WHO ARE YOU?

The test below will help you realise who you are and this will give you an insight of what you can do and what you need to change about yourself. Share it with your friends and have fun with it and let me know how it all went. Enjoy!

Below is Dr. Phil's test.

(Dr. Phil scored 55, he did this test on Oprah

and she got a 38.)  Some folks pay a lot of

money to find this stuff out! 

Read on, this is very interesting! 

Don't be overly sensitive!

The following is pretty accurate and it

only takes a few minutes.

Take this test for yourself and send it on to your friends.
 

The person who sent it placed their score in the email subject box.  Please do the same beforeforwarding it on to your friends.

(send it back to the person who sent it to you.)

Don't peek, but begin the test as you

scroll down and answer.  

Answers are for who you are now and not who

you were in the past.  Have pen or pencil and paper ready.  

This is a real test given by the Human Relations Dept. at many of the major corporations today.  It helps them get better insight concerning their employees and in their prospective employees.

It's only 10 Simple questions, so grab a pencil and paper, keeping track of your letter answers to each question. 

Make sure to change the subject of the email to read YOUR total.

When you are finished, forward this to friends, family, and also send it to the person who sent this to you.

Make sure to put 'YOUR' score in the subject box.
 

Ready? 
Begin.
 

1. When do you feel your best... 
A)  in the morning
B)  during the afternoon and early evening
C)  late at night 
 

2.  You usually walk... 
A)  fairly fast, with long steps
B)  fairly fast, with little steps
C)  less fast head up, looking the world in the face
D)  less fast, head down
E)  very slowly
 

3.  When talking to people you...
A)  stand with your arms folded
B)  have your hands clasped
C)  have one or both your hands on your hips
D)  touch or push the person to whom you are talking
E)  play with your ear, touch your chin, or smooth  your hair
 

4.  When relaxing, you sit with... 
A)   your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side.B)  Your legs crossed            
C)  your legs stretched out or straight
D)  one leg curled under you 

 

5.  When something really amuses you, you react with... 
A)  big appreciated laugh
B)  a laugh, but not a loud oneC)  a quiet chuckle
D)  a sheepish smile 

6.  When you go to a party or social gathering you... 
A)  make a loud entrance so everyone notices you
B)  make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know
C)  make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed

7.   You're working very hard, concentrating hard, and you're interrupted...

A)  welcome the break

B)  feel extremely irritated

C)  vary between these two extremes 
 

8.  Which of the following colors do you like most...  
A)  Red or orange
B)  black
C)  yellow or light blue
D)  green
E)  dark blue or purple
F)  white
G)  brown or gray
 

 

9.   When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before going to sleep you are...

A)  stretched out on your back

B)  stretched out face down on your stomach

C)  on your side, slightly curled

D)  with your head on one arm

E)  with your head under the covers

 

 
10.   You often dream that you are...
A)  falling

B)  fighting or struggling

C)  searching for something or somebody

D)  flying or floating

E)  you usually have dreamless sleep

F)  your dreams are always pleasant

 

POINTS:

1.  (a) 2     (b) 4     (c) 6
2.  (a) 6     (b) 4     (c) 7     (d) 2     (e) 1
3.  (a) 4     (b) 2     (c) 5     (d) 7     (e) 6
4.  (a) 4     (b) 6     (c) 2     (d) 1
5.  (a) 6     (b) 4     (c) 3     (d) 5     (e) 2
6.  (a) 6     (b) 4     (c) 2
7.  (a) 6     (b) 2     (c) 4
8.  (a) 6     (b) 7     (c) 5     (d) 4     (e) 3     (f) 2     (g) 1
9.  (a) 7     (b) 6     (c) 4     (d) 2     (e ) 1
10 (a) 4    (b) 2     (c) 3     (d) 5     (e) 6     (f) 1
 

 

Now add up the total number of points.

