Ideas that work

Buhari Gifts Nigerian Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace, 11 days to go

2023-05-18T08:12:00.001-07:00

As the current government of President Muhammadu Buhari winds down it's 8 year reign, it wants to exhaust every avenue to leave a lasting impact on the footprint of the nation.

The Honourable Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika has announced that The Federal Ministry of Aviation will now be known and refered as the Nigerian Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace, 11 days to the end of time in office.

According to Senator Hadi Sirika, the current Minister of Aviation, who made the announcement in Abuja today, the change has ben made by the Federal Government and became necessary because it was on the exclusive list.

Also of importance is the expected take off of the official carrier of the nation Nigeria Air which the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace has said would be commissioned by President Buhari and commence operations before May 29th 2023 handover date.

This project could be a replay of the last minute rush and commissioning of the Ekiti State Cargo Airport at Ado-Ijan Road, Ekiti State by the immediate past Governor, Dr. Kayode John Fayemi on his last day in office 15th October 2022.

Project planning and execution by Nigerian government should be adequately planned and allowed to materialize in full term without the need for rush to score cheap point, thereby commissioning half-baked project for the Nigerian people.

#Buhari #AsiwajuisComing #Asiwaju #Inauguration #Abuja #Peterobi #Aviation #May29

Hilda Baci to the World by Food

2023-05-18T06:38:00.004-07:00

Nigeria born chef Hilda Bassey Effiong, has today broken the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking hour, May 15, 2023 after cooking for an 100 hour compared to chef Lata Tondo who previously held the world record for cooking 87hours and 45minutes in India in the year 2019.

Hilda who started on the 15:00 GMT hour time on Thursday cooked over 100 cusines all round the clock.

It is recorded that she broke the record in the early hours of Monday when she smashed the record at 87 hours 45minutes.

The cooking festive tagged "COOK-A- THON" was sponsored by various industries but particularly the FMCG sector such as GB foods, Arla Foods, Poweroil, CWAY, Uriel soap, have all supported her cause in breaking the world's record. This in a bid, might attract more investors into the sector as it is one of the most profitable sector to invest in.

To break the Guinness World Book of Records, Hilda Baci, COOK- A - THON took place at Amore Gardens, Lekki, Lagos and it is meant to showcase her culinary skills using various local and intercontinental recipes to put Nigeria on the global culinary map.

#hildabaci #guinnessworldrecord #lagos #chef #food

Invest in Ondo State as FG approves Ondo Deep Sea Port, grants operating licence

2023-05-18T05:54:00.002-07:00

The federal government on Wednesday, 17th May 2023 during the Federal Executive Council meeting approved the establishment of a deep sea port in Ondo State.

The Federal Executive Council, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, gave the approval for the operating licence for the Port at the FEC meeting held at the State House in Abuja.

The Memo for the approval was presented by the Federal Ministry of Transportation through the Minister of Transportation, Eng Muazu Jaji Sambo, following years of efforts by the Ondo state Government to establish a deep sea port, first at Olokola which failed to materialise since 2004.

The efforts were renewed by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu upon his assumption of office as Governor in 2017 and became intensified upon the appointment of an indigene of Ondo state, Prince Ademola Adegoroye, as Minister of State in the Federal Ministry of Transportation in July 2022, just about 10 months ago.

Akeredolu had submitted the proposal for the establishment of the Port to the federal government, with series of due diligence undertaken by both the State and federal governments.

Details later…

Sterling One Foundation Launches Project Ladder for Women Farmers in Flood affected Areas

2023-05-18T04:58:00.000-07:00

As part of relief interventions following the devastating nationwide floods in Nigeria, the Sterling One Foundation has launched Project Ladder, in partnership with Whitefield Foundation and Sterling Bank, to provide support for victims whose farms were affected by the floods.

The project which kicked off in Ndokwa East and Oshimili North Local Government Areas of Delta State is aimed at not only providing relief for the flood victims but providing improved farm inputs with better yield potential than the regular options.

Delta State is one of the 33 states in Nigeria that were affected by the 2022 floods, which started in May and lasted until October, claiming over 500 lives, displacing millions of people from their homes, and destroying about 110,000 hectares of farmland. Following the cholera outbreak in the country’s north-eastern region, several interventions were launched in response to the disaster, many of which focused on providing alternative shelter for the displaced, food materials, and drugs.

Mrs. Olapeju Ibekwe, CEO of the Sterling One Foundation, explained why they started the project, saying that it was important to shift the focus from the immediate survival response that followed the floods to how to help the victims rebuild their lives.

“The floods affected several farming communities, and what we’ve set out to do is support them with resources to regain some self-sufficiency. Project Ladder is not just a flood relief project, but an initiative under our food security portfolio aimed at driving increased yield by supporting farmers with better inputs, and teaching them better farming practises, thus fighting the food shortages across the country,” she said.

For the project’s launch phase, about 100,000 enhanced cassava stems were distributed to women farmers, marking the start of a robust plan to support them all through the planting season in hopes of a great harvest.

Mrs. Funmi Johnson, CEO of Whitefield Foundation, spoke about the project’s impact, emphasising how important it was for the nation’s food security, as most flood victims are farmers who need to be empowered to rebuild their means of livelihood and continue to contribute their quota to supporting the nations.

The project touches on two of the Sterling One Foundation’s five focus areas: food security and gender equality, as well as women empowerment. This year, the Foundation plans to deepen the work done in these areas to cater to more communities and impact more direct beneficiaries.

All hail Hilda Baci!

2023-05-16T07:16:00.001-07:00

Everyone can cook, but not everyone can cook 100 hours long

Everyone has guts, but your gut has gotten us all

Everyone likes food, but yours has surpassed them all

Everyone chases their dreams, but you have achieved yours.

We are all proud of Nigeria, but today Nigeria is proud of you

We are all happy people, today you make us happier as a people

We all pray for blessings for our hardwork, today your hardwork has blessed you before the world.

We all have gifts and talents, your gift has paid up for you today.

You have shown the world that Nigeria is a beautiful place to be

You have shown the world that life is good here and dreams do come through

The world is celebrating Hilda Baci today, Nigeria taking over from India.

We pray for grace, strength and the zeal for more accomplishments

All hail Hilda Baci, the Guiness World Record holder of longest individual cook-a-thon, 2023.

Sunday Obanubi

2023-04-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

✅✅*FULLY EQUIPPED & OPTIMALLY FUNCTIONAL MEGA HOSPITAL

*IN ONIRU, VICTORIA ISLAND*✅✅

For Outright Sale

DETAIL of MACHINES:-

-2 Ultra Sound Scanning Machine.

