Africa: New Hub for Luxury Brands?

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Accra-Ghana 

On the 26th of November 2014, West hills shopping mall was inaugurated with much fanfare and commentary. Located in the western part of Accra, the mall is said to be one of the largest shopping malls in West Africa. In fact in the week West hills mall was inaugurated another shopping mall (Junction Mall) was also opened to customers in the South eastern part of the city. This brings the total number of malls that was inaugurated in the country to 3. Meanwhile there are other existing malls such as the Marina mall, A&C shopping mall, The Oxford Street mall and the Prima Donna of all shopping malls in the city the Accra mall. Apparently, more are in works such as the Achimota mall. For a country that is currently struggling economically that is quite a substantial investments on the part of these companies. It shows a fundamental belief in the politico-economic system of the country to take such risk. 

I visited the West hills mall with a friend to window shop and peruse all the delights that the mall has to offer and indeed i was very much impressed. You could find world class brands and products on display at the several shops available. There was a cinema, restaurants and a plethora of stores. I found brands such as Mango, Adidas and Samsung and they operated from rather large stores. I particularly liked the Lego store. Who knew there were such many creative ways of arranging Lego. But what got me curious as i have mentioned above is the confidence that these brands and developers have in the the economy of Ghana and it's people to take such giant steps. Per my personal observations, Ghanaian shoppers are becoming brand savvy and spending conscious. This is aided greatly by the penetration of mobile phone and mobile devices such as tablets and pads. A greater percentage of the youthful population as well as adult population have these devices. With these devices comes the internet and with the internet comes news and information happening around the world in record speed. Therefore a lot of people are privy to what foreign brands has to offer even before they set foot in Africa. For example, the shoe brand 'Loboutins' is very popular amongst the young fashion savvy people here in Ghana although there is not a single Christian Loboutin store or partner retailer in this country. These fashion savvy people are very much aware that Louboutin is also an upscale brand so it usually perceived as a coveted status symbol. The internet coupled with celebrity culture and digital television has opened the eyes of the average African consumer to the endless list of luxury goods and accessories on the world market.
But there is room for improvement when it comes to luxury brands opening stores and outlets in Africa. Luxury brands tend to be lackadaisical when the question of investing on the continent rises. I read an article where the CEO of a luxury goods company said that Africa is not big enough a market for his company to think about opening stores and having retail partners on the continent. But the interesting bit is, you go to the local open air Ghanaian market and you will find a huge variety of knock-offs/fake goods modeled to look just like the CEOs products. Clearly some Africans would love to associate with his brand. Therefore global producers of luxury/quality products are better off finding ways they can partner with African retailers or set up shop in Africa than letting producers of knock-offs take advantage of their brand prestige and identity. As it stands now, avenues through which Africans can lay their hands on popular luxury brands are limited. Either the consumer purchase the products whiles travelling abroad or via online shopping and shipping (which is quite expensive to do here in Ghana). This makes accessing luxury goods quite difficult even for those who are willing to pay the extra cost that is associated with these items. Africa as a market for luxury products is here to stay whether producers of luxury goods accept it or not. Therefore it is time decide. They can stand at bay and watch a great revolution unfold or they can get in here and chart a new path to greater profits and brand awareness 

The Only Way You Can Travel Around the World

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I am travel obsessed. In my spare time i surf the net to check out tourist centres and places of interest all over the world. I have gone on countless holidays in my dreams from nice safari tours in Kenya, South Africa and Zambia to the beautiful streets of Marrakech. I spend donkey hours on kayak.com just checking out how much it will cost travelling from my country (Ghana) to places of interest i see online. After checking out the rates i spend extra hours trying to figure out how much i would have to save to go on these holiday. Interestingly, sometimes i see blog post and articles usually in the form of list, on how you can travel the world 'doing a job you love'. Indeed these 'listicles' most of the time encourage jobs such as working as a flight attendant, English teacher, Fisherman and what have you as jobs that will allow you travel the world whiles getting a paycheck.
Granted, these jobs will allow you to travel but in this case the travel part is highly integrated with the work part, therefore chances that you would focus on the work and not really pay attention to the travel is high. For example, the job of a flight attendant is supposed to be in the air therefore real wages will be calculated based on the number of hours she/he is flying and attending to passengers needs. This also applies to all the jobs that comes along with excessive travel. The pressure to work hard and make more money as well as move up the career ladder will reduce the appetite for tourist/travel experiences although technically the worker has traveled to most tourist hot spots. It is therefore little surprise when i see that airlines give free tickets to flight attendants as part of the compensation package and some of the airline workers will choose to visit countries they have visited a countless number of times for work and work related duties.

