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  • Why It’s Better to Make Money “Offline” than “Online”

    Posted: May 31, 2010, 10:11 am by tranx

    There’s a lot of friends and fellow Kenyans who are looking to make money online. Is it possible? YES! But you need to get into it knowing full well what you’re going in for. Hence this article.

    There are ton of great websites, blogs, and programs out in the Internet about how to “Make Money Online“. Many of them have great ideas, and I read some of the better ones on a regular basis. While there are many different variations on this, there are basically 3 different ways to make money online:

    1. Content Sites – Having good content and a lot of visitors and then selling advertising on the site. This is the reason for 90% of the blogs out there (my own guess)
    2. Affiliate Sites – Sites set up specifically to refer visitors to purchase products sold by other people/companies, in which the referrer gets a percentage of the sale.
    3. eCommerce Sites – Sells niche products and often through drop-shipping. This way, the operators don’t have to handle any inventory.

    If it Looks Too Easy, It Probably Is
    The problem with these methods isn’t that they are bad ideas. The early adopters for most of these methods made (and continue to make) a decent amount of money because they were there first. The problem is that they are TOO easy to implement and get started. In economic terms, the barriers to entry are extremely low, and there becomes a flood of “entrepreneurs” who are looking for a quick buck.

    When looking at new ideas or tools, one of the first things I take notice of is how easy it is to implement. If anyone can do it in almost no time, then it’s not worth doing. For example, there are tools that allow you to create niche websites based on a list of keywords that you have. It can literally create thousands of sites/landing pages for you. The problem with a tool like this is that if you can easily use it and implement it, then so can thousands of other people – thereby eroding any possible value in the tool. (Not to mention the fact that this “spamming” will quickly be a “no-no” in the eyes of Google and if it’s not already detected and blacklisted, it soon will be).

    Defensible Position
    The problem with tools like I just described is that you have almost no “defensible position”. What I mean by defensible position is something that others cannot easily copy. If someone else can easily (and cheaply) buy the tool I described above, you have virtually no defensible position. Google or Amazon are examples of companies with extremely strong defensible positions. While they compete against the likes of Yahoo and Buy.com respectively, it would be next to impossible for all but a few people in the world to create something to compete against them. And to do that would require an incredible amount of resources of time.

    The Advantages of the “Offline” World
    When I refer to the “Offline” world, I use the term pretty loosely. I’m really referring to any type of company that isn’t making money via the “Online” methods I listed above. Often times, these are more traditional companies with more traditional structures. For example, Salesforce.com is totally web-based but I consider that an “offline” company and the same goes for small software companies that sell some sort of product or service on the web. Or you could just sell something old economy – like paper.

    1. You Have a Defensible Position – Usually this is some sort of product or service that someone cannot create by spending 3 hours on a Saturday to set-up. This doesn’t mean that there are no competitors but it also means that hundreds of people can’t start up a web-site just to test the waters.
    2. You Have Real Clients - With online marketing, you do have “clients” but they are very fluid. You can use methods to get them to your site quickly and easily but there is no strong relationship formed there. Real Clients are those who chose your product or service for a reason and you have established your “brand” with them. They may recommend you to other customers or hopefully are repeat customers.
    3. You Aren’t at the Mercy of Others – Every business should have an exit plan. That exit plan might be to use the business as a cash generator for years or to sell it once it reaches a certain income level. If the business is at the mercy of suppliers, which is really the case of all the ways to Make Money “Online”, whether it’s supplier of the products you sell or the supplier of the traffic and ads for your content site, then any future is very uncertain. But if you have a regular business that cannot be easily disrupted, it is much more valuable and more likely to be viable in the future. It is a much more valuable business.
    4. You Can Make More Money – This one can vary a bit based on what you’re trying to sell. I know a lot of Internet Marketers who make a ton of money selling products and services offline and probably more than if they sold it as an offline product. The reason I say this one is that an online world, the easy of entry invites more participants, and with more participants, it in essence becomes a commodity product, and with a commodity product, it just becomes a race to the bottom (look at web hosting since that is so easy to become a reseller).

    Will I Still Continue to Make Money Online…. Of Course!
    Our main business and main ’strategy’ of making money online in Kenya is to use the internet to drive up sales…in the offline world. This article describes it somewhat. It is sort of an online-offline hybrid of a business and we are always continuing to make it more “online” because we believe that if you can build an online business with a real defensible position, you’ve hit the jackpot!

    But will I base my livelihood around a single content site or some affiliate Adwords arbitrage site? Of course not. Not because I don’t think there is any potential value in there. But because I know there are thousands of people out there who can easily come up with a better mouse-trap with very little time and effort and erode any possible value there for me.

    I would rather spend most of my time focusing on the things that will create the most value for me in the long run. Those are the things in which I can gain a strong “defensible position” and more often than not, they are “offline” and not “online”.

    How about you? I love feedback!

