₦airaland Forum

I'm new here and I've been seeing some posts on Xiaomi phones. The Xiaomi 12T pro being a 5G phone, got me.
The speculations of the phone wowed me.
Although the price is on the high side, but it's quite certain that the price is worth it.

To apply send CV to queen@clrwc.com
Visit www.clrwc.com/careers for details

Normal fabrics as chair covers are the best in Nigeria. Leather always look luxurious but heat will make you hate them after a while. Plus if you have kids, the tendency for it to tear is higher. Just go for cloth like material and you will still have a beautiful sofa

As a business owner in Nigeria, your foremost thought as you wake up to a new day is most likely be;

How do I get my target audience on social media to buy from me? What should I post today on Instagram?


Ultimately, You’re on social media to sell and selling on the web is about having a good balance between Selling and Serving. If you are drawn towards constantly selling on social media, your feed will contain posts promoting your offering as a service provider or your physical product. And if you’d be a little honest with me, you will agree that such posts don’t receive so much engagement from your target audience. If you are given to Serving, on the other hand, your post will be all about sharing high-value content that serves your community and helps them thrive with your support. But you shy away from selling your products or offerings because of fear- fear of judgment, rejection, failure, even fear of success! You’re afraid to be “sales-y,” so you’re working hard, but not making any money yet.

Don’t get me wrong, neither of these two are wrong! but being aware of where you are at the moment can help you strike a balance in the place where you are lacking.

So who is this post for?
This post is for you if you fall into any of these categories;

You feel awkward talking about what you do. You think that talking about your paid offerings and selling your products will scare people away from you. You will just rather remain in the shadows than Sell yourself
You are looking for tangible ways to position your products and services as the solution to your customers problem. You want to be able to solve your ideal target audience problem without bombarding them with sales contents.
You came to social media to sell because you’ve heard people talk about how this is a great market to catch your ideal audience but you don’t know what to say and how to catch them. Everything here seem a little overwhelming.
If any of these three categories describe you, then you are in the right place. Without further ado, I bring to you 6 social media post ideas that you can try out this week.


Problem, Solution, Offer
This is one approach that rarely fails. All you have to do is to identify the problem that is unique to the target audience you want to reach out to. Make sure your description of the problem shows that you identify the pain they may be feeling at the moment.

Next, teach the solution you believe is the BEST way to solve that problem. You don’t have to even mention that you personally have a solution for them. Just give them a value that is commensurate to solving the problem they have.

Finally, introduce your target audience to the offer that you have that can give them the solution that you earlier mentioned.

EXAMPLE:

Problem: Being a newbie business owner on Instagram can be overwhelming. You are never be sure of how the platform operates and the meaning of words that are used by the numerous IG coaches. I know it is a big struggle for you to understand all features on Instagram.

Solution: The best way to make the best use of Instagram is to actually understand the basic features and how you can use them for the benefit of growing your business. Instead of focusing on selling immediately, you should spend more time reading about the various features of Instagram like Insta-story, IGTV, Boomerang etc.

Offering: If you are ready to win on this platform as a newbie and make the best use of Instagram, you can buy my ebook on the A-Z of Instagram Terminologies. It has been referred to by many as the Newbie Instagram Dictionary. It explains every terms and feature that you will most likely come across. It is also laced with video tutorials on how to use these features to grow your business.

Teachable Moment
This simply means that you share a moment from a recent client conversion. You are supposed to let your audience into the process of how you do what you do. This will clearly showcase your business offerings and also tell your ideal target audience that you are the best fit to solve their similar problem. This is a simple strategy that I personally believe is best suited for entrepreneurs with Service offerings. This does not mean that it is totally useless if you have physical products to sell.

To read the rest of the article visit https://kozdiaries./2021/03/31/social-media-content-that-sells/

On Easter Sunday, we were given something to ponder upon by the Wellington family. Banky W and Adesua Etomi were vulnerable enough to share a testimony of God’s faithfulness in their lives. Adesua believes that sharing her story on the internet for all to see will surely strengthen someone’s faith out there. I totally supports this because this testimony firmly confirms my confidence in the fact that God is never late.


For the sake of people that are not Nigerians that read my blog, Banky W and Adesua are Nigerian Celebrity couples that we totally adore. When the news of their engagement first broke out in 2017, we were all elated about this union. We the internet cousins, nieces and Nephews spent hours online debating the best hashtag for this spectacular union. We also depleted hours gushing about how dazzling and angelic their offspring will be because, God, these two are graceful and gorgeous together.