Now, for someone who is travel and entrepreneurship biased, i see being an entrepreneur and running your own schedule is the sure way to travel around the world like you want to. I advocate entrepreneurship to the person who wants to have so much free time in his or her life to do whatever  they are interested in doing. Be it travel or dedicating yourself to a cause or a special challenge. Travel is ostensibly about money and lots of free time. Successful entrepreneurs usually make more money than their paycheck counterparts in a majority of fields. Though one may not see the opportunity for travel in starting out as an entrepreneur or founding your own startup, the travel opportunities comes to bare once the business takes shape and its profitable. For example a successful entrepreneur may be invited to several conferences a year, may be called upon as a speaker (some paid others unpaid), will set up offices and factories in other parts of the world, will source certain key ingredients from other parts of the world and would therefore have to travel frequently.  Yet the thrill associated with the entrepreneurs travel is that she’s in charge of her own schedule and therefore can spare good time combining business with pleasure.
That is why it is observed that extremely successful billionaire (entrepreneurs) own their private jet which takes them wherever they want to go on any day they please. Every startup will not make its founder a billionaire but the entrepreneur who perseveres and succeeds is on his way to a good life. And one of the things associated with the ‘good life’ is travel and going to every place on your bucket list. If you have a good idea for a startup begin working on it today, if you’re afraid to go in alone look for people to invest in your idea There is power in collaboration and partnering with the right people. Don’t let your ideas go to waste, it might be the only way you can travel around the world

Luxury Hacks to Transform Normal Goods

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Luxury goods command higher prices than their competitor goods. As soon as a good or a brand  decides to portray itself as a luxury brand, there must be certain basic features and applications  that will make a luxury brand stand out. Usually, these basic features cut across a lot of luxury products and services for sale on the market. Here are simple hacks and i use the word 'hack' advisedly not as in trying to sell an obviously sub-standard or a shitty product for a higher price. No! But a good that is well made and maybe has lots of competitors and wants to differentiate itself as a luxury product. Since i discovered life and productivity hacks some time back, i have become a big fan of how you can use certain skills and methods to boost up productivity and efficiency. As a fun of luxury goods, i have observed certain minor ingenious ways entrepreneurs can depict their products and services as a luxury product.

1. Tell a story: We all love stories consciously or sub-consciously, therefore it would be good to integrate the story of a brand in its marketing and branding efforts. There are various sources the 'story' of your product can be picked from. For example, where raw materials for the product is purchased from can be used to tell the story of how its providing employment for locals. The production process can also be used to tell the story of the quality of certain key ingredients which is used in making the product or service. Consider this scenario where 2 competing massage parlors use the same massaging technique. Massage parlor A tell you to come in for a 'good never-to-forget massage experience' whiles massage parlor B tell you they will give you a 'brilliant-never-to-forget massage using on an eastern Asia massage technique which combines the four forces of the atmosphere that has been practiced over 400 years blah blah'. When asked which of the two massage parlor is a luxury massage parlor i can bet my last coin that a lot of people will choose Massage Parlor B over A as a luxury massage parlor though technically, they both use the same massaging technique. The average luxury consumer comes off as better educated and well to do therefore there must be a convincing story of how your product or service stand out. Telling stories and a combination of heritage has been used by luxury brands for many years to boost up sales and marketing. Perhaps your products and services didn't start selling in 1837 like Hermes but you can craft a great story around your product to compete with Hermes.
2. Simplicity, Consistency and Minimal Product Offering; "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away"- Antoine de Saint-Exupery This is one of my favourite quotes of all time and i advice should be the basis for many luxury product and service making decisions. I equate a brands simplicity to how their mission, vision and products aspire to a clear goal. A car brand that prides itself in speed and the number of kilometres it can cover per hour should leverage that selling propositions in all various channels of communication  to its audience. Such a car brand will confuse its target audience if they also include affordability and 'good for the family-ish' type of selling proposition to its brand message, Because a product advertised to 'people on the move' and those on the 'fast lane' might not work for the family. Simplicity should also be used in other ways of communicating the brands message such as the store and website design of an outlets brand. When consumers praise a product or service, one thing that keep repeating is that their products 'never disappoints'. Consistency is a key differentiator in separating one good as a luxury good between two similar products. When consumers know exactly the kind of service, the quality of food and the general ambiance they will experience when they go to a particular restaurant. Then probability that they will keep coming to that particular place is high. Instead of the restaurant that promises you one thing and delivers another. You remember the Jack of all trades and master of none? People who are trying to portray their good as a luxury brand must try not to be all things to all men. You're better off specializing in a few products with a wealthier targeted repeat customers than trying to appeal to the least common denominator 
3. Display, Light and Visibility; My third lux hack is light and when i say light, i mean light in its literal sense especially in store design and layout. Instead of going the normal florescent tubes that one can find in most stores and outlets, Independent producers who have their own outlets can invest in decorative light covers and find away to blend natural light rays and store lights for the product to have a sense of luxury appeal. A store that has a nice chandelier hanging in the centre will be pereceived as having luxury goods in stock as opposed to another store that has 'normal lighting'.  No matter how well made your product is when they are not properly displayed, it might not get the attention that it deserves. 