-2 Auto Clave Machines

-2 Blood Banks

-Hematology Analyzer Machine

-Hematocrit Centrifuge

-Incubator Machine

-Hormonal Essay Machine

-MRI Facilities/Dental Center

-Digital X Ray & C arm

-Dialysis Center

-Ophthalmology Center

-Physiotherapy Center

- Theatre / Labour Room

THE HOSPITAL BUILDING DETAILS

7 Floors (Currently Pilled For 15 Floors With Approval For Same)

Floor Sizes: Gross Floor Area 6,673.94 Sqm

Total Bed Space: 250 Bed Facility

LIFTS: 3 Otis Lifts (Include A Bed Lift), Roof Garden, 3 Emergencies Stairway, Etc

2 Enterances From 2 Different Streets.

Location: On A Major Road In Oniru, VI

Total Land Size: 2,704.728 Sqm

Title: Governor's Consent

Price:

Land & Structures = N10.5 Billion

Machines & Equipment = N7 Billion

For enquiries; email rhegosresources@gmail.com

Or call 08168779399, 07015096016

Rhegos CEO, Obanubi Preaches Love and Unity at Ramadan

2023-04-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

The annual ramadan fast for all muslims worldwide has come to and end today with the celebration of Eld-il-Fitri.

Mr Sunday Obanubi, CEO of Rhegos Resources, a business consult firm based in Lagos charges all muslim faithfuls to abide by the values and ethics of the season. He says, "This Ramadan, keep loving sincerely as you have done in the last 30 days. Keep giving with sincere love not under compulsion. Keep praying wholeheartedly daily, it is not a seasonal rituals.

Keep fasting with purpose, believing it is the key to achieving your divine desires.

Keep being pure and wholy, acceptable to the most high daily and always.

May you receive the blessings of this season now and always"

No doubt there are practical values applicable to all our businesses this season and auch much be upheld even after the fast season.

Let ua be the true example of Allah to all mankind.

Happy Celebrations

Mr Eazi Sells Portfolio Company, Vydia, For $1Billion

2023-04-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

The popular Nigerian singer and business mogul, Oluwatosin Ajibade, popularly known as Mr Eazi has sold Vydia, the portfolio company of his venture capital fund, Zagadat Capital, for $1 Billion.

The digital audio and video distribution infrastructure company was acquired by American firm, Gamma.

Gamma is a music and technology firm owned by former Apple Music Executive, Larry Jackson.

Speaking on the acquisition, Jackson said Vydia epitomises the vision of gamma as an ideas company.

The deal is the biggest in the history of Afrobeats.

Mr Eazi is also the owner of music distribution platform emPawa Africa.

The platform has previously worked with artists like Mr Eazi, Fave, Joeboy, Darkavibes, and Bella Alubo.

Source: ireportnews.com

Nigerians react to Buhari's MoU importing Crude Oil from Niger Republic

2018-07-25T00:51:00.001-07:00

Sitting -Foumakoye Gado, Niger Energy Minister, Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria's Minister of State for Petroleum with Nigerien and Nigerian Presidents, Issoufou Mohamadou and Muhammadu Buhari standing behind.

President Muhammadu Buhari and his Nigerien counterpart, Issoufou Mahamadou, Tuesday witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding of Niger-Nigeria Hydrocarbon Pipeline and Refinery Projects between Nigeria's Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu and Republic of Niger's Minister of Energy, Foumakoye Gado, at the State House in Abuja.

Speaking at the event, Buhari said Nigeria and Niger have excellent relations for several decades, as neighbours sharing a long border with common cultural and historical ties. According to him, "Nigeria sees this cooperation on crude oil export from the Republic of Niger and construction of refinery facilities in Katsina State as a 'win – win' for both nations. "The initiative will not only provide a reliable market for the stranded crude from the Niger Republic but will also provide petroleum products for Nigeria, as it aggressively pursues its aspiration on petroleum product self-sufficiency. "In addition, it is my hope that the current frontier exploration efforts in the Northern part of the country (Chad Basin, Gongola Basin, Sokoto Basin, Bida Basin..." Read the full text of President Buhari's speech here: https://lnkd.in/gRid5Sw

7 Things Hugging does to us - @sundayobanubi

2018-02-14T06:21:00.001-08:00

7 Things Hugging does to Us

At this season of love, sharing, exchange of gifts and all sorts that characterize the Valentine's Day celebration, here are the 7 gifts I have for you.

Whatever you choose and however you choose to celebrate the valentine, let this note be top your to-do list and let it be to as many people as possible.

I choose to promote the Hugging lifestyle.

What are the 7 things hugging do to us?

1. It Makes Us Feel Good
I do not know if you have found yourself in the midst of people and most especially strangers, looking lost and abandoned.
Such feelings can be very disappointing and embarrassing you know. At a time when people are exchanging pleasantries and complements and you have no one to talk with, then suddenly a known face simply shows up and you guys jump at each other. I am sure the odd feelings before then would disappear, never to be lonely again.

Now, imagine that anyone of those present before had hugged and related with this person, the feeling of loneliness and strangeness wouldn't be there, that is true love.

Let us show love to one another, we may not be able to buy the best of roses to someone, but we can give a hug and make someone feel good. Moreso, it makes us also feel good.

2. It lowers blood pressure
More hugs means less blood pressure as discovered through medical research. According to huffingtonpost, the hormones that are released in the body after a hug aren’t just good for happy feelings — they can also help your physical health. When someone touches you, the sensation on your skin activates pressure receptors called Pacinian corpuscles, which then send signals to the vagus nerve, an area of the brain that is responsible for (among many things) lowering blood pressure,

3. It alleviates our Fears
Also on huffingtonpost, you will find; In a study on fears and self-esteem, research published in the journal Psychological Science revealed that hugs and touch significantly reduce worry of mortality. The studies found that hugging — even if it was just an inatimate object like a teddy bear — helps soothe individuals’ existential fears. “Even fleeting and seemingly trivial instances of interpersonal touch may help people to deal more effectively with existential concern,” lead researcher Sander Koole wrote in the study. “Interpersonal touch is such a powerful mechanism that even objects that simulate touch by another person may help to instill in people a sense of existential significance.”

4. It shows we are not alone
You truly have no idea what people are going through and they keep it all to themselves. While you can not solve everybody's problems nor meet everybody's needs, you can show friendship, love and companionship through hugging. A friend who has just lost perhaps his or her parents would feel so much love through your hug. Do not be stingy or ignorant about this. hug someone today.

5. It Comforts us in Despair
At times, we get so confused, discouraged and disorganized that we have no idea which way to turn either left or right. At such times, what is required of us is just a tap from the back and a hug to follow. I really have no idea what the world is turning into, but I am sure that no one in this world would turn down a truly sincere hug even when not demanded.

So, it comes to us to not wait for someone to ask of us before we show unconditional love because tribulations, trials, pains and difficulties are never written on our faces. Be the soothing arm for someone today.

6. It saves life from death
I can't imagine how many lives have been saved as a result of one hug received from someone and the giver even have no idea. How would it feel when someone tells you how you saved her from committing suicide just for the hug you gave. It is amazing how we ask for so much neglecting the very little things we can give that would cost you absolutely nothing.

7. It shows we are loved
No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care. Love is not what you say but what you do. You need not break the bank to show how much you one someone, you need not break the egg to express your love to the innocent soul, a sincere hug would do, yes, a sincere hug is just enough.