Fast forward to April 2021, after the announcement of the arrival of their first child, they decide to share with us a testimony that x-rays the struggles of waiting on God for a miracle. As I watched this video for this 5th time, I felt a prompting in my spirit to jot down some of the salient points that were raised in this testimony of God’s faithfulness. All through this video, one principal point is the fact that there is nothing that God cannot do. He is also never late, He doesn’t leave us stranded and He is very involved in our pains.

Today, I will be sharing with you 5 profound nuggets that every believer should care about while they wait on God to come through for them with a phenomenal act.

Two Equally Yoked Will Chase Ten Thousands

As a believer, it is very paramount that you marry your kind. Marrying someone that shares a different value and faith from you is really not a wise choice. The truth is marriage is hard enough and no matter how loving and caring your spouse is, there will be challenges that will test the foundation of that union and if it is not built on a solid rock, then my dear, you are in for a rough ride. So save yourself of the headache and marry someone someone in faith.


This testimony of Banky and Adesua proved the scripture that says; one shall chase a thousand and two ten thousand. They shared experiences of how people trolled them everyday for two and half years because they couldn’t birth a child. Adesua in particular narrated how, every time she was tired and frustrated from waiting, she had the encouragement and faith of Banky W to fall back to. Throughout all their IVF appointments, they were by each other sides. She even mentioned that they participated in Nathaniel Bassey’s Hallelujah challenge together. The part of the story that sealed this point for me was when they mentioned that they wailed together after the evacuation of their twins fetus. For me, that is the apex of “being in this together.” At no point did one partner desert the other or blame the other for a not having a solution. They weathered the storm together; now that the worst is behind them, they can share the story together and laugh about God’s faithfulness.

Read more here https://kozdiaries./2021/04/08/banky-w-and-adesua-final-say-testimony/

Do you know that there are over 25 billion businesses profile on Instagram? Do you that at least 80% of Instagram users follow a least one business? Well, my friend, that is enough reason to want to open an account on Instagram for that small business of yours. I know it's not everyone that understand Instagram because the platform feels like a place to share the best of pictures and probably an assembly of teenagers or vain people. But the truth is, Instagram is for everyone. Even Meat seller and Car wash is on Instagram so what is your excuse? Whatever your business is, you can be on Instagram and thrive except your target audience are people above 100 years.
Here are a few convincing reasons why You should consider opening a business account on Instagram;
it can help you increase your brand awareness. People are always searching for new product & service on IG, so why not?
you get a chance to sell to your customers in a friendly and relaxed manner. If you can tell relatable stories, people will follow you.
you get to interact and engage with your potential and existing customers. This is the best platform to take followers on your brand journey.
Now that I’ve given you reasons why your business should have an Instagram presence, let us go ahead to learn how to open and optimize your Instagram account.
Download the Instagram App on your Google Play Store or Apple Store
once the app is now on your phone, open the app and try to create an account for your business
Signup with an email that you want to be associated with your business
In the space for full name, input your Business Full name.
for your username, enter a unique name that you want customers to associate with your business. Ensure the name is simple, easy to spell and pronounce.
Don’t fret if your preferred username has been taken. Just try to tweak it a little but try not to add numbers
Now that you’re in, its time to choose a profile picture. It's always best to upload your logo or a popular picture that people can easily recognize
Now its time to edit your Profile so that new followers are not confused
Usually, the character limit for your Instagram Bio is 150 Character so ensure that the bio is direct. summarize who you are and why people should follow you.
Remember to specify your niche and service. (see image below)
If your business has a website, ensure that you include it in your bio for people to see.

Read more: https://kozdiaries./2020/02/21/instagram-guide-for-small-business-in-nigeria/

Every now and then, the devil stylishly tricks our mind into thinking that the Love of God is not real. You might have had random thoughts like;

How can I believe that God loves me in particular when he has about 7 billion people to look after?

How am I certain that God can still love me in spite of what I’ve done and who I am?

If any of these thoughts have crossed your mind, just relax because you are not alone. But the good news, however, is that God is MADLY IN LOVE WITH YOU. He doesn’t want you to do anything extra because He loved You even before you existed. Plus whatever you do, have done and will do can never tamper with His love for you.
The concept of God’s love is something that our human minds can now fully comprehend because how can someone be interested in 7 billion and more people personally? No wonder Cory Asbury described his love as reckless. This is the absolute truth because God goes all out to redeem us from the claws of sin because He loves us.

