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ABOUT THE BOOK

This is a book that provides detailed information on what you need to start
a business, how to start a business and what to watch out for. It also gives
a bonus chapter on how to make money online. The guideline is applicable
in all economies, relevant and realistic. It touches real life situations of
running a business. Enjoy the read, you might need a pen and note book to
jot down notes.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
NEED FOR POSITIVITY .......................................................................... 4

GUIDE TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS .......................................... 8

WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN RUNNING A BUSINESS ..................... 13

ASSOCIATIONS AND BUSINESS ........................................................ 18

HEALTH MATTERS AND BUSINESS .................................................. 23

TECHNOLOGY AND CREATIVENESS IN BUSINESS........................ 27

DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN EARN MONEY ONLINE ....................... 31

CONCLUSION ........................................................................................ 34

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 NEED FOR POSITIVITY
Certain things that happen to us, do so for a reason. They happen for a good
cause. It needs an eye that always looks for the good in everything to figure
that out. What you have been through in life and what you aspire to be,
make you who you are today. It influences your decisions and above all
your perceptions. Most entrepreneurs always see the positive side of every
situation. They always want to benefit from every situation no matter how
bad it might look like to most people.

Most people who made it in the world of business, saw opportunities and
did not wait to be pushed by anyone else but, dive into the door that had
opened in front of them. Entrepreneurs always take the worst situations to
expand their businesses. They have an eye that finds a solution to almost
every problem. When everyone is complaining, they look at the situation
and say, “how can I make money out of this?”

I will tell you a short story about myself. I was born in April 1997, in
Zimbabwe, and grew up in the remote areas of the country. Remote areas
in the global south are termed the country side in the global north. They
are the hub of poverty and backwardness. My parents were teaching there,
but I did not have exposure. That did not stop me from dreaming, after my
tertiary education I could not get a job. When l wanted to start a business
all the ideas that I had were good but they needed a lot of capital for me to

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pursue them, but I was broke. I thought of how I can turn the situation
around. I then started an errand running business, using commuter
omnibuses.

Someone asked me the capital I used to start, I told him, “I started with
$ZWL10.” Those days it was more like 70c American dollars. I marketed
myself on well-known social media platforms, Whatsapp messenger and
Facebook. That is how I started to earn money in a country where formal
unemployment rate is more than 90%.
What I am trying to say is, in every situation that you find yourself in, try
to not see the bad side of it, but see it as a challenge for you to think without
the box and turn the tables around. Do not complain always. If you desire
to be outstanding, whenever you see a challenge think how you can turn it
around.

Who else is bored by going to the shops to buy something, when I am home
I hate it when mom calls me to go and buy tomatoes at the market in town,
leaving my Netflix. Someone can say, use online shopping; I am from
Zimbabwe where internet access is expensive for many. What I have said
is a problem; going to the shops is a boring task, a solution a mobile
supermarket. I have been longing for it because I am an introvert, I love
my indoors. Shoprite in South Africa just launched it, I was happy and I
pray other supermarkets copy it as well.

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The word life is a four letter word, which is very easy to spell. That is
different from reality, life is not easy. Despite life being hard and difficult,
refuse to conform to it. Some they say life is like a journey, you go up and
down. When the time for downs comes, do not cry foul. Take charge. You
are the boss of your life. Life is what we make it look like, which is why
they say when life hands you a lemon make a lemonade.

You cannot make lemonade when you are full of negativity. Even if you
fail, that is not an option for you to shift from the positivity lane to the
negativity lane. We learn from our mistakes and use the lessons to juice up
our positivity. I have a little sister who challenged me. She is an athlete,
and when she was 14, a competition came by their school. I was certain
she will win and she was too. She was always positive. On the day of the
competition she lost. I was hurt, I know she was also but she looked at me
and said, “Simba, I was over confident and I did not practice much. Next
time I will do whatever it takes, I will work harder.”