Happy Valentine from me and my team.

#iLoveYou
#iHugYou
#hugsomeonetoday
@sundayobanubi

Ask for Work or Create One for Yourself - @sundayobanubi

2018-02-12T00:26:00.005-08:00

It is amazing how many youths most especially seat back at home to complain of unemployment and lack of work, whereas there are several organisations suffering and lacking of one skill or expertise or the other.

Going to school is not enough, getting sense from school is very important, and getting sense that produces wisdom is in what you do with the sense you acquire from school.

if you are truly jobless and in need of work to do, walk up to the companies you can locate around you and offer yourself to work.

You don't go and claim right of certificate, "I have MSc and PhD in organisational transformation", whereas you have not even transformed the Aboki
shop in front of your house, neither have you even drawn up a bankable business plan for once.

If the desired jobs are not forth coming, then find a niche and identify a service amongst the value chain and solve one of the various problems we have in Nigeria, starting from your street, to your immediate community.

Do you know your church is big enough to feed you by you selling Zobo to members after service. Do something, create a product, offer a service and stop faffing around.

God hates laziness, but much more, he wouldn't mind to kill lazy people.

"He that does not work should not eat. 2 Thess 3:10."

Work is a pre-requisite for wealth creation. May you prosper from your work today in Jesus Name.

Follow @sundayobanubi for more inspiring notes.

Plan to Attend; #FocusTherapy: Achieving More, Doing Less.

2018-02-11T15:04:00.001-08:00

Plan to Attend!

#FocusTherapy: Achieving more, doing less.

We live in a very busy world full of distractions and little or no result to show. This is a high octane practical session on how to achieve so much more, by truly focusing on the very key of your life and business.

This is for those seeking purpose, direction, success and maximum profits from their lives and businesses.

It's a fully practical workshop for few.

Date: Saturday, 10th March, 2018

Time: 9am
Venue: Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos

Register : Early bird #10,000 till Feb 28th.
(15,000 thereafter, No reg at the venue)
GTBank, Rhegos, 0159523435.

Limited seats available.

08168779399
Follow @RhegosNG #FocusTherapy

To achieve more, do less!

#Kindlyshare to help others.

Training: Agribusiness Special Training

2016-04-21T14:18:00.001-07:00

Join Nigeria’s Agribusiness and Enterprise Strategist, Adewale Ilesanmi, Veteran Agricultural Value Chain Specialist, Fumilola Osifowora and Experienced Agricultural Development Expert, Toyin Adebayo for a special training on Processing, Packaging, Labelling and Documentation of Agricultural Products for Domestic Markets and Exports and running and managing a successful agribusiness

HOW TO RUN AND MANAGE A SUCCESSFUL AGRICULTURAL PROCESSING AND PACKAGING BUSINESS FOR LOCAL MARKETS AND EXPORT

For registration and filling the online registration form:

Please visit: http://agribusinesssystems.com/training/agribusinessspecialtraining

E-mail us at: trainings@agribusinesssystems.com
Call us on: 08168946610

The training details are as follows:
Date: 6th Tuesday and 7th Wednesday, May 2016 (9:00am to 5:00pm daily)

Venue: Development House, Plot 722, K Close, By Boner B Neighbourhood Center, Gwarinpa, Abuja

Cost: N60, 000.00. Payment before 30th April, 2016, gets a 20% discount

The cost covers your training materials, practical training, visit to major markets in Abuja, certificate and lunch. Try to pay early to secure your spot and send us your full name as you would like it to appear on your certificate.

Payment Detail Account
Name: AGRIBUSINESS SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
Bank: ZENITH BANK
Account No: 1013329184
Branch: Mpape, Abuja

CRISIS OF VALUES: RECLAIMING OUR SOCIETY - Dr. ’Kayode Fayemi, CON at #WIMBIZ15

2016-03-13T15:58:00.003-07:00

Dr. ’Kayode Fayemi, CON gave a lecture on "Crisis of Values: Reclaiming our Society". To get

Dr. ’Kayode Fayemi, CON, Minister for Solid Minerals

Click here to get the bit.ly/21nLaQJ

Integrity Deficit, Major Crisis of Nigeria Value System; Dr Kayode Fayemi at #WIMBIZAnnualLecture

2016-03-13T15:00:00.001-07:00

It was a time to discuss Nigeria’s value system in our present day and ways to resuscitate the values that truly define us and make us Africans and Nigerians in particular.

Present at the 15^th #WIMBIZAnnuallecture was the former Governor of Ekiti State and Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi who spoke alongside Aisha Ahmad and other dignitaries shared on various issues revolving on how our values systems got eroded and how to restore same by all collective effort.

While he lashed the political class, he mentioned that everyone must keep an eye on maintaining the right values.

Excerpt from the speech by Dr Kayode Fayemi,

"As I have already noted, it is easy to criticize politicians because of our relative high visibility.

Corrupt politicians abuse their positions and break the public trust. But so also do corrupt bank chief executives who embezzle depositors’ funds or corrupt journalists who take bribes and write their stories according to the dictates of their patrons, or the NGO executive who steals donor funds or the academic who demands sexual favours from female students in exchange for positive marks. What all these depraved persons have in common is that they have integrity deficits."

Photos after the cut

Prof Remi Sonaiya at #WIMBIZAnnualLecture 2016

Add caption

SMEs Need Business Budget to Succeed

2016-03-12T14:48:00.001-08:00

As a business start up and small business consultant, I have noticed a great deal that one of the major reasons 80% of starts ups don't last the first two years is due to lack of proper business budget.

A budget is simply "an estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time"

Who needs a budget? Every businesses need a budget annually.

The same way large corporations spend a lot to put their company budget together as to provide guidance, strategy and direction for the company, so also micro, small and medium scale businesses must also have business to run with.

Having a profit and loss account is not enough, that is an aftermath.

The budget provides direction, focus, discipline, accountability, prudence and even propels the business for hard work.
With the budget, you already have tried to map out all that you would be venturing into and exactly what you want to achieve with a period, so you are not dissuaded by whatever wind that comes around.

With the budget, you are focused and you get to align your company with what is good, right and necessary for your small business at the stage it is. You would not venture to acquire what you think you need when you are really not ready for it, or can not afford it yet.

With the budget, if you have budgeted #20,000 as transport for a month, you would put yourself in check not to exceed that budget and if your monthly income targeted was #500,000, you would put all your brain, energy and resources in the direction to achieve your goal, but without a budget, anything that comes and goes are fine.

You can hardly be accountable when you have no budget. A budget is what challenges and scores you. You get praised or scolded by your result (goals achieved) in tandem with your goals preset.

With this, you need no one to hype you or you thinking that your efforts are not being appreciated, as the scorecard would show the difference and input you have added to the business.

In your budget, your salaries and renumeration are stated and every little things including cost of tissue papers, staple pin, tax, levies and bank charges.