Because it’s the month of Love, I have been deliberate about understanding the Love of God and my study brought me to a song that I’d be sharing today. The first time I listened to this song, I felt like the writer xrayed my heart and turned my thoughts into words.

As You Find Me by Hillsong is a song that answers questions as regards God’s love and how we don’t have to do anything in particular to receive this unconditional affection. A part of the song hit home for me is where the issue of surrender was discussed.
My entire walk of faith has been that of constant struggle with surrendering all to God. I surrender all but my impatient heart wrestles to get it back when anxiety sets it. But as usual, I hit a dead-end and I come back to the throne of Grace for help. You might be quick to say, you’re a believer so you should be conversant with the fact that God never leaves his own stranded. The truth, however, is, we all get to a point where we let anxiety and fear rob us of the peace that comes with knowing that God is Faithful.

In his faithfulness, He is ever ready to receive us and reinstate us to the position of son-ship every time we go back to Him. He’s never tired of loving us and He shows us unwavering compassion and care.

So I implore you to meditate carefully on the lyrics of today song and renew your confidence in the fact that God’s arms are always open wide to receive you. He loves you with an everlasting love and wouldn’t walk out on you.

Read the conclusion here: https://kozdiaries./2020/02/18/as-you-find-me-review-lyrics/

As young Christians, we then to be carried away with living a normal life of meeting end means that our relationship with God begins to suffer. We get out of bed every day in a rush because we have to meet deadlines, beat traffic and hustle like we say in Nigeria here and totally forget about studying our Bible. Our excuse is that Grace abounds and God would certainly understand that we are so busy doing whatever we are doing that spending 30-60 minutes with him is almost impossible. We now see studying the Bible as a chore that we do grumbling and not as an avenue to foster a relationship with our maker.

Sometimes ago, I had an understanding that totally changed my perspective about studying my Bible and I can’t seem to recover from the experience. Having a consistent Bible Study time is like having a regular schedule to communicate with someone that you love. As busy as you might seem, you always find out time to develop a relationship with that person you love. The interesting thing is, you never find such time as wasted or boring because you are doing it to understand the person and develop the relationship. Until we begin to look at studying our Bible from that perspective, we might continue to struggle with it and see it as a chore.
Create A Bible Colour Code

I really love this tip and I’m excited about spilling my little secret. When I started using the You Version Bible App, I really loved that I could highlight the Bible with different colours and it made me look forward to my study time. To make things easy for me, I decided to develop a colour code for each section of the life that a passage was addressing. Here is an example of the colour code I created for my on use. You can download it by long pressing the photo and use it too.
https://kozdiaries./2018/09/28/proven-personal-bible-tips-you-should-try/

Growing up as a child in Nigeria, my mother bought a wooden box that had a tiny hole on top of it known as Kolo in Yoruba language and Piggy bank in English to teach us how to save. This box can’t be opened until the date you set for it because opening the box equals destroying the box. People from my generation can relate to this because we easily used this ox to save money for our new dress or bottle of cheap perfume. Fast forward to this age and time, the wooden box is gradually fading out and being replaced with fancy plastic shaped like a pig with a convenient opening that can be used to retrieve your money when you need it. Well, today, I have not come to take about this sort of piggy bank.
Piggy bank.ng is an online saving platform that helps you put away funds that you don’t want to touch easily. This online platform offers you a flexible saving option and encourages you to save daily, weekly or monthly. It is an effective means to manage your finances and achieve financial freedom as a young adult in a country like Nigeria where it seems like saving is almost impossible.
One interesting thing about this saving platform is that You can save towards a specific saving target and have your money locked down safely until the target date. For Instance, at the beginning of the year, I had the plan to take my Diploma in Public Relations but I wasn’t financially buoyant to take this step, I, however, remembered this online platform called Piggybank.ng and started saving towards the exams. I can boldly tell you that by the end of June, I had the complete money for my exams thanks to this platform. I achieved this using the AutoSave option that automatically deducts a certain amount of money from my bank account at the beginning of every month. Read my full story of how piggybank.ng helped me

Not only is the piggy bank.ng flexible and convenient, it is also safe to use as the platform is a subsidiary of United Bank of Africa so you can be assured that your money is resting in safe hands. As much as Piggybank does not have a banking licence (because it is not a bank) and CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) cannot regulate it, but it is still safe to use because it is an extension of a savings account with UBA. So if something happens to your money, UBA (United Bank of Nigeria) can be held accountable. Another juicy part o this online saving platform is that you can actually add your next of kin on your Piggybank account so that if anything happens, the next of kin can claim your money.
So here are a few things you need to know about Opening an account with Piggybank.ng;

To start saving on Piggybank.ng:

Create a free account with your name, email address and phone number
Your secure password is automatically sent to your email
Save your first N100. (Use a MasterCard or Visa from any bank in Nigeria).
Then set a convenient savings plan (AutoSave)
Using the Quick Save Option means that you would have to always come to the Dashboard to save an amount.