Her positivity challenged me. Next competition came and yes, she won. It
is not a matter of looking at your faults and failures, sob and say, “This is
not meant for me.”

Trust me I have been there as I told you earlier, I had brilliant ideas that
which when I tell them to an ordinary person on the street they would fall
in love with them. They answered my communities’ problems. However,

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I could not afford to start them, so the next question was with all these
good ideas how am I going to source out cash. I looked for funding, applied
to many incubators, and investors but the response was always the same,
“we regret to inform you…” I thought maybe my ideas were worthless.
They meant nothing to the world, I hated working for someone, but I found
myself making CVs and looking for a job.

One day after reading an article on positivity I changed my mind, turned

the tables around. Now I own a company of my own at the age of 22. I
started with no money but within the first 5 months of operation as a small
company in the Errand running business we have found ourselves doing
130 errands which is not bad for a company that started from nothing.

I want to say no matter how many times you try do not stop trying. Keep
fighting, one day you will win. One day you will look back and say, “That
was a bumpy and scruffy road.” If you fall don’t stay too long on the
ground, rise up and find a way on how to go forward. Stay positive!

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 GUIDE TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS
I have been asked by so many people who say, I want to start but I do not
know how to figure out what to do. If you are also looking at how you
figure out what to do, this is your topic!

In your day to day living what bores you, what bothers you? What do you
think could be done differently? I had a friend of mine who hated that
everyday his mother sent him to the shops which were 5km away from his
home to get vegetables. I asked how many people from your area are in the
same position as the one you are in, he said they are many. I looked at him
and said, wake up early morning go to the market, buy them in bulk, and
resell them in your hood. He listened and it worked wonders to him.

The art of finding what to do needs someone who is alert. I have just
highlighted one way to identify a business opportunity. What is it that you
travel to get? How many people in your area could be wasting money going
to source out that product? That could be a business opportunity. I am from
a small town and in that town there are no fabric shops. If only one person
could start a small shop selling fabrics, the person could make good money.

In your area what is not there, that you think you can make money out of
it.

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Do not be shallow in thinking, get broad and wide, in every industry, sit
down and view the whole supply chain, there should be something that
which you can bring closer to home. Please note that the same also
applies to services.

Another untapped field is product improvement. That is termed “value

addition” by others. We have had baobab yoghurt, but it is not there in
shops, it needs someone with an entrepreneurial mind to find enticing
packaging and make money. There are many products that when you see
them you say, they can be packaged nicer or improved.

I love my tea, and I love it hot. Unfortunately it sucks when I am going out
and I need to carry large quantities of sugar which I do not need. But if
someone could repack powdered milk into small sachets, do the same with
sugar. Make a small package, place 1 tea bag, 1 sachet of milk and 1 sachet
of sugar inside. I’d buy it and I’d really love it, saves me space in my
travelling bag when going to camps.

That is what improving a product means. You can do that in your home
and sell it. Find a way to make something more convenient, tasty, nicer,
enjoyable and satisfying.

There are geniuses out there that can invent products. That is a pretty nice
way to start a business. Invent and sell, but note it is not just about

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inventing. What you are inventing are we going to like it? Who is your
market among many other questions that I will address next. You can also
copy an existing model you see John’s barber shop doing well you go and
erect yours next to his. That also can work.

You cannot say figuring out something to do after that which I have said is
difficult. But the next stage is crucial and key in setting up a new business.
Ask yourself is it profitable? That is the very key question every person
should ask themselves. However, this is broad and needs deep thinking.
You need to think about the expenses needed in the whole process, and
how much you are likely to get as turnover. See if it is profitable. Some
think profitability is over charging, I differ with that point of view. All you
need is high volume of sales and a price that has a smaller mark-up then
you are good to go.

I just mentioned about high volume of sales, you cannot get them if you do
not have a market. You have thought of your nice idea, you have seen that
it is profitable but who will you sell it to? How many people can afford
that where you want to sell it? They might afford but do they really need
it?