Prudence is king. You can never be over prudent with a budget. This does not mean that you settle for less, this only shows that you go for the best with the available resources. You don't fall for all that flashes before your face. You put your money where it would yield desired result that would aid the bottom line.

With our budget in my office, I know I have no resting time until I do all I can and have to do to achieve the set goals. We have weekly targets and monthly which we look at daily and constantly strategizing to achieve them and even surpass these goals.

We have changed some policies and provided some things and have outlined certain things that are important so to achieve the desired goals as an organization.

No doubt, as an MSME, budget and budgeting is not just a business term or a thing for the big companies for a must for all businesses.

I am,

Sunday Obanubi
Your #BusinessDoctor

See it on Linkedin

Ambode says Housemaid, Gateman to pay Tax henceforth

2016-03-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

...Reduces Cost of Replacing Electronic Tax Clearance Card (e-TCC) ...Goes tough on Tax Evaders in Lagos State

Executive Chairman, Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr. Olufolarin Ogunsanwo

As part of efforts to enhance the ease of doing business in Lagos State, the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service ((LIRS) has announced various initiatives aimed at achieving efficient tax administration in the State. The Executive Chairman of LIRS, Mr. Olufolarin Ogunsanwo made this known on Tuesday March 8 at a press conference held at Lagos Press centre, Alausa, Ikeja in the company of the House Committee Chairman on Finance, Lagos State House of Assembly, Honorable Oluyinka Ogundimu, Lagos State Commissioners for Finance, Mr. Mustapha Akinkunmi, Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde and the Attorney General of the State, Mr. Adeniji kazeem.

According to Ogunsanwo, the agency has consistently been at the vanguard of reform activities aimed at easing the process of doing business in Lagos State in particular and by extension Nigeria, thereby championing several initiatives aimed at supporting His Excellency, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, in achieving his electoral promises to Lagosians.

L-R: Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Oluyinka Ogundimu; Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde; Executive Chairman, Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr. Olufolarin Ogunsanwo and the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Mustapha Akinkunmi, during a world press conference by the Management Board of Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), in Lagos…..yesterday 08-03-2016

Among the initiatives is the introduction of a new two-page tax form to replace the old six-page form which is to be used for both direct and self assessments. He stated that the revised form and its guide notes would be translated to Pidgin English and Yoruba for ease of completion and wider reach"
In the same vein, the chairman noted that physical filing of Annual Returns is already being complemented with e-submission (on-line submission of Annual Returns) to ease compliance by Tax Payers.

Another initiative by the LIRS according to the chairman is th

e introduction of customer-care desk in all the 38 Tax Stations to deal promptly with all issues that may be brought up by tax-payers saying the initiative will be complemented with the launch of LIRS Hotline that will provide 24/7 customer-call service in English, Yoruba and Pidgin English.

The chairman emphasized that payment for tax should be made convenient and because of this the agency is leveraging on technology to offer multi-modal payment portals including but not limited to PoS, mPay, online, etc without sacrificing the traditional/extant payment portal at the bank thereby taking payment portals to the tax payers for their convenience.

Furthermore, Ogunsanwo pointed out that the agency has concluded all arrangements to ensure that maximum response time of 72 hours to all electronic tax clearance certificate (e-TCC) requisitions is met and failure should be reported to any of customer care-desks.

Meanwhile the chairman disclosed that the current cumbersome requirements for replacement of lost e-TCC such as Police Report, Sworn Affidavit etc are to be waived and replaced with presentation of LASRRA Card while the replacement fee is to be reduced from N2,500= to N1,000= only.

Specifically the chairman stated that the agency has commenced the process of overhauling of the informal sector operations with a view to easing voluntary compliance by tax payers in this huge sector that have been categorized into three which include the Market Men/Women and Artisans, Micro, Small & Medium Scale Enterprises (including Professionals) and Household Domestic Staff (HDS).

L-R: Executive Chairman, Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr. Olufolarin Ogunsanwo; Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Mustapha Akinkunmi and his counterparts in the Justice Ministry, Mr. Kazeem Adeniji, during a world press conference by the Management Board of Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), in Lagos…..yesterday 08-03-2016

In view of the declining revenue from the centre as a result of fall in the price of crude oil, Ogunsanwo revealed that LIRS is poised to focusing on other revenue sources such as Consumption Tax from Hotel Occupancy, Withholding Tax on Contracts, Rent, Royalties and other areas to shore up the Revenue in the State.
Speaking at the event, the State Attorney General and commissioner for Justice Mr. Niji Kazeem said the administration of Governor Ambode had put in place necessary measures to end the era of tax evasion and indeed avoidance in the state, adding that tax avoiders and evaders would be aggressively pursued in line with the provisions of the law.

The Commissioner, who disclosed that the Ministry of Justice had established a Rapid Tax Prosecution Unit to aid the Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) in its drive to collect taxes, added that the unit would work closely with the Revenue Courts, which the Chief Judge of Lagos State recently agreed to set up.

The Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Mustapha Akinkunmi said in the light of the reduction of federal transfers to States including Lagos, the State government was looking inwards to secure sustainable ways of increasing its revenue profile and plugging leakages in the system.

Other critical stakeholders in attendance at the well attended press conference were President, Chartered institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Mrs Olateju Somorin,Vice president, Lagos State Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mrs. Agnes Shobajo, representatives of Association of professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Market Men and Women Associations of Nigeria, Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) among others.

Signed

Monsurat Amasa

Head, Corporate Affairs
Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS)

DOING BUSINESS IN NIGERIA - TAX MATTER

2016-03-09T02:15:00.000-08:00

As Nigeria undergo series of CHANGES and restructuring to ensure corruption is eradicated and good governance is enshrined, kindly note that the government is depending on TAX to augment the shortfall in crude oil prices.

While a number of difficulties may be experienced as event unfold, it would rather be an easy ride for businesses that are well prepared ahead before the TAX MEN hit the streets.

What is Tax?

Tax is defined as a compulsory Money paid to the government other than transaction-specific goods and services.

It can be said to be a burdensome demand.

This implies that everyone of us are liable and responsible on this assignment to pay our taxes to the government.

In Nigeria, there are three levels of government, Local, State and Federal and all these three are empowered by law to collect Taxes from people - individuals and governments.

Are you Paying your Tax?

This is a serious question everyone must answer. Unlike before when it was only advertised in the media, this time, government officials are coming at your doorstep, that is if they haven't got to you yet. They have been to my office already.

It is better to Safe than Sorry.

There are various types and rules to paying Taxes, we will be unveiling these in the subsequent posts.

First Thing First?

Either you have started business or planning to start in five or ten years time. You must have your Tax Identification Number (TIN) immediately you register your company and you have the grace of six months after getting the CAC document, otherwise, penalties would come on you.

So, if you are yet to get your Tax Identification Number, write me now to get that done for you in 24 hours.

What is Value Added Tax?

How do I charge for VAT or who pays it?

Which one is WithHolding Tax?

And several other questions, we would be answering later.

Feel free to ask me any question via whatsapp/text 08168779399.

