Five Quick Questions That Will Show If You Will Be A Successful Businessman In Future.

Do you know how to lie? lets face the fact most successful business owners are successful liars even from childhood some parents start teaching their children to lie about products they sell.

 i was in search of fresh bread one day and i went to Mama Blessing's store to get one. when i got there i saw that Mama Blessing had gone to the market but luckily for me Blessing was around so i selected a loaf of bread and asked her if the bread was fresh and she quickly replied," yes! they just brought it in" so i took the bread despite my doubts but as i was about leaving the shop i saw that the bread truck was just coming to supply them bread for that day. 

meaning the bread she asked me to take was from yesterday's stock, Now what really surprised me about this particular case was the fact that, Blessing even at her early age already knew that being too honest is not good for business and so she have mastered the practice of lie and can now lie without looking back. she will no doubt make a successful businesswoman in future. So the question still stands, Can you lie?

Are You a talkative? Yes being a good talker is good for business, in business you should be able to convince your customers to buy your products and you should also be able to engage your customers in small discussions about their family,life and politics, for example a customer asking for a reduction in price for a particular product you could reply him or her by saying "HABA OGA! for this Buhari Economy, you no hear say everything dun cost, even fowl self dun increase the price of their eggs" in that way you are telling the customer that things are now expensive and that the price is fair.

Do you have an attractive personality and outlook? most customers are looking for people they can trust and as human being they will trust the business man that looks responsible and inviting, no customer will go to somebody that looks suspicious or that is looking angry or sad because nobody want wahala.  I was trying to get a Bus one day and i decided to get recharge card before entering the bus, so i went to the side of the road where some recharge card sellers were seated, immediately they saw me coming they started shouting " recharge card, oga come buy card" as if i did not already know that that was what they were selling, but among them was this young boy who did not even border to raise his voice or stand up to invite me to come and buy, he just sat under his umbrella and was smiling at me as i approached and when i got near enough he shouted " how much own you want buy?" and that was how i bought from him.

How good are you with money? Earlier in life, when i got my first job as a sales representative in a small supermarket in Benin i was always getting overwhelmed by all the money i had to handle, sometimes i sit down for hours counting and recounting bundles of money, while my other more matured co-worker had little issue with handling cash, he could count up to 200,000 naira in 500 notes within seconds and not even bother recounting it because he is sure he is always very careful in counting and he is good at it. Being good with money also means have good financial management skills and you are not a wasteful spender who will eventually bankrupt his or her own business.

Are you married? stay that way. are you single? stay that way. Your relationship status could either positively or negatively affect your business.

 you have no business planning for marriage if you have just started the business on whose growth your source of income depends on as a man, as a woman getting married comes with a lot of changes which may include you needing to move to a different location far from your place of business and you needing to make certain changes in your life that may not go well for your business.

 So giving your business some time to grow and mature before talking about marriage is my advised step to take. as for those that are already married congrats and happy married life but you should know that as a married business person there are challenges that you are bound to face because you now have responsibilities, that is why most businesses on which families depend on rarely expand because you continue taking away from the business and hardly adding to, and owners of such business rarely talk of expansion or attempt to take risks which are good for business, because of the fear of losing their families source of living. 

Read More

See how you can make millions producing eggs under the NEGPRO scheme.

So the federal government signed a deal with TUNS FARMS NIGERIA LTD on egg production, this is to ensure the provision of jobs and the increase in out national egg production capacity.  from what I have read and heard about the program from reliable sources it seems like already established farms and new farms can register under this scheme,  for me I think this should be a good opportunity for those that have since been considering the idea of going into the poultry business as the NEGPRO scheme was designed in such a way that you will always find buyers for your eggs.

what is this NEGPRO scheme and how can I benefit?

the Federal Government and TUNS Farms Nigeria Limited in Osun state signed a N25 billion agreement on the National Egg Production Scheme (NEGPRO). The National Egg Production (NEGPRO) scheme is an initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria designed to create jobs for Nigerians, remove hunger and alleviate poverty.

