Four Benefits Of Having Your Financial Data In Order As Startups And Small Businesses

Four Benefits Of Having Your Financial Data In Order

You could have an idea and be pre-revenue, generating just enough to cover your burn rate each month, or you could be a profitable business and looking for capital to grow. Regardless of where you are, the importance of financials does not change.

As humans, we tend to focus our attention on the things that bring us the most pleasure and least pain. It is probably no wonder that most entrepreneurs and emerging companies tend to focus on daily tasks and projects which bring them joy, have the least amount of resistance and sometimes make them money. However, the key to business growth comes in the ability to be a storyteller and the main character in that story is financials.

Christine Sing, a Finance Expert from Michigan, United States, offers words of wisdom when it comes to having your financials in order:

“I know full well that few entrepreneurs start a new business because they love keeping their financial statements in order,” Sing said. “Friends, it is a necessary evil and a critical business discipline to springboard your company to the next level. Please take this seriously; your business is counting on you!”

Here are the top four reasons to have your financials in order:

1) Financials are the price of admission

Whether you like it or not, you are going to get asked for them. Startups will need projections, which are a forward-looking version of your financials based on a series of assumptions for the purposes of pricing a round of funding. For any venture capital or more traditional funding, including bank loans, you are going to need to illustrate the state of your business and your financials are the truest picture of this.

2) Financial statements are the language of business

Quite often being able to speak into the listening ear of an investor or funding source is one of the key aspects of communicating effectively. Owners, Investors, Managers and other interested parties need financial information to make decisions. Because accounting is used to communicate financial information, it is often called the language of business.

3) The balance sheet is the thermometer

The ability to provide financials with accurate information is similar to being able to present a business opportunity or write a proposal that is easy to understand with proper grammar and punctuation. When you can demonstrate you can speak the native language of business to your funding source, they will gain more comfort and confidence in your business idea.

4) Cash is king

Understanding how you make money and where you are making it from is important to your conversations with investors. At the end of the day, cash flow is important and your ability to identify key metrics in your business financials is an important part of the process. Your ability to understand how you will generate cash for the business to cover expenses and ultimately generate a profit for the investment is critical to any conversation.

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Six Leadership Principles to Learn From An Eagle

Six Leadership Principles to Learn From An Eagle. 🦅

1. Eagles fly Alone and at High Altitudes - They don't fly with sparrows, ravens, and other small birds.

MEANING - Stay away from narrow-minded people, those that bring you down. Eagle flies with Eagles. Keep good company.

2. Eagles have an Accurate Vision - They have the ability to focus on something as far as 5km away. No matter the obstacles, the eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it.

MEANING - Have a vision and remain focused no matter what the obstacles and you will succeed.

3. Eagles do not Eat Dead things - They Feed only on Fresh Prey.

MEANING - Do not rely on your past success, keep looking for new frontiers to conquer. Leave your past where it belongs, in the past.

4. Eagles Love the Storm - When clouds gather, the eagle gets excited, the eagle uses the storm's wind to lift itself higher. Once it finds the wind of the storm, the eagle uses the raging storm to lift itself above the clouds. This gives the eagle an opportunity to glide and rest its wings. In the meantime, all the other birds hide in the branches and leaves of the tree.

MEANING - Face your challenges head on knowing that these will make you emerge stronger and better than you were. We can use the storms of life to rise to greater heights. Achievers are not afraid to rise to greater heights. Achievers are not afraid of challenges, rather they relish them and use them profitably.

5. Eagles Prepare for Training - They remove the feathers and soft grass in the nest so that the young ones get uncomfortable in preparation for flying and eventually flies/ when it becomes unbearable to stay in the nest.

MEANING - Leave your Comfort Zone, there is No Growth there.

6. When the Eagle Grows Old - His feathers becomes weak and cannot take him as fast and as high as it should. This makes him weak and could make him die. So he retires to a place far away in the mountains. While there, he plucks out the weak feathers on his body and breaks its beaks and claws against the rocks until he is completely bare; a very bloody and painful process. Then he stays in this hiding place until he has grown new feathers, new beaks, and claws and then he comes out flying higher than before.

MEANING - We occasionally need to shed off old habit no matter how difficult, things that burden us or add no value to our lives should be let go of.