I am,

Sunday Obanubi

Your Business Doctor

Startups: Apply to the MTN Enterprise Challenge powered by Jumia and win $25,000

2016-03-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

Applications are now open for the MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge powered by Jumia.

The MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge powered by Jumia is a pan-African competition which will bring together over 1000 entrepreneurs, students and investors, to collaborate on ways to amplify and consolidate the continent’s entrepreneurs. The competition will see entries from more than 60 universities in 13 countries across Africa, who will develop a unique digital application or smart solution that will solve a tangible problem faced on the continent.

The winner of the MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge will win a cash prize of $25 000 towards their start-up, and have access to a Facebook Start Program valued at $15 000, which includes tools and services needed to build mobile applications. The winner will also enjoy a yearlong partnership with Jumia where they will have the opportunity to work from any of JUMIA’s offices across Africa. This will enable the winner to learn from, and be mentored by experienced and successful entrepreneurs in the JUMIA network. Two runners-up will each receive US $5 000 towards their projects.

Aspiring entrepreneurs can enter the competition in teams. You can have two or three people in your team but at least one team member must be a current student or a recent graduate of an African university. Shortlisted teams will move on to a live pitching phase at their selected universities between 1-8 April 2016, after which the final five projects will be selected to move through to the Semi-Final.

The finalists will be announced on 16 April 2016, and will get the opportunity to attend the Entrepreneurship festival, hosted at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business in South Africa on May 27 2016. The festival, aims to facilitate the collaboration of over a thousand attendees with prominent and innovative speakers and workshop experts from across the world. Finalists will have to pitch their business to a room of successful entrepreneurs, business leaders, judges, investors and international media, after which the winner of the challenge will be announced.

“We are incredibly excited to partner with Jumia to launch the entrepreneurship challenge. Africa is a continent of promise, and our aim with the MTN Solution Space has always been to help fulfil this promise by developing uniquely African solutions. We believe that the entrepreneurship challenge is a key element of this. The response and willingness from universities across Africa to collaborate on this initiative has been truly remarkable and certainly exemplifies the impact of collective efforts to foster entrepreneurship among our next generation of business leaders,” says Sarah-Anne Arnold, Manager of the MTN Solution Space.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: MARCH 27, 2016

Apply here.

The MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge powered by Jumia, is born out of a partnership between MTN, MTN Solution Space and Jumia. For more information about the MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge powered by Jumia, visit the FAQ section of the website.

Apply to African Entrepreneurship Award 2016 and win $1 million; business ideas also welcome

2016-03-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

Do you have a business idea that will create jobs and improve lives in your region?

Well, the 2016 edition of the African Entrepreneurship Award is open for applications. This means you stand to benefit from personalized, online mentoring over the next few months by people in your region, across Africa and around the globe as they help you finetune your business idea.

You also have the chance of joining a new network that can lead to new customers and investors, and finally, if you emerge among the ten finalists, you get to share in the $1 million award.

Last year, at the first edition of the African Entrepreneurship Award, entries came in from every country in Africa and even from those in diaspora. 10 winners emerged and shared in the $1million dollar prize which they went on to use in launching and scaling their businesses.

Eligibility Requirements

You must be a citizen of an African country

You must be a minimum of 18 years old as of October 1, 2016

Your business must be applicable in an African country

Your business proposal must include a technological component (digital, machinery, computers, ICT, automated processes, field related technologies, etc.)

Your business must be for profit.

Your business must be relevant to one of these three categories:

-Education – positively impact education in Africa

-Environment – positively impact the environment in Africa

-Uncharted – a high-impact business venturing into unexplored territory or untested markets

Additional Information

You can submit a proposal as a resident of any country worldwide – keeping in mind that you must be a citizen of an African country. For example, a resident of the United Arab Emirates with Egyptian citizenship is eligible for this Award.

Your business can operate in any African country even if you are not a citizen of that country. For example, you can submit a proposal for a different country in Africa than your personal, African citizenship (e.g. a Ghanaian citizen can submit a proposal for a business in Liberia)..

You can submit a proposal for a business already in operation.

Your business can operate across borders in multiple African countries.

Your business should demonstrate the potential to scale beyond one region in Africa to pan-African impact.

You can operate in multiple countries, but you will be asked to designate a primary community in Africa that will benefit or be impacted by your business.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: APRIL 6, 2016

Go here to get started. For more information, visit the website.

BRANDING: RELEVANCE FOR THE MARKET PLACE

2015-09-14T11:53:00.001-07:00

A piece presented by Sunday Obanubi at the Career Empowerment Summit tagged “Road to Legendary” held at CACYOF, Dublin City, Oluwo, Abeokuta on 13^th September, 2015

Objective:
Audience is to understand the following;
- The meaning of a Brand
- Components of a brand
- Competition amongst brands
- Celebration that comes with being a great brand

What is a brand?

A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or other feature that distinguishes one seller's product from those of others.

In accounting, a brand defined as an intangible asset is often the most valuable asset on a corporation's balance sheet.

A logo often represents a specific brand, as do many trade names.

In History

The word "brand" is derived from the Old Norse "brandr" meaning "to burn" - recalling the practice of producers burning their mark (or brand) onto their products.

Brands in the field of mass-marketing originated in the 19th century with the advent of packaged goods. Industrialization moved the production of many household items, such as soap, from local communities to centralized factories. When shipping their items, the factories would literally brand their logo or insignia on the barrels used, extending the meaning of "brand" to that of a trademark.

Bass & Company, the British brewery, claims their red-triangle brand as the world's first trademark. Tate & Lyle of Lyle's Golden Syrup makes a similar claim, having been recognized by Guinness World Records as Britain's oldest brand, with its green-and-gold packaging having remained almost unchanged since 1885. Another example comes from Antiche Fornaci Giorgi in Italy, which has stamped or carved its bricks (as found in Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City) with the same proto-logo since 1731.

In Ancient Africa, a culture where tribal mark is applied on a person to illustrate their origin is a brand.

In livestock husbandry, a system whereby animals are marked with certain colours or marked with certain writings is a brand. Likewise, the writing of names of our fore-mothers on the arm, legs or any part of their bodies is a form of personal branding.

So not forget also, that foodstuffs are even being branded up till today, like tubers of yam amongst others.

Factories established during the Industrial Revolution introduced mass-produced goods and needed to sell their products to a wider market - to customers previously familiar only with locally produced goods. It quickly became apparent that a generic package of soap had difficulty competing with familiar, local products. The packaged-goods manufacturers needed to convince the market that the public could place just as much trust in the non-local product. Pears Soap, Campbell's soup, soft drink Coca-Cola, Juicy Fruit chewing gum, Aunt Jemima pancake mix, and Quaker Oats oatmeal were among the first products to be "branded" in an effort to increase the consumer's familiarity with their merits. Other brands which date from that era, such as Uncle Ben's rice and Kellogg's breakfast cereal, furnish illustrations of the trend.