To attain its goal, NEGPRO will provide eligible Nigerians the opportunity to participate in profitable poultry businesses where continuous production of table egg takes place all year round. The scheme is also aimed at increasing the output of egg production in the country to 50 million table eggs daily by 2018 and a create one million jobs

So how do I benefit

Eggs produced from NEGPRO will service the following:

a. The National School Feeding Program,
b. Structured open market
c. Egg powder processors across the nation

Under the NEGPRO scheme, accredited layer farmers produce eggs with input supplied by entrepreneurs/stakeholder in the state. The entrepreneur/stakeholder will, in turn, off-take the eggs that are produced.

In general, the scheme workflow involves the following:

Accredited farmers set up structure and cage for layer birds.
Entrepreneurs/Stakeholders in feeds and day old chicks (DOC) approved for the NEGPRO scheme take up the provision of basic inputs to participating farmers
Following the approval of individual farmers and verification and certification of their layer farm pen/structures for stocking by NEGPRO officialsof the state, NEGPRO farmers become eligible to collect DOCs, feeds and some stipend to run the farm from Entrepreneur/Stakeholder as a loan. With the input, the farmers commence poultry farming
Farmers return on weekly basis such that eggs produced from their individual farms are taken up by the approved entrepreneur/stakeholders
Entrepreneurs shall balance the account of individual farmers and share profit accordingly.
You can participate in any of these three categories,

1. NEGPRO National Input producers/ suppliers
2. NEGPRO Entrepreneur
3. NEGPRO Farmers

Funding: The sum of N25 billion is to be provided through the Bank of Industry (BOI) under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers scheme.

The following are eligible to access the fund:

a. National Input producers/ suppliers
b. State entrepreneurs

It is expected that each eligible entrepreneur would have one year moratorium bearing in mind that the production would not start until the seventh month.

keep following mylaskobo.com as we will keep you updated on relevant news related to this update.  including registration info and requirements.  share the message on to a friend. 

Read More

Central Bank Launches Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship Program.

Earlier this year I told you guys that the Central Bank would be coming up with a program to reduce unemployment and to create more jobs and I also warned you guys that you may have to submit some original documents of your credentials well,  in line with my earlier news,  the central Bank have just launched the  Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YIEDP) in partnership with Heritage bank. 

 The programme is aimed at harnessing the latent entrepreneurial spirit in the teeming youth by providing them timely and affordable loans to implement their business ideas. It further provides a sustainable mechanism to stimulate employment, contribute to the nation’s non-oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and address the challenge of youth restiveness.
The following youth, aged 18 – 35, are eligible under this scheme:

I. Serving National Youth Corps members 
II. Non-NYSC members (not more than five years post National Youth Service)

Qualified Business Sectors:
1. Agro - Allied
2. Food Processing / Preservation
3. Arts & Crafts
4. Manufacturing / Cottage Industry
5. Information & Communication Technology (ICT)
6. Construction Support
7. Power & Energy
8. Education & Financial Inclusion
9. Film & Photography
10. Automobile
11. Others

Transaction Dynamics:
• Eligible youth can apply for the loan through this portalhttp://www.yiedp-hbng.com/ using his/her NYSC State Code

• Applications can be made as an individual or as a group of 3-5 applicants with similar business interests
• A single applicant can access up to a facility limit of N3million while group projects jointly owned by 3-5 qualified beneficiaries can access up to a facility limit of N10million

• Applicants can also track application status via the same portal
• Applications will be processed centrally from the Head Office Annex
• Security: Graduate entrepreneurs will use their tertiary institution(s) certificate(s) and their NYSC discharge certificate. Serving Corp members will pledge their NYSC discharge certificate and their tertiary institution(s) certificates(s). Also, legal ownership of assets financed by the bank and 3rd party guarantors will be requested as additional collateral from all entrepreneurs

• Successful candidates will be assigned to ECs close to the intended business locations.
click here to visit the official site and get more info on this program.

