Are Entrepreneurs born or made?

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This question has been asked several times by several people and there hasn't been any definitive answer. I even asked this very question in the literature review section of the final long essay i wrote when i was in college. I think the real question we must ask ourselves is 'Can you teach an individual to take risk? My answer to this question is a big YES, no matter how risk averse an individual is, that person can be taught to take minimal amounts of risk till he/she is confident to take on the big ones. Entrepreneurship like any job, activity or pursuit is not limited to a single group of people with a defined genetic makeup. But the sad truth (may be not so sad) is that some naturally shine or are more successful than others because you don't expect everybody in the world to have the same levels of risk tolerance. This reminds me very much of when i was a university student. Professors usually divided the class into teams and gave us assignments. In groups that i was part off, i could see varying behaviours and characteristics that members in my team possessed. There is the group member who always wants to be a leader. This individual always assumes or nominates himself as the leader of the team and works very hard for the team to achieve it goals and i have also came into contact with team leaders who were just interested in the 'leadership' position and did not contribute much to the task at hand. I also came into contact with team members who're very hardworking and contribute greatly to the task at hand, tirelessly working for the team to make an 'A' in that project but shuns the limelight. Such team members even refuse for their names to be mentioned as standout contributors during team presentation to the faculty. Then finally is the last bunch of team members, those who do not really care about the project or task at hand. they contribute the barest minimum in the hopes that we all get a good grade, probably a 'pass' after which we all go our separate ways. Traits and characteristics differ from person to person therefore just like in numerous professional fields some people will be more successful as entrepreneurs than others. From personal experience traits that i've figured makes very good entrepreneurs and startup founders are the abilities to see opportunities and exploit them, a true desire to change peoples lives with your product or service, the ability/tolerance for hard work and when i say hard work i mean work that is physically, emotionally and financially draining and finally an ability to take criticism whether constructive or otherwise. 

I have always stated on this blog and i re-iterate here for emphasis that, we often start a business because we deeply feel like we can make a difference with our product otherwise why would anyone have bothered. I once heard a motivational speaker say "There is nothing like a new or novel idea" The idea and principles an entrepreneur has built his business on have been thought about by a million and one more people, but none of the people who thought of the idea sprang into action but the entrepreneur. I sat there thinking 'So how many people thought off facebook, instagram, twitter and all the successful social media networks that we see today. Every great product or service you notice around you was first an idea, apple products were an idea, your favourite supermarket was an idea, even your favourite brand of milk. The number of people who are thinking of writing about this same topic/idea as a blog post runs into the thousands. Therefore i strongly feel the successful entrepreneurs are the ones who are ready to take action and with action comes the risk. Henceforth i pray the the conversation moves from being born or made an entrepreneur to being able to take action. But there is no way we can talk about taking action without talking about risk which is the basis of this mind-boggling question. No matter how risk averse you are as an individual you can still be an entrepreneur and here's how.
I have already stated that the great products we see around us first of all began as ideas before anything else. If you have great idea but scared of taking action you can

• Collaborate; The continual opening of the human mind mind and civilization has currently brought us to a time where humans have come to the realise that risk is not too devastating when shared. The popularity of buzzwords like crowdfunding and sharing economy goes to buttress this point. Therefore if you have been thinking of an idea which will be great for business but afraid to take the risk, try and collaborate with other people who share in your vision. 
• Sell; You can always patent/copyright/protect or do anything that will very much secure your idea or invention and sell it to an already established organisation who are in that line of business and therefore could use your idea. 
• Donate: If your idea is so helpful for the social good you feel guilty making money of it you give it out for free. Remember Dr Jonas Salk didn't patent the polio vaccine.

Remember we were all born entrepreneurs because you are the standout spermatozoa that made it to the egg. Now its time to be an even more outstanding in the land of the living with your ideas...

Living the Dream Requires Commitment

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Raise your hand if you think the 24 hours we all have in a day is not enough. Yeah we all did. I was the first to raise my hand whiles typing this because i always wish every day was an extra 2 hours long. If you think the 24 hours that you have is enough for you then i'm sincerely happy for you and i applaud your time management skills. I would like to learn from you send me time management skills and hacks via email on the address bar located at the bottom-right side of this blog, i would be happy to read it and share. But for those of us who wish nature and the forces that be can extend our day hours by an extra 3 hours let me just tell you that its not going to happen. Its been 24 hours for thousands of years and so shall it be. You're therefore better off using simple time management hacks and tricks in helping you make the most out of your day. Indeed i am a big fan of hacks and i've tried writing blog post on time management in the past months. For example i used the Islamic call to prayer as a time management instrument when i lived in the northern part of Ghana for a year. Then out of that blog post i wrote another blog post about how i'm effectively using my time. Being a fan of life hacks and well-made goods and services i even wrote a a blog post on how entrepreneurs and startup founders could bump their products into the luxury category in a market where there is stiff competition for their products and services.

