Can you be an entrepreneur?

There are people who are happy with being a worker till they retire, and there are some who likes to be their own chairperson and starts up a business. Though, it does not mean that one person trumps the other, there are lots of personality differences between the two. Really, there are personality tests available online that one can take to identify their personality characteristics and learn whether or not you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

Though lots of entrepreneurs differ in their style and perspective, there are some common traits that make one a successful businessman.

1. Hard working

this is a characteristic that every entrepreneur should have. Having non-stop energy to do a large amount of work and multitasking while a pile tasks here and there should be done to achieve your goals. If it suggests, work double time? Then, do work double time!

2. Positive attitude

it isn't assured that when you are into a business you'll always be good and no Problems will come, there will be issues and complications and these things are the ones that are going to shape you up to be a successful entrepreneur. Being pessimistic? There's no room for that! You want to know the way to deal with even the darkest times of your life for it would occur again.

3. Sense of commitment

Whatever you do, you should be committed to doing the absolute best you can and achieve what is predicted of you and for the business. It is tantamount to sense of professionalism, which is quite significant when you go to the outside world.

4. Goal-oriented

what good a business is, if there are no goals to live from? It is as if going out in battle without knowing what to do next. Setting up goals for your business is crucial since all of the activities revolved around the goals.

5. Passionate about reaching such goals

what good goals are if not achieved? Be sure that when you set targets, it's realistic and doable. You need be obsessed about what you do and have a thrust to keep you pushing forward to reach your goals.

6. Perseverance

Business includes lots of challenges. It's very likely that you're going to fail first time, even 2nd time, and sometimes even third time. Perseverance is the key to success here. Successful entrepreneurs try to benefit from their mistakes and never give up. Learn from PMB's struggle to be the president of Nigeria. 

To be an entrepreneur you also must have a business idea, a clear appreciation of a difficulty you are trying to solve and some system in mind how you'll take it to the market. Just having above discussed traits doesn't guarantee that you are going to be a successful entrepreneur but certainly sets you aside from others, help you face difficult challenges, and save you from falling down on your face.

Is entrepreneurship for you? I don't know. You've got to answer that for yourself. Ask yourself whether you some who likes to follow or who likes to guide, whether you like to do things your way or you mostly need guidance, whether you want to be managed or you are self-motivated. There are many such self-evaluations you can do yourself. But definitely, if you're a sort of person who likes new challenges each day, can fly in thin air, and lead without any direction; then you've a greater chance of succeeding as an entrepreneur. If you've got a business idea lurking deep within you, it's high time to try it out because that's the first thing an entrepreneur would say lets try it, let's do it.

Culled from here:http://www.nairaland.com/3116423/entrepreneurship-it

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POPS'N'CHILLAS the success story of a small popcorn outlet in Abuja

Few people will choose opening a popcorn outlet as their

preferred choice of business in a large city like Abuja

where there are large eateries bakeries and cafe's all

around and the price of setting up business in Abuja is

among the highest in the whole country,

the questions one may want to ask are: how many people

dey chop popcorn?(how many people do buy popcorn?), how

much them dey even sell popcorn and how much gain i want

make inside?(how much do they sell popcorn and what

would be my gain for each sales?), shop money for Abuja

too cost shey na popcorn i want rent shop to sell?( the

cost of renting a shop in abuja is very high why should 
i rent a store and just sell popcorn?


are these the questions that come into your mind
whenever you think of going into such a business

venture?

Well mylastkobo.com bring to you the success story of

POPS'N'CHILLAS a small modern pop corn outlet based in

Abuja

On saturday i and a crew member of mylastkobo.com went

out to interview some small businesses and then we came

across one business that we couldnt afford to ignore,

from across the road, while we were exchanging contacts

with a young small business owner, we sighted a huge

popcorn cup atop the roof of a small cafe with disco

lights around it and we immediately decided that we will

go and see what was going on there that was how we were

able to get you this exclusive interview of a very

brilliant and innovative business venture in the heart

of Abuja







Mylastkobo.com: Hello we are from mylastkobo.com an

online magazine dedicated to telling the stories of

smallscale medium enterprises like your own to motivate

guide and encourage our young people to start up on

their own. We would like to ask you a few questions

about your business can we come in?