Read More

list of required documents for registering in the Bank Of Industry YES loan program

Micro Credit

SME/Large Enterprise

1. Formal Letter of Application 2. Photocopy of Certificate of Registration 3. Constitution and Bye-laws of Cooperative Society (only for Cooperative Societies) 4. Business Plan 5. Four (4) passport photographs of the Promoter (business owner) 6. Photocopy of the Current Tax Clearance Certificate of the Business Enterprise and the Promoter. 7. Photocopy of International Passport or Driver’s License or National Identity Card of the Promoter. 8. Bank Statement of the Business Enterprise for a period of one (1) year (for existing business). 9. Sales record for six (6) months and operating expenses. 10. Evidence of availability of Collateral Security (e.g. landed property, Individual Guarantor, etc.).

1. Formal Letter of Application 2. Photocopies of Certificate of Incorporation and Certified True Copy of Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company. 3. Photocopies of the Certified True Copy of Forms C02 and C07. 4. Business Plan. 5. Photocopy of title documents to project site (Statutory Certificate of Occupancy or Deed of Assignment). 6. Photocopy of Title Documents (Statutory Certificate of Occupancy or Deed of Assignment) to the Collateral Security. (This must be a landed property in an urban center). 7. Approved Building Plan (If new building). 8. Bill of Quantities or Contractor’s Estimate of Cost to be incurred on Factory Building. 9. Valuation Reports on Factory Building(s) (for existing projects) and property offered as Collateral Security. 10. Quotations for items of plant and machinery (at least 3 quotations from different sources). 11. Three (3) years most recent Audited Accounts of the company (for existing company). 12. Three (3) years most recent Tax Clearance Certificate for the Company and two (2) Directors. 13. Four (4) recent passport photographs of each of the two Directors and the Company Secretary. 14. Evidence of appointment of a Company

Read More

list of SME product clusters that Bank of Industry supports in its YES program.

1. Adire (Tie and Dye)/Aso Oke
2. Animal Feeds
3. Aquaculture
4. Bakery
5. Blocks and Interlocking Stones
6. Bottled Water
7. Ceramics & Tiles
8. Chemicals and Paints
9. Cosmetics/Hair Products
10. Dairy
11. Digital Printing/Multimedia Publishing
12. Doors and Window Frames
13. E-Commerce/Information & Communications Technology (ICT)
14. Fashion/Garmenting
15. Fish Smoking/Drying
16. Food Processing (comprising processing of agricultural products)
17. Foundries/Metal Fabrication/3-D Printing
18. Fruit Juice
19. Furniture/Wood Processing
20. Gemstones
21. Greenhouses
22. Laundry and Dry Cleaning
23. Leather/Footwear
24. Liquefied Petroleum Gas/Compressed Natural Gas
25. Meat Processing
26. Mechatronics
27. Health Care (Medical Diagnostics)
28. Laboratory/Orthodontist/Ophthalmology/Physiotherapy)
29. Movie Production (Nollywood)
30. Plastics
31. Quick Service Restaurants
32. Quarries
33. Recycling
34. Roofing Sheets
35. Soaps and Detergents
36. Solar (off grid)
37. Technical/Vocational Schools (Offering City & Guild Certificate)
38. Theme Parks
39. Water Transportation Riverine
40. Light Manufacturing (Paper, Roofing Sheets, lube blending, Paints etc)
41. Grocery packaging

Read More

Bank of Industry (BOI) The Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) programme is here.

The YES-Programme entails building the capacity of the youths by equipping them with the requisite entrepreneurial knowledge and skills as well as funding their business plans, which would enable them to be self-employed and manage their businesses.
participants would be drawn from young aspiring entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 years, with innovative ideas who must have a minimum educational qualification of an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) or its equivalent.
10,000 online applications would be solicited nationwide, out of which 2,000 would be selected for the online component of the YES-Programme.