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Pay Attention to Your Business No Matter How Small

 

Pay Attention to Your Business No Matter How Small (The Man Behind TECNO  Phone-Nnamdi Ezeigbo)

Nnamdi Ezeigbo is the founder and CEO of SLOT systems limited, and also the brain behind TECNO and INFINIX, the fastest selling phone brands in Nigeria. Many people are not even aware that these popular phone brands are the brainchild of a fellow Nigerian. His success story is a very remarkable one.

Nnamdi Ezeigbo studied Electrical Electronics Engineering at the Yaba College of Technology in 1988, and got a Higher National Diploma (HND), before serving his country, Nigeria, during his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year at Guinness Nigeria PLC, in 1996.

After completing his youth service year, Nnamdi Ezeigbo tried to no avail to secure a job with a company in Nigeria. With no promising signs of any potential employment, he went on to work as an apprentice learning how to repair computers. After which he launched out on his own to repair computers for individuals.  Since he didn’t have any cash at the time, he had to squat with a friend of his at Ikeja, who owned a book store. His customer base grew, largely because of his honesty and the premium he placed on customer service.

The mutual trust and good relationship with his customers, was what gave him his first break in business.  One day, an old customer he knew from his days as an apprentice, came to his little shop to see him. He told him he would love him to continue fixing his computers, but would prefer he operated from a larger and more serene environment. To help him out, the customer brought some printers for Nnamdi to sell, from which he used the proceeds to setup a new shop for himself. He paid for the store at a then price of 180,000 Naira (He later bought that same store many years later for 100 million Naira).

From his new store, he began to sell computers. As his business grew, a lot of customers started to both demand for slot stores in areas close to their vicinities, and to ask if they sold mobile phones. With a keen eye to spot opportunity when it presents itself, Nnamdi Ezeigbo immediately expanded his business to also cover the sale of mobile phones.

With no real knowledge on how to manage a growing business, Nnamdi decided to enrol for an MBA program at the prestigious Lagos Business School. He also began to attend many workshops on entrepreneurship, and that helped to sharpen his business acumen and develop his legendary entrepreneurial prowess.

During this process, he and his team decided to take a 5 year route to build a strong reputation for their brand. By the time the projection had elapsed, the Slot brand name was the most reputable mobile phone retailer in the whole country.

The rise of telecommunication networks created many opportunities in the Nigerian market. Their poor services caused many Nigerians to purchase more than one mobile phone, so they could try a different network when the other was bad. Nnamdi realised this problem early on, and approached Nokia in a bid to convince them to manufacture dual sim phones for Nigerians, so they would carry only one mobile phone at a time instead of two. They refused to listen because, seeing people carry more of their phones meant more phone sales for them.

According to his interview with Nairametrics, Nnamdi said;

*“So I went to China and got a guy who had worked with a company called Bird then. Bird was into phones but they got choked and lost market share. I met with the guy and asked the guy to let us do something. I came with that name and I registered it here and brought the guy to Nigeria. And that was the high point of our business."

"We came together and I designed the first Tecno phone, Tecno T101. We started it but the market did not accept it and we also had problem with the dual SIM not working together and we had to make corrections and we came with Tecno 201 and that was a bit accepted by the market. But we were basically giving marketers on credit to sell the phones and then pay us later. And I was funding it all alone.”

“Since I was funding it alone, we were finding it difficult to get the right quantity to sell until the market started accepting us. What I now did was to make them pay in advance, I mean the dealers. So we started using their money to order the products.  This was around 2007. The introduction of Tecno brand was the turning point of our business.”

“Like I said, Tecno is my baby and we kept improving. I knew a day would come when the middle class would accept Tecno. Initially, it was a phone for low income people but based on improvement and upping our game, the middle class had to accept it and when the economy went down in 2008 that helped Tecno to move to the top."

"Since purchasing power had dropped, they had to go for something that have same capabilities but cheaper. So with N15,000, you could buy a Smartphone and thank God for 3G network. The advent of 3G network actually helped Tecno to move up. So students who could not afford to buy phones in the range of N30,000 could buy one for N15,000 and enjoy features of Smartphone like Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and so on.”

Today, Nnamdi Ezeigbo is a phenomenal success story in Nigeria and indeed Africa. From a humble repair man, he has built a MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR company and one of the most recognizable brand in Nigeria.

There are many lessons in this story.

Pay attention to your business no matter how small it is today, it can be the seed of a global company tomorrow.

Integrity in business is extremely important, it will open doors for you, and speak for you, even when you are not present.