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  • Lessons learnt while dyeing my hair

    Posted: May 30, 2010, 1:20 am by Crystal

    For a while now, I’ve been trying to get my hair purple. I’ve dyed it three times, and it ended up blacker than when I started. Aside from being terribly frustrated, I’ve learnt a few lessons for life and business.

    1. Always do your research

    I went to five or six shops looking for the perfect shade of purple. Turns out shops in Nairobi don’t stock much beyond brown, black, blonde, and grey.  Apart from realising that someone should stock strange hair colours – even if it’s only on demand – I discovered that Nakumatt and Uchumi sell half a litre of Ooh yoghurt at 73 bob while Ukwala sells it at 95 shillings. Interesting.

    2. Get dizzy-proof

    The thing with servicing clients, no pun intended, is that sometimes, you’ll go round in circles and end up right where you started.

    The first colour I bought was aubergine, and after several sessions using varying degrees of it, and going through black, red, blue, and several purples, I’ve ended up with plain old aubergine. Come Saturday, I’ll put it on my hair undiluted, and drive my hairdressers off the edge of sanity.

    In business, be prepared to spin on the spot with a client, and when you walk past the same signpost for the millionth time and client says ‘that’s exactly what I want!’ do some yoga, smile, and remember that it’s worth it in the end.

    3. Failure isn’t always a bad thing

    On the assumption that the Saturday dyeing will work, it will have taken me two weeks, four sessions, three thousand shillings, 6 to 7 hours, and six pairs of gloves to get my hair the right colour. But, I now know 3 ways not to dye my hair, and next time, I can do it using 200 bob and one go.

    4. Improvise

    At one of the shops I went to, they didn’t have purple dye, but they suggested I try powder food colour. I laughed at the idea, but apparently it’s a popular one, and it gives you a much wider colour range. Plus, it’s temporary, so if it doesn’t work out, it’ll be gone in a few weeks.

    As a business person, you should always give the client what he wants. But if you don’t have it, sell them a Plan B. Just be sure it’s one that works.

    5. Know when to stop tweaking

    The thing with artists is we never know when to stop. We always want to put in one more word, take a comma out, change the shade of blue, twist a bit of code, make everything just perfect.

    During my multiple sessions, I started out ultra-violet black, which was too dark, so I added some aubergine, which was too light. I put in a bit of food-colour purple … which took me back to black. Very frustrating. If I’d just left it at bright purple, it would have darkened with time.

    Good business is like dyeing hair; you get your hands messy, you don’t know what to expect, you use a lot of resources [and water] and your hands get really, really hot.

    So remember to have a tank, a long fuse, a borehole, a source of emergency capital and a brilliant assistant, even if that assistant is you.

    And always, always, always wear gloves.


    Crystal Ading’ is a professional author, editor, rock lover and mother. Her work is available through www.threeceebee.com.

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  • 7 Ways Of Claiming Your Success

    Posted: May 28, 2010, 7:48 am by ismah

    You will agree with me that this is one of the hardest blocks to pass – just lifting your leg off the ground and getting it done. Most People spend much time mark-timing in the quagmire of excuses. “I will do it tomorrow” or “today I don’t feel like doing it,” becomes the order of the day and before you realize it, a day is gone…a week…month and then years!

    One of my friends has been idle for months now after the completion of her Journalism course at the Kenya polytechnic and when I asked her why she’s sleeping on her talent, she was quick to reply, “But I don’t have a camera!” “Then why don’t you start off by giving these media houses news tip-offs or perhaps pitch news ideas to them?” I asked and all she could give was a blank stare though her lips twitched as though she was about to say something. Below are few tips that can help you take off the ground.

    1.Discover yourself
    Discover the love of your heart. What you enjoy doing. It doesn’t matter whether it’s writing, acting or whatever that could be. You will only go far by doing what you enjoy the most.

    2. Become an Expert
    Someone once said that to become an expert, You only have to know slightly above the average person. You don’t need to spend years of your life searching for all those degrees, they are not the ones that will make you an expert – after all you won’t face life with all those crowns on your head when your head is empty. There are so many ways of getting enough information about your interest. Say for example you’re interested in fashion, subscribe to all those newsletters, blogs and magazine that talk about fashion. Watch or listen to informative interviews on the same. Talk to people already in the industry, get to know how they come up with different designs and the like.

    3. Find Your own way of doing it
    Creating “blind competition” won’t land you any where far from disappointments. Rob once said, “there is enough wealth for each and every one in this world all you need to do is to find your own unique way of tapping into your share.” Forcing yourself in another person’s shoe and blaming him if it all fails won’t give you success. Simply because the Mama Sukuma in your hood commands a huge base of customers does not mean you too will do the same automatically if you plant your own kiosk. If sukumawiki is not your thing then don’t even dream of doing it. Similarly if your interest is dancing and every one is doing it, then don’t create that “blind competition” by doing it exactly the same way. Find your own way of doing it that will make you stand out.