Eight (8) things you should know before you commence your application on this platform

1. Mandate
The bank of industry targets businesses that engage in manufacturing and processing activities. Target sub-sectors include Agro-processing, Solid Minerals, Information Technology, Oil and Gas and Creative Industry. Please click to see list of SME product clusters that BOI supports. If your product is not listed here and you think it should, please provide information on your product for review by our technical team.
2. Entities that BOI Finances
Bank of industry only finances enterprises or companies and not an individual person or group of persons. The company / enterprise must be duly registered and you will be required to provide the registration number for a Limited Liability Company or business name for an enterprise before you can proceed with your application.
3. Items that BOI can finance
The bank is principally set up to finance industrial equipment used in manufacturing. The Bank does not finance land and building which are expected to be financed from equity. You can also access your working capital requirements from any of the ten (10) SME friendly banks that Bank of Industry partners with at Monetary Policy Rate plus 6 percent.
4. Mode of disbursement
The bank does not disburse the loan to the borrower in cash but to the vendors and suppliers of the equipment that the loan application is for.
5. Amount that can be financed by BOI
BOI’s loan support to the SME starts from N5 million. However, loan below N5 million are provided on our matching fund platform which is operated in collaboration with various state governments and on our Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) scheme which is operated through MicroFinance Banks.
6. Collateral requirements
As part of the fiduciary responsibility in managing funds under its care, Bank of industry requires that you pledge some assets to secure you loan. However, the Bank also accepts other forms of security subject to adequate coverage of the loan being provided to you. Types of security the Bank accepts include:

• Legal mortgage on a landed property. The property must be duly registered with a Certificate of Occupancy
• Debenture on assets of the company
• Bank Guarantee
• External Guarantors with Notarized statement of Networth for loans below N10 million.

Please note that the Bank is willing to share assets previously pledged to other lenders provided the Bank’s loan is adequately covered in the arrangement. Also note that the Bank is willing to accept third party collateral. 7. Startup businesses
While the Bank under its general risk acceptance criteria requires a prospective borrower to have at least three years acceptable performance track record, it can also lend to start-ups at its discretion and on a case-by-case basis. A startup would need to provide proof of cognate experience in its business area and would need to have a highly qualified management and operational team with sound management structure.
8. You need to support your application with some documents
Please click to see the list of the documents you should be prepared to upload while you apply on this platform

                                  culled from the BOI website.

Read More

Registration for Unilever idea trophy to end soon

The Unilever idea Trophy is an innovative idea competition for college students from five African countries Kenya, Ghana, South Africa,Nigeria and Zimbabwe. according to the project website registration would close for the project on the midnight of July 3rd.
 this is the competition website and i would advice that those interested should go there to run their registration before the deadline.

unileverafricaideatrophy

As Africa’s top employer, our search for young talent is never-ending. It’s how we discover big business ideas that help us grow sustainably. And grow we do! So make your move by downloading the UAIT brief, read it and get your advert idea ready for submission. It could be your first step towards your life at Unilever. (You have the option of entering on your own, or as a team of 3.

Read More

See 5 Reasons why you should start your online business like Jumia and Konga now.

We have seen how successful Jumia and Konga is today as we all love to purchase phones, tablets, laptops and cloths from them.  we are impressed by the fact that all you need to do is go online and you will find thousands of things to buy online,  I mean I am impressed too but,  it is no big deal,  really.

what if I tell you that you too can have your own e-commerce business like Jumia and Konga?  what if I tell you that it would even be cheaper than you renting a store in a place like Abuja or portharcourt?  yes.  it is easier to set up an online business than to set up an offline one.  and best of all it is the future of business.  in the next few years almost anything will be sold online including matches and toothpick (that is if they are not already been sold online.)  and fortunately for us we live in Nigeria one of the world's biggest market with 170 something million people who are just waiting to pay you money if you have the right ideas.

