Linkedin for personal branding

Unlock Your Online Presence: Leveraging LinkedIn to Boost Your Personal Branding

by with No Comment CareerCoachingResources

In today’s digital age, building a strong personal brand is more important than ever. And one platform that stands out for professionals looking to enhance their online presence is LinkedIn. With over 774 million members in over 200 countries, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, making it an ideal platform to build a personal brand and expand your professional network.

 

Why Use LinkedIn as Part of Your Personal Branding Strategy?

Using LinkedIn as part of your personal branding strategy has numerous benefits, some of which will be highlighted here.

First and foremost, LinkedIn provides a professional platform where you can showcase your expertise, accomplishments, and experience. It enables you to create a robust online presence that showcases your professional strengths and abilities to potential clients, employers, or investors.

Secondly, LinkedIn offers unparalleled networking opportunities, allowing you to connect with industry leaders, peers, and potential customers. By building relationships with other professionals in your industry, you can gain valuable insights, collaborate on projects, and expand your network.

Finally, LinkedIn has proven to be an effective platform for lead generation, job hunting, and investor pitching. With the right strategy, LinkedIn can help you achieve your professional goals and drive success in your career.

As we have stated the importance of integrating LinkedIn into your brand strategy, is not just enough to create content to effectively utilize LinkedIn you need to build a content strategy.

 

5 Ways LinkedIn Can Help Build a Personal Branding Strategy

Simply having a LinkedIn profile is not enough to stand out in the crowd. Here are five key features on LinkedIn that can help you build your personal brand:

Profile Optimization

Your LinkedIn profile is the cornerstone of your personal brand. A well-optimized profile can help you stand out from the crowd and attract the right people. To optimize your profile, ensure that it is complete, accurate, and up-to-date. Use a professional headshot and include a compelling headline that reflects your professional identity.

Your summary should showcase your expertise and provide an overview of your career. Don’t forget to include your accomplishments, education, and professional experience. Finally, optimize your profile with keywords relevant to your industry, which can help you show up in LinkedIn searches.

Content Creation

Content creation is a powerful tool for building your personal brand on LinkedIn. By sharing insights, expertise, and industry news, you can establish yourself as a thought leader in your field. Posting high-quality content consistently can help you build a following and expand your reach on LinkedIn.

Ensure that your content is relevant, informative, and engaging. Use multimedia such as images and videos to make your content more appealing.

LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn Groups are a great way to connect with like-minded professionals in your industry. Joining and participating in relevant groups can help you expand your network and gain valuable insights.

By contributing to group discussions, you can showcase your expertise, learn from others, and build relationships with other members. You can also create your own group, which can be an effective way to establish yourself as a thought leader in your field.

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning is a great resource for professionals looking to improve their skills and stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends. With over 16,000 courses available, LinkedIn Learning covers a wide range of topics, from leadership to digital marketing.

Taking courses on LinkedIn Learning can help you acquire new skills, boost your confidence, and stay ahead of the competition.

LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn Ads can be an effective way to increase your reach and build your personal brand on LinkedIn. By creating targeted ads, you can reach specific audiences, such as industry leaders, potential clients, or investors.

LinkedIn Ads also offer advanced targeting options, such as job title, industry, and company size, which can help you ensure that your ads are seen by the right people.

 

How to Maximize Your Return on Investment (ROI) Using LinkedIn

To maximize your return on investment (ROI) on using LinkedIn, there are a few key tips to keep in mind;

  1. Focus on building genuine relationships with your connections. This means engaging with their content, offering value through your own content, and seeking opportunities to connect on a deeper level.
  2. Leverage LinkedIn groups to expand your reach and connect with like-minded professionals. Join groups that align with your personal brand and participate actively to establish yourself as a thought leader in your field.
  3. Use LinkedIn Analytics to track your performance and gain insights into your audience’s engagement with your content.
  4. Invest in LinkedIn Premium to access advanced search features, expanded messaging capabilities, and additional insights about your network. This can help you to connect with investors or venture capitalists, pitch your ideas or businesses, and land the job of your dreams.

By following these tips, you can turn your LinkedIn connections into valuable investments and build a professional network that will be your net worth.

I invite you to connect with me on Linkedin where I share resources and insights on startups, venture capitalists, and digital innovation in Africa. Additionally, I welcome direct messages on my personal blog, so please feel free to reach out to me there as well

“I would like to invite you to connect with me on LinkedIn where I share valuable resources and insights on startups, venture capitalists, and digital innovation in Africa. Additionally, I welcome direct messages on my personal blog, so please feel free to reach out to me there as well.

Free software for startups in 2023

The best free software for Startups and Entrepreneurs in 2023

by with No Comment BUSINESSResourcesStartups

The journey of an early-stage startup, MSME or SME can be very difficult and requires doggedness to manage the adventure. It takes a combination of dedication, hard work, and free software for startups to turn an early-stage startup into a thriving enterprise.

One key to success is effective management, which is where the right tools and software can make all the difference. In this article, we will highlight four areas where the right software can help small business owners streamline operations, increase efficiency, and free up time and energy to focus on other key areas of the business. Whether you are just starting out or looking to take your company to the next level, here are some of the best free software for startups in 2023.

 

Customer Relationship Management(CRM) Software

Customer relationship management (CRM) tools help businesses and startups retain customers, which is a key factor in determining and defining growth (what’s a startup with no customer?). It is one of the most relevant tools to a business’s growth because it helps to accomplish much with customers and clients while managing their relationships. 

Every startup needs a CRM to provide that required seamless customer experience. Without a CRM software you are losing 85% of converting customers into long-term customers. 

What features should you look out for in a CRM software

  • Dashboard and report 
  • Marketing automation 
  • Email integration 
  • Sales pipeline management 
  • Lead management

Here are some of the free CRM software for startups;

  • Zoho is a good choice for CRM software as it allows for seamless integration with other applications. It has a fully customizable user interface based on preferences; you can add features such as reporting tools, emails, etc. The software offers a startup-friendly free plan which supports up to three users. Zoho is a budget-friendly, and among the best free tools for startups online
  • Hubspot comes with a free forever plan and tiered pricing plans which are highly scalable. It has flexible pricing plans that allow you to purchase these tools individually or stack them together for an all-in-one CRM solution. Hubspot has many helpful tools for startup teams and it is the overall best option.

 

Project Management Software

As a startup in its early stage, you might have multiple projects to handle with small manpower to oversee the project. online project management tools allow you to stay in charge, collaborate with the team, assign a task, and manage project timelines.

The tool to choose will depend on the needs of the team and how easily it can be customized. Here are some of the free software for startups;

  • Trello is an online project management tool that gives a visualization of projects being managed. It doesn’t offer much flexibility in assigning tasks. It has a free plan and the paid plan starts from $5 which is cost-effective for startups.
  • ClickUp is another good software that allows you to manage teams and tasks, set priorities, and communicate all in one space.
  • Asana is a good online project tool with more customization features. It is suitable for small teams and has a feature that permits subtasks to individuals, and tracking of the task. Asana offers a free plan and its paid plan starts from $10/month. 

 

Finance Management Software

You might wonder if using financial software has any benefit. But if you plan to scale or move to the growth stage your accounting has got to be straight. It’s important to digitize your accounting processes as it helps effectively manage accounting records, reduce errors, 

Financial management software gives startup owners and managers faster access to better insights about payables, receivables, fixed assets, and other key financial data points. Some finance management tools to try; 

  • QuickBooks is a comprehensive financial management tool with powerful features tailored toward small and medium businesses and startups. It helps you with bank reconciliation, invoices, tracking expenses, payroll, and advanced reporting. They offer both cloud and on-premise solutions, and it has a flexible payment plan starting from $10/month.
  • Xero and Zoho Finance is a professional finance tool that lets businesses manage invoices, track expenses, and report. They also have user-friendly dashboards which don’t have much accounting expertise.