If you have answered yourself and you feel satisfied with what you got
then we can go on to the next step. If you are not satisfied go back to the
drawing board think of a new idea. I have thought so many ideas which

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when I thought of them I’d say this is nice, I pitch them to my friend he
tells me,” Simba that will not work.” I go back to the drawing board over
and over again until I get it right. Don’t get tired, you can do this.

Now think how you are going to get the product or service to your market,
which is now the logistics part. How are you going to get your markets’
attention? That is the marketing part, will you use social media, posters,
word of mouth, sales representatives, influencers or promotions? How
much will it cost you? This one is very important, who are your
competitors and what is your competitive advantage? Why should people
buy from you instead of your competitor? What is unique about your
business?
Are you going to need workers? If so, how many? How much can you pay
them? If you have done all this then you need to look at the legal aspect of
it. Will you need a licence or certification? Where will you get it? How
much will it cost you?

When you are done with everything, calculate the lowest possible start-up
cost and ask yourself do I afford this? If you cannot, think of what you can
do differently and get rid of once you have both feet on the ground? If you
still cannot afford it, would you need a partner? Who can be your partner?

Can you both afford it?

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DO NOT TAKE A LOAN TO START A BUSINESS.

If you can afford it, go ahead and draw a model and start working on
bringing it to life. To those that cannot afford every idea that they thought
of, do not give up, it is not the end. Always start small I tell that to my
colleagues every now and then. If you do not have money like I did, go
ahead and venture into service industry.

Just get a choreographers contact, a décor company, video and

photography company, venue contacts, a few other contacts and you are
an events planner. Are you good at cooking traditional food, go ahead and
teach other people how to do it. Can you do laundry go ahead and start a
home helpers company. You can use word of mouth and social media to
market yourself. So you see, it is easy to start a business without money all
that is needed is your dedication, will and power.

There is however a mistake most people make during the brain storming
phase they become unrealistic. They do not do a market research they just
sit there and they are satisfied in their head, they put lots of money into it
and it fails. Always start small and grow bit by bit. It is not bad to be
ambitious but when you get to be over ambitious then that is bad.

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 WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN RUNNING A
BUSINESS
When you are running a business there are some things that you need to do
and work out on. Running a business is not as easy as counting from one
to ten. Behind the big brands we see today someone worked hard and will
tell you, it was not an easy journey.

Family is your number one enemy. In an African set up family, we are

taught work hard in school, make good grades and have a good job. Being
an entrepreneur never became their dream.

So when you try and do what you are not taught, they term you
mischievous. You try and prove to them that yes you went to university,
you studied engineering but you want to venture into selling snacks. Your
dream is that you want to own a big company in the confectionary industry.
They will look at you and tell you that you are being disobedient; they
might disown you for a few weeks.
I have a friend of mine he studied engineering, he came out to his parents
telling them that he wants to start a business not related to what he was
studying. They asked him what about looking for a job. He refused, and
they were on each other’s neck for months. The positivity that we
discussed in the first chapter came into play now. He did not let the
negative forces that were surrounding him pull him back. He took a step
that many could not be able to take. He started without their blessing,
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worked hard and proved to them that he could do it. They later understood
him, saw his potential and are now supportive.

To avoid these struggles, if possible do not tell your family your ideas or
else you will be discouraged. Just start, and then tell them. If there is no
way to start without them knowing, tell them. Be wise in your choice of
words, if they disapprove. Do not be angry with them, be calm, cool and
collected. Do not exchange words, explain to them, if they keep their
stance take a step back and do your thing.

A controversial topic I heard at some place was, is it wise to partner with

family or a member of your family? Should a member of your family be
one of your top employees? I will not tell you what to do but I will tell you
that seek counsel from a level headed person and be wise in making such
a decision because one day you might cry.

