an expert in the field relevant to the awarded contract.

The certificate issued at every interval shows the value of the work done at contract prices (or selling prices). It is standard practice to attach this certificate to the invoice (and other necessary accompanying documentation) sent to the customer.

The amount paid by the customer to the contractor is normally made of the certified value minus percentage retention. The percentage retention is released when the contract is completed, all snags cleared and the job is accepted by the customer.

An example; if a customer had already made a progress payment of $100,000 for a work assessed and valued at $300,000 and the retention percentage is 10 percent. The current progress payment would be;

The formula is,

Current payment = (Value certified) – (Retention) – (Payments already made)

= ($300,000) – (10% of 300,000) – (100,000)

= 300,000 – 30,000 – 100,000

= $170,000.
The next progress payment would be $170,000 (check attached spreadsheet).

How is profit calculated for uncompleted contracts?

Contract costing is needed to show the profit or loss on a completed contract. This is not possible when the contract is still in progress. However,

it is necessary to estimate the profit earned from a particular contract within a financial year so that the true financial position (complete with realistic figures) of a business is known.


There is an important thing to note when calculating the profit of an uncompleted contract. The profit should be conservatively calculated to allow for unforeseen challenges and fluctuations of costs.

On the other hand, when losses are anticipated, they should be allowed for in full as early as possible.


The profit of an uncompleted contract should always reflect prudence and the degree of completion. Experts suggest that interim profits should only be taken when the final outcome of the contract can be ascertained with a high degree of confidence.


There are some options for estimating interim profits. These options include;

When substantial costs have been incurred. Some have suggested that substantial costs are made at more than 30% complete and above.
The profit taken is calculated using the formula:

(2/3 or ¾ of the Notional profit) x (cash received from progress payments/value of work certified)

The Notional profit = (Value of Work Certified) –(Cost of Work Certified)

2. When the eventual profit can be estimated with a high degree of certainty. At this stage, the contract is nearing completion, maybe at over 80% complete.

The formula for calculating the profit taken is:

(Progress payments to date/contract price) x (estimated total profit on completion)

The formula above makes allowance for retention percentage but where there is no retention percentage, the following formula is used to calculate profit taken:

(Value of Work Certified/contract price) x (estimated total profit).

Use the attached spreadsheets for calculations.

contract-costing-spreadsheetDownload

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/09/contract-costing-characteristics-and-calculations-of-progress-payments-and-interim-profits-spreadsheets/

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.― Rob Siltanen.

So..

Be crazy enough not to lose your Demons,

so that your angels can continue to help you work, as you walk,

where average men crawl, and fly where great men run;

if you would challenge the status quo,

see the moon as your footstool,

then you have begun the journey to self-realization;

which is the first step to self-satisfaction.

https://ayietim.com/2016/11/03/be-crazy-enough-not-to-lose-your-demons/

When you send your proposal for sponsorship, it must pass through two stages. The primary short listing stage and the committee selection stage.


For your proposal to be on the primary short list, it has to satify the requirements of conformity to the research theme, format, cost, elegibility and duration. After scaling this stage, your proposal will go to the selection committee.


The selection committee is made up of experts in the subject area. Their job is to pick the best proposals for sponsorship consideration.


Proposals are conventionally selected on the following principles;

1. Originality.


The selection committee painstakingly searches proposals for originality of the topic. The committee would want to know what new concepts and ideas a proposal intends to generate.


Suggested new findings the proposed research could make must be a product of a good knowledge of literature (art) review.

2. Relevance.


The selection committee places high consideration on how relevant tthe proposed research topic is to the research theme. Would the research findings solve an urgent socio-economic problem? Your research proposal should clearly state the problem in the “problem statement”.

3. Objectives.


What are the objectives of the proposed research? The objectives must be clearly stated in the proposal.


Also, the significance of the proposed study should be stated in the proposal; That is, your proposal should indicate answers to “what gaps and how well, would any new knowledge fill?”

4. Qualifications.


Do you as a researcher have relevant training and working experience in the area that is the focus of the proposed research?


