Online opportunities for extra cash

If you have a laptop you want to make work extra for you, i want to tell that the internet is flowing with opportunities to make cash writing and doing data entry. One of the sites i came across today is www.submitwebads.com which is looking for ad writers and its not as hard as you might think. check it out and let me know what you think.

Exciting product by DHL

Just wanted to let you enterprising people out there know that DHL has a very exciting product called Easy shop. Basically you can get a shipping address in the U.S! How cool. So if you have seen a book you like online among other things that are cheaper there you can now buy them online with your visa credit or debit card and have DHL deliver them right to your doorstep. Check out www.dhl.co.ke for more information and click on the link below the Easy shop banner and you can register for your address online without leaving your office/home! Check out the list of prohibited items and also the costs of delivery before making your purchase. I am personally in love with this product and I'm testing it out, just made my first order.
Let me know what your experience is.

Female enterprenuer of the week

Every week i want to honor an inspiring enterprenuer and this week i want to honor flora mutahi who owns melvins marsh international a company that had humble begginings out of her love for tea and has now ventured into other products such as brown rice.i honor her because she represents the different facets that a woman encompasses and strives for. She is a wife, a mother, and a very succesful enterprenuer and one of the only women in the manufacturing industry in kenya. Catch a glimpse of the rest of her story in the july issue of african woman magazine kenyan issue.

Turning Bins into Pools

Now am always on the look out for interesting ideas. check out this link for an interesting opportunity. Imagine if you set this up in Kibera and charge 20 bob per person per weekend or something like that.

http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2009/07/23/entrepreneur-turns-trash-bins-into-pools/

Fibre optic goes live

This is in commemoration of the day when the fibre optic went Live but like someone told me do not expect miracles at least in the first month as the several ISP's sort out configuration issues but to all enterprenuers please take note and advantage of the vast opportunities available online! Make hay while the sun shines and indeed its shining now

Register A company in 4 days!

If you are still harboring dreams of financial independence and entrepreneurship but are yet to take that first step, registering your own company, then get a move on. These guys promise to have you on the road to your dream in just 4 days for only 19,500 OR YOUR MONEY BACK. Now thats a good deal by all means. Visit www.formakenyancompany.com go on, take the first step and sign in!

Book Review: Jimah Mbaru's Transforming Africa

If like me you did not know that jimnah Mbaru had a book out and a website www.jimnahmbaru.com check out this review from his website and if you like it go out and get the book and promote Inspirational African Writers.

Transforming Africa

This volume comprises speeches, lectures, papers, letters and press releases that address pertinent issues in the realm of socio-political economy while laying particular emphasis on policy reforms for sustainable growth and development in Africa as it enters the 3rd millennium.

These issues range from the origin, significance and repercussions of globalization of national economies and revolutions in information and telecommunication technology, to capital and money markets, regional and continental integration, socio-political and economic reforms, and women's emancipation.

These are issues that will be of great interest to academics, scholars, policy makers, political players and economic planners and all those concerned with development in Africa.

Jimnah Mbaru is an internationally renowned investment banker who has made a remarkable contribution to the development of capital markets in Africa. He has been associated with the development of financial institutions including the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), which he served as chairman for 10 years and Africa Stock Exchanges Association, which he launched as a founder chairman in 1993. Currently, he is chairman and director of several companies, including Dyer & Blair Limited, a leading stock broking firm.

Totally awesome inventions

Source.www.biz-opportunities.biz

Cyber Clean – Keyboard Cleaning Slime

iSnow – Make Your Own Snow

Sprinkler Hide-A-Key

Brush and Rinse Toothbrush

Photos by Firebox/geekalerts/thinkgeek/littledivatoys.

Tips to retain your Customer

Source: www.business-opportunities.biz

Make Customer Retention Priority No. 1

Rhonda Abrams At USA TODAY:

In this economy, when small-business owners ask me what to do to survive, I always advise, “Whatever you do, make sure you do whatever you can to keep your current customers.”

Whether you call it customer retention, account management, relationship management, or just staying in touch, developing a strategy so that you don’t lose the customers or clients you have is vital to the success of any business — especially now.

1. Contact your top customers or clients regularly. Make a list of your top customers, at least 10-25. Call them each at least quarterly. Take the best ones to lunch or dinner — even if that means you have to hop a plane.