If you had asked me about 3 months ago what my favourite time management hack was, i would easily have said wake up early. And i felt that by waking up early, it gives room to achieve a lot more throughout the day. Apparently extra time is nothing if its not well utilised and properly managed. For example, when 6am is your usual wake hours and for time management purposes you decide to wake up an earlier. What you use the extra one hour is the very essence of the time management plan. It must be noted that waking up early by an hour means reducing your sleep time by an hour. It is therefore imperative that what ever you're going to use sacrificed sleep hours to perform must be of utmost importance. Going on social media to read tweets and browse facebook news feed is not the reason i wake up early but some how some way i end up wasting all the precious time there while the real reason i woke up for example to write a blog post is not achieved. For those of us who are easily distracted, i constantly find ways and means to help me concentrate so that i can do work in the best way possible. Here are ways i'm helping myself concentrate.

1. Starting tomorrows work today- I plan towards towards the next day by doing the mundane stuff that do not require mental effort. For example i iron the clothes, organize files and if i'm going to write/blog when i wake up, then it means i start the planning process before the following day so that i know my thoughts are safely organised
2. Push myself to finish task; Procrastination is a thief of time therefore its very easy to say tomorrow and act like tomorrow will never come. Then your tomorrow becomes another tomorrow and the cycle continues. These days, there must be a good reason why i postpone a task. I don't  use any flimsy excuse to trick myself into rescheduling a scheduled task for another time. I have observed this unnecessary procrastination sets me back some times. This is the reason a lot of people are not living their dream life. Because its easy to procrastinate and feel good about ourselves because we know we have not given up on a task or project, we have just rescheduled it to a 'more convenient' day.  Then when our convenient day comes, it doesn't look very convenient and on and on  it goes till the day forget about it. 

 Living the life we truly desire takes effort and a lot of commitment on our part but when those unbearable moments of commitment starts paying off, it pays of big and we truly deserve it. 

Show Us Your Work

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I am internet addict no doubt, i love information and i always want to be a step a head of the pack when it comes to knowing the latest news, trends, information and what have you. I have always felt that 2 inventions in this life we're living have revolutionized the way we live and those 2 things are the aeroplane and the internet. But the latter i'm more in awe off. Since i discovered the internet, its been my go-to place for all the information i need. Its been my teacher, my counselor, my comedian and what have you. I seriously refuse to imagine what the world will look like without the internet. Heck you're reading this article because it's online. The internet has connected me to people all over the world. I get to share, create and experience in a global conversation on a global scale. when the world wide web started, i bet a lot of people didn't pereceive it could one day be a money making venture. As someone who makes a lot of noise about entrepreneurship and being your own boss, i'm always excited to know about the jobs the internet has created and how you can make money doing something you love without leaving your house. Indeed 10 years ago i don't think there were job titles such as Social media marketer, jobs such as web developing/designing, web content development, bloggers what have you. Indeed the internet is being infiltrated with so much information you need SEO experts to help you make your contributions unto the network stand out. I read about a young 18 year old lady yesterday and as part of her job description was written 'internet celebrity' which really amused me. Its quite interesting to note that for a network we all contribute to behind our computers and smart phones celebrities can come out of that. From bloggers whose dedicated followers surpass that of news websites and channels to youtube stars who have gradually curated a following and a brand image through viral videos.
So it got me thinking, if internet celebrities exist now, it wouldn't be long till i hear job description such as internet agent, internet lawyer, publicist and any other person with a job description a celebrity might need.The internet allows you to present what you can do to the world in a unique way. It helps everybody show what they're capable of to a global audience. I highly encourage you to show your work and whatever you're capable of doing to the world. Certain writers, artists,  musicians and entertainers have made it and are very successful because they dared to show their talents to the world out there.The internet will give you the exposure that you need which will give you that book deal, movie role or singing opportunity. Putting yourself out there is great torture but something will come out of it. The people who've made it big offline dared to put their skills to work.  If failure is what you're afraid of, i guarantee you're better off failing on a public and global stage than not do anything at all. Failing on a 'large scale' gives you a little bit of confidence to try again this time more knowledgeable than before. Every day a thousand and one blogs are created some make it big and majority fail. I personally think the blogs that failed are not the ones which had not-so-great content but those that gave up because the felt they compete or work their way to the top, Because the truth is no matter how good a blogs content is, it takes time and effort for the big websites and bloggers to recognize new blogs and start linking to them. The age of internet entrepreneurship is very ripe and there is something for everyone. In a time where data uploaded unto the internet is hitting record speeds, overnight success can happen but consistency, a deep desire to improve your craft and perseverance can help you win.

