₦airaland Forum

If your business is not registered on Pukena, you are missing out big time!

Pukena is fast becoming the largest community of top rated service professionals from 9 select service categories.

Only the best applications are accepted in Pukena. I personally reject 60% of the applications we receive daily. The few we accept are being prepped to join the pilot program of our UPGRADE program this November.

Our screening procedures are rigorous as we manually verify every entry we receive. We also partnered with a background check company to conduct background checks on all our service pros.

We’re now introducing references and guarantors for each professional, who will be a respected person that can vouch for the your conduct and personality. We also have a slightly different process for verifying the guarantors.

Moreover, for most subjects, tutors have to pass various competency steps and write about their experience with the subject and/or provide supporting documents to prove their proficiency e.g. an ICAN tutor would need to send us his/her ICAN certification. etc.

Also, after every task, we give clients and Pukena Pros opportunities to review each other which will be publicly displayed on their profiles. So clients can feel safer when they see reviews from a few clients who have engaged a PukenaPro in the past

All these measures are to ensure the safety of both our clients and yours and to give our clients the best.

Do you think you have what it takes to become a PukenaPro?

Start here: http://pukena.ng/pro-page

Investors will require you to incorporate prior to investing in your startup.

Investors at every stage of your startup, from angels to venture capitalists, will invest in your company in exchange for some corporate interest (usually stock or the option to buy it at a discounted rate later on). Although you are an integral part of your company, any investor is most interested in their return on investment in your company. To this end, and for other legal and tax reasons, any investor funds you receive should NOT be deposited in or co-mingled with your personal funds.

You will need to incorporate or set up another form of legal entity so that you can open a bank account in the company’s name and proceed to receive investments and maintain the corporation’s financial statements.

Your corporation should own your venture’s intellectual property.

When you, your team, and your contractors continue to turn your idea into reality, whether its an iPhone app or a e-commerce site, you are taking the first steps in building your company’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio. Your IP will include things like patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. Your company’s IP is what investors, partners, acquirers, other team members, and your users will perceive as valuable. The value in your company’s IP is often what will increases the company’s valuation as a whole. If you invest in IP protection and a strategy for building a solid IP portfolio, then your company’s valuation will also increase accordingly. If you develop your IP prior to incorporation without taking the necessary steps to assign the IP to the corporation, then the company may not end up owning the IP in full, which may result in a break in the chain of title. This will negatively affect future investments, partnerships, and acquisitions at the due diligence stages. Remember to consider seeking protection for your IP in the company’s name as early as possible so that the chain of IP rights and title are not broken.

Take action for the future of your business. Let Pukena help you today.
http://pukena.ng/legal-services

One satisfied customer can give you more advertising than money can buy.

The first three months in Pukena, we made no sales, except for the Free Cleaning Tour we used to promote our services. We spent the bulk of that time on boarding service providers across all our service categories. It was a very rigorous exercise. It's the main foundation of Pukena. Our stock in trade are these top rated professionals.We even set up Pukena Academy to prepare them to stand befor the King!

No sales yet, but I was happy at our achievement.

I met our very first major client on Facebook few weeks ago. He wanted Pukena to handle a very major web development project for his company.I had to go to Victoria Island to meet him in his office for him to believe there is actually a real human being behind all this noise about Pukena!.

But I made a fist impression on our first meeting. He told me there were other more experienced developers he knows but he is attracted by my enthusiasm.I got the contract.One of the biggest web project I have ever handled.

Two weeks into the web development contract, I paid him a visit to show him our progress. He was impressed at how I was able to capture his mind and develop his plans. I went an extra mile to even help to strategically develop his vision and open up some grey areas he wasn't aware of. That was it! He was excited. I was pleased to see him happy.

Now, his wife manages a very top hotel in Victoria Island, and they have been looking for painters for some remodelling and painting in the hotel. Right there as we spoke, he asked me, " do you have painters in Pukena?" I

said "yes sir!. In fact our painters just passed through an inhouse training to improve their level of professionalism."

He said, "Really, Ok, my wife needs painters in her hotel, let me call her to ask if I could send you over".

Ok, like they normally said, the rest is history.

Today, I took one of my best painters for a second job assessment visit to help me get an expert view on the job before we send in an official quote.

The quote sailed through and we are billed to start the majot remodelling project next week!

Now this is the most interesting part.

This amazing woman said, " my husband spoke so well about you. How you are so vision-driven, enthusiastic and passionate for your new business. That's is why am giving you this contract. In fact, this is the first of several project you are going to be handling for us henceforth. I would also introduce you to my network of hotel manager friends, whom am sure needs your services".

Ok, if you were in my shoes, won't you dance more that am doing right now? lol

Your customer is not just King, he runs the business, make him very happy, and you would never look for job!

www.pukena.ng

agarawu23:
Not possible sir

Why do you think so sir?

Lagos is an exciting and arguably the leading startup ecosystem in Africa.

Yaba is considered the silicon valley of Nigeria as it houses the headquarters of major tech companies such as Andela, CCHub, Techpoint, prepclass, etc

This morning, this got me thinking...

Could it be because Yaba is home to two major tertiary institutions of learning, Yabatech and UNILAG (close to Yaba)?

Infact I discovered the CEOs of most of these emerging tech giants are alumni of these two schools. Interestingly the CEOs of PrepClass and Tuteria were even classmates in UNILAG!