    4. Make a plan
    Words such as “I will one day do this or that” only kill your subconscious. Sit down and get it done. Make your feature plans, where you want to be in five or so years then break it down to what you will be doing daily that will contribute to achievement of your long term goals and make sure you do exactly that. For instance, say you are a writer; using words like I will one day write a novel before I die is not the right track to go. Saying “I want to complete a 60,000-word novel in two months” is a good long term goal but it’s not enough. You have to break it down further in bits that will help you reach your main goal and that could be writing 1000-words a day that will give you 60,000-words in sixty days. Still this is not enough. Make sure you discipline yourself to be writing the 1000-words daily – Hope you’re getting the point.

    5. Go against the current
    If you are really convinced that your idea is good, don’t listen to people. Most of them are afraid of change. They want to maintain the statusquo and will shoot down anything they think might make you better than them. This is not to say that you should not seek for advice but learn to sample good ideas with the ill-intended ideas.

    6. Drop all the Pretenders
    I’m sure if you look around you will find yourself surrounded by a bunch of friends – and let me assure you not all are really your friends. Most of them are out to frustrate you from achieving your success and they are determined. They will try all means possible to show you how what you want to try is impossible and if you go a head and prove them wrong, they will still find excuses to prove you faked your way to success; If you did not buy your way to success, then you rolled your pants for the boss! you know such kind of things? These are not the right people to move around with, ditch them and move on. The won’t help you. Find the right people to work with. People who will give you honest opinion.

    7. Be ahead of the game
    As the time goes, technology grows and so are your clients. Sticking to your old ways of doing things will only leave you behind the game. You clients, however loyal they could be, will not stick to you with your old ways, they will move on; so learn to move along with them. If you are for example in the fashion industry, study the new designs and how you can use the ever growing technology to improve your business. It’s only by this that you will keep your customers hooked to you.

    I hope the above tips will help you claim you success. They are not exhausted and would add some if I come across, So good luck.

    Photo courtesy of laverrue.

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  • Overnight Success

    Posted: May 27, 2010, 9:51 am by Kelvin

    The idea of overnight success is very very seductive. At any one time, it seems there’s always a story of overnight success somewhere. But was it really an overnight success? We want to believe the myth that success is easy to come by. But success in business (and anything else) takes time, energy and hard work—lots of all three.

    “Personally, I’ve never met an overnight success. I’ve met people who’ve done something well for a long time and were suddenly discovered. Then everyone assumed they came out of nowhere, that their fame happened overnight.” – Barrie Bergman

    But the real truth is that it takes a long time to be an overnight success.

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  • Simple Plan For Everyone

    Posted: May 26, 2010, 10:07 am by Kelvin

    I just read an amazing article by Seth Godin. It is a simple pan that anyone and anything can follow on the road to success. Here it is:

    The number of people you need to ask for permission keeps going down:
    1. Go, make something happen.

    2. Do work you’re proud of.

    3. Treat people with respect.

    4. Make big promises and keep them.

    5. Ship it out the door.
    When in doubt, see #1.

    Well, you heard it…

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  • 9 Steps to Start Your Own Business

    Posted: May 24, 2010, 12:04 pm by tranx

    A lot of people have dreams of making it big with their own business and they think they have some great ideas that they want to act on but they don’t know what to do, so they don’t do anything. And that’s their biggest mistake – they don’t do anything. The first step to starting a small business is to take the first step. Take some action.

    So whether you’re thinking of selling a product or providing a service, these are the 9 Steps to Starting a Small Business