OVER 60 POINTs:& amp; nbsp; Others see you as someone they should 'handle with care'.  You're seen as vain, self-centered, and who is extremely dominant.  Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like you, but don't always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved with you.

51 TO 60 POINTS:  Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather impulsive personality, a natural leade r, who's quick to make decisions, though not always the right ones.  They see you as bold and adventuresome, someone who will tr y anything once, someone who takes chances and enjoys an adventure.  They enjoy being in your company because of the excitement you radiate.

41 TO 50 POINTS:  Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting, someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well balanced not to let it go to their head.  They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding, someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

31 TO 40 POINTS:  Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful & practical.  They see y ou as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest.  Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same loyalty in return.  Those who really get to know you, realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over if that trust is ever broken.

21 TO 30 POINTS:  Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy.  They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder.  It would really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment, expecting you to examine everything c arefully from every angle and then, usually decide against it. They think this reaction is caused partly by your careful nature.

UNDER 21 POINTS:   People think you are shy, nervous, and indeci sive, someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make the decisions and who doesn't want to get involved with anyone or anything! They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don't exist.  Some people think you're boring.  Only those who know you well, know that you aren't.

Now forward this to others, and put your score in the subject box of your e-mail, like this:  
 Dr. Phil's Test, I'm...

Humble Beginings

I am so sorry my post is coming in late today, I am out of my usual location and for some reason I just got wi-fi. Any way, after my post last week I was just thinking about how businesses start and realised that even though there are so many opportunities in Nigeria sometimes the opportunities overwhelm you and you think and believe that you need substantial capital and resources to take advantage of these opportunities. This is more so when you think about how difficult our operating environment is. On the other hand it may just be plain lack of self motivation popularly called laziness.


I was advising a Nigerian PLC on its activities and all the MD kept saying is they need foreign partners in order for them to realise their full potential. But what I really saw was just the inability of his team to think out of the box and start small and grow their business.
They have succeeded so far by throwing money at the problem and never really stopped to develop their own software and proprietary techniques.


This is what has led me to today's post. Humble Beginings, this really may be the key to succes, because it allows you to learn your business without the errors and mistakes costing you much money. To help put things in perspective I have stories from 10 Fortune 500 Companies that started with Humble Beginings. If you are just starting or have started a business you may see yourself in any one of these stories. I hope it helps.


Please do not get me wrong, if you have the capital and can do the research over a few years to ensure your projections are within your goal parameters then go ahead. At that level you will obviously factor in your worst case scenarios.


10 Fortune 500 Companies That Started With Next to Nothing

In the contemporary marketplace, most bigger, new businesses start as a result of years of market research, planning and strategic investment. Venture capitalists and big-money consultants get together with ideas that are based on years of experience and expertise, and they work in order to maximize profits. While, there are still millions of entrepreneurs and people that start their own successful companies, they are typically small to medium-sized at best, or they reach their growth capacity within several years. There are, however, some marked examples of businesses that started out organically, as an idea of one or several individuals with little or no experience, and/or little or no money. The following examples are businesses which have grown so large to be included in the Fortune 500, or the world’s largest 500 companies – but which have started from the humblest beginnings. They are “Rags to Riches” stories of unique brands, started by unique individuals that only have accumulated wealth and vast market share, but have created their own niche and never looked back:

Whole Foods Market

In 1978, twenty-five year old college dropout John Mackey and twenty-one year old Rene Lawson Hardy, saved and borrowed money from family and friends to open the doors of a small natural foods store in Austin, Texas. Within a year of opening the store, the couple was evicted from their home for using their apartment storage for the store. Homeless and with no place to go they decided to save costs by moving and living at their store full time. Since their store “Saferway” was zoned for commercial use only, there was no shower stall. According to the company’s website, the two instead bathed in the Hobart dishwasher, which had an attached water hose.
Eventually Mackey and Hardy moved out of the store and into their own place, and within two years managed a merger with another natural foods store to open up the first Whole Foods Market in Austin, Tx on September 20, 1980. With the markets floor space at 10,500 square feet and with 19 employees, Whole Foods Market became the largest of its kind. In 1984, Whole Foods began expanding to other cities by building stores from the ground up and by acquiring other natural foods stores around the country. In 1992 the company went public, and in 2008 posted $6.5 billion in revenues and $3.2 billion in assets. From the humble begginings in Austin, Tx in 1978, to being ranked 369 on the Fortune 500, Whole Foods Market is continually rising to the challenge of the market and providing a unique service to America.


