Mick Hagen post is the post that motivate me to write my own version of the kind of people I want to work with at my startup. You can read Mick post about the types of people he wants to work with at his startup  here.

Though it might be similar to mine, but the way I express my own mind is different. Yeah, the fact is I want to start a startup, but for me to dwell on the mountain top, I have to work with people who believe in my vision.

I believe people who have complementary skills to yours are the kind of people one need to work with. Even if I’m a pre-made hacker (why I said that is because my main path is the hustle) I still need another hacker who will be in charge of building epic stuffs.

So in this post I will be writing about the kind of people I want to work with in order to build a successful startup together.

People Who Are Ready To Get Down

When I say “people who are ready to get down” I simply mean people who are not scared of failure, people who are ready to take on any challenges and whenever they fail, they are ready to bounce back, dust the dirt from their body, learn from their mistakes and move on.

I’m a kind of person who lives by this principle “I’m not afraid of failure, but I’m scared of not trying” even if it won’t work out, why don’t you let us give it a try? That’s why I said, I want to work with people who are not scared of failure and ready to give the startup whatever it will take to succeed.

People Who I can Trust

Things won’t work fine if I’m working with people who I can’t trust, people who are full of shady characters. There’s no way things will move fine when working with people who can’t be trusted.

There’s nothing bad in speaking your mind out, give honest opinion and act in a good manner. I want to work with people who I can trust, people who won’t stab me on my back and people who are full of honesty. I hope these kinds of people still exist?

People Who Are Ready To Get Their Hands Dirty

I don’t love working with people who are very lazy and act as if they are action takers. I want to work with people who are real action takers and not people who will keep hopping from one place to another and keep hiding in order not to get their hands dirty.

Smart people are needed in the startup world, if you can’t get your hands dirty, I doubt if you will make it big. So I would love to work with people who are ready for real business and not the lazy folks!

People Who Are Not In the Game Because Of Money

I would love to work with people who will put all hearts into the startup idea we might be working on, and not people who are always looking for an idea that will make them become rich in no time. Also not the kind of person I would pitch the startup idea to and say “this startup idea won’t make us rich”

I want people who will work with me no matter what the startup idea is, work with me wholeheartedly on the startup and make sure we always find a way to win. Small ideas are generated into “the next big thing” what kill a startup mostly are the people working on it and not the competitors.

People Who Are Ready To Help

I want to work with people who are ready to help any member of the team out whenever he or she is feeling down. People who can inspire, motivate and help their fellow member get what he or she wants. People who don’t care of getting the credit.

People Who Stick To Their Words

I want people who stick to their words, people who will never fail to deliver on the day the promise and not people who are full of excuses.  Let your Yes be Yes and your No should be No.

Conclusion

I’m fine running solo for as long as necessary. I won’t rush the people decisions- they are everything.

The main folks needed for now is a hacker and a hipster (designer). If you are the kind of person I’m looking for, contact me and let’s talk!

Image Credit: Alltopstartups

This is a guest post by Kevin Mattews

The U.S. market is still struggling to get over the aftershocks of the recent financial setback. Businesses are going through a difficult phase, and many amongst them are failing due to stringent financial conditions. The debt amounts are soaring high for the business owners, while they are trying to pay the outstanding dues by any means. Be it through debt consolidation or settlement, the aim for every business is to eliminate debts as soon as possible.

If you own a business yourself, you need to plan from beforehand for better management of your finances. Foresight and discipline will be able to assist you on the way. To avoid falling into debts, you need to run a business successfully. Have a look at the following tips to know how you can manage your business finances, and avoid failures.
Tips to avoid business failures

For successful running of your business, you’ll need to keep up the cash flow of the company. You’ll be able to avoid incurring debts if your returns from your business are high. Although there are debt relief options in the market, like debt consolidation or settlement etc. to help you pay back your creditors, you’ll have to dole out the money yourself only.

Prevention is always better than cure. Why fall in business debt, when measured steps can help you manage your business funds? The below mentioned tips will be able to assist you when you plan for your business finances:

1. Pay attention to customer demands – Every business should keep their target audience in mind, when it steps into the market. Similarly, you should also try to serve the demands of your intended customers. This will improve your business opportunities and you’ll not need to incur debts.

2. Build up a strong strategy – A business strategy is a must if you want to earn hefty profits from your business ventures. It helps you to plan ahead for the new business opportunities, so that you can work effectively towards the goal fulfillment.

3. Stick to what you know – Don’t take unnecessary risks, when you invest in business opportunities. You should know about your limits and knowledge. It is better to stay within your limits, so that you can tackle the situations if any problem arises.

4. Build up a brand name – You can build up a brand name for the services or products you provide. If you create brand recognition for your business, the sales are going to be high. The more transactions you have, the more will be your chances to gain profit. As your profit increases, you can build up cash reserves and use that for future requirements. This means that you can avoid taking out new loans for business ventures.

Organize your financial resources and enlist your business goals in advance, so that you’ll know your priorities for investment. You can get help of a financial counselor for better management of business funds. If you still incur a lot of debt for your business, a business debt consolidation program might be able to help you.

Follow Kevin on Twitter or Facebook

Image Credit: Personal

It’s been a long time coming. On this journey, I’ve met awesome folks who are worth valuing more than gold. I’ve learnt a lot and I’m still learning.

Every year I want to always give thanks to people who really have been there for me, people who render their helping hand to me when I needed them! You can read the last letter I wrote to them here.

Before I proceed to give thanks to these awesome people, let me first start by giving you a quick update of what has been happening.