1     What if I don't get Customers?   Jumia got customers when they sold phones online,  Konga came and sold phones online and they also got customers,  Kaymu came sold the same phone and got customer,  dealdey, friimarket and a host of others they all sold the same thing and made it so why would you be different?(I am not suggesting you go into phone sales business oh!)
even if 1million Nigerians buy from Jumia today there will still be another about 169 million people looking for somewhere else to buy.  that is how big the Nigerian market is,  it is like the sky it is wide enough for any e-commerce bird to fly. you could choose to sell anything online and still get customers because the idea of e-commerce in Nigeria is still new and people are troop in into it.

2. But what if I am a craft person like a tailor or a bead maker or a make up artist do I still need e-commerce to grow? 
 Yes even as a tailor or a bead maker you can still take your business online and receive great turnover on patronage from customers online. there are many online fashion houses that sell their cloths online and people even place order for particular design online.  as a bead maker you can put your beads online and people can buy from there and also place order,  so yes you need to go online. cmon!  na, 2016  we dey na.

3. What if I don't have  much money to buy ware house and fleet of cars for delivery like jumia and Konga?  
that Is the good part you don't need all that for a start all you need is to set up you e-commerce site and you could be running the delivery yourself. I remember when Mr Eborka of friimarket started some years ago he was running his delivery himself and now he is the proud owner of one of the largest online e-commerce shop in Benin City.  start small.

4. How do I get people to buy my products when I finally start my business online I have studied some of the successful e-commerce business out there for some years now and I have noticed one thing about them " good use of social network for marketing"  you too can do that.  start by promoting your products to people around you and later you can continue with those afar. Facebook, Twitter, instagram, watsapp, BBM, this are places where you can sell you products online to people with good quality images of your products.

5.  So,  how do I set up my online business  this is a very important stage.  now that you are willing to do business online what you need is a good business plan, a good Web designer.  you need a business plan for the business and a Web designer to design the online shop or website.  mylaskobo.com offers Web design services and we also help people with our experience to design their business idea.
you can call or watsapp me on: 08100661236

the whole idea of doing business online is to make thing easy for people so when designing your business plan please bear this in mind.

thanku for reading.

Read More

LEARN HOW TO BUILD A STANDARD WEBSITE WITHIN TWO HOURS WITH THIS EBOOK

the book "A-Z of web design" is meant for those who are interested in web design as a profession, website owners who are interested in improving their website management skills, online marketers who are in need of a website to sell their products, those who are interested in blogging, small business owners who are interested in building a website for their business and anybody that is interested in building a website or getting the knowledge of webdesign

the book "A-Z of web design" contains instruction on how to set up your website or blog from start to finish even if you are not a tech person you will be able to use this ebook to build your website.
it contains information of some of the best host service providers, how to choose a good domain name, how to host your website on your host space and how to design and customize your website to your taste.


HOW TO ORDER YOUR COPY OF THIS EBOOK
the price of this ebook is 1000 NAIRA.
make your payment to this account:
   FIRST BANK, NIGERIA
  IDAHOSA AZUKA
   3078318008
After payment send the name you wrote on your deposit slip, your deposit slip number and your active email address to this number:  08100661236.
i will send the ebook to you via email within 6hours of confirmed payment.
do not miss this opportunity. this ebook is a product of mylastkobo.com

Read More

Why Nigeria must not Consider signing the European trade agreement deal and how it would affect your small business.

The European trade agreement deal with west African nations is one in which when it is rectified by any nation would grant European manufacturers complete and unrestricted access to sell their product in any west African nation that signs the deal. So far some west African nations have signed it  and by the statement of the Vice President Yomi Osinbajo at the 49th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS in Dakar. He said, Nigeria could not be committed to such an agreement without wide consultations.

: “There are ongoing negotiations on it. We are discussing with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, and some other key economic players about it." We would recall that Goodluck Jonathan during his time as President refused to sign the trade agreement, but the fact that this new administration under Buhari is bringing it up again it shows that the federal Government may be interested in signing this agreement.

How will the EPA deal affect you as a local manufacturer either small scale or large scale?