Interesting..isn't it...

Well, the same can be said about Enugu being an emerging tech ecosystem in the East due to UNN and UNEC but can't be compared to Lagos and Abuja.

But why do we South East come last in everything in Nigeria?

Okigwe and Uturu are the driest towns in the world! I lived there for over 4 years after graduating from Abia State University trying to cut my teeth in entrepreneurship. I only learnt pains and endurance in business from Okigwe.

It lacks basic infrastructure that would attract development. You can stay in Okigwe for a whole year and you won't see light. Yes electric light...Chai!!

My friends and family wondered what I was doing in Okigwe and Aba for 4 years after school....and they were right! I only left after a very close friend's dad was kidnapped in 2010.

I am still a startup at my age because I wasted time and energy in an environment that is unfriendly to entrepreneurship.

I have run and taught about small businesses for years but in the past few months with Pukena.ng, I have realized I knew nothing about business. What we knew in the east is how to build a job (a small shop in Okigwe Road or Ariara). That's not business. Only very few easterners know what it means to build a tech driven, system-reliant and scalable business. That's what it takes to build a global business. That;s what we are building in Pukena.

I think our South Eastern leaders owe the youth an apology. We should create more scalable businesses in Aba, Owerri, Umuahia, etc. We need Startip accelerator programs like CChub, Ventures Platform, etc established in some eastern towns.

Starting a church is good. I am a pastor but I think we must teach our eastern youth to build tech businesses. Even the churches in the eastern need to embrace technology more. 60% of the churches in the east don't have a website! Chai!

Mbanu!!

Opara Chibuzor of Track-a-Mechanic, Leo Stan Eke of Zinox, Jason Njoku of Spark and other Igbo CEOs, we've got a work to do for our brothers ooo...

Am taking the gospel of techpreneurship to the east!!

Mark Essien is doing that in Akwa Ibom...

We have to do it for our people. We must turn ABA to YABA

Techpoint is doing a South East tour in November. I am following them up to see how many startups they will discover in the east. I even wish I can be part of that tour.

I can offer my support to fan the embers of technology awareness in Igboland.

Igbo Ndewo nu

Visit www.pukena.ng and be inspired

We understand how frustrating it can be to quickly mobilize for the ongoing NYSC Batch B Mobilization exercise in different cyber cafes.

We can make it very easy for you.We offer you fast internet connection, webcam, swift registration, etc. in our accredited cyber cafes near you for only N1500 registration fee.

Fill this form to book http://pukena.ng/nysc-mobilization

In Pukena, we are on a mission to change the way people live their everyday life making life easy and enjoyable while they go about their normal day.

Why work with us?

You’ll get to take on amazing challenges, everyday. Our team is constantly solving the seemingly unsolvable. We’re always innovating, iterating and creating things from scratch. We’re a Nigerian company with global ambitions. Pukena offices will soon spring up in other states of the country and beyond to other countries of Africa and the world at large with our headquarters in Lagos.

We are young but we’re growing fast. There’s plenty of opportunity to tackle challenges, think big and make a huge difference.
Our work culture is something special. We are passionate about our mission to make life easy for people, and we are passionate about our services. We take every chance to add value to our customers and make them happy.

Join us to make this mission a reality. Apply for any of the vacancies in our company. See them here: www.pukena.ng/careers

Follow us on twiiter and Facebook for updates.

Twitter:www.twitter.com/pukenang
Facebook:www.facebook.com/pukenang

I’ve been struggling to write this for two weeks because I’m nervous, excited and a bit scared- all at once.

Perfect! Those are the exact feelings that let me know I’m about to do something big.

So let me just come out and say it.

I’m creating a hybrid workshop+ mastermind that I whole heartedly believe is capable of changing your business life forever.

It’s called Upgrade!

Details...

First and foremost, what’s my goal here?

I know that “change your life” is a bold statement. And I’m not Oprah. So what’s the deal?

The goal of Upgrade is very simple: to get you to where I am in 12 months—running a highly profitable business that makes you six or seven figures, by offering your services to high end users. I want to get you to raise your game so you can attract only the big money spenders to your business

You’ll learn how to build a massively popular brand and online presence that can become the launching pad for whatever you want to do with your career, whether that’s catering, photography, teaching, web design, plumbing, carpentry. We want to help you connect with the world’s biggest influencers who need your services.

Hold up….what exactly is a mastermind?

Basically, it’s a coaching group of 20–30 people who are all dedicated to improving their life and business. Over the period of a year, you will network like crazy, stretch yourself to complete work that you never thought you’d be able to do and hit your biggest goals so often you’ll have to continually set new ones.

The leader (yours truly) is responsible for making sure that every member of the group is clear on their goals and objectives, including all the necessary action steps to get to the next level.

Think of a mastermind as your own personal board of advisors, where you’ll go with challenges, roadblocks and the day-to-day problems that all entrepreneurs face. It is a team effort.

Who is this for?

Small business owners, artisans, professionals already in business for not less than 5 years, already making a small profit but would like to scale to 6 figures and increase their client base.
Professionals who want to raise their game to meet world standard
All prospective professionals willing to become a Pukena Pro
All stakeholders in the Pukena project- high end households, corporate organizations and government officials.

How does Upgrade work?

