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Ndubuisi Ekekwe To Speak At TREM Port Harcourt Wealth Summit

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Good People, I write daily here using Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu and other business leaders as case studies on business and entrepreneurial capitalism. But as a teacher of the Word and a Scripture Union kid, I also teach business with case studies from the Bible, drawing from the management and leadership experiences of Nehemiah, Jesus, Paul and others.

Join me at TREM Port Harcourt as noted. For members in Lagos, one is coming for Deeper Life in April. 

As we say in the Scripture Union, the next praise will be better because more songs will be delivered. Yes, 2022 will be great professionally because newer business models will be invented.

Happy Sunday.

Customer acquisition; Do you take the organic route or paid route?

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Customers

There is this quote that if you build it right, the customers will come to you. Allow me to tell you that in the real world of startups, this is not always the case. No matter how excellent or perfect you have built your product, customers will not just come to you until you figure out a way to get them to learn about your product in the first place. You have to get them to the product or get the product to them.

Besides learning about your product and adopting it (customer acquisition), they also have to share it with others via word of mouth. This is the point when you begin to create velocity in demand and momentum for your business.

Let’s talk about how NOT to go about customer acquisition especially when you are a startup. Adopting a paid system of getting customers as a startup may seem like a good idea for you but there are a couple of reasons I don’t quite agree that it is.

First of all, if there is anything you have in short supply at the start of your business, it is funds. So, why would you channel the little or much you have towards buying users? It is neither sustainable nor does it give a true reflection of the situation of things at any point in time. If you have to pay to get customers, how then can we judge the actual market acceptance of your product? How do we know your numbers are not just improving due to money spent? What happens when you choose to stop whatever you are spending? Do these customers remain loyal?

Spending a lot of money on advertising to acquire users can mask the fact that people may not actually want what you’re building and it is important that you know very early, how needed your products are.

A good way to spur up excitement about your business can be the launching contests, giveaways, and promotions. Again, this may not be sustainable in the long run but it can help gather the initial momentum and with a good strategy, you can make headway with it. The shares and tags can get you jumpstarted on your campaign.

There are several ways to acquire customers, but if somehow you can get it done via word of mouth, it will be cheaper for you, and more sustainable in the long term. Social media shares, reviews, customer feedback, tags, and likes can be great ways your customers can help get the word out about your business.

Another thing you could do is blog relevant content for your audience. This shows you to be an authority in that field, while also providing your customers with relevant material they could find useful. It could be how-to articles sharing with them tips. If you are also able to contribute these contents to an established blog, it could work for you. You may not be able to get the press to write about you, but these articles which you contribute can contain backlinks to your site and bring hundreds and thousands of potential customers to check you out over time. It would be a win-win since you are contributing content to those sites, while also creating backlinks to yours.

Also writing Op-Eds can be of great help to you. Again, this is a mutually beneficial arrangement between you and any established blog you choose to work with, and you would be expressing your thoughts on industry trends related to your product or service.

If you have to choose between organic and paid, Organic growth should always be the way to go unless you are only interested in growing your vanity metrics without any actual impact on your growth metrics.

Consider Tekedia Institute for Your 2022 Corporate Training

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Happy New Year. Please as you plan your corporate training for 2022,  we share that we offer corporate training services in Tekedia Institute. Yes, Tekedia Institute offers virtual (online) corporate seminars, courses and workshops to startups, SMEs, NGOs, companies and public sector entities. On engagement, we design, develop and deliver live corporate seminars, courses and workshops on many business domains (see below) using our 200+ global Faculty.

Areas Covered

These are sample areas we cover; if your area is not included, please we will work to serve you as we have deep capabilities on most domains. Just let us know your area, and we will work to prepare for it.

  • Logistics & Supply Chain Management
  • Business Innovation, Growth & Sustainability
  • Business Transformation & Project Management
  • Risk Management
  • Business Administration
  • Innovation & Design Thinking
  • Accounting, Auditing, Forensics & Taxation
  • Workplace, Teams, Communication and Collaboration
  • Media, Advertising & Branding
  • Startup and Small Business Management
  • Exponential Technologies and Singularity
  • Marketing and Sales Management
  • Digital Business Growth
  • Agribusiness Management
  • Human Resources Management
  • Personal Finance & Wealth Management

Go here and learn more about this service and register your company. Watch this testimonial by a United States Army 20-year veteran on the quality and impact of Tekedia Institute.

“Sure, software will eat the world, but hardware must first cook the world for it.”

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Some of Africa’s market frictions cannot be fixed by software alone: we need hardware startups. Yes, you may have the best software skills, but to help certain sectors, you would need to have a physical device.

In the oil industry, software can help you in the reconciliation process, but before that can be done, you need sensors to collect the data. The same applies in agriculture and healthcare sectors where before the data can be processed and analysed, sensors must first collect them from the soil, land or humans.

Largely, the deal is this: without hardware, the impact of software will remain limited in Africa in helping communities and firms. Sure, software will eat the world, but hardware must first cook the world for it.

In this piece, I explain how hardware can become a moat, in Africa, at a certain level, to protect entities from the competitive voltages of the global ICT utilities which continue to take territories using the power of the positive continuum of network efforts and size. We need hardware startups in Africa!