Details here: https://kozdiaries./2018/07/24/how-to-open-account-with-piggbank-ng/
You can also take a look at my story on their platform here https:///f2vBhY

Learning is part of our everyday lives and the moment we stop learning that is the moment we die. Believe it or not, learning is one of the things that make us human and once learning cease, an individual is said to have died even if he is still young and bubbling. We learn every day and sometimes we are not even conscious of the fact that we have learnt something until we begin to the little changes in our lives. For instance, If you live around a DJ that consistently plays certain kinds of music, after a while, you’d find yourself singing to the lyrics of the song without necessarily making a conscious effort to learn the song.

The psychologist sees learning not just as taking in information but as something that causes a relatively permanent change in the behaviour of the individual that was exposed to the new information. This simply means that the end result of learning is not just to consume information but to change our behaviour. You have not learnt anything if you do not see a change after the information was communicated to you. You can’t say you have learnt how to cook Afang Soup after watching a Video until you try to cook the soup yourself and the result is same as the Video....
1. ALISON
The first time I heard about Alison was when I just left secondary school and I was bored as hell. In my state of boredom, I stumbled on this learning platform and was taken aback by the fact that there was something like a classroom staring at me through my phone. I immediately registered on the platform but I, however, didn’t take any course until about two years later when I was forced to sit at home for six months because of ASUU STRIKE. That’s a long time right? Well, don’t be like me.

Alison is a global learning resource centre founded in Galway Ireland in 2007 by serial entrepreneur Mike Feerick with the aim of helping people gain the basic education and workplace skills. Courses you can learn from Alison are not limited to languages, Social media marketing, copywriting, graphics design, Maths, programming etc.
2. UDEMY
Udemy Website houses over 65,000 online courses that range from programming to photography to entrepreneurship and much more. I discovered this online learning platform recently and the aim of this platform is to help young professional adults get better at the profession. Udemy provides tools which enable users to create a course, promote it and make money from it if they wish.
3. KHAN ACADEMY
This academy is home to over 3,000 videos on subjects ranging from history to calculus and every other maths-related courses. This online learning platform was created to create a set of online learning tools to help students improve their education. The beautiful thing about the platform is you can leave a comment in form of a question if you are not clear on the lesson and you are sure to get a response from the instructor.
For details on the rest of the platform visit https://kozdiaries./2018/06/12/online-plaforms-for-learning-new-skills/

VACANCY: COUNSEL
We are looking for a qualified Legal Counsel (MALE) to join our team of seasoned lawyers in the chambers. He must be able to manage litigation cases and resolve legal disputes on behalf of clients by developing agreements, negotiating contracts, settling claims and advocating for clients in court. He should be fluent in Yoruba language and should possess a valid drivers license.
REQUIREMENT

LLB certificate Minimum of 2:2
Law School certificate Minimum of 2:2
NYSC Certificate
Driver License
Two reference letters from Professionals ( Family members and Clerics not accepted)
Lawyer’s Seal and have paid practising fees

Please Note that original of all these documents should be scanned and emailed with your application to info@clrwc.com or queen@clrwc.com

JOB DESCRIPTION

The holder of this position reports directly to the principal partner
He should be able to conduct in-depth case-related research into relevant laws and regulations
He should be able to negotiate on behalf of clients, draft and interpret contracts and legal documents, and oversee compliance with these documents.
He should be able to work with little or no supervision
He should be able to Conduct your work with integrity and responsibility

SKILLS

Team spirit
Internet savvy
Typing speed should be above average
Capable of working unsupervised
Capable of working under pressure
Capable of driving with a valid drivers license
Capable of working with all Microsoft Office packages (Word, Excel, power-point)
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Should be able to speak Yoruba fluently

Please note that application should be directed to Queen and sent to info@clrwc.com or queen@clrwc.com on or before the 30th of June 2018.
http://clrwc.com/career/

Have you ever thought of the love of God? I don’t mean those random thoughts that pop into our mind as a result of the awesome feeling we get during worship sessions. I mean, have you ever thought about how God loves you unconditionally and how he deliberately makes effort to bring us closer to him constantly?
This morning, on my way to work, I turned on one of the newest songs I downloaded titled "Reckless love of God" by Cory Asbury just to shut my mind away from the traffic on Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos Nigeria but something different happened to me as the lyrics of the song began to pop in my mind. I began to think about why the songwriter would qualify God's love as reckless.