Entrepreneurship or Saving for Retirement (Which Way To Go)

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A few days ago, I was doing my usual search on the internet trying to find some information like any other day. I came across a banner ad on one of the popular websites i visit and thought that the ad was very interesting. It was an ad for a mutual fund or an investment account I couldn’t really tell which financial services the ad was trying to sell. But the ad simply stated that if you saved an amount of money say (X) over a period of time, you were going to make enough for your retirement and a substantial amount at that. This really got me wondering. For some time now I’ve been battling with the concept of ‘personal finance’ in my head. What does that term really mean? For me, anytime I hear the word personal finance my mind automatically goes to savings. Saving a portion of your salary/profits so that you can have a better future. I see retirement as something that is really far away because I think am not too old.  I see personal finance and savings as something which is mostly pondered upon by people ageing close to retirement. Because technically they are the ones going out of job soon so maybe they should be thinking about retirement/personal finance and savings. Not me a young blooded 20 something year old.  Though I trick myself into thinking that savings is for people who are ageing and for individual with family and children to look after, the pangs of personal finance comes to bite me one in a while. Because i go on a little guilt trip when i see how little my savings is so i tell myself i will start saving in my 30s. What i’m gradually realizing is that savings is a habit and if its not cultivated now i might never save.

But my obsession with entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship have made it clear to me how entrepreneurs find it difficult savings. An entrepreneurs quest to make a difference with their idea will go all lengths to make their ideas come to life. Sometimes this means investing most or all your savings into the idea in the hopes of making a return one day. That is why entrepreneurship is about risk its about being a bull or a bear. And i want to be the bull rather than the bear. I’m at a point in my life where my ideas matter more to me than the money i want to save. Because the supposed savings invested in my ideas as an entrepreneur may earn me a million fold return on my investments. I’ve read about entrepreneurs and successful people who risked it all financially to build something great and that is the type of risk i want to take at this stage in my life. For now, ‘saving towards retirement’ seems like a concept that’s almost laughable because i see it as something that is further away. The beauty of taking risk is that most of the time, it might not work but if works you get to build something successful and truly great. Entrepreneurship and startups is such a steep learning curve therefore failure can also be a great learningprocess.

Being a risk taker at heart and not having finances figured out whiles taking risk doesn’t seem like a good idea. But my ideas has to take centre stage before savings come to mind.

Recording African History One Story At A Time

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My twitter profile says i'm an information junkie and that's true that is why i started blogging anyway. To add more information to the news going on especially what is happening on the continent of Africa with regards to travel and entrepreneurship.  My love for information has turned me into one of those people who cannot fully function without the internet. I'm constantly checking online for the latest news and reports coming in. For example, i kept refreshing the internet 2 days ago so that i could catch a glimpse of the iphone 6 and 6 plus and the watch (will it be called an iwatch?). I love the internet because it is an instant source for news and information update. What the internet has done is that it has democratized news dissemination and reporting therefore a lot of us do not necessarily look up to the traditional news outlet for our news anymore. There are blogs, websites and online magazines which now syndicates news in real time as they come in. I particularly love blogs because a blogger gets to have an opinion on matters they are reporting unlike traditional media which try satisfy a wide range of audience. The success of Huffington post, Mashable and Techcrunch shows how important blogs can be as a source of information.
But in terms of news and information, Africa is not taking advantage of internet media enough. Most of the blogs and online magazines are dedicated to two things. It's either entertainment/celebrity news or sports. There's a lot happening in the fields of technology, entrepreneurship, business and governance which we need to address. I am usually worried when i search a particular niche with respect to Africa and i see that more research work and articles has been written on that particular African topic on foreign websites. This looks like we as Africans are not interested in chronicling our history and events. This is why i tell my friends and people close to me to set up a blog all the time. Even if no one is reading it, we are in our own small way recording and preserving our history.  I am hoping every African who is on social media can also blog not as a money making venture but as a way to record local culture, sports, history, festivals and activities. Because information is key, and it is a known fact that "the most successful person is the one who has the timeliest information" 

The Art of Listening

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There is a difference between hearing and listening but a lot of people do not realise that. Hell!! i didn't even realise the difference before i started paying attention. Hearing is simply receiving information and making no use of it whereas listening on the other hand involves receiving information, thinking about it and trying to draw inferences and analyse someones words and non-verbal actions. Simply put, listening is more important than hearing. Listening consist of not only the word coming out of a persons mouth but also taking a cue from the persons non verbal actions. (Hint: This is why it always advisable to learn a new language from native speakers/countries because you will learn a lot of non-verbal cues which will help you learn the language faster). Usually when people are talking to us we try to listen and think of the response we are going to give to the person. Which does not work. If you listen attentively you would almost always have a perfect response to anything or question someones asks you. This is how you can answer any question
The ability to listen and listen well can serve you well in your life as an entrepreneur and in your career. We are now in an information age, the person who has the most timely information is the one who wins. Maybe as an aspiring entrepreneur you are looking for your next big startup idea or your next business plan. Pay attention to what people are saying. If you are in business what are your customer saying? Maybe they want another color of your product or a new flavour or packpaging. Especially when someones says "I wish there was something (a product, service or a company) that could........" That is your cue as an entrepreneur to create something new. Therefore listening here means being in tune with your environment. Because the successful entrepreneurs are the ones who have looked for social problems and have solved them in extraordinary ways. 