I’m still on the process of starting a startup. Due to the problem of not getting a technical person to work with me on my startup, I’ve decided to learn coding. So that I will be able to build the first version of the product myself.

Things have been moving fine and at the same time tough. But since I know where I’m heading to, I just have to keep going. Find a way to overcome obstacles and move on. To be candid, learning to code by yourself is not an easy task at all.  Though at the end, you will be glad you took that bold step to learn it.

This is one of the skills I will urge every startup founder to have even if you’re not going to stay on the technical side.

Firstly, thanks to God for making things possible and keeping you and me up to this moment!

Now, I want to say a very big THANK YOU to these awesome people who have been there for me, people who gave me a helping hand when I needed them.

Ranzit a.k.a Bohemia

He will always be remembered! He tried a lot for me, just can’t count! I’m sure without him; I don’t think I would be on this journey.

He’s a rare gem. A big “THANK YOU” to you bro. really appreciate all your support. Just that we couldn’t get to talk anymore since you have the kidney problem and your brother was shot dead in Italy. Hope we will meet again. Anywhere you are, may God be with you.

Onibalusi Bamidele

You are a rare gem bro. I’m glad to hear that you’re making it big. You are one of the people I respect so much. Anyone who looks down on you is looking down upon his or herself.

When it comes to the believe and trust, I really have those things in you. You’re a guy who is worth following!  You really really tried for me. And I’m glad I met you. Thanks so much bro. You rock.

My Hommies

These guys- Hapheaz, Eloweyo, Tosin really tried for me a lot. They are my real hommies, people who I cherish a lot.

They are my childhood friends; we grew up together, fight and settle things so that we can move on. So funny how life is.  Big ups to you guys! Really appreciate your effort. Sure, we gon make it big, no doubt about that.

Yu-Kai Chou

This is one of the people I really look up to. May God bless the day I met you. He’s always there for me. Love the honest opinion you do give to me and I pray I never disappoint you.

To you Yu-kai, I will forever give thanks like a pilgrim. Due to your busy schedule, you still always find time to attend to me. I know you will surely make it big with RewardMe. No doubt about that. Keep up the good work Yu-Kai, God bless you.

Khadijah Masorong

Standing ovation for you Khadijah. You have the zeal, the power and strength to work on creative things. Working with you is one of the happiest things that have ever happened to me.

You always prove to me that you worth working with. No matter how tough things get, you always get going, even if you’re young, you still act like a professional.

In the process of getting SwipDosh up, you are there. Tried all your best to make it work. Mehn, you can never be forgotten. I’m glad I met you. Believe me; you are always on my team by default. That’s the fact! A very big “THANK YOU” to you Khadijah! Really appreciate your effort and concern. I pray I never disappoint you.

Anon

I call him the “Stealth hacker” I haven’t seen his face nor know his full name. Just meet him through a group on a social app and since then, he has been guiding me and giving me advice on how to become a great hacker!

Whenever I face any coding problem or errors I always run to him for an advice, at times he will kick me in the butt and try to be mean. He explained to me that, the reason why he’s doing that is to make me less dependent on him and try and find a way out by myself.

Really appreciate his effort, because I’ve learnt a lot from him and up till today, he’s still ready to give me the helping hand whenever I needed him.

You’re a rare gem Anon. Thanks so much for your support. By the time I build my first project, believe me, there’s something for you.

Collin Vine

You can never be forgotten bro, love your spirit. You’re an inspiration to me. Glad you’re making it big with Zirtual.

Love chatting with you, you always pay attention and offer me great advice. I know you will surely make it big. Keep up the good work. God Bless You.

Tyrone Solee

Love chatting with you because you give honest opinion and you don’t hide anything. The transparency is always there. Love the way you express your mind on Millionaireacts.

You’ve always been at my back. You’re a rare gem bro! Thanks so much, I really appreciate your support. I owe you a lot brov!

Victor Dairo

Can’t believe I could find a down to earth guy who is passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation in my college. You go all in for what you want and you never look back.

Love your courage bro. You’re one of the people who inspired me to learn coding. Always there to support in any way you can.  Out of everyone I knew in college, you’re the only person I respect so much. Because you think different.

Keep up the good work bro; I know you will surely make it big someday! Thanks so much. God bless!

Daniel Atsu

I’m glad Yu-kai introduced you to me. Glad to meet a Ghanaian brother trying to live an adventurous life most people try to stay away from.

You’re a go getter bro. I pray you will make it big with your project before March 2012. Can’t wait to see you. Thanks so much for the support. You rock.

Peter Joseph

Big ups to you my great Aussie pal. Love your mindset. You’re a go getter. You never seem to amaze me with your mindset.

I pray you will make it big with your startup! Wish you all the best bro. Thanks so much. You rock.

Dr Darryl

Thanks so much for the cool gifts! Also a very big “Thank You” to the MegaBizFlakes reader who directed you to me. I really appreciate your support. I still owe you a lot. God Bless You.

MegaBizFlakes Readers

Without you guys there will be no me! Love your ongoing support. I pray I never disappoint you. To those of you who always mail me, refer your loved ones to my blog because you believe in my words, I really appreciate you guys.

Even if I haven’t seen you guys in the physical world, you prove to me that you worth showing some love to. Thanks so much for your support.

To my friends, Tito Philips, Jun Loayza, Hector Avellaneda, Stuart Mills, Jack Liu, Lucas Persson, Lye Kuek Hin. You guys are awesome. I really appreciate your support. Thanks so much.