To begin with, I had to quickly consult my dictionary to find out the meaning of "Reckless" and these are what I found as the synonyms of the word: thoughtless, careless, Impulsive and incautious. Armed with the meaning that the word reckless is a negative word, I began to ask myself why the songwriter will deliberately use it as an adjective to qualify God's love. To satisfy my curiosity, I decided to run a background check on the writer of the song and luckily for me I found his interpretation of the song on his Facebook page. Here is an extract of his explanation of the song;
God is not reckless but the way he loves us is

God’s love is not crafy or slick, it is not cunny or shrewd

God doesn’t consider himself first, He is not selfish or self-serving

He doesn’t consider what he would gain or lose from giving his love

His love leaves the ninety-nine to find the one every time
https://kozdiaries./2018/05/14/lyrics-of-reckless-love-of-god/

If you are reading this, there is a probability that you are either already on LinkedIn but not sure what happens there or you have just been hearing so much about LinkedIn but not interested in having an account because you feel like you shouldn’t be on all social media platforms. If you are in any of these categories, please spare me about 7 minutes of your time to read this post to the end and find out why it is an offence not to be on LinkedIn. While it is true that being on every social media platforms is not viable but being on LinkedIn is very compulsory. Yes, I use the word compulsory, because LinkedIn has become an essential personal branding tool for any individual.

LinkedIn is a professional social media platform founded in 2002 and officially launched on the 5th of May 2003. The site was specifically designed for business communication and professional networking. Since its launch in 2003, LinkedIn currently has over 300 million members from over 200 countries and representing about 170 industries. The objective of this site is to allow registered members to network with professionals from all works of life. The interesting thing about LinkedIn is the fact that you don’t necessarily have to be a career person to find this space relevant. You’d find all kinds of professionals here who are eagerly ready to connect and relate to like minds. One of my lecturers used to say that LinkedIn is one place where you have the opportunity to talk to any CEO in the world and it is important that you make good use of this opportunity.

With this brief introduction, I bring to you my top 5 reasons,
Google Optimised

If you have an account on LinkedIn and your name is googled, your LinkedIn profile will be the first to pop-up in the search result. Knowing that LinkedIn is google optimised is one reason why you should be eager about joining this cool platform. It is important that you maximise this opportunity that LinkedIn is offering that allows you to control what people discover you, your strength and your weakness. You don’t want a potential client or recruiter googling your name and having no result to go to because you have either used a nickname on other social media platforms or the result the person found is you in a swimsuit and partying with your guys.

Recruiters and Investors are on LinkedIn

Research has shown that about 94% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find the right candidate for a vacant position in their organisation. They would rather interview someone that they are conversant with in terms of skills and delivery than someone they know nothing about except what is written in their curriculum vitae.You’d agree with me that Nigerian recruiters have some sort of standards that can’t be understood and being active on LinkedIn is one of the ways that you can warm their hearts to you before having the opportunity to meet them face to face. As much as having an account is important, just having an account is not what will make recruiters notice you, you have to optimise your profile and join industry-related conversations. (In my next post, I’d talk about how to get your LinkedIn profile ready and optimised)

It Builds Trust

No matter who you are; a freelancer, a small business owner, a career-oriented person or even a student, please note that your LinkedIn profile is your professional validator. It shows that you actually exist and not too good to be real. In the dispensation, that we are today, everyone is interested in running a background check on someone before doing business with an individual and LinkedIn has proven to be a credible source. LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to gradually build your personal brand and sell yourself to the right sets of people. Even a fashion designer or a chef can use LinkedIn to build a trusted and reputable brand. All that is needed is for you to constantly share tips that would position you as an expert in your chosen field.

https://kozdiaries./2018/04/26/why-you-should-be-on-linkedin-as-a-nigerian-youth/

I became keen about self-development when I looked around me and found out that the average Nigerian young lady in my generation is only interested in makeup, fashion and gist about men. They particularly have nothing to contribute when it comes to deep conversation with the men folks and would rather just sit down, smile and make faces rather than lend a voice (Permit my observation as it might not be totally correct) As I ponder on this discovery, I also found out that the young men get intimidated when they see a young lady that can stand up to their intelligent power and would rather engage them in deep conversations rather than just smile. Not to take pride in being a smart young lady but I’ve seen this scenario play out several times when I have a conversation with a young man.