Around 1900, James Walter Thompson published a house ad explaining trademark advertising. This was an early commercial explanation of what we now know as branding. Companies soon adopted slogans, mascots, and jingles that began to appear on radio and early television. By the 1940s,^[11] manufacturers began to recognize the way in which consumers were developing relationships with their brands in a social/psychological/anthropological sense.

Manufacturers quickly learned to build their brands' identity and personality such as youthfulness, fun or luxury. This began the practice we now know as "branding" today, where the consumers buy "the brand" instead of the product. This trend continued to the 1980s, and is now quantified in concepts such as brand value and brand equity. Naomi Klein has described this development as "brand equity mania".^[12] In 1988, for example, Philip Morris purchased Kraft for six times what the company was worth on paper; it was felt^{[by whom?]} that what they really purchased was its brand name.

Brand elements

Brands typically comprise various elements, such as:

Name: the word or words used to identify a company, product, service, or concept
Logo: the visual trademark that identifies a brand
Tagline or catchphrase: "Everywhere you go" is associated with MTN, while “Made of Black” is synonymous to Guinness. “It’s in you” represents Peak, while “Just Do it” stands for Nike.
Graphics: the "dynamic ribbon" is a trademarked part of Coca-Cola's brand
Shapes: the distinctive shapes of the Coca-Cola bottle and of the Volkswagen Beetle are trademarked elements of those brands
Colors: Owens-Corning is the only brand of fiberglass insulation that can be pink.
Sounds: a unique tune or set of notes can denote a brand. NBC's chimes provide a famous example, likewise the Nokia power tone.
Scents: the rose-jasmine-musk scent of Chanel No. 5 is trademarked
Tastes: Kentucky Fried Chicken has trademarked its special recipe of eleven herbs and spices for fried chicken
Movements: Lamborghini has trademarked the upward motion of its car doors

Personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands.

Personal branding is essentially the ongoing process of establishing a prescribed image or impression in the mind of others about an individual, group or organization.^[3]

Personal branding often involves the application of one's name to a product or an idea. For example, the celebrity real-estate mogul Donald Trump uses his last name extensively on his buildings and on the products he endorses (e.g. Trump Steaks). Aliko Dangote has his company called Dangote Group. We all know Bill Gates to be synonymous to Microsoft and Mark Zuckerberg as the man behind Facebook.

Branding is all about answering the question “who are you? And “who do you want to be referred as?”

Your brand in the long run is not who you say you are, rather it is who people say you are.

3 important things to note: There is self image, self ideal and self esteem.

Your self-image is who people see you to be per time

Yourself ideal is the real you, that people cannot see now, this is the person God made in His image which may not be the visible part of you now. This is the person you keep imagining to be in your head. If you had your way today, you would rather be your self-ideal in reality.

While Self esteem is your carriage of your self-image in pursuit of yourself ideal.

Self esteem is the opinion you have of yourself and your value as a person.

It is the confidence in your own worth or abilities. It is self-respect and also self-value.

I now run three major companies. Two years ago, I was a contract staff in a bank, being a contract staff was my self-image then, being a business owner was myself ideal as at then also, but my self esteem was not reduced to the level of a contract staff as I did not see myself as such, rather I saw myself as the best training professional and business doctor ever available, today that is a reality.

Your self-image is vital as that represents your character. Your character is like smoke, it cannot be hidden, irrespective of who you claim you are, people can say the number of shoes you have, they can even tell you what shirt you are likely to wear tomorrow – these entire make up your self image. Know that – as you pose before the camera, so it will show in your picture.

Meanwhile, there is so much more than your self-image, which is your self-esteem. This is the component of your brand. This shows your belief, confidence, dreams, visions, passions and expectations of life. If you can get this right, in a matter of time, your destiny will be revealed and catapulted. You will have a different image. Your brand value would be highly improved, as people will see the changes in you.

Your self esteem is what makes you responsible; it is what makes you outstanding anywhere you are. This is what makes you stand for a cause, the cause you believe in which make people to ask “what is wrong with you?” or “why is your own too much?” and others say, “he is a great leader”, “if you want anything done, meet him or just tell her”. You are building your brand by so-doing.

We have great brands around the world and they are synonymous to certain things.

Vital ingredients that makes a brand include:

Character, Competence, Trustworthiness, Responsibility, Accountability, Hard work, Dependability.

What type of brand do you want to be?

Do you want to be blessed or cursed brand?

is it the useful brand or useless brand?

Is it the celebrated brand or the criticized brand

Is it the liberated brand or the imprisoned brand
is it the appreciated brand or the rejected brand

Do you want the loved brand or the hated brand

It is important you begin to put yourself in the right light now as it will affect your chances of getting a job at the end of the day. Employers research and check even the social media profiles of applicants and the pictures and post you place can make or mar you.

Dress the way you want to be addressed and for sure, it will help you achieve greatness in good time.

The sky has been taken off the limit for those who are going to the top. As facebook now has over 1 billion people of the 7.3billion of the world.

There are 178million people in Nigeria, remember you have to stand out and show your uniqueness.

I wish you the very best of success in all your endeavors.

3 Success Principles to Set and Achieve Your Goals

2015-09-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

If you seek opportunity in life, you’ll end up with all of the security you need. However, if you only seek security, you’ll end up with neither opportunity nor security.

The proof is that this is all around us, in the downsizing and reconstructing of corporations, where thousands of men and women who sought security are finding themselves unemployed for long periods of time.

A person makes his or her own luck by setting goals, following through and achieving them.

Follow these success principles to not only find more opportunities open up in your life but to find greater security as well.

Make Your Own Luck

Use these three success principles to set and achieve your goals. These are derived from three physical laws; the Law of Momentum, the Law of Inertia and the Law of Probability. You can apply these principles equally well to everything that you accomplish or fail to accomplish.

You make your own luck by getting out of your comfort zone and achieving your goals on your own. First you must learn why people succeed or fail based on these three success principles.

1) The Law of Momentum

The first success principle is the Law of Momentum. In physics, the law of momentum states that a body in motion tends to remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.

2) The Law of Inertia

The second success principle is the Law of Inertia. The Law of Inertia states that a body at rest tends to remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.

These two laws imply that it may be hard to get started toward your goal because you have to fight the pull of the comfort zone and the force of inertia. But, once you get into motion toward something that is important to you, it’s much easier to continue making progress than it is if you stop somewhere along the way and have to start again.

When you observe successful people, you find that they are very much like the plate spinners in the circus. They get things started. They get the plates spinning. Then, they continually keep them spinning, knowing that if a plate falls off, or something comes to a halt, its much harder to get it restarted then it is to keep it going in the first place.

3) The Law of Probability

The third success principle is the Law of Probability. If you want to be more successful faster, just do or try more things. Take more action; get busier. Start a little earlier; work a little harder; stay a little later. Put the odds in your favor. According to the Law of Probability, the more things you try, the more likely it is that you will try the one thing that will make all of the difference. You make your own luck by trying more things and doing more.
How to Achieve Your Goals

Discovering how to achieve your goals starts with you! Once you have a goal and a plan get going! Once you start moving toward your goal, don’t stop. Do something every day to move yourself closer to the goal. Don’t let the size of the goal, or the amount of time required to accomplish it, discourage you or hold you back from reaching it.
Write Down Goals and Objectives

During your planning process, break down the goal into small tasks and activities that you can engage in every day. Create a checklist to follow. You don’t have to do a lot, but every day, every week, every month, you should be making progress in the direction of your clearly-defined goals and objectives by completing your predetermined tasks and activities.