 

Cybersecurity Software.

Cybersecurity is critical for business, with the increase in online theft, pushing, and hacking employers will want to take security measures that protect employees who use email, your business’s applications, websites, or endpoints. There are various types of cybersecurity solutions for SMBs and startups. Using the right security hardware or software will empower your business to maximize its potential without sacrificing safety.

  • Antivirus software for ransomware attacks
  • Endpoint Protection protection of hardware connected to the network 
  • Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) keep your web-based applications protected from hackers that want to steal your information 
  • Cloud-based security 

The two most important factors for entrepreneurs and early-stage startups that are cash-strapped are affordability and scalability when it comes to using free software for startups. It’s also okay to migrate from one software to another when the time to scale comes but ensure you choose a software that meets your present needs and aligns with your future business goals so that transitioning is seamless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

contact page - cfagbata

How to Create A Contact Page that Generates Leads

by with One Comment Resources

Building up a site with great content, attractive design, promoting it and ultimately converting it into revenue is what we all want.

But have you ever looked at your site from the user perspective?

Or created a site that gives precise information for better engagements? You might say yes to all such questions.

Now, another series of important questions arise:

If you have given ample time to create your contact page? Will you be able to generate leads with that contact page?

And the answer is yes, for both questions. But why will we spend our energy and time to create a better contact page.

Let us look at the reason for it first:

Why should we give priority to create the “Contact” page?

People randomly visit your site and chances are, they might feel it is boring to read the full description, hence closing it, within a few seconds.

In that case, your contact page will work perfectly, where they can write about what they are looking for and connect you directly.

Information gathered by the cookies are not enough to convert your business into revenue, as you don’t know about the personal information of users and connect with them.

In that case, you need to make them fill your contact page.

You can, also, include a contact page as your landing page in your social media account.

That will surely increase your success by 50%.

Let’s see some benefits of creating a contact page that generates lead:

Place your contact page to the right place

Is it right to place your contact page, right before the description? Or it should be placed at the bottom of the page?

Or a separate page should be assigned for it? You might be confused, while thinking about the placement of the contact page on your site.

The best answer, therefore, depends on the content of your site.

Yes, don’t go with a single directive and analyze the results you actually want for your site.

You can create a dedicated page or place the contact page in the “About Us” column.

You can, also include it in the sidebar, if you are a content marketing-based organization, for catching the attention of the audience.

Ask for Minimum and right information

You can increase the conversion rate to 120% while asking for minimum information from the readers, while they will fill the form.

Nobody wants to fill more personal information to a random site they are visiting.

Try, therefore, to create a short length page, with minimum fields to fill.

There is no use in asking about their goals in life, pet names, etc., so, just stick to asking the name, email and exact query they want to ask from you.

Here’s an example of a contact page created by a famous digital marketing site SEMrush.

 

For giving a demo to the user, SEMrush is just asking for your name, your company name and size followed by email information on the next page.

Since a dedicated page is created to contact you, it is well organized along with asking for the exact information for better performance.

Include your social media contact

With no doubt, it is an era of social media, where any updates in the world are given in social media first, rather than telecasting it on television.

This fact tells us that audiences are more active in social media than anywhere else, which makes it a priority for advertisements.

So, why not include all your famous social media addresses in the contact us page itself.

Adding social media profiles, will give leverage to the users to contact you, where they are more comfortable, as they find it more exciting and affinitive.

Think smart and do the best possible for your business.

Come up with smart action call

We have usually seen the “Submit” and “Done” option, after filling a form.

These buttons seem to be okay, when we genuinely want the information from the developers, but what if we are just surfing a site and want some information?

At that time, you can add ending buttons, with the title like “Go for it”, “High Five” or “Send your message”, to encourage the user for better results.

The idea may sound normal for those who created the site, but from the point of view of the reader.

It may come up as another reason to contact you, as it means you are always ready to help your customers with high energy.

Cross-check your form well and give confirmation to user

Your first fault is to ignore the contact us page design and place it at the right place and the next one is to test it well, after the final placement on the site.

Everything is going well, right from the start, from high-quality content, eye-catching and smooth design, to perfect execution, but you are not receiving any messages or notification for your site.

Your first step will surely be to cross-check all the technical error possibilities and check if everything is fine but, in the end, you will find a small error in contact page code.

As a whole, thus, you have wasted a lot of time and energy in the search process, rather than testing the contact page in the beginning.

So, give priority to test the page too and connect easily to users, for better performance.

After reading this information, I guess you are convinced by the idea that a contact page can, also, generate leads.

And that too, in an unbelievable manner, so, before updating anything on your website, just try these easy tips to get better conversions and hence, more revenue.

About the Author

Maria Kingston is a content writer of Search Engine Marketing, a digital marketing company that offers professional SEO and internet marketing solutions worldwide

leadership - cfagbata

The concept of Leadership is about Team Inspiration

by with No Comment Resources

It is the explicit role of leaders, to keep on showing appreciation while asking for feedback from their team, or followers.

The success of your organisation is much dependent on your ability to hold communication with your team members.

Having that ability to rightly communicate with your team can, surely, prove inspiring to your employee.

Also read, Bad Leadership Is A Pitfall; Do Not Ignore The Signs

Providing them the drive to energise their morale, to be committed and effective at work.

Having knowledge of the right kind of words, however, does not sometimes come that easy.

I would be sharing some important leadership concepts things that leaders ought to voice out to their team members, to help them stay on track.

Knowing what to say, to trigger this kind of response is, however, not always easy.

Allowing shared thought

Leaders are good speakers but they are, also, meant to be great listeners.

Often times, leaders talk too much and they do not care to listen to voices that appear lower than their position.

With this type of approach, the leader creates a damaging culture around the team and this would not mean well for the business, in the long run.

Leaders should rather, make available a safe atmosphere for their team to encourage them, so as not to hold back valuable opinions for the organisation.

As a continuous action, people in leadership positions ought to seek the thoughts and ideas of the team.

Appreciate your team

That little appreciation, which you consider not important, might just go a long way for your team members.

As a successful entrepreneur, looking back, you would realise that, you got some support from people around you and they really deserve to get that due appreciation.

When you show appreciation, you are telling your members that they are not just working for you, but with you.

Admit you don’t know

Some may consider this as a sign of weakness, but in reality, it is not.

This is just one of the best things you can do for your team.

This tend to bring a collaboration that leads to a quick solution to the challenge in question.

Your employees are empowered and they tend to be proactive because they saw your genuineness and they would not like the company to go down.

As a leader, you do not have to pretend that you are knowledgeable, when actually you do not have all the answers.

Improving on their performance

Asides showing appreciation to your team members after a job well done, as a leader it is in your position to show them that there is always room for improvement.

When you inflate their ego with your appreciation, make them also realise their shortcomings so that you keep everything balanced.

Ask them what can make their life easier

You can easily say to an employee, “thank you”, or provide necessary tools to make their job productive.

This appears good, but how often do you ask them about their other part of life.

Also read, Leadership Is Not All About Vision; These Things Will Make Your Team Thrive

Asking this question will make them open up to you and who knows, your advice or opinion might just be the solution they require for the challenge.

What are your employees’ interests?

People in leadership positions would need to be genuinely concerned about what motivates his, or her team members.

Getting to know their goals, shows that they are valued by the leader.