The truth is I wasn’t born extra smart nor was I one of those overly intelligent girls in school, instead, I’ve painstakingly and consistently sought ways to improve myself. I make sure I attend seminars, conferences hangouts and workshops that are geared towards self-improvement. I’ve also read books, listened to audios and researched on various articles that would help me improve me from where I am now to the next level.
Before this self-discovery and improvement journey, I was that average school girl that felt that she was never really good enough and won’t be able to match others intelligence so I’d rather sit still and watch people engage in intellectual conversations. The moment I realised that I was as good as everyone I admire and look up to, I began to search for things to improve myself. I devoured books on various categories that promised to change my life, I read books on how to be confident, how to live a better life, how to be positive and much more. Google was also helpful as I never stopped reaching on articles and post that had to do with finding you, doing you and being happy from within.

The new set of knowledge I found opened my mind and gave me motivation on how to take control of my life. In the process of finding myself, I found God and this helped my self-development and improvement process. It is my desire that this post helps you make a decision to take a bold step towards self-improvement and eventually helping you become a better version of yourself.

So today, I’d be sharing with you 7 reasons why you should embrace personal development;

Personal Development Brings Confidence

I’ve come to realise that a lot of being who feel inferior or have low self-esteem often blame their predicaments on past experiences and negative experiences that have happened to them in the past. I’ve also discovered that the confident ones especially ladies are those who chose to deliberately work on themselves irrespective of what has happened to them. So personal development brings peace and confidence so much that you don’t even have to worry about other peoples’ opinion because you are comfortable in your own skin.
You’d Love and Understand Yourself More

Taking time and patience to improve yourself will eventually lead you to find out who you really are. This is because in the process of reading so many things you’d stumble on the knowledge that would give you a clearer perspective on why you act, think and react the way you do. The process of improving yourself will make you find you and fall in love with you thereby knowing your strength, weakness traits and opportunities that surround you.
Read more here https://kozdiaries./2018/03/26/why-self-development-is-important/

Gone are those days when Instagram was considered a vain place where people majorly flaunt pictures and hide from parents. (Y’all in my generation understand the struggle of parent being on social media). Research has it that Instagram is the biggest and one of the most cost effective social media platforms to market and sell your brand to a large heterogeneous audience. One of the reasons why I particularly like this platform is that you can get the exact resolution of any image uploaded and you can still interact with your followers.

Lately, Instagram has introduced new algorithms that have been frustrating a lot of people (Marketers, bloggers and business owners) because they are no longer sure of what to do. This post is therefore here to help you identify why your post engagement has reduced and what to do to bring it back.

Here is What You Know about the New Algorithm:

Posts no longer appear in a chronological order. If you are very observant, you’d agree with me that this is so true. This new algorithm now makes it possible for you to see post from as long as three days ago. So instead of seeing new posts on your feed, you would see post that Instagram has tagged “Enjoyable contents” This simply means they are choosing “relevance over what’s new”. I know you’d want to ask how they determine the relevancy of a post. Well,

High engagements equals relevancy; These enjoyable contents are determined by the amount of likes and comment a particular post receives after few minutes of being live. The twist to this however, is that, it is not only about how much engagement a post receives but how quickly a post receives its engagement. What they have done is, they make your new post appear to only a small percentage of your audience (10%), once they see that it has received a sizeable amount of likes within a short period from these small audience, they then push it to your remaining audience to engage with
Details of the post here; https://kozdiaries./2018/01/23/how-to-overcome-the-new-instagram-algorithm/

The first time I came across the book; “The Smart Money Woman” by Arese Ugwu, I was not particularly interested in it simply because I was getting bored of motivational books that spoke jargon. For someone like me who has little or no financial knowledge, reading the book was the least of my plans. Plus it was 5,000 naria and I wasn’t going to spend that amount of money on a book I can’t totally relate to.

