Slick Marketing: Making strides in the Communications industry

Today I would like to share an inspirational story and I hope that it will inspire you to step out. The story is about Samali Namuddu who also happens to be proprietor and create Director of Slick Marketing Limited.
Samali started her company in her mothers house while we were still in University. I remember one of her very first projects was our year book. she tells me her first VAT payment was Kshs 3,500! Fueled by her passion for design and an entrepreneurial spirit she set up Slick Marketing which has now grown to a full fledged advertising and marketing communications agency and will be celebrating its 5th anniversary very soon. Slick marketing offers practical and relevant solutions to meet the needs of SME's. That is it's niche. Samali's dream is to create a world renown brand from the SME's that come to her everyday. She moved on from creating our year book as well as designing a lot of wedding materials for her classmates to building a business that services growing businesses in the Small and Medium enterprise industry. She creates business cards, brochures, web designs, marketing strategies, brand strategies, all with a personalized touch to bring out the personality of every business.
According to Samali, integrity is one of the key things necessary to build a successful business. This ensures you get repeat and referral customers. Courage is another key ingredient. It does not matter how long you wait to start a business. You will still have to build it from the ground up. Would you rather do that while you are still young or when you have kids to send to college and mortgages to pay? it is up to you to decide.
I must say that watching slick marketing grow has been truly inspiring. Please visit their website to see what customized solutions that Slick has to offer your business.

Developing the Leader within you

In the recent weeks I have been thinking a lot about leadership. What does it mean to be a leader? Is it a skill set, position, something you are born with? How do I know if I am a good leader?
In my quest for knowledge in this area I have come across interesting bits of information that i would like to share. Being a leader is not a position. It is a quality that some people have a natural tendency towards but at the same time anyone who takes interest can develop their leadership abilities. There is a difference between a manager and a leader as we will read shortly.
People also naturally assume that leadership and position go hand in hand. This is also a myth.A person can be put in charge of a project and lack the leadership ability to propel it forward. So what is leadership?
Leaders are people who possess a passion to serve and improve lives. They are not driven by selfish ambition. A leader's mark is the ability to influence people to follow him/her. A leaders adds value to his/her team members and does not take away or influence them negatively. A leader is able to empower others without feeling that s/he is depleting their own resources/capabilities. A leader is a visionary. S/he is able to asses any business situation and provide a road map years into the future. A leader is genuinely interested in people. A leader understands that without people s/he can not exist. One of my favorite leadership mentors John C. Maxwell states that if you want to find out whether you truly posses leadership capabilities; start or work in a volunteer organization. If you can inspire people to follow you and connect to your vision then you are able to practice leadership in any situation or organization.
Do not confuse management and leadership. A manager is someone who can allocate resources and people towards accomplishing tasks effectively. A leader moves beyond that to build a strong organization or business with a vision beyond today and themselves. S/he is able to see opportunities that go along with that and how they will impact the world. S/he is able to attract the right people and retain them. S/he is able to rise above pettiness into greatness.They posses character, influence, vision,intuition, servitude,strength, courage and most importantly they are secure in themselves.
Please visit our facebook page or post comments and share your thoughts on leadership. We will continue to explore this topic. Please seek out mentors and world renown leaders and learn from them. read their books and life stories.

Share and Learn

This month i would like to give an opportunity to all the ladies to share their stories, learning's, and Struggles. Please prepare a small write up that you think aspiring women entrepreneurs can benefit from. The article can be about anything you have to share on a professional and business front. Send in your submissions to janetmwendwa@gmail.com. We will post and share the stories on this blog.

Jobs in Kenya

I wanted to share with you this wonderful blog i came across. it contains recent updated jobs and consultancy opportunities available in Kenya. Make it a part of your daily browsing and am sure we will share the same sentiment. Another site i like is www.careerpointkenya.blogspot.com and www.kenyatenders.blogspot.com.

Uchumi Supermarkets to return to the Stock Exchange

As a way to unlock the suspended trading at the NSE and enable the lifting of receivership, Uchumi is offering its current shareholders an opportunity to loan the supermarket chain loan with 10% annual interest that is also guaranteed by the government. The holder has an option to convert the loan and interest earned into shares at maturity or simply get paid. The minimum investment is Kshs. 3000.
This is definitely worth checking out to see if there is renewed investor confidence to warrant public purchase once the share is allowed to trade on the NSE.

Business Fair on 31st October 2009

Attention all SME's and people out there. This weekend will be the annual Business fair at the Mavuno Dome on Mombasa road. It will be on this saturday and sunday. Please come and get involved. Learn what opportunities to improve your business are, get new leads, and Network. Be there. Tell all your friends.

Business Woman of the MonthRedefining Marketing

This week I was very privileged to meet an inspiring woman i would like to honor as the Business Woman of the the Month. She is the owner of Upbeat Marketing an agency like no other. Nathalie Chinje is no ordinary lady she is driven,vivacious,passionate, and she knows her thing. She is driven by a passion for empowering Africa and especially women to pursue their business goals beyond borders but within Africa.

It was this passion that gave birth to the intra-africa business breakfast an event that has caught the attention of governments and businesses. This event is held in different countries and provides businesses an opportunity to gain insights on the different markets/countries. It also provides the government an opportunity to communicate directly to investors what incentives have been put in place in order to improve the businesses environment. Other than that it a wonderful networking platform for any investor. Be sure to visit the link and learn more about this amazing event.

To Nathalie; Hats off you are an African Woman in Business Icon.