With this genuine concern, your team members feel a sense of empowerment and take the necessary steps to take the company to the next level.

Featured Image: inc42

Social distancing - cfagbata

Social Distancing Might be too Overwhelming for your Employees

by with No Comment Resources

Leading a team with effectiveness means that the leader possesses the ability to gain trust, with his or her followers, however, any slight form of barrier might spell a level of distrust.

Over the past few months, I have learnt that the pandemic has brought about some changes that are affecting the way we interact, especially, between leaders and their teams.

If your business is still permitted to open, consider the last time you had a face-to-face chat, with any of your employees.

You were likely maintaining some decent level of social distancing.

The absence of physical interactions, with your team is quite a barrier that you may not have considered.

Also read, Pandemic & Social Disatnacing: Psychological Effects & Remedies

It does matter, even, if you are leading your team, virtually, as long as that physical interaction does not exist.

The question now is, how will leaders improve, or maintain trust levels, with their team, despite the challenge of no physical interaction.

Recognising them personally

Remember the last time you got a gift that made you felt someone or some group of people appreciated your effort.

The idea, behind sending a message, or a token of gratitude is not something new and even, with that, it is not a common strategy employed, by many leaders, on their team members.

In times like these, therefore, when barriers have been created physically and perhaps mentally.

It is quite necessary that leaders take time out, to look for new ways of creating trust between themselves and their employees.

Trying to demonstrate appreciation is part of it anyway, however, maintaining some level of trust and engagement is essential as well.

Personalized appreciation

You might be having periodic virtual meetings, and feel that these interactions are quite well enough, to help your communication.

True, it may be, however, you can only build little trusts, through this experience.

Not until you begin to engage with your team on “personalized experiences” that you will observe some changes, in communication with your team.

Starting with something, as simple as sending a phone text, or WhatsApp message to them, for a job well done, might just suffice.

Employees appreciate this a lot, as it creates a sense of trust they have in you.

Check out the individual

As a leader, you could begin by considering the individual team members.

What do you really appreciate about them?

Looking into this, you might want to consider a different way of appreciating them, in a personalized way.

You could go as far as appreciating them in the midst of a meeting, such that other team members will be aware of such, hence, motivate them to put in their own extra effort too.

Are there any other effects of social distancing you know, let us know in the comment section.

Featured Image: snacknation

COVID-19 - Cfagbata

Covid-19: Thoughts for Investors During the Pandemic

by with No Comment Resources

Owing to the present situation of things, around the COVID-19 virus, it is, highly, necessary for entrepreneurs, to keep the focus, on their current ventures, so as to keep a sustained growth of their business.

In this present lockdown caused by COVID-19, you do not have to go to hibernation. Explore these means, of keeping yourself busy;

The first investor in your business is you

In all these things, remember that, you are the first investor, in your business. Let me put it this way; when you commence a business, you throw in all you have got, in it, time and cash.

That is a form of investment and not, necessarily, external funds coming in.

Sometimes, you just have to take a step backward, from your position, as a Founder and examine the resources and time you have invested.

Look at all possible expectations and timelines, while you decide on what milestones you want to achieve.

You should not, also, not forget that, you have to consider what might happen, if you do not get to achieve your intentions.

By setting a target, you would know the importance of staying on track, thus, keeping a measure of your success rate.

Do not trust anyone who does not embrace failure

You cannot learn valuable lessons from an incomplete story. This means getting to know of success story while learning from the failures that accompanied the success.

Stories of failure, are essential, to achieving success, as mistakes are essential ingredients to success.

An individual, trying to cover up what mistakes were made along the route to success is definitely, leaving out parts of his/her investment journey that would prove useful, for others to learn from.

Coming across an obstacle, you may decide to quit, but not until you have learnt that, it is a normal part of an investment journey.

At a point, you may, even, run out of cash, acquire customers at a slower rate, than you expected, etc.

Never despair, as all these, are part of the process and surely, you would get through it all

The best way you can get through to this is, by giving a listening ear, to those, who have walked that path before.

They did it wrong because it cannot be done

You may have heard this around you:” Trust us, no one is doing this!”

It is important to differentiate between people, trying to execute similar ideas and failing at it, while the timing and market are not just feasible for the product and service.

Consider the scenario, of an entrepreneur, in the solar energy market, who required that, solar panels become sufficiently cheap, to allow strings of ventures open opportunities and more lucrative.

As a business owner, just note that, not many people got it right, initially. You should, also, note that, some things are, just not achievable, no matter how much you try.

Have strong beliefs; be flexible anyways

Having a conviction for what you strongly belief in, is good, as an entrepreneur, however, it is good to be open to possibilities and realisation that, all, or, some of your treasured beliefs, might just be wrong.

You do not have to go down with the ship, by ignorantly, holding on, to your views, which might end up, eventually, being wrong.

Be prepared to make a shift in position, based on outright, facts that surpasses your conviction.

Do not build a business, affected by, or, around current situations, for the long haul

Understand the factors that can affect your business because you would prefer that, many of the parameters, may be out of your control.

When you have a business that is, constantly affected by changes in the economy, or, politics, then, such a business is not, quite sustainable.

Do not be a victim of the present circumstance.

This pandemic is, making people to ask questions, such as; how do we survive? How do we avoid being a victim the next time another pandemic, probably, hits?

Be flexible and build goodwill, with stakeholders, to stand tall, in times of this COVID-19 pandemic.

Featured Image: parismou.org

leadership - cfagbata

Leadership is Not all About Vision; These Things Will Make your Team Thrive

by with No Comment Resources

The idea of leadership is, all about vision; a vision that carries all members of the organisation along.

It shows a picture of common shared values and elements that, motivate the team members, in pushing forward, however, what would drive your team is, just beyond your vision.

Irrespective of the structure of the organisation, here are four things that, good leaders should give their followers, beyond the scope of vision.

Resources

The success in leadership is the success of the followers. A leader should set up, in a way, such that, the team has what it takes, to be successful.

There must be a deliberate attempt, to drive expectations, for delivery.

Resources can include, time and people need to facilitate what is required.

As a leader, if all indications show that, this is, what your team needs, then, you need to figure out a way, to get them for your team.

Accountability

One of the ways, a leader can be responsible for his/her team is, to hold them accountable, for what is expected.

If the team members fail in getting this done, the onus lies on the leader, to correct and teach the team, what to do.

Also read, Improve Your Leadership With These Tips; Avoid The Tag of Bad Boss

It is not, necessarily, about discipline, but rather, the habit of making your team members, give an account of their daily, or, weekly job expectations.

This will keep them informed, of what they need to do, to brace up if probably, they are lagging.

The concept of good leadership do not just hold teams for accountability; they, also, must be on the same side of the divide, by being accountable to their followers.

Expectations

You have an employee that, you know has potentials, but he/she keeps on failing. Have you taken the time, to ask why?

You might just, be the reason for the failure. Probably, somewhere in your mind, you have an expectation, but you never spelled it out.

Also read, Bad Leadership Is A Pitfall; Do Not Ignore The Signs

A good leader will take it as a responsibility, to make things clear, to the team members.

You do not have to leave them in the dark. Do not let them assume. State it out for them.

Make your communication better. It is up to you, to make sure that, your team understands what is required of them, to deliver the best of results.

An Advocate

Team members want to know that, their leader is, always, there for them. You have to be their advocate, at all times.

As a team leader, your work is, to make sure that, the team can bank on you, even, when you ask them to do what they would not execute, on their own.