1. European industries and companies produce in very large quantity and according to the economic of scale production in large quantity is cheaper, meaning if Nigeria rectifies the EPA deal imported produce will be cheaper and of better quality than those manufactured by our small scale Nigerian manufacturers. So take for example you are thinking f going into small scale detergent production, dried food packaging or even the production of footwears. If the cost of production of your product grosses at 100,000 Naira for producing a thousand sachet detergent and your European competitor who produce in bulk produces 15000 sachets of detergent at the production cost of 500,000 Naira then you can see that your local detergent will not be able to compete with that of the European manufacturer and as such you may have to fold up your business because the European manufacturer that have been in business for years will have a better quality product, better packaging, better marketing strategy and cheaper but quality products which means your own local produce may not even catch anybody's attention in the market.

2. European industries have the production capacity all they want is the raw materials because there is nothing that we can produce here in Nigeria that they cannot produce better and at a cheaper cost, so the agreement will take Nigeria backward to the days of exporting unprocessed raw materials and minerals instead of finished goods that would have boost the nations economy. Take for example we will export 2kg ore of iron for 50naira per kg and the European industry will use it to produce expensive products like phone accessories, jewels, security locks, zippers and automobile spare parts that Nigerians will now in turn buy for large amounts of money.

3. Nigeria remains the main target of the European industries in this new European partnership agreement. We have a large market, the largest in Africa and the European industries want to get a share of that. They know we import so much from China and they also want to compete taking advantage of our high dependence on importation. The European trade agreement would not improve our economy but rather it would make us completely reliant on imported goods as it would kill our local industries.

4. The EPA agreement will bring about mass unemployment in Nigeria as local industries that can't compete will fold up and their employees will lose their jobs, Small scale Businesses that are into product manufacturing like liquid soap, bleach and izal will go out of business and this would create more unemployment in the country.

5. It would reduce the need for foreign direct investment. why would I build industries in your country when I can produce and import into your country even at a cheaper rate? That would be the mindset of European investors that would have been interested in doing business with us.

6. It would further reduce the value of the Naira. With Nigeria spending more Naira on importing European products and getting little in return as foreign exchange as we may have little to export to Europeans to complement our imports, it would put more pressure on the Naira and further reduce its value.

7. Nigerian industries may have nothing to export to Europe in terms of finished goods. There was a similar trade agreement deal with America at one time and African countries were unable to export anything outside because even some of the raw materials they export could not meet the standard set by the custom and other import inspection bodies of the foreign country. Who is to say that products exported from Nigeria will meet European standards for them to accept it, just recently Nigeria was banned from exporting beans to a European nation because it did not meet their standards. Who is to say that even with the EPA agreement that this cases would not repeat itself.

8. It would not encourage creativity amongst our youths and younger generation who are already enjoying the luxury of watching others produce things for them in a Nigerian import dependent economy.

9. Corruption continues, the corruption question cannot be exempted from this issue. Will corrupt importers or third parties and middle men not use this to take advantage of Nigerians?

10. Diversification of the Economy. Importing everything including toothbrush is not going to help us in our drive to diversify the nations economy.

What should can we do to stop Nigeria from signing this agreement? Well this is just Steve Azuka of <a href="http://www.mylastkobo.com"> mylastkobo.com<a>opinion on the EPA deal there are others that think it is the best option at this time. But my advice to you is to resist and protest the signing of this agreement as it would spell great Negative consequences for us as a nation and for the future generation.

Follow <a href="http://www.mylastkobo.com"> mylastkobo.com<a>for other great business updates.

Read More

Aso Villa Entrepreneurial Demo to attract and sponsor new business ideas

Ok this is something we must surely  be interested in.

The president who is very concerned about the fact that some of us do not have a job and as such have enough free time to criticise him on Facebook and Twitter have finally decided to solve this problem( nor fear he is not banning Twitter and facebook) he have finally decided that some of us get good business ideas and as such he would like to sponsor some of this ideas.