We will be meeting up 6 times in 2018 in various exotic locations in Lagos for a long weekend. The first meetup will be held from Thursday 18th January, to Sunday 21st January 2018.

You will check in on Thursday. We’ll hug, talk shop and meet everyone. Then it’s game time. Over the next 3 days (Friday- Sunday), I ‘ll hit you with the best stuff I have, and you are going to learn it all at a deep level.
The curriculum includes:

How to transform your small business into a worldclass company.
How to handle big projects professionally to meet deadline and customer satisfaction
How to satisfy your customer that they keep coming back
How to us technology to reach more customers for your business
How to make your business visible to millions of people.
How to attract only the big spenders to your business.

There is more. These are just some of the juicy nuggets. You will internalize this information and every quarter, your business will make leaps.

Not a day will be spared during the three day weekend, and each day will have a specific focus and actionable takeaways.

We’ll spend one of our 3 days on a specific theme- for instance workplace ethics, business branding, customer service, etc. obviously the entire weekend is designed to help every aspect of your business, but I find it useful to have a dedicated focus for a least one day so that we can go deep.

We will spend another day doing 1 on 1 and small group work. This is also known as “hot seat”. You will have the opportunity to unpack everything that’s going on with your business in front of the entire group and specific feedback on what to do.

The third day of the mastermind will be spent with worldclass experts.

Expert Guests

You don’t build a world class business without a network of worldclass experts.

I’ll be inviting 2 expert guests who are leaders in their field to join me for the pilot program in January. My friends Opara Chibuzor , CEO, Track-a-Mechanic and Micheal Ekeghe, CEO, Techline Communications will be joing me for the pilot program in January. These amazing guys have built world class companies and would gladly share their ideas with you.

This is great news for you.

Sounds great! But what about the rest of the year 2018?

I’m so glad you asked.

We’ll meet in person 12-15 days over the course of the program…but what about all the other days of the year?

In-between the live meet ups, you’ll be able to connect to the group via our private online forum. This will be the place where you show us what you are working on, get valuable feedback and contribute.

This all leads to…

Enjoying Full Benefits that Pukena offers:

A dedicated profile page for your business on www.pukena.ng
Free marketing of your business to our millions of clients
Make your own schedule, work any time and day of the week. Our community is requesting help 24/7, you choose what tasks fit you, whenever it might be.
Make up to 90% of the total service charge. No more running after customers. Get direct deposits every Monday & Friday. We work with all major banks, each transfer includes bank charges
Our world class rating system that would improve your brand
Our on-going support system and insurance cover to protect your business
And many more!

Oh word? How do I apply?

I’ve been looking for a way to work with fewer people on a much deeper level- so I’m beyond pumped to start this process.

If you’d like to be considered for the Pukena Upgrade Program, you can apply here: http://pukena.ng/pro-page

Due to the high demand for KweseTv installation through our platform, Pukena, and the inability of our affiliated dealers to keep up with supply, I had to go to their head office in Lagos this morning to broker a deal for uninterrupted supply of KweseTv decoders.

We sincerely apologize for the customers we kept waiting all this while. Now you can have your order processed.

Pukena doesn't deal with dealers anymore...it's direct!

For Installation orders fro KweseTv, click here: http://pukena.ng/kwese-tv

Pukena is fast becoming a household name since its launch. We have tried to position the brand as the go-to place for Nigerians who need reliable and trusted service providers. Among all the services on Pukena, our digital services division and graphics design in particular are in high demand.

The jobs are coming in quick succession and we want to expand our experts base. We need about 20 top graphics designer on standby as we plan to maintain our unique value proposition as fast and reliable service.

Our target market include high end individuals, top businesses, corporate organizations and the government.

Join us today if you have what it takes to serve the king! Start by filling our form here: http://pukena.ng/pro-page

You can find out more about us here: www.pukena.ng

Welcome

Emmanuel Udeagha
Co-Founder/CEO

Pukena is fast becoming a household name since its launch in July, 2017. We have tried to position the brand as the go-to place for Nigerians who need reliable and trusted service providers. Among all the services on Pukena, our digital services division and web development service in particular are in high demand.

The jobs are coming in quick succession and we want to expand our experts base. We need about 20 top web developers on standby as we plan to maintain our unique value proposition as fast and reliable service.

Our target market include high end individuals, top businesses, corporate organizations and the government.

Join us today if you have what it takes to serve the king! Start by filling our form here: http://pukena.ng/pro-page

You can find out more about us here: www.pukena.ng

Welcome

Emmanuel Udeagha
Co-Founder/CEO

Hello AndroidKind, we hope to update our service range as time goes on. We are still a work in progress. Thanks for your feedback. The Pukena Project is an exciting one.

Androidking:
I was studying the site and all PUKENA is all about . but I observed that u don't provide engineering or construction services.

Or any thing related to building ...why ??

Pukena is a Tech Startup based in Lagos that connects high end users to top rated service providers near them. As we search for excellent service providers to join our brand, we are also searching for our first crop of full time staff to join Myself and my 2 co-founders as management staff of Pukena.

We are looking only for 3 top leaders to serve as:

The Chief Marketing Officer
The Chief Personnel Officer
The Chief Operating Officer

You must bring high value to the table. These are the highest positions in Pukena after the co-founders positions.

Find what it takes to get into these positions here, http://pukena.ng/careers and apply.