This article first appeared here

5 Ways To Stay Motivated As An Entrepreneur

2015-09-08T04:37:00.000-07:00

Written by Adegoke Oyeniyi

As an entrepreneur, one makes goals that he/she would like to achieve in a certain period. It could be that you want to earn N500,000 a month of passive income in five years or that you would like to own land and build a mansion in a certain area in Nigeria, South Africa or Kenya.

Build your dream mansion!

Whatever your goal is, it requires certain steps and activities in order to be achieved. These goals that people make are the main reason why most become entrepreneurs. However, the journey of being an entrepreneur is not an easy one and sometimes one faces challenges that pull you down; financially and emotionally.

This can make one de-motivated and that could spell trouble for any entrepreneur and his/her business ventures. If one is de-motivated, he/she does not work hard to achieve the goals set and it leads to failure. The obvious thing would be to ensure that you stay motivated, especially when dealing with tough challenges.

There are many ways of staying motivated; here are five effective ways that I have found to keep me motivated as an entrepreneur, while going through the various challenges that I face.

1. Reminding yourself why you decided to become an entrepreneur

Whether you are running a business as a lawyer, baker, writer, photographer or any other industry you may be in; you are bound to face challenges in your daily grind. These daily challenges could cause you to lose focus on your vision.

It becomes a rote routine where you wake up, go to your business to work, face different challenges and go home at the end of the day even less motivated than the day before. These days pile up and two or three months down the line, you start doubting yourself and your business. When you realize that is your state of mind, you need to make sure you get out of that mind set.

If you continue thinking that way, you will give up. You need to sit down and remember why you started the business in the first place. Read your business plan and the mission and vision you had for the business. Let it give you the drive you need to keep going. If it helps, write it down and stick it somewhere you can see it everyday. Remember your reason for choosing to become an entrepreneur daily to keep your motivation up. I have found that to be a truly effective way of staying motivated.

2. Reminding yourself of the goals you wish to achieve

As I stated above, most people have certain goals they wish to achieve in a period of time they set for themselves. For most people; they wake up to go to work or their businesses in order to achieve these goals.

If you find that you are discouraged or disillusioned, it’s good to go back to your list of goals. It could be one or two goals that simply state where you would like your life to be in five or ten years.

Remind yourself that in order to achieve those goals, you need to take positive and successful steps in your everyday activities. As you make decisions daily in your business life, keep those goals in mind. These goals will motivate you to work harder and more passionately in order to achieve them.

3. Reading inspirational and helpful e-books, blogs or books on successful entrepreneurs in your industry

Most successful entrepreneurs are usually very helpful individuals who like to share their journey as entrepreneurs, to success. Great examples are Richard Branson, Kim Kiyosaki, Jeff Koinange among many others.

Most of these entrepreneurs share their advice, business tips and challenges faced through blogging, writing and publishing e-books and/or books. I find that reading from entrepreneurs in the industry my business is in, as well as reading about other female serial entrepreneurs, motivates me. Their insight and advice will motivate you to be a better entrepreneur and to keep going in your ventures as well.

Read inspiring books (courtesy: judyoz.com)

4. Working hard to be the best in your industry

If you’re a fiction writer and you have been writing for a while and publishing your books for some time. You then discover that there is a new fiction writer in your genre who has been publishing for some months and is gaining a lot of popularity.

This information could de-motivate you and discourage you from continuing to write. This can happen to an entrepreneur in any industry, maybe if you are an online marketer or run an advertising agency. Instead of taking the situation in a negative way or feeling discouraged, you should work hard to do better in your business.

It could be that the fiction writer has the same skill you have but is a better marketer, or has better book covers. It could be that the online marketer is using newer and more effective software to collect data and therefore market their client’s business more effectively. It could be that the marketing agency is using better visuals and more effective marketing methods. In whatever industry you do business in, you have to stay updated.

Whether it’s on best practices, new methods of operation, marketing or human resource management – you have to stay informed. If there is a new kind of software or website that is helpful in your industry, you get it and learn how to use it to better your business. Instead of being de-motivated, work harder to be better. Keep experimenting, researching and trying new things. It makes you feel confident as an expert in your industry and that is good for your business as well.

5. Don’t stop, just keep moving

Sometimes certain aspects or new projects in your business might fail. This is a blow to your confidence and often times, to your business financially. Some entrepreneurs can feel as if they don’t have a choice and may even close their businesses. When you’re in a situation that seems impossible, it’s best to just keep working. At this point, most people stop working on the business, they give up and tell themselves that they can’t continue anymore. I have found that constant progress is more effective.

An example, such as loosing a few clients in your business should not drive you to close your business. You can decide to do a survey to find out from your clients why they chose to leave your business. You can then source for new clients with your new information. You can also decide to find a strategy in which you can get back your lost customers by offering incentives or discounts for them. The point here is not to give up and stop working. Just keep moving, keep working and find more efficient and positive ways to keep doing business.

In whatever you’re doing how do you stay motivated? Feel free to share below. Use the comment box

5 Marketing lessons to learn from Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

2015-09-08T02:44:00.002-07:00

MI: Rogue nation is the 5th movie in the Tom Cruise series. It cost about $150 million to make and as of August 29 has grossed $445.6 million. Did I also mention that it opens in China on September 8? This ensures that this movies’ ROI train is still very much in motion.

Apart from its entertainment value, I also came across a few lessons that your marketing efforts could benefit from. Not to worry, I won’t reveal anything that will spoil the movie experience for you. This is spoiler free territory

An interesting and engaging story can refresh an aging brand -the original Mission: Impossible was a TV series created in the 1960s; it was then rebooted in the 90′s leveraging Tom Cruise’s star power. Almost 20 years later the franchise is still enjoying relevance in popular culture and turnover at the box office. In fact, the story in this particular one is so interesting that you forget to realize that a man of Tom Cruise’s age (53) shouldn’t be doing those kinds of stunts.

An example of how this applies to marketing is the case of Old Spice. The Old Spice brand was suffering in sales in the early 2000s because it was seen as an ancient relic that only people’s Grandfathers used, but thanks to the Man your man could smell like campaign(link found below), their products saw a new lease of life.

A good brand story needs a villain - in my opinion, this movie had a very intimidating villain who seemed to anticipate the heroes’ every move. What made the story “sweet” was that our protagonists had to dig deep to defeat the bad guy. If a brand can introduce this dynamic into their narrative, it makes the story even more engaging. In telling a brand story, the product/story needs to be positioned as the hero whiles the need/problem as the villain. This “good versus evil” conflict resolution is what makes for great storytelling. Every brand offers some service or product that fulfills some sort of need. Beats by Dre is empowering listeners to hear music the way the producer intended. Steve Jobs made good use of this in telling Apple’s story, case in point is the iconic Apple 1984 ad.