Featured Image: mbanews.com.au

Networking events - cfagbata

Having Difficulties In Introducing Yourself At A Networking Event? Follow These Steps

by with No Comment Resources

Relate your story with all manner of sincerity, make it compelling to, both your listener and yourself.

Getting to meet new people, at any formal networking event, earns you, the opportunity of making new leads and referrals, for your business.

You could, easily, make out potential customers, investors and business partners, from them, however, converting strangers, into a working business asset, starts with how you, simply, answer this four phrase question: ‘Tell me about yourself’.

If your answer indicates common values and vision, then, be rest assured that, the stranger will, in no time, turn to become your friend.

Also read, Networking Successfully At Events

The best way to give a response, to a, “Tell me about yourself” question is, to relay a short simple story.

Craft a well captured motivational story that, can summarise why you love your present work, in a matter of 2 minutes.

Below, are ways, tailored to crafting motivational stories, for effective conversation:

Proper Structured Story

What makes up an effective compelling story that can captivate the listener?

It must contain the following;

  • Opening: This part, describes your identity, as a professional.
  • Challenge: This shows how you have solved new challenges, in the past.
  • Sources of skill: How your academic experience and projects, in your field have enhanced you, in building skills, for professional development.
  • Closing: Pick out your listener’s, most essential business goal and demonstrate how your expertise, can assist in realising his, or, her set goal.

How do you craft a compelling storyline, with the mentioned elements?

Ask yourself the following questions:

  • What caught your interest, in your profession?
  • What fieldwork, made you develop the skill that, led to you, excelling?
  • What key principles, have you discovered, based on your experience?
  • Does collaboration, with you, makes your potential customer, or, investor, better off?
Delivery

The way you deliver your storyline determines how well you can engage potential customers.

When you ask your questions, listen carefully, to their responses. Do not cut them off, unreasonably.

Try not to look away, but, rightfully, convey your message, with some sparks of emotion.

Employ the use of light humour, to win over your potential, customer, or, investor.

Compelling Authenticity

Forget the idea of overblowing your worth as, you may appear to your listener, as lacking respect and self-confidence.

Rather, state the activities that, has motivated you and likewise, be bold enough, to mention the challenges that dampened your motivation.

Once you have got all these in the bag, do mind, practicing it, with your people, to get their feedback, before you execute them, in a real networking event.

Creating a network of people, who have a shared vision with you, will certainly, put you, on a path of success.

Featured Image: expovisie.ni

Disruption - cfagbata

This Is What Disruption Looks Like; Your Thought Might Have Been Wrong

by with No Comment Resources

Disruption, does not just re-shape your organisation, it, also, changes the dynamics that, run the company.

One of the biggest obsessions of founders, as they prepare to meet investors is, trying to figure out, how the industry will be disrupted, as it is, a means of devising a business plan and ways of better communicating your industry.

I would be sharing some business stories that have caused the successful transformation, as well as, busting some myths that have distorted our thinking, of what disruption is like.

Here are some of the myths that, you can look into again, to be sure, of what you have always thought disruption was, before now:

Disruption reshapes the dynamics of an organisation

Disruption can be quite challenging, all because, it requires, complete dedication, to try thinking outside the box. Pretty much true, however, that’s not the only reason.

Becoming a person that disrupts, can be quite difficult.

As stated earlier, disruption does no,t just reshape your industry, it, also, fine-tunes the dynamics, around your organisation.

No matter the level of commitment made to disruption, leaders and followers, as well, ought to get scared, of the reshaping what disruption does.

What disruption does, is to change the status quo.

Considering that, a disruptive process is safe, it, rather, makes more sense that, the organisation struggles, to follow on the changes occurring when an organisation decides to accept disruption.

Company executives may have to close more partnership deals, with one another, while sharing more information, on a regular basis.

For instance, a team that always makes its report, to a department head, would have to reshape the dynamics and report to leaders, from different departments.

These changes are greatly unsettling, not from a business model point alone, but also, from the psychological angle. This is where the disruption comes from.

It requires a fearless look into the future

Concerning the traditional method of running an organisation, leaders have the habit, of looking back, as they often make decisions, from the past that have, actually, work to take effect, on the present.

No doubt that this is a common human feature, as it is essential, for survival, however, it is not the right way to go about making explosive growth, for the organisation.

In order to be disruptive, organisations ought to look into the future, without much fear, in the process, designing products and creating services, for customers in the future.

The customers you know today, appears good for your business, so, why drop them off, for another set of customers, when you are not, even, sure of the new customers you are hoping to bring on board, actually, exist? It is, rather, safe to stay with the ones you, already, know.

It would be a, rather, fearless and bold step to pursue customers for the future because, you will give up that process and structure that has always run, in your favour, thus, forcing you to explore new directions.

Trying to create for the future, rather, for the present, means that, you are willing to fail.

Organisations must establish culture that develops disruptive growth

For most organisations, culture is a key factor, when it comes to getting a hand on disruption that translates to explosive growth.

Asides from showing a willingness to embrace disruption, leaders of organisations must, also, try in nurturing a work environment that encourages change.

Leaders, therefore, have to create a process, in an organisation, that will keep all staff members, heading towards the same goal.

Having to be part of a process, helps to keep up people, in finding ways, to maneuver their way, over challenges.

Becoming a part of a process, bigger than you, will make you focus, on achieving shared goals, rather than pursuing personal gains.

Featured Image: Kennedyfitch

Leadership tips - cfagbata

Leadership tips for successful business in 2020

by with No Comment BUSINESSResources

This year, great leaders are, already prepping up, or, rather, readjusting their strategies, to drive their success.

The beginning of this new decade is the time for leaders, in the business circle, to brace up, to enable them to formulate approaches that will be tailored, towards success.

An average leader knows that the drive for success is, established from within.

Starting 2020, on a high note, means that, business executives, should be ready, to readjust, for bigger achievements.

I am going to share five thoughts on leadership tips to adjust your strategies, to drive your business success, in 2020.

Quick recovery from failure

Consider all the time you have taken upon yourself, challenges and probably, you have fallen short of what you expected.

What has happened to you is, nothing from the blues and it is, quite alright, however, what is quite wrong is, allowing the temporary setback, to cause a lockdown on you.

That should not be a defining factor for you at all. In short, getting to move ahead, as soon as, possible is, essential to success.

Also read, 3 Tips That Will keep A business From Failing

Change the hierarchy

Great leaders quite understand that, they work for people and not otherwise, as one may think.

When roles are reversed, it allows a robust development on a culture-based service.

This will, eventually, make a long-lasting and impressive impact, on the success of an organisation.

It is natural that, leaders recognize that, they are on top of the value chain, however, they should desist from an intentional display that, they are way above all.

Also read, Running Your Business Through Effective Leadership

You must understand that your organisation is, dependent on a team, having special skills and coming from different backgrounds.

Realise that, they have all come together, to bring into fruition, your company’s aims and objectives, as well as, keying into your vision and mission.

Serving your people and recognising their added values can help foster a culture that inspires success, for business.

Do not be neutral on social issues

In this new decade, it would be advisable for businesses, to embrace a high level of equality and ethics. These are some of the things that, your customers would, most likely, watch out for.

As a business executive, or, leader, you should ensure that, your organization is, adapting to changes, in social norms.

Do an audit on your policies; ask for feedback, from both your internal and external sources. This will give you a clue, as to whether your company is focused, on this issue, or, not.

Direction and guidance

Over the years, leaders have been urged, to serve as spotlights, to their followers, during challenging times.

This will help to drive the team, for onward success.

Leaders are not the ones, blazing the trail, but rather, they are the ones providing direction and guidance for the team.