Deadline is 27th November, 2017

We are getting ready to take 2018 by storm as a company. Show us what you've got!

After I discovered our Unique Value Proposition in Pukena as raising world class service providers that are only fit to serve the king (High end clients), I did some radical changes to our business model. It costs us some time and money, but it is fast re-positioning our startup as the only go-to place for high quality service.

First, I pulled down every service provider profile we have hitherto and hurriedly created on Pukena initially. I insisted that no one should be uploaded on the website until they have passed through our vetting procedures to ensure we get the best. Only world class pros would have a profile on the site.

Second, we created a tight onboarding process that would see only the serious minded to join us. We adjusted our registration form to capture important details from the applicants. If we you don't supply us with those details, we can't accept you. We only accept 5% of the applications we receive. If we have only 3 carpenters, we want to be sure we have 3 world-class carpenters!

Third, we created Pukena Academy, a 6 week intensive program where the successful applicants will get to learn from a rich faculty of top professionals, CEOs, athletes, etc who have all built world-class careers. They will show you how you can raise your own game. We can't on board you if you don't pass through this course. I am already in talks with my mentors and role models to lend me their time for this project.

Fourth, we have created a strict customer satisfaction policy that validates that customer is not only king, he runs the business. We do all we can to ensure our customers are happy. And if we can't achieve that, we refund them their money while sanctioning the service pro whose service was below par.

The jobs we get now are being processed by the few top class and professional Pukena Pros on our ranks who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields for over 10 years. We need more!

This is what is missing in the Nigerian Service culture. We are used to mediocre service delivery and our service experts are not held accountable for their performance

This is a tall order. A tough call. Just like Buhari declaring war on corruption; corruption would always fight back.

But we are committed.

Are you up for the challenge? Do you think you have what it takes to attract the big jobs for your business? Oya naa, let's see. Tell us about you here: www.pukena.ng/pro-page

Many small business owners dread banks and have little to no relationship with bankers. They either see bankers as enemies, fraudsters, the group that does not want SME’s to be great or all of the above. The truth is while there is a lot of room for Bankers to improve their value proposition to SMEs, there is a lot SMEs can do to extract value from Nigerian Banks – especially in the area of funding. A Bank will not just release other customers’ money to you without some level of assurance of getting the money back. Before we move into the guidelines of getting banks to give you a loan. let’s see if you qualify for one.

Generally Nigerian Banks use three major criteria to decide whether to give you a loan or not. These criteria are; Capacity, Collateral [/b]and [b]Character.

Capacity weighs how well your business can repay a loan. The calculation is done by banks looking at your income minus your expenditure and other obligations. You might have a great business, but the Bank needs to be sure that the income you generate will be sufficient to pay your expenditure, and still have room to repay your loan. This is why banks ask for your financial records and why it is so critical to have historical records from the start of your business.

Collateral refers to your current available assets, such as real estate, savings or other investment that you can bring to the transaction. What assets do you own and what is it worth? Banks want to be certain that if you can't repay your loan, you have enough value in your assets that they can sell to recoup the loan given.

The most important criteria for banks is Character and if they can trust you to pay back. Things like your past credit history, personal reputation, and other behavioural indicators help them estimate your reliability with financial matters. Never underestimate the power of character in transacting with a bank and that’s why building a relationship and track record before you need a loan is key.

Even if you don’t have much collateral , with character and these tactics below, banks can still see you as a potential customer for their loan:

1. Build a relationship with your bank: Many SME owners make the mistake of visiting their bank only when they’re in desperate need of a loan, but that hardly works. The way you need to have built a relationship with someone over time before you trust them with delicate details of your life is the same way banks need to have known you well enough before they can lend to your business. Build a solid relationship with your bank over time and your future requests will most likely be easier. Please note, your Bank is NOT just your relationship manager – build a relationship with the Institution – the Branch, the Product Managers, etc.

2. Keep a clear track record for your business: Even when you've built a great relationship with your bank, you must show a track record for your business. It will be hard to get a loan if your financial records are dicey, unclear, inconsistent or generally not existent. No matter how small the numbers are, make sure you've put them down!

3. Borrow money you’re sure you can pay back: After building a great relationship with your bank, loan a considerably small amount of money (relative to your capacity) and pay back before the due date. This will give you a track record of integrity and they’ll be more open to loan you a larger amount because you've paid back all you've ever borrowed from the bank. Remember it’s all about character and trust.

At the end of the day, Banks are looking to finance ‘bankable’ projects, because they make money from giving good loans. As an SME, you can be intentional about making your project one of the ‘bankable’ ones.

When you've built an excellent track record over time, banks will beg to finance your projects and loan you money!

This is our goal at Pukena.ng

Grow with us and be inspired: www.pukena.ng

If startup founders can invest the time used in attending countless pitch competitions to building their business processes, we would have a more robust tech ecosystem. Everyday you spend working on your business processes, you discover new layers to the original idea. That's my story.

I attend some of these events, just to observe,learn and expose my team to the ecosystem...not to pitch!

What are you pitching? An idea or a viable, profitable business model?

I listened to one "pitcher" the other day. He was asking for 10 million naira.

The panel asked him, "in exchange for what equity"

He answered, for 2%

The entire audience and panelist bursted into laughter. The next question was, "how much is you company worth?"

He has not even started a company yet! Amazing!