When you see opportunities, grab it and run with it. Nokia refused Nnamdi’s idea, Nokia was mighty and Nnamdi was nobody, but today because Nnamdi believed in his idea and grabbed the opportunity, Tecno is everywhere, and Nokia is dead. How are the mighty fallen? Run with your idea, and this too will be your story.

Keep improving your products and services every day. Nnamdi kept improving Tecno steadily until it became an accepted brand in Nigeria.

Most importantly, the greatest investment you will make is an investment in yourself. As a business man, if you can afford a business school, enroll.

Don’t waste your time crying over the economy of the nation, there is nothing you can do about it, but there is a lot you can do about yourself.

Think positive like Nnamdi, you can change your world.

This is highly motivational ...Get up brethren and 'Rule your world' with God-given ideas.💪💪💪 

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10 Businesses You Can Start With N100,000 In Nigeria

 

10 Businesses You Can Start With N100,000

Searching for a business to start with N100,000 in Nigeria? Search no more. Read this post from beginning to the end to find any preferable business.

“People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy.” — Tony Robbins

Below is a list of compiled businesses you can start with one hundred thousand naira (N100,000) in Nigeria.

1. Bedsheet/Beddings Production.


Visit Lagos Island, or Oshodi where they sell bulk materials, pick good designs of your choice, there are guys who will sew it for you are just within the same Market. You can start with less than 100k and diligently grow your money.

2. Shirt Production:

There are tailors in Lagos Island or better learn the skill it will save you all the heartbreaks imaginable. Taiwo Street in Lagos Island is where you should be. Materials ranging from 700 – 1k per yard, sew for 1500/2k, Sell for 5-7k.

3. Boxers:

Schedule a trip to Aba Market, The cost of production of boxers, you can get one for as low as N300, all you need is to package it in 3s, and market these babies properly beg your friend on twitter for RTs, we buy 3s pack boxers for 1500-2500 sell yours for 1200 and gradually grow.

4. E-Payments and POS Business:

You can a get POS machine from your Bank, and activate online banking: If you live in a place where banks aren’t much you can handle e-payments for people and make your small change. I paid someone N200 to withdraw 10k in Ikorodu. ATM queue was crazy.

5. Mobile and Electronic Accessories:

Mobile and electronic Accessories such as Pouches, Chargers, USB cables, HDMI cables, earphones and more, can be sourced on Alibaba, Ali Express, Deal Extreme, etc. The more you buy the lower the price. And they are light so shipping won’t be a burden. Sell on here or Jumia and co.

6. Popcorn:

We all know this popular product! We buy it every time. Only require bags of corn – Mile 12 Branded Nylon Sugar, Salt & Butter. The beauty of this is when properly made, its aroma will attract customers. Manual sealing machine -7/9k Popcorn Machine is 65k on Jumia as at the time of filing this report. Popcorn can be served anywhere. It costs less than N40 to make a pack of popcorn.

7. Branding – Sales and Customizing

Football team supporters always want to show how much they’re rooting for a team.

8. Snail Farming:

Snail farming in Nigeria is even more popular, due to its relatively cheap cost of startup and If you market your products well, your business will thrive. This is a business you can start from your backyard. Best in mind, snails take almost a year to mature so Patience is the key!

9. Fairly Used Goods

Fairly used goods such as Jeans, Tops, t-shirts, shoes etc. They can be sourced at Badagry, even Cotonou. 100k can’t get you a bale but you can select and mix them. Wash then and pack neatly. Marketing is all it takes, you’ll sell and see your money multiply.

10. Cleaning Services:

Some people find it hard to clean their apartments ‘cos they’re busy from Monday to Friday and Saturday they have engagement and on Sunday all they wanna do is rest. Your tools won’t cost you up to 30k and you can clean 6 apartments a weekend.

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Technology Is Taking Over Most The Jobs :How Prepared Are You For This Shift

Technology Is Already Taking Over A Lot of Jobs: How Prepared Are You for The Shift?

Gone are the days when statements like "Everyone cannot be an Entrepreneur" was brandished carelessly. Everyone indeed has to be an Entrepreneur or else you will be left behind.

An Entrepreneur is simply a solution provider, a problem solver. Forget all the big big grammar attached to it, just think innovation and solution provider.

Everyone is gifted in something, you just have to search inwards and locate it. When you locate it, develop and expand it.

Do you know that some of your passion will require a huge amount of money before it can take off the way you want it to? You have to play big to win big.

The money might not necessarily be in setting up. In fact, most start ups don't require much to get started. It might be investment in personal development and skills, hiring a coach, paying for quality trainings etc. All these don't come cheap.