If I didn’t mention your name, please pardon me, I really appreciate every one of you. You guys really tried for me. I owe you a lot!

Wishing you guys Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in Advance. Rock On and Play Safe! I pray year 2012 would be a great year for every one of us. Thanks so much!

Image Credit: MentalHealth

This is an awesome interview with Stuart Mills from UnlocktheDoor.net. Stuart is a great guy, a guy who really knows what he’s doing. I’ve been following Stuart for over a year now, I truly believe in his words and he’s a guy I can vouch for .

If I may ask you, do you add value? How do you add value? Why should we add value? These questions are enough to make one think deeply if he or she is really impacting lives. I’m imploring you to take your time to read this interview in order to learn more about adding value!

• Hi Stuart, could you please tell us about yourself?

I was always the kid at school who preferred to be left alone. Always the quiet one, my favourite way of working was to get on with the task, ask questions if necessary, and not bother with the fooling around that most of my classmates preferred to do. As the years went by, I became more withdrawn from the class environment, having only a few close friends who I could easily talk with. My idea of ‘fun’ was very different to the accepted norm.

But up until I was 21 years old, I was unhappy with life. I had experienced a pressure to conform to others at school and at college, and it was starting to take its toll. I’d been bullied at school on numerous occasions, to the point where I had developed a stammer during a 2-year period. I had nearly failed my entire college years, preferring instead to spend my spare hours in the computer room.

Although I was glad to have gotten into university and gain some independence, I was making few friends and having minimal fun. I still preferred my own company above anyone else’s. Although I was doing well in the course, my social prospects were still pretty grim.

Then on Christmas 2007, my Dad gave me a book, “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” by Robin Sharma. I thought it was a stupid title, and I was fully ready to skim read it before dismissing it as fantasy.

I didn’t expect the immense changes that this book would soon coax out of me, changing my life permanently.

As a result of reading that book, I had my spiritual awakening on January 2008. I realized that there is far more to life than I first assumed, and far more to the world than I took for granted. The years went by, and I felt a sense of power within me that I never felt before. I got my first permanent job, I strengthened my relationships with my family, I made new friends as well as meeting a beautiful girlfriend who is still with me today, and I found time to further develop my knowledge of myself. I was, for the first time in a long while, enjoying life.

To this day, I feel like I’m still growing more as a person and as a beautiful creature.

• What’s the idea behind UNLOCKTHEDOOR.net?

The concept of Unlock The Door was inspired by a scene from The Matrix. It’s the scene where Neo and Morpheus are standing in front of The Oracle’s door, about to go in. As Neo goes to open the door, Morpheus stops him and says, “Remember, I can only show you the door, you must walk through it”.

I remember the time when I wanted to join the online world and start my own website, but I was stumped for inspiration. I then remembered this scene and thought, “What does it mean to walk through a door, to access a new world, a new way of thinking?” I reflected on the idea for some time. Then I began to realize that we haven’t unlocked everything that could possibly be unlocked. There was still a long way to go before we realized a harmonic world.

I then let my thoughts drift for a while and thought about what it would be like if I was a real-life ‘Morpheus’, helping people by showing them these doors that they can open and walk through. So much potential would be unlocked, and the world would be a much better place. This pleased me immensely, knowing that I’d be doing my part in making the world stronger and healthier.

Then it hit me – why don’t I be like Morpheus? Why don’t I help others to open the doors in their mind and in their life, and access their vast well of potential within?Better yet, why I don’t help them to unlock their doors? I could use my website as a vehicle to help the world unlock and open the doors in their lives, and help them live their potential.The pieces of the puzzle had fallen together.

Unlock The Door was born.

• I learned that you just launched an eBook called “Value101”; can you tell us the idea behind Value 101?

A few many months ago, I had the idea to create a project that would go ‘beyond the blog’. I wanted to achieve something that would elevate Unlock The Door to the next level, and get my name recognized amongst a wider circle.

At the time, my reader base was fairly small. I didn’t have any major connections, although I was on acquaintance terms with a few ‘big-name’ bloggers. I knew that unless I did something important here, I would stay in this level of obscurity for some time.

For this project, I wanted to do something that included all my readers, where everyone had an equal platform from which to voice their opinion and offer their advice. I decided to achieve this by asking everyone a question – a question that would unite everyone into one equal group. This question would be sent out in a request via e-mail, provided I knew what the right question was.

I couldn’t ask a question like “How did you reach 1000 subscribers?” when most of my reader base hadn’t got that far. I realized it had to be a question that any person in the world could answer. After much deliberation, the question I decided to ask everyone was, “How do you provide value?” From this, the project name ‘Value 101’ was born.

What followed was a 12-part series where 67 bloggers provided answers to the afore-mentioned questions. The response was incredible, and after the series had finished, I decided (after listening to requests from readers) to produce a compilation in the form of an eBook.

• Who is the book meant for?

The eBook is meant for anyone who wishes to find ways to provide value, whether they’re providing value to their family, to their customers, to their peers, or to their colleagues. Value is an element which can be found and generated anywhere. Therefore for this eBook, I wanted to include a variety of contributors who come from varied backgrounds, and who can provide different perspectives of what it means to provide value for someone.

This product is also meant for those who wish to gain a better understanding of how bloggers operate, particularly how they operate in their own fields. Each blogger is an individual, and there is no right or wrong answer on how to provide value. For the reader, I would suggest reading through all 67 contributions and using those which resonate with them. That way, the reader can provide value in a way that’s true to them.

• Why should one add value?