Molson Coors

In 2005, Coors Brewing Company merged with Molson to become the fifth largest brewing company in the world. Though Coors has maintained success throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the road was long and began with the humble story of a German born immigrant by the name of Adolf Coors. Coors became an orphan at the age of 15 and had to support his younger siblings by working at a local brewery in a small Prussian town, in what is now the modern day city of Wuppertal, Germany. Adolph continued to work in the brewing industry until he was 21, when war and unrest in his country caused him to seek opportunity in America. He then stowed away on a ship, and arrived in the United States in 1868 with no money and no job. From there Coors headed west to look for employment; he found one odd job after another, and supported himself until he would cross paths with another German immigrant in Golden, Co.
Based on Adolf Coors initial investment of $2000 in 1872, his company has grown to be one of the largest brewing companies in the world. Coors’ claim to their success in the brewing business is based on what they refer to as the perfect ingredient: water from the Rocky Mountains. Since day one, Coors Brewing Company has marketed the beer in this way. Today, Coors now has $6.2 billion in revenue and $13.5 billion in assets. Coors Brewing Company is another example of an immigrant success story, where persistence, timing, and smart investments can pay off in the long run.


Apple

Most remember the scene in Forest Gump when he explains that he never has to worry about money again because of his investment in the fruit company called “Apple.” Well the truth is that for many investors this was the case. Like many tech companies, Apple started in the garage of a young man by the name of Steve Wozniack. Wozniack was an electronics hacker, and he and his long time friend Steve Jobs had this idea to create a personal computer. In 1976, the two approached a local electronics store to see if they would be interested in buying a personal computer that Wozniack had built. The owner of the store became interested and said he wanted 50 units. Wozniack and Jobs, both penniless at the time, went to a local computer parts supplier and ordered the parts on credit, based on their first purchase order. This was the start of Apple. Though the company has had its ups and downs in its 30-year history, Apple has proven to be the company that produces the industry standard time and time again. From the garage of Steve Wozniack to being ranked 103 on the Fortune 500, Apple continues to grow and prove to be a wise investment for those looking to expand their portfolios to include “fruit companies.”


Nordstrom

In 1887, a 16-year-old boy form Sweden left his home for the promise of America. He arrived in New York City with only five dollars to his name, and unable to speak a word of English. This boy’s name was John W. Nordstrom. His first years in America were surprisingly tough for the young immigrant; he labored in mines and logging camps just to make survive. Nordstrom however persisted, and took manual labor jobs that allowed him to continually move west towards the Pacific Ocean. After struggling for ten years, the 26-year-old Nordstrom picked up the daily newspaper to find that gold had been discovered in Alaska. As the legend goes, he made plans the very next morning to head north to discover his fortune.
After two years of hard labor, difficult terrain, and relentless competition, Nordstrom experienced moderate success, and was able to save nearly $13,000. He then moved to Seattle, Wa to invest his small fortune. In 1901, Nordstrom opened his first shoe store, just 14 years after coming to America. Throughout the 20th Century Nordstrom grew from the one shoe store in downtown Seattle to what is now a multi-billion dollar retail empire.