If you have not attained satisfactoty level of training or experience, you could include in the proposal, the resume of a contracted qualified supervisor. The supervisor would receive an honorarium.

5. Research Methodoly.


This usually receives a significant level of attention from the selection committee. So, you should take your time to assess and select methods of data collection and data analysis. Describe your methods in detail, state their weaknesses and strengths in your proposal.

6. Consistency.


It is important to show the interrelatedness among all components of the proposed research. All irrelevant sections should be left out completely.

7. Work Plan.


A comprehensive work plan should be in the grant research proposal. Indicate the duration of the project, and commencement and completion dates of each activity.

8. Interest.


This is a very important consideration. How does the end user of the proposed research wantto use the findings? What problems do they intend to solve with the findings? Do you have a letter from the end user and how they have supported or intend to support the research? If you have, attach it.

9. Budget.


A realistic budget, which also conforms to sponsor’s requirements should be in the research proposal.


In conclusion, grant research proposals that receive high marks in the sections explained above, usually, under normal circumstances, get approved for sponsorship.

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/05/how-do-you-write-a-grant-research-proposal-9-things-to-consider/

The answer to this question is the same as the answer to the question, ‘Why should you care about what people say about you as an entrepreneur?”


You should because what people say about you and what they think of you influence the way they receive you and your business. In other words, they would use the perception scale to measure your levels of goodwill and acceptability.


Now, goodwill is the fundamental decider of the purchase consideration of your business and the services you provide.


So, your goodwill is like a fountain, out of which water flows through a path where people can either scoop and drink or ignore for available alternatives. Goodwill is a great asset that should be considered carefully by an entrepreneur who craves success.


W. Alton Jones emphasizes the reason this should be so. He said;
“A great asset of any business is goodwill. This is a trite statement but, like so many self-evident truths, it seldom gets the careful consideration it deserves.”


He went further, “Goodwill does not come through clarion advertising appeals, exhortations, protestations. Character, from which stems goodwill, is a quality of slow growth through performance.”


Personal goodwill could be a product of successful personal branding. The value of your personal branding contributes significantly to your business engagement worthiness.

How is this possible? Taking the effort to build a personal brand most likely, is a decision that has trust building as its ultimate goal.


You want people to do business with you? Then you have to prove to them that they can trust you. An effective personal branding creates an aura of trust around the brand personality.

As the demonstration of trust in an entrepreneur grows and expands so do the business deals they close.


Successful personal branding inspires confidence in an entrepreneur and in consumers about such products or services offer. An entrepeneur could use personal branding to sail into the wind. That is, you could as an entrepreneur use the confidence successful personal branding offers, as a lunch pad to take bigger risks, attract competent team players and grow your business.


Yes, you re sure going to take bigger risks on the wing of the confidence that successful personal branding gives. This is because a high level of personal confidence is the crown of successful personal branding.

What this means is that successful personal branding is going to put you on the level of confidence that makes you take bigger risks that may expand your business.


You’re also going to be in a position where attracting competent hands would come easy. Successful personal brand is a testimony of the effectiveness of leadership.
Naturally, good hands would come to you based on the belief that with you leading the team, they’re going to get better. Jim Rohn captured this truth so well when he said;

“A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.”


Apart from attracting competent hands to your new team, a significant portion of your existing clientele would form a ready market for any new product you put out. This would help you to scale quickly and become a leader. :


Successful personal branding puts the mark of credibility on an entrepreneur and the business they represent. Remember the excellent level of trust successful personal branding inspires, this in turn gives an associated high level of credibility.


So apart from the confidence successful personal branding gives and enables people to do business with you as an entrepreneur, it should also create a positive reputation.


There is something else, successful personal branding should carve out for a brand personality, a distinctive enviable position of uniqueness in a crowded and competitive commercial world.

Such a position is capable of opening up easy access to funding, enabling quick market penetration and creating long lasting brand loyalty.


Successful personal branding could establish you as a brand with a difference; different in a special kind of way that may give you the status of irreplaceability. Coco Chanel put it this way;
“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” .

Successful personal branding could help you be different.