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. 

3 Lies I Tell Myself When Am Not Productive

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When i'm not particularly motivated to do anything with my life, there are some petty little lies i tell myself to make me feel better. Because a deep part of me knows life is not supposed to be this mundane and boring. Wake up, take a shower, eat, sleep and repeat. These are some of the lies i tell myself just to feel better.

1. I am too young: This is the premier lie i tell myself almost everyday. If i'm young, then it means i have more years ahead of me to do whatever i want to do right? No! Have you heard about the Anzisha prize? These are awards given to young people here in Africa who are doing amazing things in the tech and entrepreneurship. I would never receive the Anzisha prize because i'm 'too old' to qualify. So if people younger than i am are doing amazing things out there, what excuse do i have not to. I know i'm not that young i'm actually old. And as i get older i find more and more people in my age group who are doing amazing things. Nobody is too young to start.
2. I will do {Insert something important here} tomorrow: Its really easy to postpone a task to the next hour, day, year, because i'm literally telling myself that this important task is scheduled for the next time therefore its still very important on my agenda. Because honestly speaking, the next hour doesn't seem so far away. Neither does the next day, week or month. Then the time comes to do whatever important i scheduled to do. That is when i realise a previous task i put on hold needs more attention than the one i promised to work on at that very moment. Which means the task automatically gets postponed to the next time and the proposed next time becomes another next time and on and on it goes. 
3. Am not as privileged: Yes i'm not as rich, knowledgeable and educated as the next person. This is the slimy excuse i give to cut myself some slack. The are are a thousand and one social yardstick i can use to put myself down  but deep down i know this is not really an excuse for me not to do anything. 

The choices you make has alternatives. Think about it.

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From previous posts, i mentioned that i majored in economics at the university and have been learning economics since senior high school. Two of the many theories in economics that really struck a chord with me is the concept of choice and opportunity cost. People with no basic knowledge of economics will wonder what these two theories are about. I will therefore try and explain these concepts in a best way possible. 

Opportunity cost is basically what you have to give up to acquire something. There are several ways we can use our resources be it money, energy, time etc but these resources are limited that is why we are forced to make a choice. Opportunity cost can therefore be seen as the best immediate alternative you could have spent you resources on had you not spent it on something else. Therefore the things you decide to spend your limited resources on is your 'choice'. From face value, this concept does not seem extraordinary or eye opening but i've personally come to respect this theory as i grow up and begin to make choices. Because economics theories tell me that for every little thing i've spent money, energy and time on, there are other important alternatives i could have used those resources on. In this blog post i have separated my 'resources into three key areas that is time, money and energy. Time because as humans, we have fashioned our lives according to a certain O'clock by which we function. There is time to go to bed, time to rise, time to go to work/school, time to come back home and so on. Majority of us are paid by the number of hours and days we are willing to work. Hence the higher the number of hours we are willing to work, the higher the wages we expect. Time is such a valuable resource whose importance can never be underestimated. How many times have you heard a couple or people in a relationship having an argument and one of them say "you don't spend time with me like you used to" or "we don't spend time together any more". In this sentence we have seen the word "time" associated with "spend". Which means the fact that you can "spend time" shows it's a limited resource. How i spend my time is beginning to matter to me these past few weeks because once in a while the question of how i'm spending my time pops up in my head and i sincerely hope i'm spending my time the right way. 