Are you looking for your next million dollar idea? Be a good listener!!!

4 Quotes Entrepreneurs Must Live By

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I am a big fan of quotes. For me, quotes help me enter the minds of geniuses and people whom i know i would never meet because they are dead or people i have not had the opportunity of meeting yet. I respect entrepreneurs. This is because i see entrepreneurs as dreamers, creators, marketers and leaders. Everything we see around us was initially an idea. Apple was an idea, Facebook was an idea cars were first an idea. It took an individual to sit down and say "i can really bring this idea to life" then he started creating or inventing whatever it is you see today. One interesting thing about an idea is, the one who brings it to life or makes something out of it is not the only person who has actually thought of it. I bet there were thousand and one others who also thought of the same idea. But that is what differentiates the entrepreneur from others. An entrepreneur is willing to create something when everybody has had the same thought and discarded it. They end up working extremely hard to bring their ideas be it a service or a product to fruition. Therefore it is little wonder that the idea that succeeds makes these entrepreneurs extremely rich. We enjoy the goods and services we have to day thanks to the creative thinking of entrepreneurs. But entrepreneurship is not easy that is why many startups fail. Therefore as an aspiring entrepreneur i have some great quotes by successful people i live by. Here are a few of them.

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.-Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison is a storied entrepreneur and inventor of the light bulb and this quote by him really strikes a chord with me. I mean 10,000 ways? seriously? this by any means is is too large a number for failure that a lot of people would give up. If a perceived genius is failing this number of times then what hope is there for the rest of us. Because whatever idea it is the entrepreneur is not succeeding at costs money, time energy and the emotional pain. Hell! by the 5th or 6th try and it's not working i'm done not to talk of 10,000 (that is why i have not played lumosity for a while now). But the core of this quote is noteworthy. In that, it teaches the tenets of hard work, perseverance, focus and agility. Which are all must haves if you want to be a successful entrepreneur. 

A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd-Max Lucado

This is such a powerful quote that really sums up the entrepreneurs relationship with naysayers. I know by now you've read or heard countless stories by entrepreneurs who said initially their ideas were discouraged and rejected. There are many stories out there especially in the book/publishing industry where some of the best selling books were rejected by renowned publishing houses. This quote therefore is powerful for me in the sense that, since most ideas shared by entrepreneurs to his friends, family, associates among others are usually new and unheard of, it is bound to receive some level of resistance. But most times successful entrepreneurs have to go with their gut and intuition therefore expect as an entrepreneur or an aspiring entrepreneur "this would not work"  sentence when you share your idea with family and friends. A lot of close relations say this to you because they feel they care about you to see sink your money, time and energy into something that might not work out. This quote therefore is all about your determination to make a difference with your idea. One way to measure whether you idea will be successful is to evaluate whether it would solve a social problem . This quote and "if i had asked people what they wanted" quote by Henry Ford are cousins.

I was dyslexic, i had no understanding of schoolwork whatsoever. I certainly would have failed IQ tests. And it was one of the reasons why i left school. And if i'm not interested in something i don't grasp it.- Sir Richard Branson

I heard of Sir Branson because he's the founder of Virgin Airlines and i honestly thought of him as an airline industry veteran. i figured, for someone who owned a successful airline he had worked in the airline industry for years and after he had mastered the art of running an airline he started Virgin. It wasn't until i read his bio that i learnt how he dropped out of school to start working on his own. For someone who did not even finish high school how did he become so successful?  That is when i noticed his bio said he started doing business at age 16, virgin was founded in 1984 which means he had had 18 years of training working as an entrepreneur before founding Virgin airlines. This is a long period of education and personal training again throw in the 10,000 hour rule and you have a successful entrepreneur. The quote has an emphasis on "interest" which i think is key because developing interest for something be it a sport, skill or an art would make you want to learn more about it and if you fail your passion for that interest would likely make you want to try again and that is how you gradually build knowledge and stamina as an individual. Be prepared for failure if you want to be an entrepreneur and see failure not as a problem but rather as a learning curve  and a challenge.

We face neither East nor West: We face forward-Kwame Nkrumah 

This is a great quote from Dr. Kwame Nkrumah one of Africas' greatest leaders of all time and a proud national of Ghana my country. Ask who Dr Nkrumah was and you would get responses such as 'visionary', 'strong-willed' etc and i would like to add 'entrepreneur'. A lot of projects and things he did in Ghana are still being enjoyed today just like we enjoy Thomas Edisons' light bulb. I love this quote from this great leader because it is about focus and having a sense of direction. Usually when an entrepreneur has no sense of direction, he/she can be easily swayed to unimportant matters that is not part of his mission. Having a sense of focus also gives stamina and perseverance.

Social Media, Branding and Sharing. How Coke Got It Right.