Dell

Dell was at one time the largest seller of personal computers and servers in the world. Presently Dell is ranked 34 on the Fortune 500, and in 2008 boasted revenues of $61 Billion with assets toping $27.5 billion. The path to the success that Dell now enjoys began with an idea and a $1,000 investment. While attending the University of Texas in 1984, Michael Dell founded the company as PCs Limited. Initial operations of Dell’s company ran from Dell’s dorm room, until he decided to drop out of college to run his company full time. In 1985, the company produced the first computer of its own design, and by 1988 had an initial public offering that valued the company at nearly $80 million.



Electronic Data Systems

In 1962, former presidential candidate Ross Perot founded EDS with $1000. Perot chose the name Electronic Data Systems from potential names he scribed on the back of a pledge envelope during a church service. Perot had been a salesman for IBM before starting EDS, and he was rejected 77 times before EDS acquired its first client. From processing computer tapes and data from their first client to running the IT arm of hundreds of companies a year after its creation, EDS quickly became the country’s leader in providing IT services to American companies.
By the time EDS went public in October 1968, the market value of EDS would be listed at $378 million. Soon thereafter, EDS expanded its operations globally. Today, EDS is ranked 115 on the Fortune 500, and boast revenues of $22.1 billion and has assets topping $19.2 billion. Perot’s experience was perhaps one of the quickest ascensions to wealth on this list.


Mattel

Shortly after World War II, newly-married Ruth and Elliot Handler decided to start a business out of the garage of their Southern California home. Though Mattel is best known as a toy maker, the brand initially produced and sold picture frames. Shortly after opening for business, Handler began making dollhouse furniture with the scraps left over from the picture frames. The couple would soon find out that the toy business was much more lucrative than picture framing. The Handlers had little business experience and even less capital, but the demographics of a baby boom, plus a virtual toy less marketplace afforded the couple a unique opportunity to carve out a niche. Mattel would have their first hit toy in 1947 with the “Uke-A-Doodle,” a miniature plastic ukulele, that proved to be an immediate success that drew large orders.
By 1955 Mattel had grown enough to become a sponsor of the new television program, “The Micky Mouse Club.” Soon after, Mattel released their iconic toy: Barbie. In 1963 the company went public. From the humble beginnings in the garage to the New York Stock Exchange, Mattel is now ranked 413 on the list of Fortune 500 companies. In 2008, Mattel reached $6 Billion in revenues and reported 4.8 billion in assets.


Wrigley

In the spring of 1891, the 29-year-old William Wrigley Jr. moved from Philadelphia to Chicago with only $32 to his name. Soon after arriving in Chicago, Wrigley began selling soap. As an incentive to the customers, if they purchased his soap, he would give them a free can of baking powder. Soon baking powder proved to be more popular than the soap he was selling, so he switched his business. A year later, in 1892, Wrigley used chewing gum as an incentive for buying his baking powder. Again, chewing gum proved to be more popular than baking powder, and so he switched business again. The first brand of chewing gum Wrigley produced was Juicy Fruit in 1893. Through his personal hard work as a salesman and his ability to advertise, Juicy Fruit would soon become the number 1 selling chewing gum in the country.
Wrigley went public in 1919, and since then has seen ups and downs in the market. Wrigley has remained a staple, and perhaps the most visible brand, in the chewing gum business throughout now into the 21st century. A globally distributed brand, Wrigley is one of the the largest gum company in the world, and one of the most successful businesses – in any industry- in the world. In 2008, Wrigley posted revenues of $5.4 billion with a recorded over $5.2 billion in assets.


Starbucks

In 1971, three academics each invested $1350 of their own money into the first Starbucks located in downtown Seattle. English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel, and writer Gordon Bowker opened the store called Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice. Shortly after opening, and to continue their operations, the three borrowed another $5000 from the local bank. The three partners wanted to pattern their business after Peet’s Coffee and Tea, in Berkley, Ca, which sold dark roast coffee beans and taught customers how to grind the beans and make freshly brewed coffee at home. It wasn’t until the early 1980’s when Howard Shultz entered the picture that Starbucks began focusing not on selling coffee beans, but on making coffee, tea, and espresso drinks for customers inside the store. Though there was much hesitation from the founding partners, this proved to be the business model Starbucks would follow.
Starbucks went public in 1992, and proved to be one of the most successful IPOs that year. With the infusion of public capitol, Starbucks began to strategically expand all over the US, at one point, at the rate of opening one new store per day. Though Starbucks has seen experienced a decline in popularity in the last several years, the brand’s exponential growth is impressive. In 2008, Starbucks was ranked 277 on the Fortune 500. In the same year Starbucks posted revenues of $9.4 billion and recorded assets of $5.3 billion.