2. Keep your name in front of all your customers. Advertise regularly. Network regularly. Send e-mail newsletters regularly. The key is doing this regularly.

3. Give your current customers good deals. We’re all used to come-on deals to attract new customers, but we then fail to offer similar discounts to current customers. Remember, your competitors are targeting your customers with deals.

4. Surprise them! Do something special and unexpected for some of your best customers. Send them a small gift. Add something extra to their order.

5. Keep track. Get a database, contact manager, digital address book. I’m always surprised by the number of businesses — especially small businesses — that do not have a good database of their past customers. Find a way to keep track of all your clients — past and present — so that you can easily and quickly contact them.

6. Communicate, communicate, communicate. All of us, myself included, take our customers for granted. As a result, we get so focused on doing our work, that we don’t take enough time out to meet with, talk to, and more importantly, listen to, our customers. Stay in touch. Ask them what they need and want. Be part of their lives and businesses.

10 important websites for your business

10 Must-Click Websites

Surfing the web for top-notch research and advice to help your business grow? Save some time with these information-rich websites.

• BizStats.com
  Free statistics and financial ratios for businesses by industry; find out what the average firm in your industry spends and earns.
  
• Business.gov
  The central source for federal, state and local government information for businesses; learn about employment laws, where to apply for government grants and loans, and more.
  
• BusinessFinance.com
  This lender-matching service offers a range of useful information on various ways to finance a business.
  
• Entrepreneurship.org
  The Kauffman Foundation runs this site, which features hundreds of how-to articles for entrepreneurs, and data for policymakers.
  
• Nielsen
  Snapshots of consumer trends in different markets, from groceries to movies, by one of the oldest and biggest market-research firms
  
• Ladies Who Launch
  Blogs, success stories, how-tos and more, all targeting women entrepreneurs
  
• Access eCommerce Guide
  Even internet-illiterate entrepreneurs can learn almost everything they need to start an e-commerce business here.
  
• Small Business Advancement National Center
  The nation's entrepreneurship researchers contribute to this trove of scholarly articles on small-business issues.
  
• Small Business School
  View online videos and read transcripts of presentations on financing, hiring, exits and more.

Read more:http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2009/april/200694.html#ixzz0LzsuN5R8

Business Plan Writing

Check out this website if you need to be hooked up with a business plan, Research proposals, and funding proposals. www.bizresource.co.ke

And a quote that i ran into today: If you do not have capital to start your business; Get a job.

A lot of people out there want to live the dream but they dont walk the talk. There are lost of opportunities that wont require lots of money but they do not follow through. Will soon be posting some ideas so follow our blog on google connect to get updates and invite your friends.

Free Business Document templates

Fret no more if you ever need to deliver or send a document over to a client in a hurry and do not already have existing templates then www.freebusinessformsandtemplates.com to the rescue. This nifty website has tonnes of free templates guaranteed to sort you out. check it out; give us your feedback.

In Execution | 0 Comments

Important Steps To Take Before Starting A Business

June 7, 2009 by Jaclyn Wells | 4 Comments

photo credit: Lincolnian (Brian)

In the world today with all of our new technology rising every day and so many different opportunities, one could start just about any business you could think of. However, There are a few vital steps to take before starting any sort of business today as suggested on Entrepreneur.com.

Show the money. Obviously you cant start a new business without the proper capital, so be sure that you examine what you have to work with and where you will need to borrow before starting. Go out and get yourself a good attorney. This doesnt mean they have to be at your beck and call, but it’s good to have an attorney on staff that is experienced in new business to help you get started.

Decide on what you are going to call your business. This probably sounds like a very easy task, but it’s really not. Make sure the name you choose you will like for the duration of your company.

Get all necessary licenses and permits: Along with a business license, you may need to get additional licenses depending on the type of business and local laws. Many professionals, such as contractors and real estate agents, need to be licensed in the states in which they work.

Mom invents Organic diapers

Green Top to Bottom

Bored while her baby slept, this mother created organic, cloth diapers.

Margarita McClure found that when her first baby was born, she had a lot of extra time on her hands. "For those first few months, the baby doesn't do much," she recalls.

So she filled the hours with a project that eventually became a business earning 2008 sales of more than $1.4 million. In 2005, while her baby slept, she created Swaddlebees.

