The one minute millionaire

I was driving to work the other day and I remembered something I read in a book called the one minute millionaire. In this book, a woman loses her husband and her in-laws take custody of her kids because they are wealthy and can provide a better life for their grandchild than their mother. The woman is given 90 days to raise one million dollars in order to regain custody.

Now for many of us nothing is ever that urgent in our lives to drive us to go beyond the norm to do something significantly life changing. We are happy to only exist at mediocrity and to make it through the day.

I was having coffee with one of my friends who went into great and grand detail about the things he wanted to do in his life. He described his dream car, house, land in a lot of vivid detail. In what I wrongfully thought to be wisdom, I told him that the most logical thing to do was to plan for the things he could do now while still holding on to his dreams for the future. He then told me something i consider a nugget of truth that I use to this day. He said, “You need to understand that money is a function of work. If you want money, find the work, get the money”.

It’s amazing how many of us walk around with grandiose ideas for the future and fail to act on the present. There is an age at which all of us must stop being full of potential and actually begin to fulfill our potential.

I was at a photo shoot for one of my clients who is the president of the 4th largest real estate developers in the world. As she drove into the studio parking lot, the photographer made a remark that, “there are certain cars in this world you can never by on a salary,” he then pointed at the sleek black range rover and said, “that is one of them.”

There is a gap that separates our present and future. Think carefully and critically about what you need to do to close that gap. Pick up your shovel whatever it may be and start digging. Do not be surprised at the difficulty you will most definitely experience to live your dreams.

The woman in the book invented a toy that she sold to a manufacturer to mass produce and sure enough in 90 days, she was a millionaire. I made my first ever million in four days. There is no such thing as impossible.

Finding Equlibrium

One of my friends celebrated her 30th birthday a few days ago. When talking to her I was curious to know what to expect in my 30th decade. She shared with me her dreams and aspirations and the things she had hoped to accomplish before turning 30, some which did not quite work out as planned.

The war stories from her twenties were full of intrigue and drama; from bad relationships, business decisions, best and worst mistakes, scars, pain, and no doubt lessons that had made her wiser and stronger as a person. I then asked her what she expected her third decade to be like. Her other thirty-something friends had told her that everything calms down and you become more conscientious and deliberate about the things you do and decisions that you make. It is like you finally find a state of equilibrium; where all things are in perfect harmony. I for one cannot vouch for a bit of truth in that.

It is important for every human being to understand and know yourself well.
There is a place in all of us that must remain at constant in order to be able to survive and succeed in this world. Develop an inner strength and confidence by understanding who you are, your strengths, your weaknesses, and your worth. Regardless of any criticism thrown at you, a business deal, marriage or relationship that goes bad, whether you are rich or flat broke. When everything is peeled away from you; your version of who you are on the inside must be so clear to you that you are able to weather any storm.

A lot of people live their lives by a standard that is set by those around them. They are constantly changing themselves, how they act and behave to suit an occasion or individual. If you do not define yourself and get comfortable with who you are; what will you have left when everything in your life is taken away? What happens if you lose your job, your money, your house, your wife, your friends? Would you survive something that big and how far will the rubber band stretch before you bounce back?

Once you know and define your equilibrium, your task will be to find it when you lose it. Not knowing this is the very thing that stops us from achieving and living our potential regardless of what is happening in our lives.

Tips for Surviving a FinancialNegotiation

I remember once, one of my mentors told me that I needed to sharpen my negotiation skills. He even recommended a book I should read. By virtue of him being my boss I was upset and hurt because we had just brokered a multi-million deal for the company even after making a few concessions. The thing about life is that, if you miss an opportunity to learn an important lesson, life will throw that curve ball at you until you wise up.

I believe what he was trying to teach me then could have been a big lesson for me in the future. This particular repeat lesson cost me a little over half a million Kenya shillings. Now, that is one helluva an expensive lesson to learn. Let me share a few tips on how to survive a tough negotiation;

a.Always quote with the client in Mind
A lot of us work with industry defined products and services. Bottom line is, clients always know in their minds what product they want, even though it is just semantics to you. It is important to them that you understand what they want and package it to suit their needs.

b.Would you pay for that?
After you complete your quotation it is important to ask yourself one little important question. If you were the client would you really pay that amount for that product and why? This process will help you form a basis for argument during a negotiation and it also helps you get into the mind of the client.

c.Know your worth
A lot of us are willing to do anything for a quick buck without a care for how your brand yourself and your business into the future. If there is a specific market need that you are filling, you need to be able to define the intellectual and physical assets that you add to your customers’ bottom line 5, 10, 30 years into the future. Price your service/product with that in mind and do not back down or sell yourself short.

d.Beware of your big guns
One thing you need to realize about human nature is, your brain is automatically drawn to big figures. This is where your costs inflate and the first point at which you want to make reductions. Ensure that you position your big guns wisely. Where they add value to the client more that to you.

e.Be willing to make concessions
Before you walk into that negotiation, ensure that you have a clear idea of where you are willing to make concessions and arm yourself. One of my very good friends told me, quote for everything, even twice under the different headlines. It allows you room for give and take.

f.Be stubborn and firm
Sometimes pure stubbornness prevails. Just refuse to back down on particular items and leave it at that. Argue your case out, offer solutions that make the client feel like they wont get as much worth out of you for your product/service but for goodness sake don’t back down.

g.Be willing to walk away
It is important to know the point at which a client will not make any business sense for you to have. It is only then that you will be able to walk away from a big deal because it won’t be worth it. It is only at this point that you will have the audacity to fire a client.
If your internal cost of running their business costs more that you are billing; walk away.