eBay Media

Contrary to popular belief, eBay was not created to find Pez Dispensers for the founder’s wife. This was revealed in Adam Cohen’s 2002 book, The Perfect Store, and confirmed later by eBay. The story was fabricated by a public relations manager in 1997 to interest the media and create a public buzz. Regardless of the legitimacy of the story, media interest and public buzz was created, helping to propel the brand into the minds of consumers (and in this case, would-be merchants and barterers as well). In reality, the first item to ever sell on eBay (then AuctionWeb) was a broken laser pointer, by the French born Iranian immigrant and eBay founder, Pierre Omidyar. The transaction closed in September of 1995, not long after Omidyar finished the code for the website in the living room of his Silicon Valley home.
By June 1996, Omidyar’s website had generated around $10,000 in revenue and Omidyar hired his first employee. Soon after this Omidyar left his day job as a computer programmer. By the end of 1996 the total value of items sold on ebay reached $7.2 million and had over 41,000 registered users. With over 250,000 individual transactions reached in 1996, by 1997 eBay began facilitating over 200,000 transactions a month. This caught the attention of a venture capital group who then invested $5 million in the company. From an idea in an average computer programmers living room in 1995 to being ranked 326 on the list of the Fortune 500 in 2008, eBay is the quintessential American success story.


When you read these stories you find that many of these entrepreneurs are no different from you.
They were going through hardships, things were difficult but they kept their dreams alive.
A number of these stories relate to my last two posts, read them again and read the stories, a number of your questions will be answered.

How to Spot Viable Business Opportunities

With a large and boisterous population estimated at between 120-150 million, a large reserve of natural resources (oil, gas, solid minerals, etc) and an expansive untapped potential in agriculture, Nigeria is clearly a huge market, offering immense opportunities for business. There are infrastructural problems alright, but the spirit of entrepreneurship does not surrender to challenges. It is also true that many of the problems present opportunities for profitable business.

If you are wondering where these business opportunities are hidden, when there is so much lamentation about unemployment, maybe this article will help direct your searchlight. One truth: not every unemployed person has thought seriously of starting a business. If you seriously need to find good business opportunities, here's a guide.

What You Need:

• Desire and commitment: To be able to see opportunities that exist or are emerging, you must have a burning desire to start a business. It is the intensity of your desire that will open your eyes to the opportunities around you. Without a consuming passion, nothing serious can really be achieved.
• Conscious attention to the environment: To find opportunities, you must be conscious of the environment and developments occurring around you. Your antennae must be raised high up, picking signals, as it were, of important occurrences and trends. Your burning desire should ignite this consciousness.
• Focused interest: You need to define and narrow down your interest, for more effectiveness. A narrower berth sharpens your instinct on your defined areas of interest. It helps plant this interest deeply in your subconscious. That way, your goal remains on the top burner and emerging opportunities can hardly escape your attention.
• Readiness to act: Opportunities arise all the time. The problem is that we're often not ready for them and so fail to take action. When you mean business, you must put yourself in the right position to take action. Seen an advertised invitation to a business opportunity briefing in your area of interest, why not check it out by attending? If you're not impressed, you burst it and wait for something else!