    1. Take Action – Don’t just talk and think about your idea. Do something. I guarantee that if you’re successful, it will not look anything like you originally imagined. It is IMPOSSIBLE to think of all the different possibilities so just do something to start and worry about making changes as you go.
    2. Get Money – Most people are going to hate this one but I think it’s necessary. I think the question I get asked the most is what to do if the person has no money. It’s hard enough building a business with plenty of money and it’s nearly impossible with no money.
      Even if it’s just money that you have saved, set an amount aside so you have something to start with. Trust me, trading time for money is a VERY hard way to go and I don’t recommend it at all.
    3. Register the Business – This one scares everyone because they think it’s a ton of work filling out complicated government and tax forms. The reality is that it is almost too easy. Just register your business and get it done with. It makes everything else so much easier down the road when you have a registered business. Here’s how to do it.
    4. Set up a Bank Account – I was going to include this with the previous step because it’s so small but I realized that it’s too important to skip. If you’re working from a bank account, it’s much easier to manage your money, receivables, and taxes. Again, it’s a one time thing that makes everything else easier down the road.
    5. Create a Two Page Business Plan – I’m not a big fan of business plans. I once created a 40 page document and realized that I went into so much detail that I was better off just doing what I was talking about. I also think that their main purpose is in the formation of capital (i.e: getting money from other people) and most small businesses aren’t trying to get that type of money. However, I do think it’s good to get your ideas on paper and if you just go off and write 2 pages of your ideas, it’ll help make your thoughts much clearer. Don’t worry about getting it perfect – just get your ideas on paper.
    6. Create a Scorecard – I know it sounds minor, but along with getting money before I started, the lack of a scorecard was the biggest hindrance to our early success. A scorecard is a spreadsheet to track how your business is doing in different areas of your business. It allows you to focus on specific areas of your business and measure how well your business is doing. For example, I know how much it costs me to generate a new customer, so I use that information when I determine whether a new campaign is effective or not.
    7. Create a Manual – In my mind, this replaces the long business plan. Until you start creating a manual for your business, you will not be successful. By putting on paper the exact steps to run each part of your business, you are creating a recipe for success. Without it, you cannot create a consistent experience for your customers and you waste your time reinventing the wheel each time you need to complete a task.
    8. Create the First Draft of Your Product – If your plan is to create a new product or service, build it for the first time. Determine what needs to be done to manufacture the product or complete the service. If you’re just distributing a product or service for a supplier, go through that process to determine what needs to be done to go from sale to successful delivery of your product. Oh yeah, and make sure every detail is recorded in the manual.
    9. Test the Market for the Product – Go out and try to sell your product or service. This is where some of that money that you set aside comes in. You don’t want a full-blown campaign but you want to see what type of response you will get on your service. You’re almost definitely going to lose some money here but you’ll start getting some data points (which will show up in your Scorecard) that you can start making decisions off of.

    The most important step in starting a small business it the first one – take action. You can come up with a ton of different scenarios in your mind but until you take some action to begin testing out your idea, you will never know. Some ideas you think will be great will be horrible and ones that you think will be a waste, are your best ideas. Don’t just go at it halfway. Create some sort of structure with the steps above and you have something to start testing and growing.

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  • The Forex Market

    Posted: May 21, 2010, 10:54 am by tranx

    In case you had been wondering; the foreign exchange (forex) market is all about trading between countries, the currencies of those countries usually through a broker. Many people are involved in forex trading, which is similar to stock market trading, but FX trading is completed on a much larger overall scale.

    Much of the trading does take place between banks, governments, brokers and a small amount of trades will take place in retail settings where the average person involved in trading is known as a spectator. Inside the past, the forex trading inter-bank marketplace was not offered to modest speculators because of the big minimum transaction sizes and strict monetary requirements.

    These days, foreign exchange marketplace brokers are able to break down the larger sized inter-bank units, and offer modest traders like you and me the opportunity to buy or sell any number of these smaller units. These brokers give any size trader, including individual speculators or smaller firms, the choice to trade at the same rates and price tag movements as the big players who once dominated the marketplace.

    Financial markets and financial conditions make the forex market trading go up and down daily. Value movements within the foreign exchange marketplace are extremely smooth and without having the gaps that you just face practically each morning within the stock marketplace. The regular turnover within the foreign exchange marketplace is somewhere around $3.2 trillion, so a new investor can enter and exit positions without having any issues.

    The currencies on the entire world are on a floating exchange rate, and they’re constantly traded in pairs Euro/Dollar, Dollar/Yen, etc. About 85 percent of all regular transactions involve exchanging on the four key currency pairs which are; EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, and USD/CHF.

    Transactions within the foreign exchange marketplace are performed by dealers at key banks or Currency trading brokerage firms. Currency trading is often a needed part on the entire world wide marketplace, so when you’re sleeping in the comfort of your bed, the dealers in Europe are exchanging currencies with their Japanese counterparts. Consequently, it is reasonable for you to believe that the foreign exchange marketplace is active 24 hours a day and dealers at key institutions are working 24/7 in three distinct shifts. The fact is that the foreign exchange marketplace never stops; even on September 11, 2001 you could still get your hands on two-side quotes on currencies.

    The foreign exchange marketplace, FX marketplace for short, is the largest, least regulated and oldest monetary marketplace in the entire world. It is the most liquid marketplace in the entire world, and it is traded mostly via the 24 hour-a-day inter-bank foreign exchange marketplace.

    Unlike the futures and stock markets, exchanging currencies isn’t centered on an exchange. Investing moves from key banking centers on the U.S. to Australia and New Zealand, towards the Far East, to Europe and finally back towards the U.S. it is really a full circle exchanging game.

    In summary, the foreign exchange market is a very unique and the most interesting business opportunity with great rewards. Anyone can learn about the FX market and become a pro. All you need is a computer, internet, the skills and the starting capital.

    For more information or anyone who may be interested in training could contact Ruth via cell; 0724642468 or write her an email at g3ruth[at]yahoo.com.

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  • Generating Business With Social Media Marketing

    Posted: May 19, 2010, 11:42 am by Kelvin

    I bet you’ve noticed how “social media” has become such a huge and ubiquitous buzzword.