I classify money as another important part of my resources because it's almost impossible to live without money. The basic things you need to exist on earth have to be bought with money. It is therefore little wonder money is tightly associated with time. "Time is money" its often said. We wake up everyday trading our time for money because we have to survive and after we have paid for our survival, we also want nicer cars, phones, clothes not forgetting the occasional holiday. I personally love entrepreneurs and startup founders and i always wish there were more entrepreneurs. But i ask a lot of young people why they haven't turned their great ideas and skills into business and the response i usually get is. "I don't have the capital (money) to start" or "i am barely getting by" therefore it looks like money as a resource can act as a stumbling block between someone who has a great business idea and actually starting a business and enjoying success. 

My third and final resource i consider vital is energy. The energy to wake up everyday and get something done be it writing a blog post, speaking to startup founders and entrepreneurs and how best i can help them, connecting with my family and friends and even the energy to resist junk food. How i spend my energy is now a prime concern to me because there is an opportunity cost and a best alternative to whatever i'm spending my energy on at the moment. For example, the time and energy i spend wondering whether a blog post would be successful could be used to do further writing and research to make the blog post and the blog even better.

If my opportunity costs are the best alternate ways i can use my resources (time, money and energy). Then it is imperative that whatever these resources go into must offer me the best in value and returns. But the question is how do i know that i'm spending my resources on things that have value? And the simple answer i use to determine that is "regret". Do i regret how i spent the day when i'm retiring to bed at night? Or how i spent money on things i didn't really need. If i continuously regret how i'm spending my resources then it means something has to change.

Why Combining a Regular Job with Entrepreneurship is Hard

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I strongly believe the sure way to become truly successful is by becoming an entrepreneur. My definition of success here is the ability to make an impact on the world alongside the money, fame and all the people who would like to sleep with you. So i started reading a lot about entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs from a young age and i realized the successful ones started either very early in their lives (Richard Branson) or the latter part of their lives (Colonel Sanders). I have a theory of why this is so. I think being an entrepreneur or founding a startup is primarily fueled by passion before any other factor comes to play. When you notice something in a field you are passionate about and you believe you can make a difference, beginning a startup is the way to deal with that problem. Or you notice an opportunity in a particular field and you work to take advantage of that opportunity. But my little observation makes me draw inferences such as young ones who have the passion to truly make a change do not have the money, resources, connections and what have you to start a business and older people who have the passion likewise lack the time and energy although they might have the money, resources and a powerful network. 

Therefore it comes as little surprise to me when i see that a lot of successful young entrepreneurs come from the tech space. Since the requirements for writing a program, software or app is quite minimal as compared to a young chap who wants to introduce a new food product unto the market. As a young person who wants to start a business one day, i continuously begin to see why that might never happen as the days and months go by. I started writing this blog in May of this year to get my ideas to spread and allow people to also read my thoughts. True, i have heard of bloggers who make so much money off their blogs but it takes a period of about 4-7 years before you can really make so much out of a blog that you stop looking at other sources of income. What matters to me the most is to tell my own version of the African story to anyone who cares to listen (read). That is why i write solely on the two things that i'm passionate about at this time of my life which is travel and entrepreneurship. My writing has given me opportunities to write on other blogs and websites which is great by the way but then it doesn't make me any real money. For someone who's out of school and an aspiring entrepreneur, until my dreams of founding your own startup materializes, i am tempted to look for a job so that i can earn money in the mean time.
The "let me find a job to get by"  phase is when most aspiring entrepreneurs hit the brick wall and never return. Because a steady stream of income can make you very comfortable. You know that at a certain point in the month something will fall into your account, and then there is settling down, starting a family. By the blink of an eye, you're fervently preparing for retirement and the startup never gets done. Because a job doesn't end at the stipulated time frame that an employer gives. There are various nuances and subtleties that comes with a job which might take up you free time. Like bringing work related task home, wondering whether your boss will fire you for the blunder you committed the other day, and all the social events and drama that surrounds the life of your co-workers. Therefore it takes a person who has real fortitude, passion and determination to combine a startup (considering how hard it is in the beginning) with a full time job. So it comes as no surprise to me that successful entrepreneurs start really young at a point where they don't have any idea of the bitter/sweet 9-5 drudgery or at a late age where after a point of holding a series of odd/boring and various jobs that do not interest them, they have a "light bulb" and decide to become entrepreneurs.
As i sit here approaching a quarter life, i really really really hope i don't become the latter.

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.

What Startups Can Learn From Youtube

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courtesy: Youtube.com

As an entrepreneurship geek and youtube fan, i have noticed startups and entrepreneurs can get ahead by emulating these 3 things from youtube to build a strong brand.