Position yourself so that other people tell your story – as implied in the lesson above, a hero is only as great as his adversary is. In this movie, the villain had created so much of a reputation that he hardly (if ever) spoke about himself. His actions and “minions” did his talking for him, instilling respect and fear within his ranks and in the minds of his enemies. For a brand to be successful, it needs to position itself in such a manner that the people in its ecosystem are talking about it. Great marketing should drive “talkability” among your users and non-users. A good example is the “I don port O” ad of 2013 (link at the bottom), whether you liked MTN or not you were definitely talking about them.

No great plan can be executed without a good team – As much as Tom Cruise was the hero of this movie, it was clearly established that he couldn’t have successfully executed the mission without the help of a good team. No matter how beautiful a vision or a plan is, it means nothing if the right hands are not there to bring it to life. From the creative agency to the suppliers, every marketing campaign is only as successful as the competent people who fit the pieces together.

Product placement should enhance the story – the opening credits for this movie should have been in this order: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, BMW, and then everyone else! This film received a generous spread of vehicles from the german automobile maker (even the motorbikes were all BMW) but thankfully not at the detriment of the plot. When most companies do product placement they just look for a place to shoehorn their product; not considering that viewers don’t care about your product/service they care about the movie’s plots/characters. Another good example of product placement in my opinion was Lekki Gardens in 30 days in Atlanta while a not so great example was The return of Jenifa. Find a creative way to make your product a part of the plot.

MI: Rogue Nation is an entertaining movie and I recommend you go see it. If you live in Nigeria, you can check www.tripican.com to see it at Cinema near you.

Written by:
Bolaji Iwayemi Team Lead, Consumer Business Marketing at Pagatech Limited.

5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make That Affect Business Growth

2015-09-08T02:33:00.001-07:00

Creating a seven-figure business might have been improbable 20 years ago, but as technology improves globally, there are more seven-figure earners than ever before. The total number of successful entrepreneur has increased exponentially over the last 10 years. With the technology, resources, mentorship, research, and information available it’s becoming easier than it has in the past.

Sadly, most still won’t reach the seven figure annual mark.

Why?

Learning is not the problem for most people, and lack of information surely isn’t the problem, as there is more than ever before. It is the lack of real awareness and consistent study of the right information, mixed with inconsistent execution and implementation that holds back most entrepreneurs.

You don’t just listen to something then remember it. You must put those ideas and strategies into consistent practice and repeat those actions until they are habitual and automatic. You must summarize the key ideas, sharpen your perspective, then take more intelligent action. There are many reasons why most won’t reach seven figures, but here are the top five…

Experiment over Perfection.

Seeking perfection has cost known entrepreneurs more than $100,000 the last couple of years. By the time, a successful entrepreneur has tried and tested eight different experiments without focusing on perfection; most people haven’t even gone to market yet. Maybe only two of their experiments worked and were deemed profitable. The point is they weren’t paralyzed by perfection, but were driven by testing.

Test all your crazy ideas. No matter how crazy they sound, try them out. Find out which ones work, then optimize how effective they are. Test all variations of that idea. Find out which variation works best. Ideas are nothing until executed and proven.

Few thoroughly think things through.

“The more you sweat in peace the less you bleed in war”

One of the biggest missed opportunities for entrepreneurs is not preparing for, or pre-determining what, they want. Truly productive people know the result they are after and maintain acute clarity on it. Armed with this awareness, they reverse engineer this big goal into a series of small and actionable steps that they then put into a one or two page plan of execution. Strategically thinking through your future will prevent mistakes, while increasing your ability to predict. When you are intentional in all you do, you mitigate against risk and can make more educated decisions.

Plan your long-term strategies before you plan your tactics. Strategy shows where you plan on going, who you want to be, and what types of clients you want to attract. Tactics show how to get all of your strategy accomplished. You don’t have a real strategy if it doesn’t pass these two tests: that what you’re planning to do really matters to your existing and potential customers; and second, it differentiates you from your competition.

Intelligent delegation.

Getting others to do something as well or better than yourself is one of the hardest aspects of leadership, but necessary if you’re going to grow the business past the six-figure mark. Before you strategically delegate and build a team, you must understand who you are, and what’s most important to you. Once you determine your most important values, put them into writing and operationalize them into company standards. Consistently systemize and internalize those values.

Your team must be value based. If somebody can do something 80 percent as well as you, they should be doing it. When you delegate a task, make sure the person you’ve hired has clear and defined roles. Most entrepreneurs hire very fast, but fire very slow. It should be the opposite. Hire slow, fire fast.

Making the wrong trade decisions.

Successful entrepreneurs realize they will never become wealthy trading time for money. It is okay for a while when you start, but at some point you have to focus on scaling and leverage. You’re fighting an uphill battle if you’re trying to make seven figures trading time for money. You won’t get to seven figures only doing more of made you six figures.

Focus on the power of leverage and how to create consistent income without trading time for money. There are many possibilities — investment properties, membership sites, angel investing, building an online empire, partnerships, affiliate marketing, different types of programs, etc. Take some time to really analyze if you’re maximizing your time. If you are trading time for money, make 100 percent sure, it’s an intelligent trade. If you want to make more money, become more valuable. It’s as simple as that. Entrepreneurs who understand the power of leveraging and scaling their businesses become successful entrepreneurs by bringing more value to the marketplace than their competitors.

Many are ego-focused instead of being customer centric.

“How do we decide what’s really important to work on? I like to call it the ‘toothbrush test’: do our customers use it as often as you use your toothbrush? I guess that’s twice a day. We use Gmail and YouTube much more than twice a day. Those things are amazing.” — Larry Page, CEO Google

People care about what your business can do for them. Most entrepreneurs try to sell their experience and expertise. They believe that people want to pay them for what they know, but people don’t. They want to buy a solution or outcome to their problems and desires. They want results. They want to solve their problem and reduce whatever suffering they are going through. They don’t care about you.

Do you really understand at a deep level what your customers want? Those at the seven-figure mark have a monomaniacal focus on this. You must realize that the likelihood of the marketplace responding because you want something is non-existent. It’s about them, not you. Your customers are marketing geniuses, so make sure you do your due diligence. Find ways to survey them, or talk to them about their needs, wants, desires, passions, concerns etc. Customers want a fun and personal journey through all points of engagement. Do you deliver?

I’ve had several opportunities to get inside the minds of the richest people on the planet. There are timeless lessons we can learn from. A simple statement, quote or perspective shift can change the game for you. Become aware of what is holding you back from elevating your business to the next level. Adjust your thinking, actions, and strategy in accordance to your new vision.

Lastly, execute flawlessly on tactics above and make sure you’re in it for the long haul. I’m confident that by doing these things you’ll soon see your prospects for a seven-figure business become clearer than they ever have.

Enterprise54