    Every business owner who heard of the Makmende story probably started to think: how can I use social media to improve my business? The great thing about social media is that it is usually free to use. Unfortunately, it takes time and commitment. More often than not, people go into social media without any idea of how to do…anything.

    Hubspot have just released a nice little mini book on how small businesses can use social media.

    The book answers these questions:

    1. How does social media drive business revenue?
    2. How do small business owners resource the time needed for social media?
    3. How can blogs drive small business leads?
    4. How does the B2B application of social media for small businesses work?
    5. How can social media support offline marketing activities?
    6. How do small businesses get started using social media and keep generating content?
    7. How is the cost of customer acquisition lower when using social media compared to outbound methods like direct mail and print advertisements?

    Click here to Download the book (PDF)

    The book is an interview done on four small businesses to understand how they were using social media to have a direct impact on business growth. The eBook includes detailed information to explain how small business owners can get started in social media as well as strategies that have been proven in the “real world.” This eBook isn’t about a company preaching the wonders of social media; instead, it tells the story of how four different businesses found their own successful social media strategies.

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  • The Problem With Web Design

    Posted: May 17, 2010, 1:03 pm by Kelvin

    Ever wondered why perfectly good web designers sometimes produce *finished* (with the client happy and all) web designs that are total abominations?

    It is true that some web designers are just not that good but I am convinced that most web designers know what they are doing. Well, I have some experience with web design and you may be surprised to find out the real reason for crappy and downright shameful websites is not the designer. It is the client.

    When a client gets his/her hands dirty and starts directing one change after another on the ‘draft’ design, things almost always go from okay, to bad, to worse, and straight into web design hell.

    The Oatmeal has a nice article on how this happens: How A Web Design Goes Straight To Hell.

    Dear clients, I know you think you are doing the right thing, protecting your interests, etc etc but you have to realise that you are not a web designer! You hired the guy to do a job now let him do it – he/she probably knows what he/she is doing.

    Every web design must have a certain “flow” to it so that, well, so that it looks good. Every time you suggest a change, you ruin this flow and the designer has to somehow try to bring it ‘back’.

    If the designer was an engineer designing the turbine of a plane, would you have so many suggestions and “fixes”?

    If you decide to hire someone, let that person do his job.

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  • People Are Doing It!

    Posted: May 16, 2010, 7:35 pm by Kelvin

    I’m a happy guy today!

    See, I just got an unexpected income. It is not much, but it is income all the same. Online income. The real story, is how I got this income. The only way I could have got this income is if one of you clicked on one of the Freelancer.com links found here and then went on to successfully do a job on Freelancer.com and get paid.

    What does this mean? Well, it means that other Like Chapaa readers just like you are making money online! Making money online is just as easy/hard as it is anywhere else – you just need a sound plan and hard work. I know you have a plan of some sorts, but have you done anything with it? Why not?

    No one ever succeeded by doing nothing. Do something, anything!

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  • Jua More – All About Book Reviews

    Posted: May 15, 2010, 4:00 pm by Kelvin

    Well, we’ve gone out and launched a new site: www.juamore.com

    Why did we launch a book review site? Well, the short story is that we launched it to prove a point. See, a while back I wanted to start a magazine so I went out seeking support for the idea. One unfortunately ill-advised lady tore down my idea by claiming, “Kenyans do not read”. Hogwash! I’m a Kenyan and I read!

    The long story: I feel that the book “industry” is not well covered in the Kenyan online ’space’.

    There’s no one site that is known primarily for its focus on books. I know that some sites do exist, but none of them are yet ‘big enough’ for us not to be able to compete with. So, yes, we launched Jua More to compete for attention in the Kenyan online ’space’ for books and book related things. We’re coming from humble beginnings, as an outright underdog and we relish the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to test our mettle against bigger fish.

    The idea isn’t quite fully thought out yet – we prefer to just do things once an idea gets us excited enough. However, we’re stating with book reviews because:

    1. We love books
    2. I love reading books and I can read and review them in truckloads.
    3. We would like to grow into the ‘place’ where you can find reviews on all your favorite books, especially Kenyan books.

    Of course there are other plans, this is just the beginning. Once we get our wits about us, we’ll do more with the site. We’re looking to partner with book sellers, authors and book publishers. Are you interested in partnering with us? The writers among you may be pleased to know that we’ll be hiring writers in a while.

    Later on, we may start a fully fledged online bookshop.

    Please read more about Jua More, the place for Kenyan book reviews.

    What do you think of this? Why not get involved?

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  • Business 302: Weathering the storm

    Posted: May 14, 2010, 1:02 am by Crystal

    Running your own business is a lot like being stuck in Nairobi in 2010. El Niño, La niña, miracle babies, global warming, and several unnamed cults have urged the gods to kill our weather patterns, so no one really knows when it should rain anymore. It’s mid-May, and our showers of blessings are yet to slow down. This unpredictable weather comes with both blessings and less-than-blessings.