My position changed however, after reading a few review online, so I decided to give reading the book a shot and I must admit that the author did justice to the topic. I just can’t begin to give the synopsis of the book but I can promise you that it’s worth the read.

Learning how to manage our finances is not something we were taught as young (female) children growing up in Nigeria. Most of our mothers were more concerned about our cooking, washing and “the other room skills” than teaching us how to be prudent with our money. Some of us even grew up seeing some women ordering the most expensive asoebi even after just complaining to their husband that there was no money for food. Only to use the money to pay for the asoebi so as to outshine her neighbours.

But as we grew older, we realised that financial literacy is much more than important if we seek financial freedom but we don’t even know how to go about it. So this is where Arese’s book came to fill in the gap.

Here are a few personal take home from the book:
1. Maximize your earning potentials
2. Savings is the key to financial freedom
3. Your network equals your net worth.
For details about this post visit https://kozdiaries./2018/01/18/smart-money-woman-rules/

We all love handbags!!! It is almost impossible for any lady to step out without a handbag or a purse. I am sure I would not be exaggerating if I say it is the most have accessories of the female folks. A beautiful handbag/purse compliments your style and has the ability to define your look. It accommodates all the essential lady stuff like cash, phone, makeup and more all through the day. Let me share with you some interesting facts about handbags and its origin.

The name handbag was first used in the early 1900’s to describe men’s briefcases (I find that very amusing because you can’t address a man’s briefcase as a handbag is this generation)
The earliest records about the use of handbags that is documented are provided by 14thcentury hieroglyphics. This implies that there is a probability that people have been using handbag but they didn't just know what it was called.
In the society of Ancient Egypt, it was totally common and normal for men to carry around purse-like pouches that they could tie around their waists to carry different items in.
Hermes introduced the first handbag with a zipper in 1923. Before this time the type of bags that were in vogue were drawstring bags and it was a common accessory used to carry coins, and at the same time, wealthy women wore them simply as accessories to events like balls.
Gucci began using its cane bags handles in the 1940’s, during WWII, because the leather was scarce. (Now this piece is a fashion statement).

This next fact got me thinking…. Get ready for it
The first most expensive handbag in the world was a clutch bag, made of platinum and more than 2000 diamonds. It was created by a Japanese designer in 2008 and it cost well over $2 million. (Convert it to our Nigerian currency using the present exchange rate and let’s see)

In 2010, Guinness Book of Records awarded Mouawad for creating the most valuable handbag in the world. The Mouawad 1001 Nights Diamond Purse ($3.8M). (Please I want to know how my pieces of this bag have been sold so far?)
mouawad-1001-nights-diamond-purse2
Research shows that men are more likely to choose or buy a handbag based on brands than women. (Do you agree? How many guys have bought you, designers?)
I read somewhere that an average woman owns up to six handbags in her closet. I think I agree with this because I own more than six.
According to a survey, I read somewhere, 22% of women said if they were given a chance to spend big on only one item, then it would be a handbag. Only 9% of them wanted to spend on shoes. I am sure I’m part of the 9% that would pick shoes.
Can you believe that an average woman’s handbag weighs 5.2 pounds? (That’s why guys are always asking what’s in the bag)
Hmm!!! very interesting facts I must say but which of these do you find most interesting? Which of them don’t you agree with? or you have any other facts to add to this?
Feel free to drop your comments. I love you all!!!

**Hugs and Kisses***

KOZ

For pictures and more fun facts about fashion and beauty visit https://kozdiaries./

For someone like me, I am not a fan of clutch and purses because my bag is like my mini flat but last Saturday, I had to attend a graduation dinner of a family friend and I was almost clueless on how to choose the perfect clutch bag. Being a smart kid that I am, I decided to find out how to choose and style the perfect clutch bags and here is what I found out.

EVENT FORMALITY

The formality of the event should be taken into consideration when picking the bag, for an owambe or a corporate dinner, a smaller bag or clutch would be perfect. Make sure that the bag can fit your essentials like your identity cards and your makeup products like a lipstick and foundation.



CONSIDER YOUR OUTFIT COLOUR

Another tip would be the choice of colour of the bag, if you are wearing a black or white dress, it would be wise to go for a coloured bag to draw attention towards you. On the other hand, if you are wearing a bright coloured dress, you can choose a darker shade of the same colour.

Material & Shape

Bags come in different material and patterns. It can be satin, metallic, sequined, fur, beaded, leather, silk etc. It can be also of different shapes like round, lip-shaped, heart-shaped, and with rectangular being the most common. Your choice of the evening bag should complement the patterns, material and style of the dress you select.