Guys, roll up your sleeves. Grow your numbers. Gain traction. Sell your products and services to as many clients as your pocket can carry. Bootstrap for 6 months to 1 year. Then, you can go for the seed round, only for scaling, staffing and probably an office space.

This is the plan we are working with in Pukena.

Until you have your email loaded with invitations for a meeting from angel investors, you are not ready to pitch!

No be only you get idea o....guys are working harder than you. Many startups chasing few money. The hustle is real bro. Wake up!

Visit:www.pukena.ng and be inspired!

Excellence is not a function of resources, it's a mindset!

This morning, during my devotion, these words erupted in my spirit like a vulcano! I talked in tongues for hours meditating on it.

God took took me to the book of Daniels 1.

I saw how the King ordered for a certain calibre of young people. Experts in their own field. People who have done their own part of acquiring a certain skills.

But now, in order to adequately serve the king, they must pass through another set of training to equip them with all it takes to serve the king. I believe they were taught courses like emotional intelligence, time management, courtesy, effective communication, how to speak well, etc!

This is the mission of Pukena- To raise top professionals that will serve the king!

Hence we are launching Pukena Academy, an intensive six-week executive program that will transform an average professional to a world class service expert.

I have come up with a 15-course program not found any where in the world that would turn our local service providers to world-class experts. Graduates of this program would be hired by top clients depending on their areas of specialization. Pukena shall continue to offer professional support for our pro. They will belong to an exclusive member-only online community where they can iterate, network and get continuous mentoring by industry experts.

We are building Africa's largest pool of top rated experts for high end individuals, corporate organizations and the government.

Our faculty are made up of highly successful professionals from all works of life-artists, banking, IT, event professionals, etc

First edition is January 2018

It's not for everybody. You need to be the best in what you do, have operated your business for more than 5 years, be between 20-40 years old and be internet savvy and amazingly smart to be admitted. Tertiary education could be an advantage but not a must.

Only registered Pukena Pros are eligible for this program, hence our course outline will never be made public.

We already have over 500 registered service pros on our database ready to do the pilot program. If you intend joining the pilot program by January, register here:http://pukena.ng/pro-page

It's an exciting project. Join the movement.
Twitter: www.twitter.com/pukenang
Facebook:www.facebook.com/pukenang

We are gradually building Africa's largest supermarket for world class service professionals.

I believe we can have professional service delivery of world standard here in Africa. Where a contractor delivers excellent service and ensures the client is satisfied before getting paid.

I lost 2 big power generators in less than 6 months to bad servicemen. I called in a repair man to fix a minor issue with the caborator of one, and before I could say jack, he has damaged the engine. And blamed me for that! Imagine!!

Another one came, quoted an outrageous some of money for repairs, I paid. He said he needs to go to the market to buy materials. I never saw him again till months later.

The fact remains that our service providers in Nigeria are sub standard and lack professionalism. They are not trustworthy.

Pukena is the solution.

Our strict compliance policy to world standard, Insurance cover, delayed payment for 48 hours pending if the client makes a complaint, money back policy for bad service, rating system of our service providers, our compulsory six-week executive training system etc are just our many approaches to solving this problem.

If you need quality service, use Pukena!

All Pukena Pros are insured and have over 10 years experience in their respective field.

With Pukena, you are covered.

Check out our offer here: www.pukena.ng

The noise about TSTV nationwide is deafening compared to that of Kwese Tv. It reflects our values as a nation- data craze, entertainment, awoof things..lol

Is it the 10gb data, WIFI, video call, and affordable data rates they promised that caused the euphoria? Ok, I am glad that it's 100% Nigeria owned. Buy Naija Grow Naira things.

I checked through the channel list of TSTV, they are just giving me what am used to, albeit at a cheaper rate. But check out Kwese Tv, boy! It's loaded!.

Highly informative channels tailored for entrepreneurs. Check out Shark Tank program and you will know where I get most of my inspirations from for business.

They also have sports channels, movie channels and co but guy, their entrepreneurship-tailored channels are world-class.

I love TSTV, I might get a decoder to add to my retinue. Who no like awoof?

But Strive Masayiwa killed with it Kwese Tv!

Well, the competition is healthy for our economy. No more monopoly

Well, whether DSTV, TSTV, KWESE TV, GOTV, Startimes or any other cable television, we have highly trained Installation experts on Pukena.

Check here:http://pukena.ng/services-category/computers-technology

Nice to hear that dear. Keep working at it, we would surely meet at the top

Brunel:
Thank you Emmanuel.
I was among those who sent you an SOS on start-ups.
This write-up has illuminated my path giving a better focus to my already existing efforts.
Very practical points here!

This week alone, I have received tens of emails from startup entrepreneurs like me asking me questions believing I have all the answers to the questions in their minds.

First of all, I let them know I too, am still learning the ropes, like everybody else. I am facing the same challenges every regular startup faces at this stage of business.

Most of their questions bother on sourcing funding, when to hire, company valuation and stuffs like that.

Well, I tried to answer most of them to the best of my knowledge.

For funding I always solicit starting small, with what you have personally.

When what you have finishes, then run to your friends and family. If you can't convince those that know you about the viability of your business, then how can you convince the shrewd investors who don't even care if you exist but only cares about their money.