Hardware Startups Are Rising in Africa

How To Make New Year Resolutions Amidst Challenges

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The long-awaited 2022 has eventually arrived to the people’s utmost amazement. Hence, it’s not anymore news that the year in question is already here with us.

Just like an odyssey, the beginning of every year is invariably accompanied with an influx of fresh dreams, anticipations, plans, or what have you, and 2022 isn’t exceptional.

It’s imperative to acknowledge that towards actualization of these wishes, the bearer is expected to inculcate reasonable resolutions into his or her life to enable him or her to stick to the rules as the journey progresses.

The resolution would serve as a viable guide as you pursue the dream vigorously. One thing we must take into cognizance is that two major factors – altitude and attitude – determine the realization of any plan at all times.

The former, which literally means the distance you are meant to cover during the journey, cannot be actualized if proper planning is taken for granted; secondly, you must follow the apt route for you to get to the anticipated destination. The latter, which signifies the lifestyle or policies of the plan bearer, is needed to enable him to do the right thing while relating with his fellow humans whilst the odyssey is on.

One’s attitude indeed speaks volumes when pursuing anything whatsoever. Your attitude or character would make your partners – benefactors, colleagues, or associates, as the case may be – give you the required support or attention when need be.

It would equally put you in a form that would enable you to apply the overall needed strategies adequately. For instance, if you are used to drinking indiscriminately, such an attitude could ruin your plans, because it can make you not concentrate, or do the right thing, as well as make your intending partners detest your person, and thus wouldn’t like to work or cooperate with you.

A bad attitude would make the journey crash along the line owing to your inability to relate well with your fellow travellers. A bad attitude is simply like a flat tyre; it can never go anywhere until you change it irrespective of the circumstance.

In view of this, a sound resolution serves as a recipe to a viable plan or concept. Having initiated a plan in accordance with your dreams or wishes, courtesy demands that you draw good resolutions that would help to reshape your attitudes.

The proposed resolutions must be in respect of your flaws, and not that of your relatives or friends. Hence, you must design a resolution that would suit your person. Don’t make resolutions in line with what others are making. It ought to be done to address your shortcomings, and not that of others.

Since a dream or wish is expected to beget a plan, it’s needless to state that a dream without adequate resolutions is seemingly meaningless or would remain futile. So, as every year often unveils a distinct dream, it is worthy of note that the dream might suffer a severe setback in the process if its bearer fails to summon good resolutions prior to implementing the strategies begotten by the plan.

In other words, without a resolution, a dream is virtually useless, and vice-versa. It suffices to say that dream and resolution are interwoven. But it takes only a sound resolution for a dream to excel as expected.

Though making a resolution is very crucial, it’s noteworthy that sustaining it is a different issue entirely. Several factors – including influence, environment and idleness – serve as a deterrent toward the sustenance of any resolution.

The company you keep can jeopardize your chances of maintaining your resolution due to influence. So, as you make a resolution, you ought to endeavour to delete some names from your friendship list.

In the same vein, in his words, the great philosopher Karl Marx stated that ‘Environment determines the action of the mind’. I strongly concur with this ancient assertion. Where you live or the place you found yourself at a given time plays a key role in keeping a resolution.

Among all, idleness on its part can also contribute negatively to the sustenance of a certain set of resolutions. The saying that ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop’ is enough reason to worry. A well conceived concept can be bedevilled by idleness.

It’s noteworthy that all forms of challenges can pose a threat to any kind of resolution irrespective of the level of determination of the bearer.  This implies a certain challenge can constitute nuisance in the long run, thus can destroy the wholesomeness of the journey in question. In some cases, such a circumstance makes it so difficult for one to make a resolution let alone sustain it.

Making resolutions amid challenges might seem very tough but there’s a need to comprehend that such a challenge can be subdued if the needful is done. In a situation of this kind, one who truly intends to make as well as keep a resolution is required to be resolute and resilient at all costs.

You must stick strongly and passionately to your dreams and resolutions regardless of the nature of the challenges, and always endeavour to return to the original plan having suffered a setback. Let the anticipated destination remain your driving force as long as the journey lasts.

Inter alia, you are required to be deeply prayerful and faithful. You must build your spiritual life to the core and never depart from your faith. Prayer is as powerful as faith, but always note that the latter is arguably more powerful.

However, it’s worth noting that a certain challenge might be to your advantage. Those whose flaws have been about indulgence in excesses or debauchery ought to see a challenge such as financial incapacitation as a blessing in disguise.

The aforementioned condition would enable such persons to go only for their needs, not wants; hence, should be seen as a welcome development. Even if the circumstance later became a thing of the past, the truth or good news is that it had succeeded in making you discover your frivolous lifestyles, thereby addressing them.

Hence, you are urged to make a sound resolution today, and work towards sustaining it by sticking to the specified rules. You alone are bound to determine how your dream can materialize into reality, so do not wait for someone to do the thinking on your behalf.

I can’t wait to celebrate with you towards the end of 2022 when you would be informing us on the various resolutions you were able to keep throughout the odyssey.

So, never be carried away by frivolities, as you are enjoined to focus on priorities at all cost.