The Face of Business Opportunities

A business must have good patronage to be successful. The target market will only patronise your product or service if it meets a yearning need. In looking for a business opportunity, you need to identify a need-gap and fill it. Your potential for success is dependent on this relationship between a need and the solution you offer. The more intense the need and more appropriate your solution is, the more successful your business will be. So, look for business opportunities in the daily needs, pains, difficulties and desires of the people. Find a good solution at the right price for any of these and be sure you'll soon be smiling to the bank.

The people's requirements also change over time, propelled by various factors. Your ability to see emerging trends may also be the key to a successful business. What works today may not be adequate or 'in' tomorrow. You may find your opportunity by seeing where the shifts are leading.

Drivers of Opportunity

Paying attention to the following drivers of opportunities will help you when seeking out emerging business opportunities:

Government Policy: Government remains the dominant player in our economy. Changes in government policy represent one major creator of business opportunities or the reverse. Check out some recent examples: the ban of the importation of processed fruit drinks has unleashing a new wave of local fruit juice manufacture; port concessioning set some investors up for good money. The key is to analyse policies for inherent opportunities. Better still; get to know about these policies while they're still on the fire. If you do a serious exercise today, you will identify a handful of impending policies that will generate life-changing opportunities!

Technological Changes: Watch out too for opportunities thrown up by changes in technology. Didn't many small and medium operators (mast-builders, sellers of phones and accessories, hawkers, etc) harvest a fortune from the introduction of GSM technology in Nigeria? If you missed out, the good news is that new opportunities arise all the time. Just keep scanning and remain prepared.

Natural resources: The country is rich in natural resources, some of which are yet to be exploited. They resources range from the extractive to agricultural and other endowments. While huge exploitation costs may be involved in some cases, there are areas where small businesses can play effectively.

Demographics: Analysing the population profile and emerging trends provides a good guide to business opportunities. Who wouldn't know that property development in Lagos and Abuja, for instance, will remain a profitable business for some time to come, given the rate of population growth of these cities? Think of the different segments of the population and their needs, changing tastes, emerging influences. These are pointers to where business opportunities lie.

Public utilities: The weakness of our public utilities creates a huge demand-supply gap, leaving a yawning market to be serviced. 'Pure water' production has done well as a business option because of the unmet demand for portable water. Sale of power-generating sets, inverters, UPS/stabilizers and various power devices has left many bank accounts in deep black. The failure of the public educational system has created successful entrepreneurs operating private educational institutions. More opportunities are still there, if only you look more closely.

Failures Of Existing Companies and Businesses: Each time you are dissatisfied with the product, service or any feature of existing businesses, it may be a pointer to a business idea. Sometimes, you don't need to re-invent the wheel. You may not have to create a new product or service idea. Simply improving on what is currently provided may be all you require to succeed. Look out of for what is available today that you can improve on: product enhancement, better delivery experience for customers or whatever.

What To Consider When You Weigh the Options

In evaluating the options you identify, your goal is to choose a business that inherently has good potentials of success. While the ultimate performance will depend on how well you run your business, starting on a strong footing will be important. Give careful consideration to the nature of the product or service. The following factors are important:

Consumables are products that are consumed and replaced. They offer a better guarantee of sustained demand; durable products, on the other hand, will be demanded less frequently. On a low working capital, you probably will prefer a product that moves fast and consumables will be your best bet.

Essentials are basic requirements which individuals and households purchase all the time. Food items, toiletries, clothing, etc, fall into this category. A business rooted in these goods will, on balance; stand on a stronger demand base than one that deals on luxury items. For a small beginner, these items are a safer bet.

Seasonality refers to consumption cycle which peaks at certain periods but may be flat or depressed at others. Umbrellas sell well during the rains but may not be in much demand in the dry season. Unless bundled with other product lines, such goods can create a cash flow nightmare in the 'off' season. Consider a product that keeps you in business all year round.