    Rain means filled up dams, which logically equal lower electricity bills. It also means more greens, less dust, less hunger, and more umbrella sales.

    But the rain has some downsides too. Tomato and onion gardens are being flooded, so they’re not maturing well and are getting pricey. In my neighbourhood, I buy one [fairly large] tomato at ten bob, which is ridiculous really.

    The roads are getting eroded, and so is our good sense; have you tried moving in the CBD when it’s raining? Don’t even get me started on the burst sewers. Nairobi is a lot cleaner and greener than she used to be, but we still clearly has a massive drainage problem.

    Business is sometimes like that. We all itch and ache to go entrepreneur and do our own thing, but when we get there, it’s not quite what we expect. When we are starving in drought, we beg for rain, but when it gets here, we have to deal with wet feet, muddy shoes, and malaria.

    When you work for ‘the man’, you may have a crazy boss, but you can always transfer or quit. When you’re working for yourself, you often have annoying customers, but they’re paying the bill. And no, you cannot bash your clients on twitter.

    But just as you enjoy rain while cringing at the potholes, you can harvest your business as you hide from giant mosquitoes.

    Yesterday, I got stuck in the rain, and learnt a few lessons that can help you build your business. So here are my survival tips for rain – and business – in 2010.

    1. Always  trust your instincts: When I looked at the sky at 4.30 yesterday, I considered staying in the office and waiting it out, then decided to try to beat the clouds instead. Had I stayed at work, I’d have been stuck until 8.00. But then I’d also have been warm and dry, and got a lot more work done.
    2. Always have a backup plan: I carry a big blue knapsack everywhere I go. It’s loaded with endless junk, cables, a bottle of bubbles, a yoyo, three novels, purple lipbalm, spare bullets, ten teabags and three handsets. But nooooo, it doesn’t have an umbrella. ‘Nuff said.
    3. Wear sensible shoes: You never know when you’ll need to have an emergency meeting in a high class restaurant with a new client. Or when you’ll need to run in the rain.
    4. Learn from others, but don’t envy them: I have always admired girls that can walk in high heels, and I’ve even toyed the idea of ‘upping my business image’ by getting some skirt suits and Louis Vuitton. But yesterday, I saw good-looking ladies in litty-bitty power-skirts surviving the cold and rain while I breezed it in my Northstars and jeans. Score one for the tomboy!
    5. Always have an emergency fund: You never know when you’ll need to kill some rain-time by having a hot pizza instead.
    6. Timing is everything: When I finally got to my bus stop, the rain was pretty bad and there was a shortage of matatus, so I hung out in the semi-shelter for a couple of hours. I saw some people rushing off to Bomb Blast to get transport, but they had to get soaked through and use some serious rugby skills to get there. I waited until the rain was a drizzle before I calmly headed that way, and I found a matatu ready and waiting. Yay!
    7. Stay positive: If you have to be stuck in the rain, it helps to have a big red jumper, heavy blue denim, canvas shoes, and a waterprof hairstyle. But even without the protection, try to keep smiling. The bad times, like the rain, will turn to rainbows eventually. Just ask Donald Trump and Noah.

    Crystal Ading’ is a professional author, editor, rock lover and mother. Her work is available through www.threeceebee.com.Similar Posts:


  • When ‘Best Practices’ Don’t Work

    Posted: May 13, 2010, 9:42 am by Kelvin

    This is the story of how Dropbox, a cloud storage company, went from having 100,000 users to 4million users in fewer than two years. Amazing, eh? Watch the slideshow:

    Dropbox Startup Lessons Learned View more presentations from gueste94e4c.

    I find the presentation to be quite inspiring. Incase you didn’t/can’t watch it, it tells the story of a young company struggling to bring their product to market. At first, they experiment with traditional ‘best practice’ marketing methods. They realise that these methods fail horribly and decide to switch tact – this proves to be a smart move as their customer acquisition rate increased rapidly.

    It just goes to show that when you are staring your own business, you have to be “hands on” and you have to think inside, outside and around the box. The important thing is to be bold enough to actually try something – when it doesn’t work, change it and try something else. As long as your are not basing your decisions on ignorance then your smart management will probably improve your business position.

    Hubspot has a nice article on 5 lessons learnt from the dropbox slideshow.

    What did you learn?

    I loved the statement: search engines are a way to harvest demand, not create it.

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  • Drop-shipping (and other) secrets

    Posted: May 10, 2010, 11:23 pm by Kelvin

    Are you making any money online?

    I’d say one of the most satisfying ways to make money online is to actually sell a physical “good”; to open up your own little (or big) shop and just sell something. Would you like to do that?

    Well, you’re in luck. I’ve just got word of a wonderful opportunity to learn about several product sourcing methods that you can use for your online shop. What is product sourcing? Think of it this way: you need “things” to sell in an online (or any) shop. Product sourcing is the process of getting these ‘things’.