Throughout our lives, we are always providing value, even when we don’t realize it. Value is provided when we offer to take out the trash for our elderly neighbor. It’s provided when we pick up a box on the floor so our work colleagues don’t walk into it. It’s provided when we read our child a bedtime story before they drift off to sleep. Value is provided and added at all times, by all people.

In one sense, we don’t need to add any more value. But we can be more aware of what value we’re actually offering, and decide for ourselves whether it’s value that we want to add, or whether we feel that we could add a different, better kind of value.

If we don’t possess an awareness of how and where we provide value, we can lose what works for us and for others. By viewing how others provide value in the Value 101 eBook, we can gain a better understanding of where value works, and how it works, before deciding what changes (if any) can be implemented into our own value-giving approach. Awareness is key.

• What advice do you have for readers of MegaBizFlakes?

I have two pieces of advice. The first is to be patient. We often have a tendency to rush ahead on projects, in the desire of seeing the finished result. We want to achieve, and achieve fast. But this approach doesn’t work purely because we can’t rush a good result. We must be more patient if we wish to see the results that we desire. Otherwise we end up with a half-complete result that no-one wishes to see. Patience ensures that we see things out properly, until its due end when we can enjoy the complete product.

The second piece of advice is to follow your heart. As businessmen and women, we can often become overwhelmed by the menial tasks involved with business, the countless chores involved with entrepreneurship, and the sheer demand to succeed. Because of this, we always run the risk of losing our way in life, and forgetting why we became an entrepreneur in the first place.

In these times, listen to your heart. Remind yourself of the passion you felt when you started out your entrepreneurial journey. Do whatever it takes to get yourself back on track, and if you now find that your heart’s desires lie elsewhere, then shift your focus patiently (remember the first piece of advice) to align with your heart’s new calling. Stay true to yourself.

Thanks so much Stuart!

Follow Stuart on Twitter: @StuartMillsUTD

Download “VALUE101” eBook here! Do it now because later might be too late. I’m sure you won’t regret it!

Thanks for reading. If you have any suggestion or opinion, please feel free to comment below by using the comment section.

Without a good marketing plan a business will not have a solid foundation. Marketing is the soul of a business, so therefore you must develop a good and effective marketing plan for your business and give your business what it takes in order to feed it with good marketing so as to dominate your market.

I do talk a lot about developing an effective marketing plan for your business, If I may ask you, how many of you have developed an effective marketing for your business? I’m sure many will be struggling with this.

There is no magic or bulletproof to bring in more sales without ever working hard for it. Any guru that’s trying to sell to you any magic or bulletproof that will help you skyrocket your sales is trying to rip you off. You have to work hard, be creative and strategize to bring in more sales, because without that you will go no where.

Your competitors are not sleeping, as you are fighting to get your share in the market they also are fighting to get their own share, so in order to beat them hands down and get more share than them, there are some things you should do and they are:

Know Your Ideal Customer

If you want to make things easier for you, the first thing you should do is to know who your ideal customers are. Know whom you want to sell to because if you don’t, then who do you want to sell to? Who will you render your services to?  Know your ideal customers first before any other things.

Cure People’s Problem

Is your business solving a pain or not? Find what people need and providing them the solution to their problems. Starting a business just because you want to be called a business owner or just because of its sake won’t make you succeed in the business world.

When you are able to cure people’s problem with your services, customers would love to patronize you. Why do you think that a sick person do go to the hospital? I’m sure the patient believes that he or she can only get the cure to her sickness in the hospital.

How will you feel when a customer comes around to patronize and they found out that what you are offering is of no use to them because it’s not a top quality product? I’m sure you will feel bad and remember that the customer who patronizes you is now equals to -1, because he or she will never come back and patronize you anymore.

The fact is, real customers and not cheap customers don’t care about the pricing of your product, what they are after is the quality of the product, is it going to cure their pain?  If it can’t, then forget about retaining them. If I want to patronize you, the first thing I want to know is the quality of the product, I don’t care about the price, if your product really satisfies me to the bone, I will help spread the word about your business. I will convince friends to patronize you and leave your competitors.

So what I’m trying to say is that quality services or products matters a lot. In fact, it’s the no 1 element you need in order to dominate your market. Anything apart from top quality won’t work in the business world.

Show Some Love

One of the strategies you need to retain your customers is by showing them that you care for them. In the business world, it’s not about the marketing skills you have or the great product you are promoting, it’s all about showing your customers that you care for them.

The world “CARE” will help you win in a big way in the business world. People love to work with someone who cares and ready to show them some love. See, if you are able to prove complete transparency to your customers, when you fluctuate at times as you all know that no one is perfect, they will help cover you up and give you another chance to make it up.

When your customers are happy with you, your business will prosper. But if they are not, well I can’t say what will happen next. Show them some love, prove to them that you care and they will show you that they are ready to whine and dine with you. Customers are ready to do anything for you on one condition and the condition is “if you can prove to them that you are the caring person they would love to work it”

Communication

When trying to win a customer’s heart, you must communicate with the person in a great manner. Good communication with customers is one of the attribute that will help you bring in more sales. So without good communication, how do you expect a customer to accept you?

Rugged marketers don’t support this notion, that’s why they keep failing on and on. When communicating with your prospect, always pay attention to them and don’t ignore them. This mistake can cost you a lot. Pay attention to your prospect and let them pay an attention to you.

Be fluent and polite when communicating with your prospect. That’s why you must take this skill serious. So try to work on your communicating skills if you are lacking it, and always communicate in a great manner in order to win more customers.