Except you have a rich uncle like Dangote when he started, this might be your only bet. You might have to use your house as your office. Convert your mobile phone to a business line, your car to your delivery van, offer your products or service to your immediate neighbors and gain initial traction. From there you scale.

I find it difficult to understand why people find this method so hard to follow. I built a large cyber cafe from just one laptop. I started off as a computer teacher. I asked my first student to come with her own laptop. Before the day we were to start, I had to go to a friend's shop to beg him to allow me teach a student there and in return I will fuel his generator for that period. It was a good bargain.

Before I would finish her program, a man brought his pregnant wife to the same shop to enroll her. My host, impressed by my hustling spirit, opted to allow me clear one abandoned part of his shop and set up some computer table, in preparation of more students. I then paid for the small space. Before long more students came in to enroll. From the school fees, I bought 3 sets of desktop computers and a white board. Business has started.

I was having an average of 4 students registering per month at the beginning. Before I knew it, I started getting calls here and there from top company executives to come teach them computer at home. Of course their own price was different. I later got a tokunbo generator, expanded to half of the shop and before 1 year, my host moved to a free shop next to mine while I paid for the whole shop. I employed staff in addition to my computer interns. I had since graduated over 400 students in the last 4 years

I figured out that, in addition to running a computer school, I can also do cyber cafe here and other computer services. I raised like 100k and bought some non tested computers from odolowu warehouse, formatted them, networked them and voila, cafe has started. I got some fairly used computer machines like photocopier, lamination machine,etc. I learnt website design and graphics by reading ebooks and watch you tube videos

Fast forward to this day, I have moved office twice to accommodate the growing business. After 4 years running a cyber cafe, I was ready for a new challenge. During my 3 month outreach programme in Kirikiri Maximum Prison, God dropped the idea of Pukena in my heart.

All I am doing is reusing a tested process of starting a business. I used it when I was sent to plant a Winners Chapel Station at Okwelle, Imo State, which has grown to one of the biggest branches in the state. I used it to build a cleaning services business from knocking on people's doors in Okigwe and asking for cloths to wash and rugs to launder. That business also grew to handling the cleaning contracts of major banks and hotels in okigwe.

So starting small is not an option.

God started creating the world alone. He was 3 people in one. That's exactly what a startup founder must be. You must be the chief executive officer, chief operation officer, chief marketing officer, chief personnel officer, chief finance officer and any other duty that need in your company at the beginning.

You don't start off with a crowd. You waste energy and momentum. Crowd is liability, it takes money from your pocket. You need leaders, first YOU. When you have done everything and can't do it further, you then employ for the pain.

You don't employ a staff except for the pain.

I identified 5 pillars of Pukena- Operations, Marketing, Personnel, Finance and Technology. These would later be the core Management Board of Pukena Group.

But now, I can't afford the kind of talents I need in those areas. So I am forced to learn all of them! You need to see the volume of information I devour daily in these areas daily.

Now, I am never gonna to be an expert in all these areas more than the people trained specifically for those areas. But if you have to effectively lead a team of those experts, you've got to know a bit of what they know!

Every CEO knows a bit of every thing

And God said, "Let us make man...."

For God to pull of the miracle of creation, He has to be everything in one person!

So fellow startups, the race is a marathon not a sprint. So let's roll up our sleeves and get our hand dirty!

Visit www.pukena.ng and be inspired

In one week, I have read about 5 stories of failed Nigerian startups. I could see a pattern and that spurred me to write this article.

Nigerian startups should not mistake investment funding for profitability.

The more money you start off with, the farther your breakeven point.

Jumia and Konga are two of Nigeria's biggest ecommerce sites today, partly due to the huge funding backup they have since they launched. They both have enjoyed over $ in investments. However, both are yet to become profitable. Infact Jumia just lost 61m dollars in the last 6 months.

I believe the business that can work in Nigerian harsh economic climate is a business that should make profit as soon as it takes off.

The Nigerian economic factors would frustrate any startup that wants to sacrifice for some years before making profit. The recession and forex drought cost Jumia and Konga 70% of their sales as most of their goods are imported.

For me, the key is always start lean, make profit as soon as you can. For Pukena, I ensured we scale up with as little capital as we can and make profit organically and from the profits we can scale further. We don't mind going from house to house washing cars and cleaning houses as long as the money keeps flowing in. Our services in Pukena are solutions to everyday needs and our target market are within our reach. We are positioning Pukena to be the go-to for every middle class Nigerian for his daily service needs. But we are starting small. Not biting more than we can chew per time. For now office is not important. Our office is in our client's homes! Little overhead, more profit.

I learnt that as a Pastor in Winners Chapel. We were taught never to spend more than 30% of the income on overhead. So the lower your income, the lower should be your overhead. In winners, your church branch can't talk about spending on capital project if your project account can't afford it. Very strict financial principles.

Right now in Pukena, we are targeting a gross monthly income of *** millions with as little marketing budget as we can. Hence am teaching my team how to get results with little or no money.

You have peace of mind when you build like this. I have used this principle throughout my business career till date. I always ensured I started small so that everything that comes in is a profit. Its not the easiest way to do business. But its the smartest.

You stand to maintain the controlling shares in your company if you follow this path. Even when you open your doors to investors, they are coming to join and scale an already thriving business.