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Source: Wiki logos

About three months ago, i saw some public figures and celebrities i follow on twitter and instagram display bottles of coke with their names written on the label. My initial thoughts were 'this is quite interesting'. Because this is the first time i have seen someones name on a fast moving consumer good. Usually the photos these celebrities displayed were two bottles. One with their names written on it and the other bottle had 'friend' or 'family' written on it. Most of these stars thanked coca cola for giving them the drinks. A few weeks after this there was a massive advertising campaign urging all of us to 'share a coke with a friend' today. In Ghana where i am, there are pretty standard names that are given to people based on the day you were born. For example if  you were born on a saturday and you are from the Akan tribe you are known as 'Kwame (boy)' or 'Ama (girl)'. 

I am a Wednesday born hence my name Kwaku. The Akan tribe is a predominant tribe in Ghana. Majority of Ghanaians speak the akan (twi) dialect fairly well although there are different variations of it as well as other tribal groups. Therefore a lot of people by default (or design) can identify their names on a coke bottle  based on the day they were born. I talked to an old colleague of mine who works at a shopping mall and he made an interesting comment on how people these days refuse to purchase coke which does not have their names written on the label. This advertising campaign has really caught on here in Ghana especially in the urban areas. As an entrepreneurship junkie, i know startups and entrepreneurs can take a thing or two from the success of this campaign and incorporate it into their own business.

1. We all like personalised products and exclusivity. Although coca cola is a mass produced product they found away to make it exclusive. This they did by typing the name of the consumer on the label. To think of it, a lot of us dispose a coke bottle when we're done drinking its content therefore you would think a name printed on a label will not make much of a difference but apparently it does. The fifteen minutes or so that a consumer has a bottle of coke in her hands with the name on it makes her feel special. The products feels exclusive for her even if she bears her name with some other 500,000 women across the country. Exclusivity is the reason why luxury goods have the nerve to charge more for their goods. Coca cola achieved this without breaking the bank. Therefore as an entrepreneur try as much as possible to personalise products and services for your consumers and clients. Sometimes exclusivity means just listening intently to the client and repeating whatever her demands are so that you're both clear on exactly what she wants. A customer feels good when he's given a listening ear and is treated with respect.
2. The fact that the coke campaign encourages consumers to share the coke added a 'feel good' factor to the campaign. We all feel good when we brighten someones day by sharing something with them and its even better when they show appreciation. Startups can also do good by helping the local communities in which they are situated to build relationships and goodwill. Consumers as part of their decision whether to purchase a product or service consider how ethically (morally) responsible a firm is as well as their environmental and corporate social responsibilities. As an entrepreneur find a social responsibility that your consumers are interested in and make a difference there. 
3. My third observation is how social media has came to play a role in marketing and advertising. You recall from the beginning of the article that i first came into contact with this campaign on instagram? Social media has the power to connect entrepreneurs and startups to thousands if not millions of people some of these audiences will be potential customers of the entrepreneur. And it cost cheaper to do an online campaign than using the traditional forms of media. A popular public figure i follow said "we are living in a world where if i didn't see the pictures on social media, then it didn't happen" and i think this statement is true. Most of our offline conversations are shaped by the things we see/read online. Now a lot of us are switching tv with youtube and there is so much talk about the 'internet of everything'. Startups must take advantage of this global media opportunity even if the business is a typical offline business. Because a lot of us bing or google stuff that we want to know more about hence it is important to have some level of online representation and credibility. Social media outlets available are endless therefore an entrepreneur can pick any two of these mediums for example twitter and tumblr and build an online audience there.

Doing a Startup, Are you a Bull or a Bear?

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When i was in school, i took a banking and financial markets course where i was taught the concept of bulls and bears when it comes to investing. The bull is the optimistic one who takes chances when it comes to investing because there is hope that stock and bond prices will continue to rise. The risk lover, the risk taker the one who is not afraid to make the bold decisions and that is the bull for you. Whereas the bear is the one who is risk averse and would take a minimum level of risk. Since the bear is quite the pessimist and does not believe stocks and bonds will rise there is 'safe' investment on his part. So i asked my lecturer is it good to be a bull or a bear? He said both has its advantages and disadvantages. 

You can easily liken the bull and bear situation to entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is about taking risk which lies more on the 'bull' side of the spectrum. But even if you are a 'bear' you can gradually teach yourself to take some calculated level of risk. Because though bulls often crash and burn, they are also the ones who reach icon status. Even if you do not want to be an icon or multi-billionaire or whatever. You still have plans to be a successful entrepreneur who does not have to worry about money anymore and is making a real impact in society. Therefore it is imperative to get your bull instinct right even if you are a bear.

To develop your bull instinct you don't have to discard any crazy/silly idea that comes to mind that you feel can help people. Our minds have been trained to immediately discard certain thoughts as garbage and not right therefore we easily forget it even if it can help people.  But guess what, all the great businesses and startups you see all around started as an idea. I imagine how insane the twitter idea was when the founder was telling his friends and family about it. A social  media platform that allows you to communicate in 140 characters or less. I know pre-twitter, many people who were pitched the idea would have said it won't work because people need more than 140 characters to have a meaningful conversation. Ideas are very important, never discard any idea that you have as stupid (especially the ones that can help people and solve a societal problem).