Online Mobile Money Solution Launches in Kenya

Intrepid Data Systems - a homegrown IT design firm today announced the launch of its new real time online mobile money solution - iPay. The innovative and easy-to-use product incorporates the popular M-Pesa and Zap modes of money transfer to enable customers to buy and sell goods and services across Africa via their mobile phones.

iPay is designed and targeted to online merchants to enable them receive payments through an alternative means other than the traditional method of credit cards. While any business can use the product to receive payments, it’s the businesses that deliver their product in a digital format such as music stores, online book stored, publishers, video libraries, consultancies, donor-supported organisations, and premium content providers that will benefit the most from this new platform.

Speaking about the new product, Philip Nyamwaya, Business Development Manager at Intrepid said, “We designed iPay to offer our clientele a simple, easy-to-use online payment platform at a price that they can afford.”

Some of the advantages of using iPay include ability to track payments using existing shopping cart software (Joomla, Virtuemart), ease of account opening and order management, as well as creation of printable receipts and orders for better record keeping.

Managing Director of Intrepid, Mr. Steve Nyumba said, “Today, more than 15 million Kenyans who own mobile phones have instant access to mobile-based tools, our big idea was to package MPESA and ZAP – the two most popular money transfer systems into an online transaction processing system that would allow online merchants, service providers, not-for-profit organisations, branding agencies and consulting companies to receive real-time payments off a secure platform that serves this region and beyond.”

“With the advent of fibre optic technology in Kenya, and the reduction in Internet access bandwidth tariffs, we see greater awareness towards the power of the Internet to transform the way business is done in (and with) Kenya,” concluded Mr. Nyamwaya.

Intrepid Data Systems is a dynamic enterprise productivity and creative digital branding firm whose mission is to provide affordable, accessible, enterprise and web-based solutions to small, medium and large businesses across Africa and beyond. Intrepid’s key service areas include developing and reselling tried and tested systems, (for instance corporate Intranet platforms, business continuity planning, website development, web hosting, online marketing, and web site maintenance).

Strange Review on Success

I am a huge fan of Malcom Gladwell and his style of writing. I found out about this book from one of my friends yesterday and the subject matter as explained to me had me captivated. The book is called outliers It is a study of the some of the most successful personalities from various sectors of life and a peak at the series of events that led them to where they are today. Most of us believe that we can replicate someone else's success to a formula. A lot more of us have even tried it.
For example this book looks at how a series of somewhat minute events led to the non accidental path taken by Bill Gates to be where he is today. For example, the purchase of a computer for his community and the fact the he lived near one of the only universities that had a computer lab.
If that picks your curiosity have a look inside the book on the link below. Buy it read it and share your thoughts!

Key Fundamentals for your Small Business

After you have handed in all the paper work and gathered your start up capital; what are the key things that you must ensure your business has to cushion failure/

1. Pay attention to Detail

Every entrepreneur needs t o commit themselves to utmost detail in every section of their business. People either willingly or by default will take advantage of you and any loopholes your business has. Keep track of your finances to the cent. Keep track of your production line and employee time to the letter. Ensure you understand what your business is capable of generating when operating at maximum capacity. Make sure all binding agreements and client documents are professionally done and capture all the important aspects. Make sure you understand all requirements for your business to run and that each is fulfilled. Don’t tempt fate in this area.


2. Build a healthy and positive Corporate Culture

The Head of an organization will generally set the tone for the organization. Don’t buy into the hallucination of going to play golf and then come to work three hours a day. Your attitude towards work and business in general as you start will cue the employees on how they too should act.

3. Assemble A dream Team

This is one of the most important functions you must pay attention to as a small business owner. You need to hire the right people, other wise you set yourself up to disappoint your clients. Sometimes it may seem as though you cannot afford the right people. But ask yourself what it will cost you to hire the wrong people. Be involved in training the employees in their first few weeks. Talk to them and motivate them to perform better. Monitor their performance to ensure that there are no gaps in your company process. Most importantly address all their issues promptly as they arise. Commit yourself to building a dream team.


4. Arm yourself with a Killer Business Plan

This is your road map to success. Otherwise you will have no idea how to prospect and utilize resources efficiently. Layout what the business is going to achieve and how it will go about doing that. Understand each function necessary to run the business and what it takes for you to achieve your overall long term goals. If you internalize this, then it gets easier to spot opportunities when they come knocking. Nothing prepares you like a good plan.

The Single Most Important Reason Why Businesses Fail

I have been in advertising for over six years now. In that time I have worked for some pretty interesting small business. The beauty of my Industry is that in an Instant you get to rub shoulders with decision makers, CEO’s, MD’s and other influential business minds in business today. You are sitting in class one day, a few days later you are trying to impress the CEO of a multi-national company, why s/he should implement your strategy into his business. This experience has given me insight into some of the oldest, biggest, and smallest businesses in the world.
So believe me when I say that I know the reason why most businesses fail to take off.
You see it is pretty simple. All you need to do is start a company and make yourself the CEO. Afterward, alienate yourself into building a one man organization. Don’t have the common sense to have advisers, mentors, and a board of directors. Decide to keep everything close to your chest so that no one else can steal your dream from you. Don’t observe and learn from the greatest business minds to avoid early pitfalls and avoidable mistakes. Treat everyone you encounter, not as a business asset but as a replaceable item.
It’s pretty simple you see. The single most important asset and liability the entrepreneur has is himself. If you do not commit your self to continuous self assessment, improvement, and accountability, you will have no one else to blame but yourself.