• Collect Consumer Data

Google owns youtube and google is fundamentally an advertising company. Just like advertisers use data  for targeted marketing, startups and entrepreneurs can find simple ways to collect client data so that they can better mold products for customers needs.  This can be done by keeping the tinniest record available on the consumer. These tinny records become big data and enough data of a consumer allows you to make informed decisions about consumers wants. When you open youtube the videos you find in there are always somehow greographically, politically or culturally relevant to you. As you click on more videos, youtube uses your history to find more videos that are relevant to your intersest. That is how you end up watching 16 related videos instead of the 1 you originally planned to watch. Likewise, startups can create an information curating model that will always inform their decision into making products and services 

• Customize Products and Services

One of the key things i like about youtube is how relevant videos associated with what you're watching pops up, this is as a result of the you viewing history. The more you indulge in the videos, the more they are able to better suggest videos for you. Likewise entrepreneurs can tailor make their products and services to better satisfy the client. The one size fit all approach to business does not work.  Notice how youtube reiterates "your account history is visible to only you" when you're clearing your search history? This shows how important entrepreneurs can take advantage of consumer data to make specific products for a specific market. Because think about it, if the Pareto 80/20 rule is anything to go buy 20% of your clients would contribute 80% of your startups revenue. It just makes sense to pay more attention to your repeat clients whiles on the look out for other custormers

•   Build a community

10 years ago i don't think there was anything like a youtube 'star' but now there is, and there a few of them who are even breaking into mainstream media. Sometimes i log on to youtube not just because of the video but rather for the comments because some of the comments i see on there make my day.  Just like youtube stars have a strong following/subscribers who would not allow any troll to say something negative about their favourite star or icon, building a community around your product will help your startup get free publicity and gain fans who would be willing to evangelize the product both online and offline. These loyalist can serve as a focus group for the entrepreneur to test new products and ideas. Just like how youtube encourages conversation and replies, entrepreneurs can take advantage of feedback and encourage consumers to have conversations to help them gain maximum feedback.  

With Entrepreneurship, Losing is Winning

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Statistics on startups and entrepreneurship does not look very favourable. A lot of startups fail in their first year of operation, many more are forced to close down by their second and third year. By the fifth year 95% or 8 out of 10 businesses have failed. That is the major reason why a lot more people will stick to the traditional corporate sector and have a regular income. But for the few who go into entrepreneurship  it is one heck of a journey. For all the time i have been reading and studying entrepreneurship i have come to realise that failure is some how good for the entrepreneur. It always clear that those who didn't give up on their dreams after they failed but somehow found a way to get back to their business are the extremely successful ones. 

When you start a business,  it's about you, your ideas, your desire to make a change in your society, community or country in the hopes that someone will be willing to pay you for the change or product you have created. In every startup, entrepreneurs represent their own brand and therefore have to play many roles. From marketing, operations to sales and accounting.When an entrepreneur decides to do it all, clearly the skill set that she's strong in comes to bear. The other skills that she does not possess or comes naturally to her, she  fumbles with them (that is why i encourage partnership). Whiles trying to do hold a startup together out of stress, fear or whatever the problem is she crashes and burns. But the good thing is when you fail as as an entrepreneur you learn how not to do things like you did before. This is the entrepreneurs advantage. Being an entrepreneur makes you a strong analyst. You get to bounce ideas off your head as many times as possible always reviewing and making judgement of these ideas, your mind now is a repository of ideas. Every great product or service you see around began as an idea. From a personal experience you know what works and what doesn't. Which on hindsight is not a bad thing because its like paying for school just that this one is more hands on and your failure makes you learn  a lot about yourself. 

 Entrepreneurship is fundamentally about taking risk, and i guess you have read how life is not "fun" for those who do not take risk and what not. But no matter how cliche these quotes are, they are true. Successful entrepreneurs are happy because they now have a leg up on something we are all breaking our backs to have that is time, money and freedom to do whatever they want to do be it travel, charity etc. So if you're considering entrepreneurship, go for it. Take that risk today. Your first startup will fail, the second too might fail, the third one might not really fail but you will sell it before it goes out of control, your final startup will be google.

PS: I leave you with another cliche quote "I have not failed. I've found 10,000 ways that won't work."-Thomas A. Edison

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...