Your presence is there, to encourage your team, in driving them, to put in their best and add value, to the tasks assigned to them.

Be profit-driven

A good number of entrepreneurs have their focus on revenue, without focusing on profit.

Some questions you must, continuously, ask yourself, is that; is my business, really, worth pushing forward, if my revenue is an xxx amount, while my profit is xx amount? Is it sustainable?

If you invest in your employees’, it would be a win-win situation for you, as a leader.

It will shoot up their morale and in return, create a great environment, for them, to perform optimally.

An organisation has to retain more money for team investment and its general business.

When your employees have an enabling environment, you have opened a gateway of valuable opportunities, for your business.

Are there other leadership tips you know, let us know in the comment section below.

Featured Image: everthing-pr

 

large companies - cfagbata

How To Convince Large Companies To Work With Your Start-up

by with No Comment Resources

As the new year 2020 approaches with its lots of possibilities and opportunities, now is a perfect time, to start making your start-up attractive, for larger companies to partner with.

Partech Africa, a Venture Capital firm reports that, 146 start-ups, in 19 African countries, raised $1.16 billion, for African digital entrepreneurs, in 2018.

Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya received 78% of the total funding, followed, closely, by Egypt.

The tech ecosystem is, very big, with multiple industries that will, only, grow through well tailor-made partnerships and collaborations.

Irrespective of how you build your start-up to be self-sufficient, there is still the underlying need, to strike collaborations and partnerships, as only through this, will your start-up grow.

“The biggest mistake that, small companies make is that, they don’t do enough homework; they think more, from the small business point of view, as opposed to thinking, from the large business point of view.” – Brant Slade, Co-author of Think BIG.

Your start-up, offers a solution, but then, how do you convince large companies that, partnering with you is, the best fit, that will, also, benefit them?

“If I want to grow big and do it quickly, the best way is, to work with the world’s biggest companies, as they can accelerate your cycle, much more quickly, than any other company can” stressed Tom Szaky, Founder TerraCycle.

Below are some steps, you can take to convince large companies, to work with your start-up:

Think Big

The very first step is, to condition your mind and start thinking big. You must see yourself and think like, a big brand, to partner with one.

Big brands set high targets and they do not think of small amounts.

They think in seven figures and in big numbers. You must key into this and start thinking this way.

Whatsoever proposal that, you are pushing forward, should be daring and convincing, with verified facts.

Sell Opportunities

Big companies are always on the lookout, for some attributes and opportunities, before they partner with a start-up.

A start-up should, clearly, analyze and state the long-term and short-term opportunities that are available – what is, actually, “in it” for the big organisations.

Sell them these opportunities and you would not have to convince them, that much.

Be Persistent

Immediately, you identify the big companies that align with the solution that you are providing, the next move is, to pursue, aggressively, and connect, with one of the workers there.

The worker may be one of the Executives, or, someone lower. Just connect. Be very persistent, in sending emails and phone calls, as this facilitates the ‘in-person, meetings.

You can, also, take it a bit further, by inviting one of the top decision-makers, in the organization, as a guest speaker to an event, organized by your start-up.

You Don’t Have To Pitch

Most start-ups, looking to partner, with big organizations, make the mistake of pitching, during their first contact, with a key decision-maker.

This move is, wrong and it may not give you what you want.

You must be strategic about all your move and think ten steps ahead.

Once you strike an in-person introduction, take your time and do not use it, as an opportunity, to suggest a partnership, with your company.

Let them enjoy talking to you, on a neutral level and they will be the ones to ask you, what you do and how they can partner with you.

Perfect Your Pitch

When it is time to pitch your idea, hit the nail on the head and do not give them false figures.

Sell your start-up to them and let them feel, as if they are in control.

Let them know that, partnering with your start-up to boost their revenue, exponentially.

Be Patient

Finally, relax and closely monitor what is happening, from afar.

Periodically, call up your contact in the organization and ask how things are going, on your proposal, instead of continuously bombarding the entire organization with unending calls and emails.

There is a high probability that, you may piss them off, to start rejecting your calls and emails.

Featured Image: tuchangemakers.tulane.edu

Startup Journey - cfagbata

The 5 Crucial Stages of a Successful Startup Journey

by with No Comment Resources

As a startup, you must have, at least, once found yourself in this, “Getting started”, mood, at your early execution stage.

However, you probably, found out that, for quite a long time, it appears, as if you are not making any headway as you, continuously, find yourself in a loop of confusion.

This appears to be a major challenge that startups are faced with, in the early years of their startup journey.

Moving from the idea stage to scaling, definitely, takes some deliberate steps.

Getting to identify the steps to take, to scale, on your startup journey is, highly crucial, for your entreprenurial success.

Not passing through the essential stages might just be the cause of failure, for many start-ups.

Problem Identification

Every idea that springs, from your mind, as an entrepreneur, has its basis, on a problem that, you must have identified.

At this very first stage, what you ought to bear in mind is, how to identify customers’ needs.

If you have conceived some very great ideas in mind, if they do not have the potentials of solving the needs of your potential customers, then, there is no point in coming up, with your product.

Customers will pay for what will solve their problems, not the great product that you have in mind.

The startups’ personal experience will make him, or her, easily, find ways, to relate with the ideal customer, for the intended product.

When a large group of potential buyers, continuously, show a need, then, it appears that you have scaled this first stage and you, already, have validation on your product.

At this very early stage of your entrepreneurial journey, ask yourself, these salient questions:

  • Do I know who my potential buyers are?
  • Do I know about the other products that, I am competing with?
  • Do my customers, need another product?
  • If I offer a better product, would they be willing to pay?
  • Getting answers to these questions would help you prepare for the next stage.
Ideas And Solution

At this stage, which involves the definition of your idea, there exists before you, a number of ideas, if you are, really, looking to make a difference, in the market.

No matter how small the opportunities before you may appear, if you have the right solution, it can, simply, turn into success for you, with the right strategy.

From the first stage, there are chances that, during the asking of questions, you already, have ideas for the solution you plan to build.

The answers you have gathered, have simply, served, as an idea-generating bank, for you to address the needs of your potential customers.

You are, therefore, saved from an unwarranted risk, of building a product that is not needed.

At this stage, coming up with a statement for your value proposition should be quite easy

Problem Fit

Mind you, the validations you got, from the answers to your questions, sometimes, might not just be enough.

Some aspects of the solution, might later, turn out invalid.

Startups have to know that, their initial plans, would not, always work, therefore, it will be ill-advised, to move quickly, into the product development stage.

What should be considered, as essential is, finding a solution that can fit, into the market, before you do actual product development.

In doing this, you will tend to offer an irresistible product, to your potential customers.

Prior to presenting your offer, you are required to have your product design and a value proposition that, puts you in a better position.

When people are committed, even, just by prepaying for your product, then, you have solved the issue of this problem fit stage.

Product Fit

Before this, you need to have obtained specific data on your customers.

This includes data, on the cost of acquisition, lifetime value and churn rate.

You can, only, get your hands on these data, after the launch and usage, of your product.

At this stage, you Make money, from new customers, coming on board.

Customer acquisition cost, goes down, which means that your customers are staying longer with you.

The longer they stay, the more money you make.

The signals this stage presents to you show that, as an entrepreneur, you need to think of getting out a product, that people need.

A product that they are not, just, needing, as they will, also, be willing to recommend you, to their family and friends.

Growth

At this final stage of your startup journey, what you should start thinking of, is growth.

By growth, you have increased your customer acquisition and new products in the market.

With growth, you are definitely going to be faced with new challenges.

To build a startup, your vision must be goal-oriented, with a step by step model, of how to scale the stages.