Understand Human Emotion

Before marketing or promoting your product to any prospect try to understand their emotion. Some might not be in a good mood so they won’t have the time to attend to you. But if you should understand their emotion and communicate with them in a cool manner they will attend to you or tell you to drop your business card so that they can talk to you whenever they are ok.

Failure to understand their emotion will not help you. How will you feel when someone just walk up to you and say “hey, I have a product for you and I’m sure you would love it? Take a look at it” will you attend to the person?

I doubt if I will. How will you just walk up to someone you haven’t met before and just tell the person that you have a product for him or her without exchanging pleasantries, putting a smile on the person’s face, selling your yourself before you proceed with the main subject?

Human beings are different, some people might have being scammed before with similar product you are offering so to convince them that you are real, you must understand their emotion first and communicate politely.

Customer Services

How effective is your customer services? If you are not taking your customer services serious, I think it’s high time you start doing that. Because it can make you lose money big time. That’s why I said customers want to patronize someone who cares, and a way of showing that is to have a great customer service that will attend to them whenever they have any problem.

So have a great customer service that will help your customers whenever they are facing any problem. Without a great customer service you can retain your customers.

Use The Power Of Follow Up

Never underestimate the power of follow up. Jay Conrad talks more about this in his book Guerrilla Marketing. You might want to get it.

Using the power of follow up is a great way to bring in more customers and sales! Because it’s just like you are engaging with your customers, and at the same time building reputable relationships with them. The power of follow up is a great tool to help boost up your business. If you can live by it, you will definitely break new grounds.

Conclusion:

To win big in the business world and dominate your market is all about persistence and giving your best. When you satisfy your customers, your customers would love to give you their best. You just try to solve people’s problem and keep adding value to their life. If you can do that, then the market is all yours!

Hey everyone,

Did you know Global Entrepreneurship Week is in a few days?  The whole week is meant to celebrate and encourage entrepreneurs everywhere in the world.  There will be a ton of activities in different countries.  You can check out all the activities at this link:

http://unleashingideas.org/events-list

However, I like to point out one event that is happening virtually.  TeenBusinessForum is hosting a virtual mini-conference throughout the week.  They will have a video panel discussion, presentations, an interview with Catherine Cook (the founder of MyYearbook.com) and even a virtual networking event.  You can check out this site for more details:

http://gew.teenbusinessforum.com

Hurry up and go signup! Time wait for no one. I don’t want you guys to miss out in this great opportunity.  See you there!

Formal education as the name is called make entrepreneurs get stuck in the middle and put them in the state of confusion of not knowing whether they should go for it or not. Many posts have been written about why entrepreneurs should go to college and why they should not bother about putting college into consideration. Below are the links to some of the posts.

 Why Young Entrepreneurs Should Go To College

Is College Necessary for Young Entrepreneurs?

An Entrepreneur Does Not Need College Education.

Though each of them have their own points that will make one to sit down and think. But to me it’s not concrete enough. Like I said earlier, many entrepreneurs are stuck in the middle and they are in the state of confusion because they don’t know whether they should drop out of college, go to college or leave the college issue for later day. Above all, some are still thinking if getting a college degree matters.

The believe of most people is that if you don’t go to school you can’t make it in life! They believe that only people who obtain a college degree are the ones who are qualified to make it big in life. I do laugh at these kinds of people because they don’t know what they are saying. These are the kinds of people who are born to follow the crowd by default.

There’s more to life than just the college degree. Having a college degree does not mean that you will make it big in life. I doubt if you will.  I’m not here to write about people who dropped out of school or use them as an example. No, I’m not going to do that.

The main thing that will determine your future is what you have in mind. I mean, what your main aim in this life is. What you really want to achieve in life and your purpose in life.

What I want to achieve in this life is different from what you are aiming for. So when people say that if you don’t go to college, you won’t make it big in life. I laugh at them because it’s a big lie!

I’m not against education or going to college. I’m not in the position to decide for you. Going to college is not bad but the way people talk about it is what that makes me get annoyed!

How does having a college degree affect your business? Does having a college degree make you become a better entrepreneur? Or will it help you increase your entrepreneurship creativity? I would love to know how a college degree has an impact in one’s entrepreneurship journey.

People argue that when you go to college you will meet awesome people who will partner up with you in order to start a startup together or people who will help spread the word about your business than looking for people outside the school world. Yes, I partially agree with that. But if I may ask you, how many % guarantees can you give me that you will meet the right person who would love to work with you in college?  Is it only in college that you can find a business partner?

To me, finding the right business partner is not only in college. And the chances of finding the right business partner in college are very low.  If someone should tell me that I can find the right business partner in my school I will laugh at the person and hiss at the person. Why? Because 99% of the people in my school are for the corporate lifestyle. They are the people who are after the college degree so that they could graduate and get a good job with high benefits. They don’t care about entrepreneurship.

So finding the right partner for your business can happen anywhere. You can even meet the right partner for your business in a night club. You just have to open your inner eyes in order to recognize the potential in people.

There are many things that have been said about going to college and how it will increase your chances of becoming a better entrepreneur. We all know that having a college degree is good but is it a must for one to get a college degree?

In this earth, we all are not the same; we don’t think in the same way and we don’t do things in the same way. There are some people in this world that cherish formal education and there are some people in this world who don’t!

Do you think that going to school will solve your entire problem in life?