Where To Look

To ensure you pick up information on developments that can point you to evolving or existing opportunities, you need to make a habit of combing these sources:

• The media publications, which is print, electronic, etc. Catching the news headlines in newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, etc should be an abiding habit. The internet, which has become a huge library, is a rich source of information. Its currency, extensive coverage and extraordinary accessibility make it a choice source to use.
• Government's policy documents, official statements, budgets, publications of the Central Bank, government agencies, business groups and researchers will keep you informed of important economic and public policy thrusts.
• Opinions of experts, friends, family and public discussants can also direct attention to where things are happening.

In summary, starting a business is serious business and requires some serious work. Take some time to do some analysis based on the indicators outlined here. Chances are good that you will find an opportunity that suits you and forms a basis for your dream business.

Should I Start My Own Business?

This is my first blog and first post. I hope it will be a journey that will help you discover yourself which I think is one of the best things about starting and running your own business. You find your strengths and weaknesses, you also realise most importantly what you can do and most times you surprise yourself because you exceed your expectations.


Should I start my own business? This is a question everyone asks at some point in time or the other. It could be because you haven't been able to find a job, you are tired of your present job, you want to increase your income (make money), you want to be your own boss, and you have a fantastic idea.


The answer to any of these question should always be guided by your ultimate reason.

1.    If you haven't found a job: Your motivation will be both economic and self worth so whatever you decide should be able to fulfill both needs. Will it keep you alive and will you be proud of what you do. Pride does not mean what people think, but what you think. What are you comfortable with? You should also understand who you are. If you do not handle rejection well, making your business work will be as difficult as finding a job and the rejections will be just the same if not worse. So you should maybe change your job hunting strategy. Think of a service business something that requires little or zero capital and you get paid up front. A cleaning business, a personal shopping business for bachelors and busy mothers.

2.    You hate your current job: Your motivation should be something you enjoy doing. You should decide on something you like and have a passion for. Say for instance you love soccer so much you may decide to set up miniature leagues in several different neighborhoods and generate attendance which will generate sponsors. Or you love fashion you may decide to create an online catalogue of fashionable things you like and point them to the stores where they can get them and ask them to use a code to shop at a particular shop where you already get a commission and your clients get a discount. You need to ensure you can still earn the same income you earned while you worked.

3.    You want to increase your income (make money): This is a very popular reason why most people want to start their own business and sometimes in fact it is not that simple and straight forward and all you may be doing is own a job with probably the same income. The key is to understand your motivation. You also need to understand that there are several ways to make money without starting your own business, such as trading in shares, selling information, being a commission agent, trading in property. All these are income generating without necessarily starting a business. You also need to be very analytical and ask critical questions. How much money do I want to make? This will determine if your resources will enable you achieve your goal.

4.      You want to be your own boss: As idyllic as this sounds, you need to understand why you want to be your own boss. Is it because you have natural leadership skills or you hate taking orders from others or you are not a team player. he answer to these questions will determine whether you have what it takes to start your own business and what kind of business to start. Any client facing business automatically means your clients become your boss.

5.    You have a fantastic idea: Fantastic is relative, an idea is only really fantastic when a number of people are ready, willing and able to pay for your product or service. It is important to test your idea among several groups of people to determine how fantastic it really is. But most importantly you need to know who you are. Are you a risk taker; are you ready to risk it all? Are you tough skinned especially when it seems nothing is working? Are you adaptable, sometimes the application may dramatically change? For instance at the advent of mobile phones someone I knew imported mobile telephone signal blockers to sell to banks, since banks had a rule of not  allowing customers to make phone calls in the banking hall. It was not successful because it also blocked the bank’s staff’s mobile phones as well and so had to be turned off so they could receive calls. If he had thought the idea through and had been adaptable the same gadget could have also been sold to Universities, Schools, Churches and event places. You must always keep an open mind.

That is it for my first post. Send in your comments and questions. If you are working on any idea let me know how I can help you. Just send me an email and if you want me to call you send in your number. Calls will only be one way from me to you at a time agreed by both of us.



Please let me have feedback. Thank you.



Tokunbo Benson