Don’t start by thinking about funding. Identification of the problem to solve is, a priority, you should hold onto.

Featured Image: inc42

start-ups - cfagbata

Insightful Statistics you need to Know about Start-ups

by with No Comment Resources

Over the years, the tech ecosystem has seen a global explosion of start-ups.

While it is quite good, to be excited, at the sights of start-ups springing up, especially, in this part of the world, we must not shy away, from the reality that, more than 70% of start-ups, eventually fail, due to what can best, be described, as an untimely scaling.

My findings, over the years, as a tech advocate and a hub Co-Founder, will assist emerging start-ups, in knowing the path, to launching and maintaining successful start-ups.

You can also read, Penetration of tech start-ups in Africa

Below are the key statistics, you need to know and try to emulate, in order to stay focused and succeed with your start-up:

  • Start-ups that got mentored, have the tendency to grow, three times faster and were able, to raise seed funding, seven times, more than those without mentors.

As a start-up entrepreneur, you are faced with, so many tasks that can be quite overwhelming.

With the assistance of the right mentors, start-up entrepreneurs can receive directional focus and have quality investment, in time.

With the connections and experience of these mentors, start-ups pathway to success, usually, enjoy high probability.

  • Start-ups, or, founders, usually, come to the realisation that their intellectual property, does not come, as a competitive advantage. A staggering figure, of more than 70%, often comes to realise this, later.

Whatever a product idea that you have, if not executed, would fade into history, no matter how innovative it appears to be, even, if you have it legalized, resting on your oars, will do you no good.

One cannot, totally, throw them off, as they are, highly essential, in the case of enterprise-focused start-ups.

These types of start-ups, often require high level of performance that demands technical input, however, they have their limitations, as stated earlier.

A CTO, nevertheless, can be of great help, to execute business opportunities, for your consumer-based products.

  • Start-up ventures, founded by teams that are non-technical, perform 31% better, than their counterparts, who run consumer-based products.

The validation of a business model, often takes long, maybe 2-3 times longer, than the period that they are expected to.

It takes longer to get an idea validated, especially, when it concerns start-ups’ ideation.

You need to do more listening and research work. No matter how unique your idea may appear to be, it is required that it is subjected, through a series of customer reviews and iterations, before your target market would embrace it.

  • 42% of innovations, experience failure, due to prolonged time for development. Investment in the wrong resource often leads to this.

As a founder, you save time, by investing in, testing the willingness, of your customer to pay, rather than keeping unnecessary focus, on improving the product.

Surprisingly, founders of failed start-ups, have a 20% probability, of succeeding in their subsequent enterprises.

A significant number of start-ups that end up failing might have seen failure indicators, before throwing in their weight of investment, but most times, they often ignore these indicators.

Failing and realising, simultaneously, often help the founder, to explore new directions that promise eventual success.

For investment purposes, only a small fraction of start-ups, are backed by ventures. A good number of them, are funded, through savings and family sources.

Ventures that pre-sell their products and services, usually, round up 40% to 50%, more leads and retain a high percentage of customers.

Finally, these insights give indications of an increased chance, of growing a profitable start-up.

Get around you, mentors and team members, with the ideation and skills required.

Test your ideas, to determine the indicators for failure and get around them, decisively, as soon as possible.

These would put you in a more advantageous position for growth.

Featured Image: blog.advisor.ik

business - cfagbata

3 Tips That Will Keep A Business From Failing

by with No Comment Resources

According to the statistics report on businesses that failed, which was released, by the Small Business Association, (SBN), “only 30% of new businesses fail, during the first two years of being open, 50% during the first five years and 66%, during the first 10. Only 25% makes it, to 15 years, or, more”.

It is a well-known fact that, sometimes, when a business fails, because the entrepreneur ran out of funds, surrounded him/herself, with the wrong team, low firepower, to battle competitors, wrong business model, low-quality products, ineffective customer relationship, bad location, etc.

By now, entrepreneurs should know that pushing that start-up, is not an easy task. It involves time, energy, close monitoring, research, networking and strong connections.

Sometimes, however, all the things stated above, may not be enough, to save a business, on the verge of collapse.

Failure is a prerequisite for great success. If you want to succeed faster, double your rate of failure.— Brian Tracy, from the book, “Great Little Book on Universal Laws of Success”

It is a constant war, out there, as most times, businesses are, often, on survival mode and it will take more than grits, to ensure that the business survives.

The good news, however, is that you can still steer that business of yours, to safety and ensure that, it survives its first 10 years.

Below are 3 tips that will ensure that a business is safe, from failing:

Understand The Market (Your Niche)

What really helped some of the top businesses in the world, to stay afloat, even, after 40 years is because, the Founders, absolutely, understood the market, in which they were operating.

Understanding how the market that you are operating in, goes a long way, in the survival of your business, as it entails you, having a niche, as well as, a brand that is very personal to you and you have been able, to maximize it.

Your niche and brand help to reduce competitors, as your products and services, become known for something that, others cannot give, or, are not giving, in the way that you would execute yours.

Research Your Market

As much as it is necessary that entrepreneurs must take risks, it is, also, advisable to take a calculated risk.

Having a random idea, about how the market you want to venture into, works, will only accelerate your failure if you do not carry out a well thought out research.

A well thought out research, gives you an edge, overall your potential competitors, as you will have a well-documented thought pattern, of your customers, in relation to your products and services.

Surround Yourself Motivated Talents

The third thing that will help you, to keep your business afloat is when you have motivated talents surrounding you.

When your workers are well motivated, they will go the extra mile, to see that the business keeps growing and even, if you are not around, to monitor some procedures, your workers will keep pushing the business ahead.

It is not easy, getting talents, but, when you get them, keep them motivated and they will work their socks off, just to see the business bloom.

You can also read, “Is your business losing money? Here are some possible causes and solutions”

Featured Image: opstart.ca

Capital - cfagbata

Raising The First Seed Capital for Your Startup

by with No Comment Resources

Most Entrepreneurs go to the wrong places first, in their quest to seek funds, for their businesses.

I have found myself coaching early-stage entrepreneurs on a couple of times.

What usually strikes my interest is the most frequent questions from the founders of these startup companies, “how can I best access the capital I need to get my first customers?”

The thing is that most start-up entrepreneurs need money, but where to start searching for it, might just be a rather daunting task.

Entrepreneurs, already, in the business journey may have more than one possible means of getting funded, but for an early-stage one, multiple options are not that available, when you intend raising seed fund.

Before considering other alternatives, you can explore, let’s consider some options you shouldn’t put on the table when sourcing for capital.

Venture Capitalists

Venture Capitalists are usually high-class funded investors, who catch interest in funding entrepreneurs, with a proven track record and demonstrating the potentials, of raking in very good numbers.

You should, therefore, be ready to pursue a Venture Capitalist source of funding, only, if you have had first-hand experience, of the qualities mentioned above and you have the potentials of a million-dollar market.

Venture Capitalists, seek companies, with potentials for explosive growth, so, your emerging start-up, might not be the venture they are likely to fund.

Private Equity

just in case you are not aware, Private Equity organisations, do not fancy funding early-stage businesses.

They, usually, prefer to pitch their tent, with companies having turn-around opportunities, especially, in the fintech sector.

Companies that have deep-rooted management teams and not your early-stage start-up that is, probably, yet to find a footstool.

Banks

If you are afraid of taking risks, the last place you would place your hope, for funding is the banks.

As a usual requirement, the bank will often demand collateral and your hard assets, to access loans from them.