For me I don’t think so. Why? Schools don’t train student for real world. Graduating with good grades from school doesn’t mean you will be paid a huge income that will be enough for you to be wealthy. Schools only pass formal education into you, they don’t give you the main key to the real world, all theirs is to train you in order to secure a job and work under people, mostly uneducated folks.

People who have self-education, have upper hands than those with formal education, people with self-education employ people with formal education; people who spend all their years in school studying how they can get good jobs and not thinking on how to become their own boss. Don’t you ever think that, if you are fired from your job and you’re told not to come and work again, what will you do? I’m sure many will feel like committing suicide, some will feel like begging on the street while some will keep searching for job and when they finally get one they will be paid a lousy amount of income, which is not enough to feed their family.

In my country (NIGERIA), millions of students graduate in a year, only hundreds of those who graduate secure a job while the rest of them are still hunting for jobs, many are out there engaging in a dubious act.  Most of them have turned into street boys yet they have good grades but they can’t secure a good job. At the same time, those that have already secured a job are not sure of their stay because they might get fired at anytime. Why? Is because they can’t think!

Enough to this saying “Go to school, get good grade and secure a good job” or “If you don’t go to college you won’t make it in life” saying all that shows that one is full of shit!

You don’t have to bother yourself about going to college or not. If you are to decide, I will want you to sit down and think about what you want in life, what your passion is, what your main purpose in life is.

The best bet is to follow your passion, if you are passionate about studying “what morphology is” or “what flow sheet is” or “what the unit of velocity is” or “how the skull of a human being works” then I will advice you to stick to college. But if you’re passionate about “nature- snapping pictures” or “changing babies diapers” or “repairing spoilt cars and bikes” you should fit yourself in a place that best suit your passion so that you can learn and grow. Also if you’re passionate about “starting a startup” or “marketing” or “building big companies from scratch” start doing the things that will make you keep fit, find a place where you can learn and grow in order to become a better entrepreneur.

If you think college is holding you back from following your passion in life, I will advice you to drop out and follow your passion. You can’t be happy if you are not doing what you love and you can’t get the best result if you’re not doing what you love. My advice for you is to find what you love and stick to it.

Don’t listen to what people would say about you switching lanes, listen to your inner mind and follow your guts because it’s the only one that know the kind of throne you deserve. People will only talk and they will keep their mouth shut. They will be the first to mock you when you’re not making it big but by the time you start dwelling on the mountain top, they will be the first set of people who will welcome you and ask you how you did it.

That’s life for you. One thing that’s pushing this kind of people is FEAR. They are scared of not trying new things in life. They are always waiting for manner from above, expecting the ship to come find them instead of them to go find the ship.

I’m not saying that you should not go to college or you should go to college. What I’m trying to pass across to you is that, you should find what you love and stick to it. Look for a way on how you will improve so that you can become an expert in your field. If your passion is about “studying how to be a great civil engineer” stick to college. If your passion is about “snapping pictures, I mean how to be a great photographer” stick to your field. If your passion is about “building great companies from scratch” stick to that path, network with entrepreneurs, get a mentor and start working on how you will get your company up.

It’s just as simple as that. The education sector needs to reform. People need to change the way they think and stop bothering about things that don’t matters. If I may say, the most important stages of formal education everyone should pass through are Elementary school and High school. College is not important. After High school, one should decide the path of life he or she wants to follow.

My advice for you is to sit down and think about what you love doing, so that you can build something great around it. Find your passion, do what you love and follow your guts.

Speak Your Mind.

If you disagree with me or support the notion, feel free to speak your mind by commenting below. Thanks so much!

Most startup entrepreneurs are always looking for the big idea in order to build the next big thing so that they can be rich in no time. I think if you’re the kind of entrepreneur who thinks like that, I doubt if you will build the next big thing.

I’m sure you want to build a company that will serve you for long and if at all you want to sell it, you will want to make sure you have a successful exit? Startup entrepreneurs get doomed by competition, I mean they don’t want to get involved in a crazy competition that might chop off their head, that’s why if you should watch most entrepreneurs, you will notice that they want to start a startup that has never been in existence before, a startup that has no market yet.

Forget the competition and get to work. There’s no how your startup idea won’t succeed if it solve a pain. I’m sure you will be thinking where I’m heading to? If you’re the kind of entrepreneur who is scared of starting a startup just because it has been created by somebody else, you’re not fit to embark on the entrepreneurship journey. In fact I don’t think you’re fit to become an entrepreneur.

You have the startup idea? If I may ask you, does your startup idea solve a pain? If yes is the answer, that’s great! But before saying yes, I expect you to think about it deeply and know if your startup idea is going to be of great help to you and to the masses. If it’s going to be of great help to you, then you will make a good company but if it’s not going to be of great help to you, then why are you wasting your time on the startup idea that won’t be of help to you? And what makes you think that it will be of help to the people?

If your idea is going to help you and the masses, then go ahead and build it. Some of you might say what if the startup has been created by somebody else? My question to you is, how is yours going to be different? You know the problem you want to solve so the way you play your game have to be different from your competitors.

I’m sure there have been other social networks in existence before Facebook came on board and sweep them off. Does it mean that Facebook is the next big thing? I doubt. Why? Because other social network sites had been in existence before Facebook was born, but what makes Facebook look like the next big thing in the eyes of many is that, Mark “Rework the concept”. And ability for him to rework the concept is what makes Facebook different from other social networking sites. Mark Zukerberg understands that he’s not the only one in the social networking game, and to stand out from the rest, he must rework the concept.