Most businesses that fail, in my opinion, are businesses, whose owners usually start off with so much fiscal liability, and they keep chasing the shadows to just offset the liability before even talking about profitability, which in most cases, they never do. That was the case of etisalat. When you borrow money at a particular interest rate at a particular time, as time roll by, the value of that loan interest increase and the more difficult is it to pay up.

Start small. Make profit at your own pace. Build a great business

Visit www.pukena.ng to be inspired!

At Pukena, we search far and wide to find the best professionals in Lagos through partnerships with professional associations and training schools, recommendations, and direct visits to their workshops.

We hope that you can help us in our search!

We have all worked with some amazing auto mechanics, housekeepers, technicians, makeup artist, carpenters and other professionals in our lives, and we easily boast about them to our neighbors. Now is the right time to boast about them to us.

Kindly recommend a service provider you think deserves recognition. Click here http://pukena.ng/nominate-service-pro

Don't worry, we shall still verify them before listing them on our platform. So feel free to recommend. The risk is on us.

If you mean well for Pukena, please don't ignore this. Its important to us. It would save us some huge amount of money and time.

Not sure who we need? find a comprehensive list of pros we need on Pukena here http://pukena.ng/pro-page

Thanks in advance

Hello Petlanders,

We've got amazing news for you. After following this section for a long time, I realized one thing; we may have nice pets and pet lovers here but most people hardly can monetize this affection. There is a huge market out there for pet lovers, pet groomers, pet vets, etc. and we have made it easy for you to reach them.

Right on www.pukena.ng you can register your business as either a pet groomer, pet breeder, pet vet, etc and get offers from our growing market of pet lovers who need your services.

Visit http://pukena.ng/pro-page and register your business now!

Pukena is an aggregation of different but related businesses under one brand. We call them service categories or departments.

Ordinarily, each of this departments or services can be a full time business on their own complete with a dedicated team of staff. For instance, ogavenue is an online portal where you can lease venues for your party. Here in Pukena, event venue leasing is just a tiny aspect of events services department. Yet ogavenue has an amazing team headed by my good friend Andrew. Same goes for cameraman.ng that connects you with photographers near you. We do that also in Pukena but as a sub unit of Events services. We have drivers.ng, laundrybros, etc. Amazing businesses known for their niche operations

Conversely, Pukena looks more like chewing more that we can bite. I know that from the beginning. It was deliberate. It looks like a weakness already. But that also is our unique selling point.

I believe in specialization and operating in a niche. That's what ogavenue and cameraman stands for and thousands of startups dedicated to solving a problem in a particular niche.

But I have a different business philosophy.

In my Cyber Cafe for instance, I designed it in a way that a customer shouldn't come into my office, pay me for some services and go out looking for a related service to get a full satisfaction. Hence we ensured that every possible thing related to computer services can be found in one place. From internet browsing, to passport, computer training, photocopy, printing, scanning, web design, graphics, etc..all in one place. The one we can't do, we collect it and go out and do it for you. I want my customer to have it easy.

So that's the philosophy we are using in Pukena.

Why would a customer log in to many apps for related services when he can get all in one app? You log in to cameraman, get a photographer, log out, log in again to ogavenue; get your venue and log out, and log in again to another portal for your makeup artist?!

That sounds like a lot to me!

So in Pukena, we are building a one stop app for all your everyday services. We would soon add food and grocery delivery! My boss in supermart.ng would not like this...

We know how that sounds. In fact investors prefer specialized businesses. It's easy to scale. For crying out loud, it's easier to run an ogavenue than a Pukena.

But I have a plan. That's gonna be our secret sauce. If we pull this off, then we have a billion dollar Africa Amazon!

And if it doesn't work, atleast someone has to prove it can't!

Visit our site: www.pukena.ng

Home improvement is also known as home renovation or remodeling and is the process of altering, remodelling, repairing, improving, modernizing or making additions to a home or part of a home. Simply put, it is the process of renovating or making additions to a home. Home improvements also include improvements to adjoining land or structures to a home, like gardens and garages.

There are many benefits of renovating homes. They include:

Safety and Security: Old and faulty wiring, broken water pipes that seep water into walls, or drooping ceilings can lead to fire outbreaks and collapse. It is vital to take care of them in order to prevent accidents. Also important in a home is security. Adding security doors and windows as well as fire and burglary alarm systems can help occupants feel more protected.
Beautification: Getting rid of old roofing, filling holes and cracks in walls and installing modern windows and doors are some of the ways you can improve your home’s exterior aesthetics. This can help make your home look more appealing not just to you as a home owner but visitors as well.
Comfort: If you intend to stay in your home for the rest of your life or for a relatively long period of time you would want it to be comfortable and enjoyable to live in. Making some alterations or improvement to your house such as roof replacement or repair can help you achieve that.
Improving Sales Potentials: If you are planning to sell or lease a part of your home, the external and internal appearance can help raise its value and make it a good deal. If the home is in a neighbourhood with many modern and appealing structures, renovating or modernizing it would help put it at par or even ahead of competition.
Accommodating Retirement or Lifestyle Needs: Changing bath tubs to walk-in showers or relocating certain rooms in the house to make them easily accessible can help make life easier when old age comes or when a family member has a disability.

Approaches to Managing a Home Improvement Project

If you have decided to carry out a home improvement project, you would also have to consider how you are going to execute the task. You can decide to do it yourself (DIY), or use professional services such as hiring a general contractor or hiring specialized contractors.