POPS'N'CHILLAS(Godwin): you can come in, although my

Madam is not around now so i will just answer the

questions that i think i can answer.


Mylastkobo.com: No problem sir, what is your name?

POPS'N'CHILLAS(Godwin): My name is Godwin.

Mylastkobo.com: how long have you been working here?

POPS'N'CHILLAS(Godwin): Well it has not being long that
we started so i have been around since the startup.

Mylastkobo.com: so you would be able to give us some

details on how it all started?


POPS'N'CHILLAS(Godwin): yes actually this popcorn is not

the nigerian kind of popcorn, my Boss must have come

across the idea from the internet, when we were about to

start she went for a training to learn how to make this
 
kind of pop corn, she had to go under training just to

have the experience and she put me through on how to

make it.

Mylastkobo.com: so how was it like when you initially

started, how was sales like for the business under your

management?


POPS'N'CHILLAS(Godwin):the issue of marketing, i think

that is one area that has been affecting us from the

start till now, although we have to give people fliers

and try to tell people about it but i think marketing is

one aspect of this business that we will continue to

focus on because some people are new to this kind of

popcorn so when you tell them the price they will say"

is it not just ordinary popcorn?" most people do not

fully appreciate the unique nature of our popcorn, but

those that are familiar with our product we usually do

not have any problem selling to them,

as you can see now we are preparing for an event, a

birthday party, and from there we also get the

opportunity to introduce our products to people most

especially the kids and young people.

Mylastkobo.com: So how affordable are your products?


POPS'N'CHILLAS(Godwin): As you can see we have the one of #200, we have the one of #400 and so the price
ranges, although we also sell other products apart from
popcorn like soft drinks, ice cream and we also do chips
and cheese so we have other products apart from popcorn.

Mylastkobo.com: So what do you see for the future in

this business and what efforts are you putting into

making the business grow?


POPS'N'CHILLAS(Godwin): well as for me i do a lot of

research, i try to find new ways to bring customers here

and make them interested in our products, i also

research on other products that we can add to our list

of products so they can bring more people here, for

example in the begining we were not selling anything

apart from popcorn but when i came i researched some

other products and talked to Her about it and She

agreed, thats why you see us selling Drinks and other

thing.

Mylastkobo.com: so you mean you were the one that

suggested those product to your Boss?


POPS'N'CHILLAS(Godwin): Yes.

 
Mylastkobo.com: well Mr Godwin we have come to the end

of this interview, we would like to say a big thank you

to you and your Boss on the behalf of mylastkobo.com and

on the behalf of all the young prospective business

owners out there that you have helped by sharing this

success story.


POPS'N'CHILLAS(Godwin): Thank you

we exchanged handshake and we left, i and my crew member

remained quiet for sometime while we walked away from

the outlet we were still very much surprised that people

could be so innovative to think of such a small and

profitable business idea in a place like Abuja where the

cost of renting a shop could get to a Million naira,

with this success story of POPS'N'CHILLAS i think people

should stop giving escuses and start setting up

something.

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Mylastkobo.com will start its exclusive interviews of young SME owners next month.

When i started this blog i started it with the hope that i would be able to encourage young graduates to think out of the box and set up something of their own instead of venturing on long and sometimes unproductive search for ready made jobs.
       So far i have been committed to that plan, and have granted exclusive interviews to several young successful SME owners, through this interviews i have uncovered the success secrets of some of the young small business owners that we interviewed, through their stories i hope you would find yourself, overcome your fears and be motivated towards success in your own enterprise.

 i will start posting the interviews from the second week of November. do not be impatient. this is what you have waited for, for a long time. so please stay with me as i bring you the survival stories of Young entrepreneurs  from some of Nigeria's Commercial cities.

come second week of October we will bring you this exclusive interviews than i hope would give you a better knowledge on been an SME onwer in Africa's most populous nation.