So what I’m trying to say is this, if you’re going to start a startup, know how you will rework the concept of your startup. You must be different from the rest if you want people to accept you. The main fact you should understand in the startup world is that, if you are able to distinguish yourself from the rest, you will win in a big way. Don’t be scared of the competitive game what matter is how yours is going to be different. And that’s when you should put the idea of reworking the concept into consideration.

The main idea behind reworking the concept is how you will be different from your competitors and how your product will sweep off your customers feet. You don’t expect to make the same product like the one of your competitors and get people to patronize you. I doubt if your venture will grow.

That’s why it’s necessary for entrepreneurs to know where the loophole of his or her competitors lies in order to work on it and build a better product. In the business world, every business has its own loopholes; even your business has its own loopholes. You can’t tell me that Facebook doesn’t have its own loopholes, or Zynga or Google.

The ability for you to recognize and work on your competitor’s vulnerability will help transform your business into a profitable one and customers would be glad to patronize you.

When your competitors are moving to the left, don’t be scared to move to the right.  Follow your guts, listen to your inner mind and don’t be far away from your mentors because you will need them to get you to a greater height.

So if you want to start a startup, one of the things you should put in mind is that you should make what people want, things that will be of help to you. Then put “rework the concept” into consideration.

I hope you really get the point I’m trying to pass across? Let’s continue the rest in the comment section. Feel free to speak your mind and share your opinion. Thanks so much.

Many people love to be an entrepreneur but due to one reason or the other they find it difficult to become an entrepreneur. Little did they know that if they want to have a real life,  they should be an entrepreneur.

I’m sure most of you might be saying that, if everybody should become an entrepreneur who else will remain in the world? The fact is, not everybody will be an entrepreneur, it’s not today the word”Entrepreneurship” has been in existence.

Entrepreneurship had been in existence before I was born. I’m sure many people who were born by that time must have heard about the world entrepreneurship? And they must have known the cons and pros of entrepreneurship? So if I may ask you, why didn’t they become an entrepreneur?

Only few who want to have a real life will become an entrepreneur. If I should keep preaching from today till tomorrow only few will listen and little will take action.

When Jesus was sent to preach to the masses in order to change their ways and believe in God, is it all those he preached to that listen to him? Or is it all those he preached to that believe in GOD? No! Not all of them follow his path.

In this post I will be talking about the reasons why people don’t want to become an entrepreneur; below are the reasons:

• Scared Of What People Will Say

Most of the people who want to become an entrepreneur are scared to do so because they are scared of what people will say about their new mission.

These kinds of people get influenced easily by external forces. By the way, why should you pay your mind to people who will never for once give you the right mindset or the confidence to try out new things in your life? If you are the kind of person who is always scared of what people will say when trying to explore new things in life, then you can’t go far.

I see this entrepreneurship game as an adventure, so when I fail I will rise up and learn from my mistakes. Also, I will always try to stay faithful to the process.

When I made up my mind to become an entrepreneur, many people laughed at me and saying all sort of rubbish about the route I’m taking.  But one thing I noticed in them is that, they also feel like transitioning but the fear in them is pulling them backward so they try to cover up their fears and pretend as if they know nothing.

If you really want to become an entrepreneur and you are sure that you really want to become an entrepreneur, pay no mind to what people will say and follow your gut. You came into this world alone so I see no reason why you should follow the crowd by default.

I’m urging you to follow your gut and don’t be scared of what people will say. See, in this life, people are meant to talk and you can’t stop them, you just have to do your thing in your own way and switch on the “pay no mind mode” to what people will say.

• They See It As A Waste Of Time

Many people do think that starting a business is a waste of time. Even if you continue to tell them the fact, they will never listen.

People who are fond of saying that “starting a business is a waste of time” are people who are scared of what the outcome will be. The people in this category are mostly old people. Most of them have families to take care of and they can’t endure when the business is not booming.

Well the advise I can give to this kind of people is to start a part-time business, and as times goes on, I mean when the business start getting traction they can become a full-time entrepreneur.

So if you think that starting a business is a waste of time, I guess seeking for a job won’t be a waste of time for you. Keep searching and may God help you through!

• They Believe In High Paying Job With Benefits

These kinds of people believe in high paying job with good benefits. I’m not saying that seeking for a high paying job with good benefits is not good. But what if things change and you are no more getting the huge pay check you used to get at the end of the month?

The company you are working for today might have a huge problem tomorrow, and there’s no guarantee that you will still be getting the huge paycheck! The world of jobs is very competitive, a young post-graduate might challenge your position in the company you’re working for and instead of your boss to give you a promotion letter, he will not do that until you go to school and earn more degree before he can have mercy on you. But for the young post-graduate, he will automatically give the young employee the promotion and you will get doomed.

Those people who believe in high paying jobs with good benefits are the kind of people who cherish luxuries so much. Though everybody cherish luxuries but the rate at which these kinds of people cherish it is beyond normal (or am I exaggerating?).  They love living large and they believe that the huge paycheck will keep coming in every month.

When the huge paycheck stops coming in or they get laid off from their jobs, that’s when they will consider starting their own business. And when they get into the business world they end up liquidating, thinking that God has not favored them.

These are the kind of people who end up seeking for any kind of job and after some time, they end up like Poor Dad!

So if you are thinking that seeking for a job with high benefits will make you have a real life, then go ahead. Wish you good luck!

• Not Ready To Take On A Short Term Pain For A Long Term Gain

People are damn too lazy; most of the people who say that business is a waste of time are people who are not ready to take on a short term pain for a long term gain.

I can’t lie to you, building a successful business empire requires hard work and persistence. If you can’t give it what it takes to build a successful business then you are not fit to be an entrepreneur.