Therefore if you have toss certain ideas off your friends and family and you receive comments like. "I don't think it will work" or "Is there something like that? Or "this looks like a waste of time". By all means seriously consider it because the fact that someone is asking 'whether there is something like that' means your idea is genuine and novel. This is a simple way to tell whether your idea is great because you're investing your time, money and energy you could have used for other things into working on the project. Interesting enough, ideas that everybody hales as great and feasible usually don't work.

 Here are some ways to protect your bear instincts whiles diving into the bull (risk) pool.

• As much as possible try and see whether your idea would solve a social problem. If your idea or startup solves a problem there is a higher chance of sucess
• Bears can also decide to have a plan B in case everything does not go as planned. therefore it would be good to specialise in a field or go the other route of being a professional or an expert. An experts opinion will always in demand. I strongly believe you can be an expert in anything as long as you are willing to do the hardwork
• You can partner with like minded people if you are afraid to go into a venture alone. I recommend partnerships for first timers. Take a cue from tech entrepreneurs on how they are able to come together and create awesome products. Ask your spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend to help you with some of the mundane task and rally your family and friends around your startup/idea.
• Don't give up if the first attempt at a business or a startup fails. Believe it or not a startup that fails is actually normal. If your startup succeeds at the first attempt and becomes a huge success, that is rather abnormal. Worry more about your startup making an impact and find creative ways that your business can help people. With entrepreneurship, failure is a steep learning curve which will serve you well as you grow.

So here is an idea i thought of, even though i really enjoy travelling, i hate packing for a trip. Is there a business that specializes in packing your suitcase whiles you're getting ready to travel?

Dear Spouse (A Letter to the Partner of an Entrepreneur)

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Dear spouse/partner 

Welcome to the crazy, adventurous and the roller coaster startup life. When someone starts a business, it means she feels strongly that she can make a difference and create something of value because that's what businesses do, they solve problems. And great entrepreneurs are the ones who solve great societal problems therefore your partner is on the way to solve a societal problem. If he succeeds, society will greatly reward his effort. But remember nothing good comes easy. Therefore in the course to solve problems and affect society in a good way, your dear partner (entrepreneur) may seem concerned about the business more than any other thing. All thoughts and emotions go to the business and therefore this person you've known for a while all of a sudden becomes distant and always deep in thought. But don't worry too much and it's a normal 'teething' process for any entrepreneur because that is what happens when one desires to change the world.
 Therefore as a partner you'll have two feelings about the whole startup situation. Its either you're extremely supportive and helpful or you secretly wish that the startup will not do too well so that your partner will give up and you'll return to your  'normal life' where you both have dead end jobs and work till 65. But the thing with entrepreneurship and starting a business is, even if the startup fails, there is no normal life afterwards because money, time, energy and a lot of emotions have already been invested which you can never get back. Though your partners startup might look to be going no where today, i can assure you that when you hold on a little bit longer and that moment of profitability, stability and/or acquisition comes, nobody would have to tell you deciding to be an entrepreneur is one of the best decision you partner has made.
Because first of all, successful entrepreneurs make lots of profit which leads to financial freedom. When there is financial freedom then there is piece of mind because money is not one of the things a successful couple would have to think and argue about. Money is the reason why a lot of us go to school for many years, get advanced degrees and even work overtime. Just to make a little bit more therefore think about how all your financial problems would be solved. Then there is the time factor. Successful entrepreneurs who have built successful businesses do not have to work as much. They can hire a competent team to do daily task and even manage the business whiles they enjoy their lives. More money for a spouse means, there is time to travel, explore the world and do all the things that interest you as a couple. You get to donate to charities and causes that are dear to your heart and make a real difference in your society or country.
Does all this sound like a dream and unreachable? well it is achievable and here are someways to  quicken the success process for your spouse.

• Allow your entrepreneur spouse to complain: By saying allow them to complain i mean give a listening ear when they are venting their frustration with a employee, supplier, a business partner, their fears, anger and all the varied tantrums that can be found in the entrepreneurship spectrum. The thing with entrepreneurs is they think everyone is incompetent and they are the salt of the earth therefore they tend to complain a lot. The best you can help is give a listening ear. Please don't tell your partner (entrepreneur) 'You're too whinny'.
• You can help with some of the work your partner is doing. There are certain mundane jobs with a startup that does not require a phD to do. You can devote an amount  time of say a few hours a week to help with your partner at work. Doing this can give you sometime together and can be another point of alone time for the two of you.
• Sometimes prior to starting the business, your partner had certain household chores that she/he would normally do at home. During the 'make or break' phase of the startup, you can add these simple chores to your own chores. You can put it on your to do list as one of your task now. To give your partner a little bit more time to work on the startup.
• If your spouse is doing the startup with other partners you should try and establish contacts with the spouses of the other partners. Try and maintain some level of friendship with them. This can serve as a support group. Your group can serve as evangelists for the startups product and services. 
• Occasionally, genuinely ask your partner how the venture is going and be ready to celebrate or sympathise with your spouse when things are going great or not so great. And be prepared to listen if your partner is frustruated like the first point above. Please don't ask like it's a chore you have to do show genuine interest and concern. Because not asking is better than asking in a corny way.