Unless you have assets, like landed property, you are not guaranteed a loan, to raise your fund from the banks. Another thing is that banks, usually, do not pick an interest, in ventures, just starting out.

What you, therefore, need, are alternative sources of funding, to raise your capital, or, obtain seed funding, when you cannot look the way of Venture Capitalists, Private Equity, or, Banks.

Below are some of the alternative sources of funds that you can decide to first explore, before venturing into others:

Family And Friends

A lot of start-up entrepreneurs do overlook the path of their family and friends when seeking funds.

Before you go out there, to demonstrate the viability of your business to potential investors and platforms, in your quest to source capital, you need to, first, test your products and services, with your family and friends.

No matter what the case maybe, you have them to trust and they may just be the first set of people to lend a helping hand, by funding your start-up business.

Due to close relationship existing between you and your family members and friends, you might just be lucky to, easily, convince them to invest in your venture.

You may, however, have, to give up some equity to them.

This approach is a better alternative, to the three platforms that have been discussed above.

Most start-up entrepreneurs, often, find this pathway, too, a risky route to take, in the quest for a fund for running their businesses.

Risky, in the sense of failing their family and friends, thus, losing the factor of being trustworthy.

As much as this appears to be an obvious truth, it is also a risk, worth taking, if you want to have the benefit of a cheap source of funding.

Also read, should you accept a business loan from a family member

Angel Investor

In the absence of reliable family and friends that can guarantee your funding requirement, another alternative that, you can try out is, the Angel Investor Network.

They are, often, high-level executives or entrepreneurs, seeking opportunities, to invest in start-up companies, with good potentials.

Working with an angel investor guarantees that you got your hands, on diverse experiences and a large network, at your disposal.

Angel investors offer start-up entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their start-up ideas.

If your presentation is appealing to them, you might just have guaranteed yourself an investment offering.

Also read some local angel investors, operating in Africa.

All points of discussion, so, far centres on, leveraging your personal connection first, for capital funding, before exploring other options.

Investment - cfagbata

Surprised Nobody Has An Investment In Your Start-up? These Are The Possible Reasons

by with No Comment Resources

The simplest way to start a business is, usually, through boot-strapping, but not all businesses fall under the bootstrap category.

Going into boot-strapping, you already, assume that, you will bear the risk that comes with it.

If you, even, have the financial capacity, to kick-start and operate your start-up, by generating money, getting additional capital is, an essential option, to scale your business.

How do you go about convincing people, (Venture capitalist and Angel investors), that your start-up business is worth their investment?

You might have your focus, on the wrong metrics. Metrics are not sufficient enough, to tell the story of your start-up and its potentials for investment.

These wrong metrics, often get people to be impressed, but not the people you want to, actually, impress, who are your potential investors.

What will impress your target investors, are the operational metrics that indicate growth and profitability; this is the story that, interests investors.

Here are some of the examples:

Customer Acquisition Cost

In the last two weeks, you have acquired a few thousands of customers.

That appears great for a start-up, nevertheless, it does not tell the story of your start-up journey.

What would have made a great story, include factors like, customer lifetime revenue and their retention rate.

You may be adding new customers, at the speed of light, but that might come at a high cost when compared to the lifetime value of the customers.

“We landed a thousand new customers”, is a proud statement, for a business start-up, but beyond this exciting story of customer growth rate, an investor wants to know more, about your customer acquisition cost.

Number Of Users

Your start-up was launched, with an app and you feel excited, as your dashboard gave you a good number of downloads.

Beyond these numbers, are your users active with the app? Getting to download an app is, easy, but you need to give users, the reason why they need to be active on it.

Why design an app that, will soon get out of use? Users want an app that, solves their immediate problems, (purchases, transport, health), making their lives better.

This is the success story that, investors want to hear and not just the large number of downloads.

Customer Service Response

With their multi-channel approach, a number of businesses connect with customers, on their preferred platforms.

There is no doubt that a part of success in business is, great customer service.

Good customer service can, however, hide a basic problem, (identifying a problem that needs to be fixed), as customers with a bad experience, hardly return, no matter how convincing you may be.

A good business fixes problems, but a great business, looks for ways, to remove the problem in order to stop its re-occurrence.

You can have, a one-time customer, but having customers, who are ready to, repeatedly work with you, is a solid foundation, for a healthy business.

When you have customers that, are loyal, they prove the worth, of your business, as you deliver on your promise and fulfilling it. They spread the word on your business.

Investors, really, love that, you, as a start-up business owner, deliver on your words. Then you can get assured of an investment opportunity.

Content creation - cfagbata

5 Reasons Content Creation is Important

by with No Comment Resources

Hi Fellas! I am so sure you must have heard the term, ‘content creation’, so much, you are wondering what the rave is, about it.

From big brands to small brands, down to personal brands, everyone is talking about content.

Why? Well, this is because, the days of limited and unavailability of information, are gone.

Now, we have easy access to information online that, it now becomes a competition, of whose information is more appealing, visible and overall, can convert to sales for a business.

This, my friend, is where the importance of content creating, comes in.

Today, I will highlight 5 reasons below, why content creating, is important:

Build Connections
Credit: mqp.org

With content, brands are able to build genuine connections with their audience. How? By telling a valuable story.

Do not create content, just for the fun of it, but create it, with the needs of your audience in mind.

You can teach them about a particular topic, provide inspiration, or, entertainment.

By doing this, consistently, you gain the affection, trust and a strong connection, from your audience and in the bigger picture, you are able to convert this into sales.

Brand Recognition
Credit: factorydirectpromos

By creating regular content, you are building an image that defines your brand.

It is the sum, of all the content that you produce that makes you a brand.

When you beginning to do this intentionally, like putting a niche to your content, working on aesthetics, you become recognized, in your chosen field.

That is, when someone is thinking of a particular type of content, they think of you, or, even, when they see your work, it can be traced to you.

Establish Your Authority
Credit: nearshoemarketing

How do we know that you are the best in your field? How do you show off your skills? By creating content.

Great content, establishes how knowledgeable you are and gives prospective clients reasons to choose you, over your competition.

Know Your Audience
Credit: freshcontent.io

Always wondering what would be of interest, to your audience? You should, then, be creating content. How?

With each content you create, you are able to track what resonates more, with your audience, through their likes, comments and shares, and with this, you learn what they like, dislike and want more of.

Now, you are able to serve them better.

Get Found
Credit: aldiamkty

When done well, it is easier for you, to get found, through search engines, social media and the likes because, people are talking about you, your content, your value, sharing your links and in general, you become a boss.

I could go on, but in short, content creating is, adding value to your audience, through storytelling, as well as, promoting and selling your goods and services.

Content creation is an essential marketing technique, to any online business, in the modern world.

Create quality content consistently, using high-quality pictures, telling unique stories and you are on your way, to becoming a thought leader, in your field.

Featured Image: picpedia.org

Launching new product - cfagbata

Common Obstacles That You Might Face, When Launching Your New Product

by with No Comment CoachingResources

Many obstacles stand in the way of entrepreneurs when they are trying to bring a new product to the market.

It is a real challenge when launching your new physical product.

Do you need to deal with the challenges that face the launch of a new product?

This article is for you, to point out the gray areas, in product launching.

Product Development

For a complex technological product, its physical development requires different fields of input.

A number of entrepreneurs, lack the adequate skills to develop new products, though, you would rarely find an individual, with the complete skills for product development.

Designing a new product, most times, takes a team of product developers.

These days, entrepreneurs have unlimited access, to resources, especially, from freelancers.

You may not have the luxury of a team of developers, but professional freelancers, are at your disposal, for you to use.