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MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGE FOR YOUNG UNEMPLOYED NIGERIAN GRADUATES

MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGE FOR YOUNG UNEMPLOYED NIGERIAN GRADUATES PT1

So today is another day in your life, another day to walk around town in search of vacancies,
another day to spend countless hours searching the internet for job openings, another day to expectantly scrutinize every sms on your mobile phone for job interviews notifications, another day to check your nairabet results and place new bets, another day to go on facebook, twitter and nairaland to complain about the Nigerian Economy, another day to weep helplessly to God for a Job, any job.

 Well, for those of you who chose to pray, God just answered your prayer, in fact he answered it long ago from the day you were born as a physically and mentally healthy human being.
 you only need to be in the shoes of an handicapped or disabled person to understand the amazing gift that you are enjoying being able to perform any physical task, but despite that. there are even some disabled and handicapped people that have put your idle legs and hands to shame by achieving goals you cannot achieve, by realising dreams that you may have thought would be humanly unachievable.

all i am trying to say is that while you are at home laying in bed using both hands to chat all day on watsapp, bbm and facebook there is an handicapped person with one hand somewhere using his only single hand to create things, lift things, repair things and contribute to Human development.
 while you are still on the Bed holding your phone with your two complete God given Hands typing “lol,yolo,lmfao,smh” there is an handicapped man out there without limb trying to use his legs to work to contribute his own quota,

while you are laying back in bed to continue sleeping in the morning there is a Blind man somewhere directing himself to work with just a stick.
The world around you is filled with so many problems that you were specifically created to solve, come closer a bit and look at Africa, Africa is filled with so many problems that even if 20million Graduates were to be getting employed every year, there will still be enough problem for another 120 more million Graduates to solve, ok lets come home to Nigeria.
Nigeria is like the capital of Africa in terms of Populations, we have so many people and problems in Nigeria that even if  500,000 Graduates get employed every year there will still be enough problem for others to solve, thereby creating Jobs for themselves and employing others.

Have you ever wondered why we wait in long lines in banks before getting attended to? Have you ever wondered why there are so many mechanic workshops in town but you will almost always have to wait when you bring in your car for service? You take your cloths to the Tailor and he tell you he has a lot of work to do.

this is because there can never be enough supermarkets, enough shops, enough mechanic workshops, enough Tailors. to serve a country this big and still yet in this same country many are still saying there is no job. How can there be no jobs?
There are Jobs all around you, but the truth is that you ve chosen not to see them. All you want to see is the Job opening of Big companies and government ministeries, The only picture that comes into your head when you hear the word job is the logo of Chevron,NNPC,TEXACO,SHELL.
Delete those pictures from your head and start planning on something realistic.

For more post about Starting off as a Nigerian Graduate visit www.mylastkobo.com

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SET UP YOUR LOCAL LIQUID SOAP PRODUCTION COMPANY WITH LESS THAN 5000 NAIRA( entrepreneurs)

How a liquid soap production company could be started from a tiny kitchen.

a staff at Shola's soap making factory

1The dream of most new graduates is to work in a profitable and reputable Company or institution, but that is not the case for Olushola Ogundamisi. A graduate of Agric from the University of Benin(uniben). For Olushola his dream was to set up a soap making company that would rival the big names in the production of soap in Nigeria, This Dream was what later saw the birth of "SHOLA" the name of his local soap making business which he started from the tiny kitchen of his little self contain apartment. He started off supplying unlabeled "SHOLA" liquid soap to his co-tenants and coursemates, he did this patiently for a better part of his days in the university just earning enough to keep the business going. but according to him the light shined on his way in his fourth year in school, when through some stroke of good luck his product got into the right hand and he was asked to supply the universities sanitation department with his product. at this point in time Shola needed to employ more hands in the production and distribution so he employed a part time staff( his landord's son) to help him with the production and distribution of the soap. with more income comes more responsibility so on 0ctober 20th 2013 Shola registered his company in the Nigerian coperate affairs commission, he got his NAFDAC registration that same year and became the CEO of a registered Nigerian Company just Two weeks after his Formal Graduation from the University.