Entrepreneurship is no doubt full of ups and downs and can really be a stressful ride but if you're willing to hold on one more moment and persevere. Your partner and yourself will enjoy the rewarding benefits of having your own business. Hoping to hear about you doing great things and donating a ton of you country's currency to a charity... Good luck

                                                                                                                     Your Faithfully

                                                                                                                       Ntikumah

6 Ways To Conquer Your Fear of Public Speaking

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For a lot of people public speaking or anything that has to do with expressing a thought or opinion to a group of people is a big no-no for them. But truth is people who have strong communication skills and 'charisma' are naturally thought to be leaders even if they are incompetent. Therefore being an above average speaker is key to getting ahead. These are four ways i believe can help you conquer your fear of public speaking.

• Keep your presentation as simple as possible. By simple i mean keep only  the relevant facts on your slide. Try and memorize the simple facts of the topic and the whole presentation 
• You know how a picture is worth a thousand words, well graphs and statistics is a story written with numbers. A simple bar chart can save you a long explanation and that extra 2000 words you would have used to explain a certain point. No matter how lively you are, at a certain point you begin to sound boring (its called diminishing returns). Even if you're not mathematically inclined. you can start with pictograms and simple bar charts and graphs. A great example is demonstrated by Bill Gates here
• Adding rare information to your presentation makes it enjoyable for example did you know Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is the longest English word according to Wikipedia? Incorporating these little "did you know" facts into any presentation can breath some new life into a topic that can otherwise be boring or repetitive.
• When you are asked a question during question time. Listen carefully to the question. Do not listen to the question and think of the response you are going to give simultaneously. In most cases the answer to someones question is embedded in the question itself therefore if you listen carefully the answer will be clear to you. It might not even be a question but someone seeking clarification or opinion but because you did not listen, you start beating about the bush. An audience notice when you are not  paying attention to the questions therefore be attentive as possible. After carefully listening to the question and you still need some time, ask the individual to repeat the question. This will permit you to listen to the question again and respond appropriately. After asking for a repetition and you are not sure go with your guts and say what comes to mind but stress the fact that you're not sure therefore you will cross check and get back to him or her if they can leave a contact.
• Don't hide your quirks. When we are preparing to speak in public and make a presentation, a lot of us try to be as rigid as possible. But then we have little quirks that makes us stand out for example the way we lift our eyebrows when excited, how we gesticulate, your smile and your general demeanor. Don't try to suppress these quirks and weirdness. Rather take advantage of them because you might not know who will find it attractive.
• Miscellaneous: By miscellaneous i mean all other things you have to do before the presentation/speaking these are

1. Be adequately prepared. That is get your notes, power point, flash cards ready whiles you practice at least 3 times with a friend or in front of a mirror. This is how you nail the first point above
2. Sleep well the night before your big moment. On the day exercise, eat and dress well
3. When introduced to your audience take deep breaths and don't be in a rush to speak right after the applause. You can smile, make a thoughtful comment about how on time the program started and other general remarks which will allow you to stall a bit and organize your thoughts. Tip: You can say "thank you" "thank you" many times like President Obama of the U.S does after an applause when he's about to make a speech.
4. Maintain eye contact no matter how weird this may seem. A lot of people seem uncomfortable with eye contact therefore end up looking on top of the heads of audience. Fix your gaze on the audience but no one in particular and put your points across. 

There you go, these are ways you can reduce and maybe eradicate your anxiety for public speaking and making presentation. Hope this helps you.

A Problem And A Niche

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Three years ago, I heard a motivational speaker talk on radio. He was giving a motivational talk on how to be successful, one thing that he said that struck a chord with me is that. ´the most successful people solve the most difficult societal problems’. This really got me thinking, how does solving societal problems make you rich or successful. With time i came to realize that what this man said is a truism and that people who are solving simple societal problems are the ones who get a large chunk of society’s resources. Therefore the more problems you solve, the more society is willing to devote resources for your work. Entrepreneurs who have built  successful businesses started by solving a problems in a niche market.