    Worldwide Brands have a nice set of videos that teach you a lot about product sourcing for online shops. I’d say that the videos can also easily be applied to normal brick and mortar shops.

    Here’s the link: Learn about product sourcing. Click and go watch. The people over at Worldwide Brands will teach you how to really profit from selling physical products online.

    Good luck.

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  • 21 Ways To Make Money Online

    Posted: May 10, 2010, 12:03 pm by wham

    This post is a quick answer to all those among you, dear readers, who write in asking, “how do I make money online?”

    We provide an ebook below that gives a brief description of 21 legitimate ways to make money online. I know that most of you have probably heard about all these methods but I hope that this article inspires you to do something with your knowledge.

    What is the purpose of acquiring knowledge? Knowledge is only useful if one can use it to his/her advantage. It is important to read widely to get as much knowledge as possible. It is more important to do something with the knowledge that you gain. Set your goals high, make a plan and just do it. Don’t think or otherwise procrastinate, just do it. You’ll be surprised at what you can achieve.

    What if you fail? So what? Everyone fails. Do you know of any smart or successful people that you admire? What you do not know is how many times they have failed in the past. If you have never failed at something before, it probably means that you have never really tried to do anything before. Besides, once you get successful no one will even remember your past mistakes and failures.

    So, grab the ebook and get started. Do something, don’t just sit there!

    Download: 21 Ways To Make Money Online

    The ebook is somewhat dated (old) and does not go into much detail. Please leave a comment below if you require any more information – I’ll be happy to help with any explanations or advice.

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  • If You Can’t Sell Something, Double the Price?

    Posted: May 7, 2010, 12:32 pm by tranx

    Here’s an interesting idea: if you are having problems selling a good product, don’t slash your prices, double them. People are more likely to respond to the perceived high value than a decrease value of the product.

    I was just reading a great book, Influence – the Power of Persuasion. It is a great book with some good insights into the psychology of persuasions. I love books that explain human behavior, especially when it’s counter to what most people would expect.

    Double The Price To Clear the Inventory

    There was a story in the book that the author recounted about a friend who owned a jewellery store. The author had some turquoise pieces that she could not get rid of no matter what she did. She eventually got so frustrated with having the jewelery taking up space that she left a note for one of her employees before she left for vacation, asking her to sell everything for 1/2 price. Unfortunately, the employee misread the note and thought that the owner wanted to double the prices of the jewelery. But a strange thing happened – when the owner returned, all the inventory was gone.

    The jewelery stored catered to tourists on vacation who didn’t know much about turquoise. They saw a high price on the jewelery and jumped to the conclusion that it must be high quality. They based their decision on the quality of the product by the price of it.

    This is not an uncommon occurrence – it’s a shortcut that we humans take. Instead of learning all about turquoise jewelery – what is a normal price, what determines good quality, etc., people trust that an expensive price equals high value.

    This Does Not Always Work

    This doesn’t mean that you can go out and double the price of anything that you sell. For example, if you sell website hosting service and you tried to double your prices, you would lose a lot more revenue than you would gain. There are a few conditions that have to be in place for this to work:

    1. Your product is not a well-known commodity. If you sell bread or milk or TVs, you won’t be able to increase your prices. Your product is almost identical to your competitors and your customers will know enough about the prices to realize that your prices are too expensive.
    2. Your product is of good quality. Remember, the key is that consumers expect high quality for high prices. If you sell an obviously shoddy product (e.g. – obviously fake or bad turquoise), you will end up with an angry customer base. You might be able to make a few sales but this is not a business model that will last.

    There are other benefits to doubling your price: You have less customers to deal with, which means less headaches and less overhead to deal with.

    The real benefit, though, is that you can differentiate your product. The very fact that people will pay high prices, means that they stop seeing it as an everyday commodity – bingo! If you can differentiate it, you set the price level.

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  • Nice-guy Politics

    Posted: May 6, 2010, 6:20 am by Crystal

    One of the services I provide at 3CB is project management, which mainly involves logistics. For one client in particular, I handle correspondence, i.e. making phone calls and emails to get delegates to the venue in one piece, preferably with their wardrobe intact. It’s a tedious, essential, but unglamorous task.

    This particular client has a very firm corporate image. It’s a no-nonsense environment where everyone takes themselves quite seriously. Protocol is followed in debilitating detail. As a result, any communication with customers is stoic, almost cold.

    Enter me, with my warm, uber-friendly approach to strangers. Results were mixed at best, and disastrous at worst. My client’s associates began to ask for me by name, and my personality interfered with my client’s detached approach.

    Because I was seen as more malleable, I ended up being sought on my own time for this client’s business, which was ineffective for all involved. On the plus side, people I had interacted with on behalf of my client remembered my name and persona. It’s quite possible that the relationships formed could lead to business tangents unrelated to this client. However, the primary client remains dissatisfied with my system, because that’s not who they are.