The news went like this:

   "As part of the Federal Government’s agenda to diversify the economy and create jobs by stimulating the tech start-up space, President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will be hosting the Aso Villa Demo Day 2016 (AVDD2016); an initiative of the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria set to celebrate the best of Nigerian technology, creativity and entrepreneurship,as well as showcase Nigeria’s innovative spirit to a global audience. The event scheduled to hold on June 23, 2016 in Lagos and July 28, 2016 in Abuja brings together the brightest start-ups from across the country as they pitch to an audience of Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, key decision makers and other influential businesspersons"

This is part of the many entrepreneurial schemes that I hinted last year will be coming on board this year under this new government  in some of this posts,
Central Bank of Nigeria floats loan for Small Business.
CBN to focus on policies to develope small scale businesses in Nigeria.
SMEDAN promise to seek for loan for brilliant business ideas.
Will Buhari's Government favour Nigeria's Small Businesses?
Right  now, the people in charge of things, the powers that be are now looking for different ways to get you occupied with something doing so that you will have less time to go Facebook and Twitter to complain about their actions or inactions ( e make sense abi?) everybody get to win in this case. 

"Interested persons or teams with grand ideas and prototypes, as well as investors seeking the next opportunity can be a part of this to contribute in writing the next chapter of Nigeria’s economic revolution, as this event presents the rare opportunity of partnering with the Presidency in driving the innovation agenda and setting the stage for the creation of what would become Africa’s future."

Read More

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

Read More

Bank Of Industry to Provide loan for more Graduate under its YES program.

Following the turnout of applicants for its N10 billion facility earmarked for on-lending to small businesses under the Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) programme, the Bank of Industry (BoI) has concluded plans to expand the fund size as well as accommodate more candidates under the scheme.

Specifically, the bank noted that due to the high rate of applications received for the YES initiative, it would increase the size of the fund from the initial N10 billion, while considering an increase in the number of would-be loan beneficiaries from 1,200 yearly to 4,000 candidates.

Speaking at the assessment exercise of the initiative and inauguration of a seven-man panel to serve on the application screening committee in Lagos, BoI’s Acting Managing Director, Waheed Olagunju, noted that out of the 40,000 applications received, 15,000 or 37.5 per cent were properly completed and thus qualify for consideration for the first segment of the entrepreneurship capacity building programme which is the eight weeks online training component.

“This programme was launched in response to the alarming unemployment problem among Nigerian youths. Having noticed the huge volume of registration on the online portal of 40,000 which has far outstripped the 10,000 entries earlier envisaged by 300 per cent over the six-week period, we have come to the realisation that Nigerian youths have enormous entrepreneurial appetite waiting to be unleashed on the nation’s economy in a positive sense.

“We have therefore come to the conclusion that we should provide more opportunities for the youth by increasing the number of would-be loan beneficiaries from 1200 to 4000. Efforts would be made to ensure a fair distribution of the beneficiaries in consonance with the proportion of entries received from the six geopolitical zones”, Olagunju added.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu E. Enelamah, while inaugurating the committee, commended the bank for the initiative, saying, “I am quite satisfied with the implementation of the YES-Programme thus far, considering the calibre and quality of the facilitating institutions. The candidates’ screening and evaluation process are transparent, merit-based and in line with global best practices.

“The synergy created by the consultants working in concert with BoI’s in-house team, will undoubtedly manifest in the quality of young entrepreneurs that will be produced under the programme.

“The import of the overwhelming response by our youths to the YES-Progammes is a manifestation of their desire to take control of their destinies via the entrepreneurial route by being self –employed. It is therefore apparent that the earlier envisaged 1,200 would-be loan beneficiaries would fall far short of the yearnings of the aspiring young entrepreneurs.

“I would like to assure our youths of Federal Government’s absolute commitment to its financial inclusion programme. Government will endeavour to meet the aspirations of youths by providing the support needed by BoI to successfully implement the YES-programmes”.