Failure To Implement Market Feedback

Rather than jump into the full version launch, you can make do with the demo version, by releasing it, into the market.

Get feedback from your target market and fully implement the comments, into your original version.

Since a lot is spent on developing a physical product, you ought to get your priorities right.

You could sell your product on your website, or, do a crowdfunding campaign.

Prototyping: Start with the prototype version of your product. It is often cheap and simple to maintain, then, gradually, you move to the final version.

You may also prefer, dividing the aspects of your product, into two distinct prototypes.

The first part, demonstrates the functionality of your product, while the second part is, the one that shows the shape factor of your product.

Finally, you have a merger of two prototypes and at this level, you should be close to your final product.

Moving From Prototype To Manufacturing

Getting to have a functional prototype, is a step in the right direction; nevertheless, your product is still far from market readiness.

Never underestimate the implications of costing and timing, of your mass production.

Rather than creating your own factory to manufacture, simply pay a contractor to manufacture your product.

Though it may be quite difficult to get this done, you, therefore, need to find your way around a manufacturer, who trusts you enough, to have an agreement on, amortizing these costs.

Featured Image: revpart

Innovative changes - cfamedia

Ways To Overcome Challenges On Innovative Changes

by with No Comment Resources

Indications in the last couple of years have shown that the biggest driving force, for the success of medium and small scale businesses, is innovation.

This is evident, from the way these mini-ventures, have employed the tactics of radical innovative changes, to break through the existing market.

With disruptive innovation gradually becoming the model of an average small business, the demand for talent and technology is taking a toll on the time of CEOs and this is a great challenge.

Asides from the two factors stated above, other barriers to growth can come through the limited budget, to investment and the worst of all, employee’s resistance to change.

As a Founder, or, your company’s CEO, your role in delivering the process of innovation, cannot be overestimated, therefore, the journey begins, with your deliberate actions, to remove the obstacles.

Consider the solutions below, to assist you in making progress on innovative changes:

Choose Your Time Wisely

No matter how small, or, big, an innovative project appears, time and money are involved.

You need to choose wisely, how to invest in both time and money, for maximum yield.

A deliberate action, ought to be devised, for setting up a research and development team, dedicated, solely for that purpose, or, better still, create a specified period of time, for your management team to meet, for a round table discussion, on innovative development.

You could as well decide, to reconsider your business model, or, set very ambitious goals.

Start With A Task Force

Credit: depositphotos

There is no harm, in having zero ideas on where and how to start, which is a reason, it is essential, to get on board, employees, who are open-minded and have shown innovative disposition.

As the head of your company, you need to create a task force that would especially, take charge of innovation and also spelling out, the responsibilities of each task force member, for enough clarity.

The team should be led, by an individual, who is not involved in the management of any daily operation, as this may lead to another level of stress.

Incentives For Your Team

Credit: fundraisingzone

No doubt that, sometimes, there can be a difficulty, in managing people, but with a few perks, you can get them doing your bidding.

Create incentives that are not part of the regular take-home pay, or, allowances.

In addition to this, you could also, make innovation, a required competence, for bringing your employees on board.

Ask potential candidates about innovation, during interviews and note their perspective and disposition towards it.

You could also create a training program, for your current employees on innovation.

Start Small

Innovative changes - cfamedia
Credit: jesusgilhernandez

At the mention of the phrase, “innovation”, one might have created an image of a complex task, in the mind and even, on the average, the task of innovation can appear overwhelming.

Why not go the way of asking questions like, can I change my production line, to bring about acceleration, on the delivery of goods?

Do you want to join the league of fast-growing companies? You need to start creating a culture of innovation.

Money

Money Lessons to attain Sustainable Wealth

by with No Comment Resources

The habits of most financially independent people are quite similar. Their financial success is usually based on strong principles and ethics.

People do not blunder their way into sustainable wealth.

If long term financial success is, as much a goal for you, as it is for me, I would recommend that you spend some time studying those principles.

They are almost like patterns, found in the lives of many, who have sustainable wealth.

It is best to readjust your realities, to align more closely with some of these principles.

Lesson 1: Spend less than you earn
Particularly in Nigeria, this may seem not to be practical, however, consider that it is highly unlikely that, you will be able to satisfy all your wants at any single time.

The minute you think you are done, ten more things come up to take the place of the one you just dealt with.

Since you are not likely to catch all the falling bricks in one try anyway, why expend all your income trying?

If you spend all the money, you will still find one or two things left undone and if you do not spend all the money, it is still the same outcome – some needs left unattended.

Is it not wise to squirrel something away? This may not be a win-win, but it is definitely not a lose-lose situation.

Take care, to not gobble up all your income. Put something away. Some people describe it as paying yourself first. It is a sound principle.

Lesson 2: Save for eventualities
Do not be caught pants down. Emergencies are almost unavoidable, but proper planning can reduce their occurrence to the barest minimum. Still, prepare for them.

This might mean setting some money apart in an emergency fund, or, paying for insurance.

Many of us are just one bad occurrence away from total financial devastation.

One bad investment, or, one unexpected medical case and we just sink, because we have not provided for eventualities.

Save a certain percentage of your income, as an emergency fund. Be deliberate, so you are not caught unawares when there are emergencies.

Lesson 3: Delay gratification
You have probably heard this one, so many times and I would wager that you have equally gone ahead to ignore it, that many number of times.

Usually, what you want, so urgently, can actually wait, without any negative effect.

It can wait till you can fit it into your budget. The benefit of patience here is that the longer you wait, the more time you have to decide if you actually need it.

There is something I like to call, “your eye don clear?” It is that situation, when you think you want something so badly, only for you to buy it and find out that, it is not so cool after all.

Not because there is anything wrong with the product but simply that, your heart and mind lied to you.

You thought you wanted it, but you actually do not need it and you can do very well without it.

Another couple of thousands, thrown to the winds and I am certain that, many of us can relate.

Rather than splurge, delay that want for a period and identify, if you actually need it, before investing in it.

Lesson 4: Do not live on borrowed money
If your mum is like mine, then, I will bet you heard this a million times, while growing up.

This is the one reason many young people find it difficult to get out of an average existence. We spend our youth servicing debts.

We take loans to acquire virtually everything, then, spend all our productive years paying back loans and jumping from one loan scheme to another.

Loaning on its own is not a crime because, you might need to go on some payment plan type of loan, to cover major purchases like your first car, or, buying a home, however, in Nigeria, there is something called overdo.

Do not fall into the trap, by financing your basic lifestyle with loans.

lesson 5: Save! Save! Save!

Sustainable wealth - cfagbata
The easiest way to afford something is to, simply save up for it. Just save and do not stop. Find something that works for you.

The esusu method helped many of our parents to achieve things, but their successors are learning to achieve things by getting into debts.

This is a huge shift in the wrong direction. Saving helps you become more financially disciplined.

You can take it a step further, by saving towards investments. You may not have the funds for large investments, so, it is advisable to set investments as the target of savings.

Save, but rather than let that money sit in the cold vaults of the bank, invest it. Idle money is cold money.

Build your money pot and then, find some warmth for that pot, something warmer than the vaults of a bank. Put that money to use and begin to generate returns.

Bonus lesson: Invest in self-development.
Your ability is your golden goose. Do not stop sharpening your skills and growing your capacity.

The better you become, the better the potential for increasing your income.

There are, so many ways this can be achieved, including online study and networking.

Ensure that you are strategic and deliberate, about the process of self-development.

About the Author
Mercy Faleyimu, is a creative writer, who enjoys discourses across several fields of engagement. She equally tries to remain an optimistic Nigerian.