Match Your Jewellery

The bag you pick should not only complement your attire, but also the jewellery you wear, if you are opting for a silver earring and a silver necklace, pick a bag or clutch which has some silver embellishment in it.



CHOOSE A VERSATILE CLUTCH

In order to get the best value for your money, you should select a clutch you can wear with several different styles. Another option is to purchase several different colours in an affordable style to ensure there is one to go with everything.

CONSIDER A CLUTCH WITH A STRAP

A clutch tends to be a type of purse without handles or a strap, requiring users to hold it in their hands at all times. Unfortunately, this can become inconvenient, particularly in locations where it is not practical to set the clutch down. So it is always best to get a clutch that the strap is detachable so that you can decide if you want it strapless or not.





What other tip did I miss? What’s your take on clutch bags?

Till my next post catch me on Instagram and on twitter

***Hugs and Kisses***

KOZ



Source: https://kozdiaries./2017/03/27/style-tips-for-choosing-the-perfect-clutch-bag/

Well said.

It’s Monday and I am excited about the new week because it’s an opportunity for me to correct the mistakes of last week and to plan ahead for the fresh week. Today, I want to talk about thrift shopping better know as ‘Bend Down Select’ in Nigeria.

We all know that times are hard and right now the economy of the country is ‘very favourable to everyone’ even the wealthy are not left out this time. I know lots of people might frown at the idea of ‘bend down select’ saying they are bigger than thrifting but one thing I have come to learn from my frequent thrifting experience is that thrifting is fun and you might be lucky to get very valuable substance at a ridiculous price.

If you’re new to thrifting game, here’s a few pointers to help you make the most of a visit to a thrift experience.

Know What You Want and Have A Need In Mind: Don’t get carried away by all of the clothes you see. Be creative, be practical, but also be sure that you can actually use everything you pick up at thrift stores. Before stepping out have a list of what you want to buy and how you want to style them. For example, the last time I went to a thrift store, I needed a lacey top because I had a skirt I wanted to style it with, having that in mind made me choose wisely. In Nigeria, if you don’t have a need in mind you will end up buying what is not useful to you because it’s cheap.

Thrift Thrift
Inspect all Clothing Properly Before Eventually Settling For It: I’ve had many bad experiences from thrift shopping because I chose not to examine each clothing properly. That’s why you should always closely examine your thrift pieces before taking them home to prevent every thrifter’s worst nightmare. Make sure you give the surface level of each garment a serious eyeball for stains, tears, snags, signs of damage or over-wear and to ensure the surface appliques are intact. Don’t forget to turn your piece inside out to examine its interior for lining tears or stains, loose threading along the hem and other hard-to-see issues.


Don’t Be Afraid To Leave Empty-Handed: Thrifting is not like your regular shopping that you go in with a list of what you want, get it and go. Thrifting is a scavenger hunt, where you can hope and dream about the Ultimate Bargain but have to expect not to find it. If you don’t find what you are looking for in the first place hop on to the next place and do a lot of exploring before settling for the best.

Don’t Be Afraid To Tailor: Just because a secondhand clothing item doesn’t fit you doesn’t mean you have to leave it behind. Every time I see what I like and it’s a bigger than me, I simply pick it up and give it to a professional tailor to rework it into something nice sometimes altering the original design. This is especially wonderful for dresses and jeans and tops.

Take Your Time: Don’t think of going to the market for a ‘bend down select mission if you are in a hurry. What makes thrifting very interesting is the fact that you go around different stalls looking for what interest you. When I was much younger, I spent close to five hours in the market thrifting.




Come Dressed To Shop: My outfit for thrifting is a legging, a tank top and a cross-bag. A legging and tank top so that I can try out different outfits easily. A cross-bag so I know my things are safe and I am not worried about someone doing away with my valuables. You can never be too sure; so ensure that your phones are not in your back pocket while you are doing serious ‘bend down select’. When I was 15, I watched a man empty a woman’s bag that she placed close to her legs while she was busy struggling a skirt with another woman, when it time to pay for the outfit she couldn’t find her money and it was so painful. I was too scared to say anything. I feel bad now that I think about it.

Places you can go for thrift shopping and find good stuff in Lagos are; Aswani, Cele Under Bridge, Yaba market, Kantagwa, Iyana ipaja, Ikotun and much more.

kozdiaries.