Capt (rtd) Prince Kofi Amoabeng is a Ghanaian entrepreneur who owns UT Bank, one of Ghana's premier banking institutions among other financial services related firm. In the 90's where there was high interest rate and getting a loan from a bank was like chasing a unicorn. This entrepreneur set out to give quick loans to those who needed it with no hassle. He even dared to say your loan will be ready in less than 48 hours. This tagline undoubtedly drew the attention of the public especially those who badly needed loans. Now UT financial service is one of Ghana's top banks. After buying and rebranding another bank. 
Sarah Blakely is the youngest self-made women billionaire in the world according to Forbes. She produces undergarment and her flagship product is pantyhose. Producing pantyhose on the surface might not seem like a 'genius' idea as compared to making a pill that cures cancer but it looks like society was willing to reward her for her undergarment brand. The people who are solving problems do not need a cut throat product to excel, they do normal products with an extreme edge.
Social media allows us to connect in an extra ordinary way that is why we rewarded Mark Zuckerberg and his friends so much for facebook. As a social media user and a tech fanboy, i have realised news that spark national conversation and rumor was heavily featured on social media. To take this further, i  observed that, when news sites, magazines and other forms of traditional media share a post on their social media webpage they receive more comments and reactions than their own website. Now take a look at all the popular social media sites twitter, (have a conversation with people in 160 characters or less) and instagram, (put highly filtered pictures online and let people like and comment). The fundamental idea behind these social media networks are clear and very straight forward. So instead of hoping from one site to another to catch up on your favorite content, you can simplify this by following the social media pages of all these sites (problem solved). 
So now as an aspiring entrepreneur i have been looking. I have been looking for little problems that i can solve in my community, my country Ghana and Africa. I must say there are so many problems to solve, maybe you should also start looking for problems people will be willing to pay you to solve, who knows we all might greatly reward you...

Mentoring for Success

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From my previous post i expressed a desire to write about entrepreneurship and in my own way contribute to the development of entrepreneurship especially on the African continent. Anytime i talk to my friends and colleagues on entrepreneurship and why they are not starting their own ventures. The general response i get is "i don't know where to start from" or "i don't have the capital to start". The first answer bothers me a lot. Because i don't think it should be an answer that even exist. But sadly it does and access to information or the lack of it seems to be the problem. I bet most tertiary institutions have got a "guidance and counselling" office, is it that these offices are not playing their roles? The business registration process alone is a turn off for the already fragile entrepreneur. I listened with shock on the radio one day when a group of young Ghanaian software entrepreneurs narrated how it took them months to register their business even with that it had to take certain intervention from a third party (politician i bet) to get the business registered. What if there was someone, an institution or a book to guide these young aspiring entrepreneurs. This is where mentorship comes in. The Socrates-Plato example alone is enough evidence of how key mentoring is.

Usually young entrepreneurs have people they aspire to be like, But having access to these people can be extremely difficult. You can still pick on someone's brain without the person necessarily talking to you personally. What if the person has a book, blog or other forms of communicating to young ones who want to be like him/her. Here is where i think a lot of African business leaders have failed. Most of the successful entrepreneurs do not have any material whatsoever on how they succeeded despite the difficult African business terrain. I comb the web a lot to find material written by successful African entrepreneurs to share with friends who are also passionate about entrepreneurship but i usually find nothing. I can read about Sir Richard Branson all i want but i always think "he is European" "business conditions are way better than that of Africa" "at least in Europe it doesn't take forever to get paperwork done' though fundamentally key principles needed to succeed in business cuts across. All i am asking for is someone successful to tell her story from the African perspective. 

Though i have not given up on this search, i have in my own small way started gathering African entrepreneurship success stories, I have stopped chasing the "Rock stars" and now look for the next entrepreneur who has conquered the hurdle available in front of them like getting their business registered or employing their first worker to share what they have learned in that moment. May be this way, we can gradually tell that African success story...

What Silicon Valley Taught Me (The Power of 2)

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I adore entrepreneurs in the tech industry because they are very collaborative.Whiles growing up as soon as i could think for myself i knew i wanted to be an entrepreneur. I have read a lot of literature on entrepreneurship and how it is good for every economy especially third world economies. Most times, i google the phrase "young entrepreneurs" for motivation and inspiration. This is how i found about tech entrepreneurs and silicon valley. I became really amazed at how young people were using technology to build products and have real influence in the world. I also liked how the tech sector allowed young ones to experiment with their idea. I bet you if i had not read about technology and entrepreneurship, i still would not have known what angel investing and venture capital is. One thing i found out was if you got it right in the tech sector, entrepreneurship can be very rewarding financially.

The most important lesson i have learned whiles reading about technology as an African is the power of collaboration. How people came together usually friends, university roommates or individuals with a common interest, share ideas and build products. Anytime i think of tech greats, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates easily come to mind. But these people didn't achieve it alone. Steve Jobs had Steve Wozniak. Bill gates had Paul Allen. Now take a look at some of  the most popular tech companies Google, Yahoo. Paypal,Cisco you realize that they were all not founded by a single individual. 

What of social media? The same goes for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Pinterest all have more than one founder. What this tell me is that there is real strength in collaboration and the ability to find someone who is strong where you fall short is key for succeeding  in business. Finding someone who you share the same goals, objective and world view to partner is sometimes better than going in alone. Entrepreneurship is not easy, 'being your own boss' is not easy and exceptionally hard in Africa. But it is a major way of reducing the teeming unemployment rates and the hopelessness surrounding us.Therefore the best advice Silicon Valley entrepreneurs can give to young African entrepreneurs is "You don't have to do it alone"...