24 September, 2012

Why are you on earth?

PURPOSE, big word. I'm one of those people who think everybody on earth has a purpose, you should think the same way too. Purpose is the biggest source of motivation and encouragement, that is important for a successful business and a successful life.

What is your mission?
I think every single human being is meant to enjoy life, and add to life. Look at it this way. You're living in a country where you're entitled to some specific rights, and everybody is treated equally, some people fought so you would have those rights and privileges today. We now have smart phones, laptops, this software, that device, that app and so on, these things are the result of years and years that so many people have spent working hard at school, doing different research and consultations and investing a lot of money. They have made life easier for us today. They have all added to the world, they fulfilled their purpose. You are meant to enjoy what these people have added, and give something back to the world. That thing you are giving back, is the reason you're on earth, your PURPOSE.



This blog is meant to help you with your business life, and you might be wondering: "How does this purpose stuff relate to business?", I assure you that once you know your purpose for living, you would have the best business ideas, motivation and success stories.

Your work, is to discover your work; and then with all your
heart, give yourself to it.
- Buddha

To put away aimlessness and weakness, and to begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognise failure as one of the pathways to attainment; who make all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully.  
- James Allen

Do you know your purpose? Will you be remembered for anything? Will you make any positive impact on earth before you leave? Have you started working on achieving your purpose? Start NOW! Better late than never.



05 September, 2012

Why should I start my own business ?


Succesful Entrepreneurs
Some popular entrepreneurs

The obvious answer to that question would be to make money and be happy, but there's more to it than that, it would help us quit the "rat-race". The normal "life-routine" or "rat-race" that most of us live as described by Robert Kiyosaki in his book "Rich dad, Poor dad" is this:

"If you look at the life of the average-educated, hard-working person, there is a similar path. The child is born and goes to school. The proud parents are excited because the child excels, gets fair to good grades, and is accepted into a college. The child graduates, maybe goes on to graduate school and then does exactly as programmed: looks for a safe, secure job or career. The child finds that job, maybe as a doctor or a lawyer, or joins the Army or works for the government. Generally, the child begins to make money, credit cards start to arrive in mass, and the shopping begins, if it already hasn't."Having money to burn, the child goes to places where other young people just like them hang out, and they meet people, they date, and sometimes they get married. Life is wonderful now, because today, both men and women work. Two incomes are bliss. They feel successful, their future is bright, and they decide to buy a house, a car, a television, take vacations and have children. The happy bundle arrives. The demand for cash is enormous. The happy couple decides that their careers are vitally important and begin to work harder, seeking promotions and raises. The raises come, and so does another child and the need for a bigger house. They work harder, become better employees, even more dedicated. They go back to school to get more specialised skills so they can earn more money. Maybe they take a second job. Their incomes go up, but so does the tax bracket they're in and the real estate taxes on their new large home, and their Social Security taxes, and all the other taxes. They get their large paycheck and wonder where all the money went. They buy some mutual funds and buy groceries with their credit card. The children reach 5 or 6 years of age, and the need to save for college increases as well as the need to save for their retirement. ."That happy couple, born 35 years ago, is now trapped in the Rat Race for the rest of their working days. They work for the owners of their company, for the government paying taxes, and for the bank paying off a mortgage and credit cards. Then, they advise their own children to `study hard, get good grades, and find a safe job or career.' They learn nothing about money, except from those who profit from their naivete, and work hard all their lives. The process repeats into another hard-working generation. This is the `Rat Race'."

I'm quite sure that most of you are somewhere along the "rat-race", studying so hard so you can end up working for this company or that company. When students talk to me about their plans for the future, they always say things like:
 "I want to get my degree in Computer science and then get an MBA and work at somewhere like Apple or Microsoft." 
"I heard they pay well at Shell, I'd love to work there someday."
Working for a company is not a bad plan for the future but, in most cases its not the best plan either. I think people should focus more on starting their own businesses. To most people it seems like a HUGE deal to start a business, but in reality its not. When you hear "start a business", you see yourself starting a company like; Sony, Coca-cola, IKEA or Apple and you think its so impossible. Its not impossible to own a company as big as those companies, they all started small and have grown to become what they are today. IKEA for example, was founded by Ingvar Kamprad when he was just 17 years old, he started by selling matches to his neighbours on a bicycle and then he started selling fishes, pens and pencils also, with steady expansion and proper business strategy his company now makes an average of 3 Billion US Dollars annually. Another successful entrepreneur is Raymond Lei, he started his online clothe-customisation business: ooShirts, while he was in High school. Its a web-based company where customers can design clothes online, the company then transforms these designs into actual clothes and ships them to the customers at a fixed price. In the year 2010 his company generated a total revenue of 2.2 Million US Dollars, at that time he was a student at the University of California-Berkeley, but unlike most of his mates, he had left the "rat-race". Under normal circumstances, people like this would not have to worry about the pensions or if their bosses would allow them to go on a holiday next summer.


Raymond Lei
Raymond Lei

Many other people like Frederick W. Smith, Steve Jobs and so on, decided to start their own businesses and have succeeded. You can start your own business too! You're not too old or too young to start one. Life becomes very interesting and comfortable when you are in control of your business, nearly all the difficulties faced by people in the "rat-race", are strange to you. In a few years time, I'd like to see you on Wikipedia as the founder of this company and that company, but first, there are a lot things you have to learn. I'll be uploading more posts on this blog, to help you know what to do and what to avoid when you're running your own business. 

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02 September, 2012

Introduction 

       Many students today are completely dependent on their parents for their school fees, accommodation, food, clothes and so on, to me this is not a good way to live. If I could teach young people all over the world ONE thing, it would be the importance, advantages and methods of becoming partly or even completely independent by gaining part or full-time employment or starting their own businesses.
       Think about it, you're running your own business, regardless of the size, making a reasonable income even while you're in school, you now have the funds to buy the things you want, free your parents on some spending and make a lot of valuable connections with people from different industries and locations. I guarantee that when you are making your own money from your business or job, life will be much more interesting and exciting.
       On a regular basis, I would post business ideas, advice and news that would help you start and successfully run your own business or find a good job while you're still in school. I would also explain where and how to invest your money "wisely", to even multiply what you already have. This would be fun, and even more fun when the money starts coming in. You can join me in achieving this goal by following this blog, sharing the posts on your social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, email etc.) and recommending it to every young person you care about. This is my introductory post, I'm Ayo Oyewole, that's a picture of me below :) , sharing and commenting on my future posts are very much appreciated. I hope that along the way, we would learn a lot from each other.