In Our exclusive interview with Shola in His liquid soap making factory In The Ancient City of Benin Our main focus was how did you get here? We where able to collect enough information from Shola to hep you set up your make shift soap making company.

HOW TO PRODUCE LIQUID DETERGENT/SOAP LOCALLY.
Liquid soap as the name implies, is soap in liquid form. It is a cleansing agent and it is a multi-purpose cleanser.
Liquid soap is also known as liquid detergent. It has the ability to emulsify oils and hold dirt in suspension. Liquid detergents (Soap) share same properties with solid detergents. A detergent is expected to consist of the surface-active agents or ingredients which are the essential ingredients and subsidiary ingredients (supplementing ingredients).
In all detergents, the surface-active agent forms the most important part of the detergent. All the ingredients needed in the production of liquid soap (liquid detergents) will be listed here.

Note: in this lesson we hope to learn a multi-purpose liquid soap. That is, one that can be used for basic cleansing like: washing of plates, cars, laundry etc.

Equipments and Materials Needed for the Local production of Liquid Soap.
Materials (chemicals) Needed For The Production Of 20 Litres Of Liquid Detergent (soap)

Sulphonic acid..............1 litre

Soda ash...................1/2 tin milk cup

Texapon...........................5-6 teaspoonfuls

Formaline........................5-7 teaspoonfuls (optional)

Perfume(Fragrance)........as desired.

SLS. (Sodium laurate sulphate)..........................5-6 teaspoonfuls

S.T.P.P (sodium Tripolyphosphate).............5-6 teaspoonfuls,

Colorant.................as desired

Water........................19 litres

THE APPARATUS (TOOLS) NEEDED

Containers (Plastic bowls)

Hand gloves

Nose mask

Stirring rod (Turning Stick)

METHOD OF PREPARATION
-Dissolve the caustic soda with 1 litre of water and allow to stay for 30 minutes to 1hr or over night.

-Dissolve soda ash in 1 litre of water and allow to stay for 30min/hr or over night.

-Get your sulphonic acid, pour inside an empty bowl, and add your perfume (fragrance) to it and the texapoon, then add like 3-4 litres of water and stir very well for about 5 - 10 minutes.

-Dissolve the SLS with 2 tin milk cups of water

-Dissolve the STPP with 2 tin milk cups of water also

-Get the Nitrosol but if it is C.M.C you’re using, make sure it is dissolved 2 days to the preparation of the soap with 4-5 litres of water. If you are using Nitrosol, it's used instantly (as in, no need soaking it down).

PREPARATION
-Get the Nitrosol that has been dissolved in water or the C.MC. that has been dissolved 2 days to the preparation of the soap.

-Add the dissolved sulphonic acid, texapon and perfume to either the Nitrosol or C.MC depending on the one you are using and stir very well.

-Add the already dissolved caustic Soda and stir very well.
Add the already dissolved soda ash and stir properly.

-Add formalin to the content and stir properly.

-Add the dissolved S.T.P.P and stir.

-Add the dissolved SLS to the content.

stir thoroughly for smoothness and blend

-Dissolve your colourant in water and ensure that the colourant is completely dissolved, then add it to the solution and stir thoroughly.

-Add some quantity of water to the mixture, depending on the thickness of the mixture.
Leave the mixture for some hours or preferably till the following day and then package for use or for sale.








Packaging options(pics)

labeled pet bottles filled with liquid soaps for sale

bottled water cans filled with liquid soap for sale.

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