The summary of it all is that successful personal branding is the easiest way to stand out in the crowd and influence the crowd.

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/03/why-is-successful-personal-branding-necessary/

By Dave Brummet.


When I received my copy of Making Drums for review I knew at first glance that I had come upon something great. As a drum maker and photographer myself I could really appreciate the work that obviously went into the collection of images for all the drums discussed. I believe it would make a great coffee table book based on the images alone!

A pleasant surprise was the supplier’s list on the first page alongside the publishing credits. It provides sources for hides, cutters, adhesives, trims, beads and paint – all essentials for many types of drum repairs and not readily found – thanks Dennis.

The book starts with a brief introduction to rhythm and discusses the many various instruments used to make it happen. In the first chapter the categories of drums based on body shape is clearly defined and explained as well as the source of the materials that make these drums speak.

Sound basics and drum acoustics are addressed in the second chapter to better explain why different drums sound like they do. These are sciences every drummer should know – even if they do not repair or build their own instruments.

In the third chapter different rawhides and their properties is the topic. Hair removal, skinning, and the preservation of rawhides are outlined giving ample information for processing hides for drum making. As most makers know it is very cost-effective to be able to process ones own rawhides.

The attachment of heads is a very wide-ranging subject as there are so many different ways to affix a head to a drum. From tacking, gluing, stapling, to lacing, screwing or wedging, chapter four covers all the basic types of attachment.

I was, however a little disappointed to not find out the secret of lapping and tucking a drum head as shown at the top right of pg. 33.

I have repaired Kendangs and Mridangams that had this method on the original heads but I could not replicate it no matter how hard I tried. Perhaps a sequel to this book could go into the detail that this type of job requires as obviously the infinite variables of drums and their elements is a nearly insurmountable task to try to cover in one book.

A huge kudos to the author for the idea of the template on pg. 41; it is ideal for spacing the knots around various sizes of hoops when using the Mali weave method for attaching a drumhead.

I might add that it would have been better to mention at this point, rather than on pg.32, the twitching method of further tuning the weave if more tension is vital, such as on an African djembe.

The second half of the book gives examples in detail on how to make various drums based on the expert knowledge of drum makers who generously allowed the author to document their procedures.

Once again the quality of the images is excellent and lends to an easy understanding of some of the secrets of the drum making processes passed on from drum maker to drum maker.

The book closes with profiles on the talented artisans featured in the drum making projects section of the book and a much-welcomed index to make quick referencing that much easier.


All in all this is an excellent book for drum makers, drummers or really any one that may have a slight curiosity in these very diverse, variable instruments we call drums.

Great detail, accurate historical tidbits and vibrant images all add up to a great volume destined to be a permanent resident on my bookshelf and as a future reference for many repairs to come. As an instructor and clinician I have been able to expand my own knowledge to pass on to others thanks to Dennis Waring.

I now also have a little more confidence when going to purchase an instrument as I know a lot more about the physics of how they are made, allowing me to make a more informed decision. Based on all this, I believe this book would be a complement to (and the life of) the top of any coffee table.

https://ayietim.com/2021/11/01/making-drums/

…you are either looking forward to uncertainty, or back to pain and regret.”


It’s a fact. What is certainty?


Certainty is the moment you have and, everything you have and everyone you have in that moment.


When you’re in the moment, uncertainty about the future and pain of yesterday pale into insignificance.


With dark clouds of uncertainty and regret gone, you begin to see a beautiful rainbow.


The rainbow reminds you of how far you have come and the good friends you still have.with you.


This beautiful weather and it great promises should birth in you an attitude of gratitude.


You should realize that it pays to replace anxiety and regret with the attitude of gratitude.


Instead of allowing worries torment you, choose to be grateful for the life you have, the total faithfulness of invaluable friends and the beautiful things you are certain are coming to you.


The attitude of gratitude makes it possible for you to be in the moment.


And to suddenly become aware of the near impossibility of wandering back to pain and regret. Or of jumping into an uncertain future.

https://ayietim.com/2021/10/31/jim-carrey-says-if-you-arent-in-the-moment/