Doing it yourself: If you have the necessary skills you can opt to renovate your house yourself. The needed materials and equipment can be rented or bought. You can also augment your skills by purchasing home improvement books, watching videos and visiting websites that will provide you with step-by-step instructions to carrying out tasks like painting, plumbing and roofing.
Hiring a general contractor: They will operate like the project manager for the home improvement project. The general contractor can either be an individual or a group and will be responsible for tasks like creating access to the site, coordinating work schedules and carrying out some parts of the work.
Hiring specialized contractors: Instead of hiring a general contractor who in turn hires specialized contractors like electricians, plumbers and roofers, you can decide to hire the specialized contractors yourself to help carry out the renovations while you coordinate the project.

Carrying out home improvement projects can be difficult and expensive. Take your time to plan and do some research before embarking on one. It is important to consider your aims as well as your budget. It’s no use sitting in a luxuriously renovated apartment if you can’t stop worrying about how you’re going to repay the loan you used to achieve it. Also in some cases, it is more cost-effective in the long run to move into a new house than to renovate the current one.

Source: http://pukena.ng/blog/home-improvement-nigeria-benefits-and-approaches

Weezyclan:
The site is mobile and desktop friendly.

Thanks weezyclan. I appreciate your feedback.

Right on Pukena, you can hire top rated professional service providers such as house cleaners, plumbers, web designers, caterers, electricians, etc to serve you right in the comfort of your home or office. We have carefully screened and selected the best service providers in your neighborhood after careful and deliberate background check for authenticity, insurance and licensing where applicable.

Service pros compete for your business based on price, quality and availability. No special sign up or subscription is required. You only pay after the service is completed. Our service guarantee ensures that, should you not be 100% satisfied, Pukena support will make it right or give you a full refund.

Help us review the site. Click here: www.pukena.ng

Josh44s:
Graduating from Covenant or Bowen university doesn't guarantee you a job. Right now it's not even about having an MSc degree in this country. The country is fvcked up. Except you are from an influencial home then your getting a job is sure. If you are from an average home likes me then you better pray for a miracle to get a job in this dying country after you graduate.

Shut up!

I couldn't sleep well last night; my mind was restless. For the first time I wondered what I was going to say to this perculiar group of people. Even though I was billed to speak on, "How to Become an Entrepreneur", I was more concerned about how to reach out to their spirit man.
Am talking about hardened criminals, murderers, rapist, fraudsters etc all in one place!!

When our car drove up to the prison gate, we were accosted by the well armed guards who told us to disembark from the car and unpack everything we had in the booth. We were later shown to the prison lobby where we were thoroughly searched, our phones were taken from us for safe keeping and our training equipment were properly registered. All the while I was still very uncomfortable and looking around me...I was a bit scared make I talk true.

The the moment arrived. We were ushered into the prison yard. I was amazed to see familiar human activities engaged by the inmates. Some were playing lawn tennis, others were just relaxing under the trees gisting. Some even came and helped us carry our equipment into the hall.
This made me relax a bit. I was expecting to see stone faces and angry people surrounded by armed guards.

But instead, I met a friendly atmosphere. My team and I entered the hall and met some inmates already sitted waiting for us to start. Again I was baffled. I was expecting a rowdy, antagonistic atmosphere. But these ones where ready to lean!

Before long, the entire auditorium was filled with inmates. Young, bright, educated and few middle ages audience. Again this surprised me. The media has always projected our prisons to only have people with diseases and mal-nourished people.

The psychologist opened the floor and had us introduce ourselves one after the other. I was soon introduced as the first speaker of the day.
Since we were already running behind schedule, the generator was yet to be started due to no fuel. We gave them money to go buy fuel. So I was forced to start without my PowerPoint Slide.

That was a blessing in disguise.
I love speaking from the depth of my soul without paper inhibitions or PowerPoint slide. It makes me connect faster with my audience.
I started...stuttered a bit..but son started to flow. Before long, I was floated in my usual self around the entire hall, touching, connecting with the audience. The entire hall was electrified. Even though I was speaking on entrepreneurship, you could sense that God was in there!!
Even when the light finally came on, I didn't see any need to put on the slid show anymore....I simply fell in love with these amazing people. They chanted along with me in unison. They laughed at my jokes and stories.

When my time was up, they didn't want me to stop. But I had to hand over to the next speaker.
After the entire sessions, I mingled with them; found out more about them, answered their questions. They even asked me to come and check out their computer centre so they can apply some of the things I told them about technology.

It was a paradigm shifting experience for me. I saw hope in their eyes. Much more, I appreciated freedom more!

I look forward to being with them next week Friday and for the rest of the remaining 10 weeks the training would run through.
A big thanks to CCHD Nigeria for this amazing platform. This experience has changed my perspective about ministry.

Sometimes, we do "ministry" to people whom we stand a chance to gain from. But this is different! This is a thankless job. Infact this kind of ministry cost us a lot! But this is the Jesus Kind of ministry.

Crime does not pay. Live a responsible life. You don't want to end up there!!

Remain relevant!
Pastor Emmanuel Udeagha is the Lead Pastor of SuccessHouse Christian Centre, Lagos

Keep quiet and don't say what u don't know. Where u in the plane? This is a cooked up story.

I am a pastor. If u re in their shoes, you would do worst.