Before making up my mind to become an entrepreneur, I know I will come across different obstacles but that doesn’t stop me from moving on. I know that I will only be taking on a short term pain for a long term gain. So any obstacles I’m facing today will definitely pass away. The more you think about it, the more fear you impose in yourself.

So if you are ready to take on a short term pain for a long term gain, then you are welcome on board! I owe you a handshake

Conclusion:

I’m not saying that you should become an entrepreneur by all means, besides entrepreneurship is not meant for everyone. But if you think you want to become an entrepreneur and you want to have a real life, then you are welcome on board. Life is damn too short to bother ourselves about it. Follow your gut and be yourself.

Speak Your Mind!

Do you agree with the above listed points? Feel free to share your opinion by using the comment section. Thanks so much!

I’m sure you are planning to build a successful business empire? That’s why you are reading this article. There’s no shortcut to build a successful business empire neither there’s a magic to build a great business empire.

Many entrepreneurs are nowhere to be found in the business world due to one reason or the other. But one of the reasons why they fall off the board is that they do blame people for the cause of their business not growing instead of checking themselves in order to know where their loophole lies.

There are no bad businesses or investments oppurtunities, but there are bad entrepreneurs and investors- Robert Kiyosaki

Many people do think that venturing into a business with large market is the key for them to win big in the business world. They never really check on theirselves before taking that step. No wonder many businesses keep failing on and on.

I do say this, even if you venture into a small business today, that doesn’t mean you can’t take it to the next level, you can but it really depends on you.

You might be wondering why building a great business empire depends on you? Don’t worry I will tell you. The reason why I said building a great business empire depends on you is that:

• You are the person who knows why you started your business.
• You are the person who knows why you choose to stay in the business world instead of being in the corporate world like some of your friends.
• You are the person who knows why you want to become a successful entrepreneur.
• You are the person who understands the vision of your company than any other person.

I hope you can see the reason why building a successful business depends on you? Blaming people for the cause of your business not been in the right shape is a foolish thing to do. You as the business owner should know what to do at the right time in order not to mess yourself up.

If you really understand why building a successful business empire depends on you, now is the time to change the path your business is heading to. It’s time you create the right system for your business so as to make the business boost up even when you are on vacation, I mean it’s time you start working on your business and not in your business.

To make your business move on the right path, now it’s the time you sit down and think! You must understand WHY you venture into that business and WHY you want it to become successful. You must be plain with yourself in order to get the answer you need.

The next question I want to ask you is- who are you working with? Are you working with the people who are in the same level with you?
It’s time to check on the people who are working with you. Are the people who are working with you taking the business as their own? Nothing beat working with people who are ready to take the business as their own. These are the kind of people every business needs. People who are ready to work with their entrepreneur mind.

If you are working with people who are after their paycheck and nothing more, I don’t think there is a way your business can move the way you expected. It’s high time you take your time to hire people who are ready to work with the entrepreneur mind and posses the right attitude and they are ready to lift you up in order to make your business become a successful one.

Most people do say that, getting these kinds of people to work with is hard, but if I may tell you something, and the thing is, “in this life nothing good comes easy”. I also have been looking for people who are ready to work with me in order to build a business startup but the people I’ve been seeing don’t worth it. And that doesn’t mean I should just choose anybody just because good people are hard to find.

I just need to keep going, take my time to look for the right people so that it won’t be a pain in the ass for me as time goes on. Because if you should work with people who are not ready to take the business as their own it will cost you a lot on the long-term run.

Now I’m urging you to check on the people who you are working with maybe they are working whole heartedly with you. Be fast when firing someone who is not ready to take the business as his or her own but be slow when to hire someone in order to join your team. While Mark Suster will say “Hire Fast, Fire Fast” I see nothing wrong in that but I prefer going for the latter one. Which ever one that suits you, just make sure you play it wisely.

The next question I want to ask you is- Are you seeking advice from the right mentors or business coaches?

Seeking advice and help from mentors and coaches who don’t know facts about the business world will make you remain 6ft under the ground. Most people who call themselves business mentors and coaches are nothing to write home about.

Be careful when choosing someone to be your mentor or coach because if you should choose anybody without understanding WHY you choose that person then you will put yourself in a mess.

It’s time you start thinking like an entrepreneur, learn how to be systematic in order to build the right system for your business. Entrepreneurs who build the right system for their business are the ones who win big and eat the fattest bone in the business world. If you want to know more on how to create the right system for your business, I urge you to read “E-MYTH” by Michael Gerber. This book is a must read for entrepreneurs.  Also try to get involve in the E-myth mastery program. And never forget to keep learning from successful entrepreneurs.

One more thing I want you to keep in mind is that, “Rome was not built in a day” so to build a great business empire you have to be ready to give it what it takes in order to sit to sit on the throne. Be smart and persist until you succeed. Never ever give up. The word “Give Up” is meant for the failures. Only people with the failure mindset embrace the spirit of giving up.

In this life no one is perfect, I also I’m not perfect. I keep failing everyday and I always learn from my mistakes. So if you fail today doesn’t mean that you will be a failure forever. No! You just have to learn from your mistakes and keep trying till you dwell on the mountain top. Learn to work with smart people and stay away from people who are not ready to pay attention to you. No matter what the situation is, always persist and never give up! So to build a great business empire and be successful in life really depends on YOU.

Speak Your Mind

Do you think that building a successful business empire depends on You? Feel free to speak your mind by commenting below. Thanks!