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McClure, 34, began designing and manufacturing organic cloth diapers because she couldn't fathom all the waste created by disposable diapers. "We don't generate much waste from my house, and the thought that I'd need an extra bag or two or three for diapers seemed wasteful," she explains. Plus, "They're hypo-allergenic, and a lot of parents feel better knowing they're putting natural fibers next to their babies' most sensitive areas."

The mompreneur made her first sales on eBay. "I made a dozen orders, put them on the site and sold the first one for $26. At that point, it was an unknown brand. It got me thinking that this had potential," she remembers. Soon after, she found a fabric supplier and developed a website.

Today, Swaddlebees, along with McClure's second diaper company, Blueberry Diapers, sell at nearly 100 boutiques and online stores, many of which are run by other mothers. "Last year, we had almost 200 retailers, but I found that many of them weren't serious about their businesses," she says. "So we set standards that our retailers need to hit certain volumes to work with us." By cutting the number of stores she works with, she has doubled her own volume because she's been able to concentrate on her better-performing customers.

McClure, a former restaurateur, attributes much of her early success to luck. "When I first started out, I didn't advertise. Our customers are always on the lookout for new brands, and somehow they found me."

And while she never had plans to start her own diaper company, now she can't imagine doing anything else. "I'm proud of myself," she says. "We're all having fun here."

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2008/december/198512.html#ixzz0LzIZYXK9

Personal Branding

I was researching yesterday on Personal branding and some of the controversies that are around the said subject. But as i was doing so its was amazing to find interesting things that celebrities have had their names attached to; from perfume, clothes, shoes, food, drinks etc the list is endless. However i got to thinking are there any real personal brands in Kenya?

The ones I could think of are Susan Kamau who has no doubt built a successful empire as our very own Kenyan Martha Stewart. She has a magazine, a book, a tv show, cooking classes, motivational talks that i know of anyway. Check out her website www.kenyankitchen.co.ke.

The other female personal brand i could think of is the incredible Sylvia Owori. I must say as soon as her shop opened and her magazine launched i could not wait to get my hands on some of the shoes in African Woman magazine its just amazing. She is one of the most recognizable fashion designers, enterpreneurs, and is the owner of African Woman.

Can you name any other female personal brands drop an email at janetmwendwa@gmail.com and we will post all the names on the blog

10 year old enterpreneur

I am a fan of the internet and if you are patient enough you can find the most interesting reads. The post below is from www.business-opportunities.biz be sure to subscribe to it its surely one of the most insightful things i have come across. Enjoy!

10-Year-Old Entrepreneur Takes Her Vision On The Road

June 16, 2009 by Rich Whittle | 4 Comments

Detroit Free Press:

Amiya Alexander bounds in front of a parked school bus at Bloomfield Hills Montessori Center, her smile so wide it shows off the red and black bands around her braces.

Those braces, her brown Baby Phat high tops and the poof of pink feathers affixed to her hair speak to the accoutrements of any 10-year-old girl.

Except Amiya owns another accessory: the school bus.

At age 10, Amiya Alexander is an entrepreneur — owner, founder and creator of Amiya’s Mobile Dance Academy, which travels around metro Detroit teaching kids hip-hop, ballet, tap, merengue and more.

Painted a searing shade of hot pink, Amiya’s bus has all but four seats ripped out, a dance floor installed and ballet barres and mirrors affixed to the walls. On the ceiling, glitter glimmers.

Since January, it has rolled around metro Detroit, driven by her great-uncle, Sundiata Abdul-Mateen, who was lured out of retirement to help.

Aside from Bloomfield Hills Montessori, Amiya also teaches classes at the Northwest Activities Center in Detroit and has instructed toddlers in ballet and salsa at Island Kiddie Kampus Child Development Center in Grosse Ile.

Photo by Detroit Free Press.

Karibu

Welcome to Kenyan Lady enterprenuer debut on the www. Its going to be a fun site for women of all walks of life to share and interact and most of all learn from each other. It is important in these hard economic times in Kenya with no water and power-cuts to keep abreast of global trends and information that will improve our lives so welcome and enjoy the ride. Feel free to submit articles at janetmwendwa@gmail.com and we will be sure to post them.