Members of the application screening committee include the Acting Managing Director, Waheed Olagunju, Executive Director, Financial Inclusion, Mrs. Toyin Adeniji, Divisional Head, SME (North), Abdul-Ganiyu Mohammed, Divisional Head, SME (South), Umar Shekarau, and three other eminent members made up of successful entrepreneurs, professionals, retired bankers, SME consultants.

We talked about this YES program when it was launched last year, I believe this of us that have applied for it are now happy to know that it would accommodate more beneficiaries 

Bank of Industry launches loan program for small businesses

Read More

Nigerian Graduates will have to sacrifice their certificates to get access to CBN small Business loan.

Good news! the central bank of Nigeria have just come up with a loan program for those interested in setting up small and medium businesses in Nigeria, the news is a welcomed one but it has its conditions which is, only those who are in possession of some form of certificate from recognized Nigerian tertiary institutions and those who have a "O" level certificate can benefit from this program.

these are the conditions for getting the Loan as stated by CBN:

The central bank recently came up with a Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises fund to allow for new businesses to borrow from the fund as start-ups in a bid to create new jobs and curb unemployment.

"this is a new and recent development as it is targeted at the teeming number of unemployed young Nigerians, in the past to get access to such a loan you would need to already have an existing business but however the new guideline released by the Nigerian apex bank CBN have removed this limitation.


   “PFIs are expected to accept charge on fixed and floating assets of the financed projects as collateral for start-ups. Collateral requirement from start-ups by PFIs (DMBs and DFIs) shall be educational certificates such as SSCE, National Diploma (ND), National Certificate of Education (NCE), National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB), Higher National Diploma (HND), University degree (NYSC Certificate where applicable) and a guarantor. "


“The start-ups to access the MSMEDF must present their Bank Verification Number (BVN). Venture Capital Firms (VCFs) that wish to finance start-ups in form of equity participation shall be eligible to access the MSMEDF at 2.0 percent for investment in start-up projects. The collateral for such facility to the VCF shall be bank guarantee. “Incentive shall be offered to PFIs that repay loans as at when due. a) Start-Ups (i) DMBs/DFIs playing in this space, shall access MSMEDF facility at zero percent interest for on-lending at 9.0 percent (all-inclusive) to start-ups. (ii) The PFIs shall qualify for a 50 percent risk shared on the net outstanding balance in the case of default. b) Other Incentives Microfinance Banks with PAR of 10 percent and below shall be exempted from providing financial assets as collateral to access facility under the MSMEDF.”


you ask me steve what do you think? should i use my Certificate as a collateral for a loan? what if my business idea does not work?

well what i think is, if you cannot responsibly manage your business and repay the loan given to you for start up then you have no business looking for a job in another man's Business.

we actually announced last year that the CBN governor was saying something about small business loan during the 7th annual bankers retreat, well this is the much awaited program it is a very attractive loan scheme if you ask me but na only few die hard enterpreneurs like me go fit get mind drop certificate for ground use carry loan enter business.

Read More

Mylastkobo.com to Organise an intensive skill acquisition training exercise for students of the university of Benin.

In line with my commitment to enlightening young Nigerians on the benefits of gaining "sellable" skill before going out into the labour market in search of jobs which are not necessarily always available I will be hosting a one day intensive skill acquisition program in the university of Benin for members of the faculty of arts students association to help them acquire basic knowledge of certain skills that would help put them in a better position in the society when they graduate. 

        The program is taking place on the 14th of May this year and is being organised with the support of the office of the FASA president. Skills to be taught under this program are: 

* web design 

* Blogging

* Events management and interior decor

* Production of Cosmetic products

* Production of ice cream

* Production and design of Ankara products

* Pop corn making

* Make up artistry 

* Network marketing 

* Juice making( shappman) 

* Laundary

These packages will be taught by experts in these fields and it would also be a practical hands on training program where every participating student would be sure to gain the basic knowledge that he or she would need to set up on this fields.

Handouts are going to be available and each participating student is encouraged to take advantage of them as they will serve as a manual for future references.

Read More