    As a consultant and a businessperson, I’ve had to weigh the pros and cons of cases like this. Being myself may work well with some clients, and it certainly makes my job more enjoyable. But, cliché or not, the customer is still king, and it may mean compromising my attitude, dress code, or ethos to keep them happy. After all, they’re paying for my services, so they should get what they want.

    There is a line to be drawn of course. If the client requires you to bend over so far that you end up on your back, you may need to pass up the money and work for someone else. But when you want to be paid, it’s not you that matters, it’s your client. Running your own business has very many perks, but it doesn’t necessarily make you the boss.

    One way to overcome this is to pick your specialty carefully. You can’t always choose your clients, but you can choose your field. If you’re into computers and you want to start your own business, you should pick a niche that suits your nature. If you enjoy nitpicking details, you are better suited to programming, where every extra comma changes a swathe of site specs. If you’re a creative, graphic design is better, since it lets you use your imagination. The tinker-types would probably work well in hardware, so they can take things apart and stick them back together. Extroverts may prefer networking, so they can deal with flesh-type people as they explain how the systems work, and so they can be invited to the product launch.

    As a writer and editor, I play with words, and I mostly work alone. My nature lets me deal individually with clients, so I sometimes do administration. Other writers prefer to outsource a marketter, publicist, or resident sanguine to deal with the more social aspects of their business. You could hire a personable assistant to act as your ’social interphase’ so that you can hide in the basement and write. This assistant can be the ‘face’ of your business while you stay rich, anonymous, and less susceptible to kidnapping. Plus, you’re creating employment, which is always a good thing.

    You may think you’re too shy, too quiet, or too nice to be in business, but with a little out-of-box thinking and some smart recruiting, you could surprise yourself. Try it, you just might like it.

    Crystal Ading’ is a professional author, editor, rock lover and mother. Her work is available through www.threeceebee.com.

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  • An Opportunity to Learn

    Posted: May 5, 2010, 2:15 pm by Kelvin

    Have you ever heard of the League of Young Professionals? Well, it doesn’t matter. What is important is that the LYP has a nice event coming up. I thought I’d let you know about it.

    There’s going to be a LYP meeting this Thursday evening (6th May, 2010) at Marble Arch Hotel from 5.45pm to 7.45pm. (Its on Lagos Road, near the Nairobi Fire station). Here’s a map to the place: Location of Marble Arch Hotel.

    After a brief discussion of internal LYP matters (the formation of an investment club!), there will be a discussion with some entrepreneurs on challenges and opportunities one can expect as one engages in investing activities.

    Thereafter, there shall be the main presentation by Jimnah Mbaru – an internationally renowned investment banker, and CEO and Chairman of Dyer and Blair Investment Bank who will be talking about Investments.

    I think it is a perfect opportunity for you, dear readers, to socialise, network and learn more. I shall be attending. See you there?

    The meeting is free to attend, but please carry Kshs 250/- to cater for some light refreshments.

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  • Are We Missing Something?

    Posted: May 3, 2010, 1:38 pm by wham

    I have a story for you: a few years ago, one of my best friends quit his job. He used to work at one of the best performing companies in the Nairobi stock exchange. He quit so that he could set up his own advertising agency.

    Guess what? His parents and his whole family, really, were up in arms over his decision. They could not believe why anyone would leave such a high paying job. His uncles even took time visiting him to ‘advise’ him to go back to his old job. To this day, one of his uncles always calls him with contacts of managers at large companies – he asks my friend to send his CV to the managers so that he can ‘make something out of his life’.

    What you probably won’t believe is that my friend’s business is doing quite well. He has about twelve employees now, and has been profitable since his first month. Yet his family still refers to his work as ‘jua kali nonsense’. He should go get a ‘real’ job like everyone else, they say.

    Really?

    Recently in Thika, I heard of a bizarre incident. My friend’s dad was interviewing job applicants. The quality of the applicants was impressive – almost everyone had an impressive CV full of various qualifications and accomplishments. Some of the applicants were university graduates with degrees and everyone seemed like they really wanted the job. Surprisingly, as it turns out, the job in question was that of digging trenches. Can you believe it?

    On one hand we have impressively qualified people looking for a job, any job. On the other hand we have the brave few who have enough courage to try and start their own businesses. Who would you rather be?

    Let’s face it, we do not have an entrepreneurial culture in this country. How can people who try and start their own businesses be looked down upon by their families and societies while what they are doing is precisely what is needed to address our high unemployment rates? We need more people starting businesses yet these people’s mothers and fathers won’t let them. They’d much rather have their loved one’s join the over saturated job hunting market.

    We need change! We need people like you and me to start businesses today. We need society to stop stopping us. We need to embrace the entrepreneurial culture in this country!

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