Do you know why Network marketing comes highly recommended? If done right, it will provide you with all the funds you need to take your business to a higher level.

Network marketing is not an end but a means to an end. Choosing it as an end is entirely up to you. However, if you have big personal dreams, you need to step into this platform.

A coach once said to me, "Your passion will not pay your bills at the initial stage, you have to do something you probably don't fancy that is capable of providing you with the funds you need to fuel your passion". He was 100% correct.

When I hear people say they wish they can do what I am doing, I know for certain that they don't have big dreams or a passion that they want to see flourish.

If you do, you will understand that 90% of the people in the network marketing industry all started out afraid but were propelled because they are hungry for a big change in their life.

Majority of us went to the University to study for a degree, some even went further to have a Masters and even PhD but today, all those certificates are not been utilized in the right field. Some even hated the course they studied. What an irony! Wasted years.

Some people justify why they can't own a network marketing business with excuses like " I can't sell", "I don't have time", " Its not for me" etc but they will rather remain jobless dreaming big, like manna still falls from heaven.

Some go about begging for money or looking for freebies all over social media. Just put up a post now that you are giving away 10k and you will see comments explode your notifications. Only 1% of people in that thread truly deserves it. The rest 99%, Smh!

Search inwards for your passion. When you find it, start working on a plan to help you kick start it. If it needs a huge amount of money and you don't have a job or a business that is capable of bringing it to the limelight, take my advice today and partner with a reliable network marketing company, preferably one with very very low entry.

The motto is simple: Play a fool to get what you want.

Yes, you don't need to love it to get started, you need to get started to love it.

Make a bold choice this week to start a network marketing business. This choice will make a big difference in your life in the shortest time possible if you play by the rules.

Leverage is King. Connection is King. Network marketing is all about Leverage. Network marketing is all about Connection. What again remain.

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What You Need to Open Verified USA Paypal Account

How to Open Verified USA Paypal Account

1. A valid email address(s)

2. An active Payoneer US virtual Bank Account
3. USA Citizen Profile
4. Any VPN with a steady US IP address is needed

 Let us start, I am assuming you already have a Payoneer account else visit Payoneer.com and create your Payoneer account. You will be given a US Payment Service Information such as Bank Name, Routing Number, Account Number and Account Type. You will see these when you hover your mouse over the “Receive Payments” menu option and then clicking on the “My US Payment Service Profile” on your Payoneer account. This information is what you will use to verify your US Paypal account.

 Go to fakenamegenerator.com and Sign in using your Google account. Click on the gender and select your gender (Male or Female), leave Name set to ‘American’ and Country to United States and click on the ‘Generate’ button to generate a US citizen profile.
When the US citizen profile has been generated, click on ‘Save this name’ to save the profile with your Google account so you can provide same profile if Paypal request for it in the future. 
Always ensure to use a US IP address while accessing your US Paypal account. You can use cyber-ghost to get US IP address. If you need it contact me, I’m ready to render any help.   

 Write down the Address, Zip Code, Phone Number and SSN from the generated profile. Although the name won’t be needed since you will be opening the account on your own name. Then make sure your VPN is up and running, I use premium Your-freedom VPN. Ensure you use only USA server address. So I always use ems01.your-freedom.de on the VPN because that is their US server address. You can use ip2location.com to confirm your IP location.

 Then visit Paypal.com and click on the Sign up link. Choose your Country or Region as United States and select ‘Paypal for you’ and click on the ‘Get Started’ button. Then fill the rest of the form and ensure to use the same names you used on your Payoneer account on Paypal as well. Use the address, Phone Number and Zip Code you got from the generated profile. In completion a verification link will be emailed to you.

Click on the ‘Activate’ button on the email sent to you to begin the activation of your Paypal account. You will be asked how you will prefer to verify your Paypal account either via Credit Card or Bank Account. Since you already have a US Bank Account via Payoneer, choose the Bank Account option and add your Payoneer US Bank Account details such as Bank Name, Routing Number, Account Number, etc.

Paypal will then verify your US Bank Account by depositing two little amounts less than a dollar each to your Payoneer account. You will be required to correctly enter the exact amount Paypal deposited on your Payoneer on your Paypal account to finally verify and activate your Paypal account. It takes 2-3 days to verify Paypal account. Once the US Bank Account has been verified your Paypal will be activated and you can start using it to receive and make payments online.

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