There is an issue about being controversial. Some believe that you have to
say something that is controversial or make an advert that is controversial
and have it spread in people. Yes people can make it spread, this method
is also used by politicians, so that someone that did not know they existed
will start to look out for them so that they know who the controversial
speaker really is. You dominate pub debates by being controversial. The
big question is you as the company owner can you handle controversies, it
is a risk, it might work positively or negatively. If you cannot take the risk

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or if you cannot handle the pressure that comes with controversies do not
go for it.

I will not have done justice if I do not talk about the political environment.
This one depends on the size of your business. Bigger businesses are more
affected, but small ones are also impacted. Assess the political
environment.

Someone will say am non-partisan, which does not work in the world of
business. We might talk of the democracy world but in this world we are
in that is not realistic. If your business is to go big, you need to know how
to play your political cards. If you play them wrong, politics can get away
with you and your nice business. They can simply introduce a policy that
can affect you. They can influence the annulment of your licence.

So if you are expanding you need to know how to play the game. I would
say be neutral, but at the same time be a two headed snake. Show some
interests in the ruling party, but always be behind the scenes, and, you do
the same with the opposition. By showing interests, you are simply
donating to their campaigns and programs. They will all think that you are
for them but you are just playing your game nice, either ways, no matter
what happens your business will be safe. It’s a tricky one, it needs counsel
and wisdom.

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Politics is both ways, there is politics in the external environment.
Internally there is also politics. Where ever there are people divisions form,
and thus the statement conflicts are inevitable in an organisation. As I have
been saying, these need wisdom in tackling them.
The most important aspect to watch out for is your personality as a business
owner. Your character is the foundation of the success of your business. If
your personality is bad, then your business is going to be bad. You might
dig your own grave. By personality, the moment you start a business, there
is what I want to call a business person/entrepreneurs’ personality. That is
different from the personality people look out for on an ordinary person on
the street.

Humility is key. Please be humble. In your office be humble, when you are
out and about be humble. The moment pride takes charge then know your
downfall has begun. Workers need a humble boss. Do not make your
workers feel inferior to you. Make them know that the company is theirs
not yours alone. That feeling and sense of belonging will motivate them
and make them respect you. If you have pride, they will hate you. They
will destroy your business reputation and that will not be good for you.

Do not eat what you cannot kill. Do not over spend. Spending fever should
stop. Businesses are built on savings. To avoid unnecessary spending give
yourself a salary. As a small business you might have access to all funds

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and no one will question you, but for the business to grow you need to be
financially disciplined.

Be watchful for the above mentioned aspects and please get a mentor. Get
a matured, seasoned and level headed someone as a mentor. Someone who
has been on that road before and has made it. Mentors are there to guide
you and give you advice. They are not perfect so again wisdom comes into
play. When they give you an advice take it, analyse it, criticise it and see
if its benefits outweigh the costs it might bring. If you are satisfied then
take it. A mentor is necessary and is needed in running a business.

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 ASSOCIATIONS AND BUSINESS
So everyone has people they associate with. We all have friends. Who do
you hang out with? These people hold a very crucial role in your upcoming
and survival as a business person/ entrepreneur. The first association that I
want to let you know about is the one with your friends. If you want to start
a business and you hang out with people who are far from being serious
with their own lives. Leave them. Those who said, “Birds of the same
feathers flock together” they did not lie. You become what you surround
yourself with.

Someone will ask how to know if my friends really add value to my vision
or goal. Okay, you have your goals and your set of standards, you know
who you want to become. Do you and your friends share a common goal
or vision? If you talk serious business issues with your friends do they add
value or they brush it aside as less important? If you tell them your business
idea do they support and criticise you positively or they laugh at you and
tell you that you cannot do it?

If you can answer those questions about your friends honestly, and they
add value to you and your idea, they are worth keeping. However, if they
do not, leave them, by leave them I do not mean leave them for good, but
do not spend most of your time with them let them see that you now mean
business.

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You know Air B’n’B was started by friends and they got where they are
now as friends. That is how it should be. With your friends you should
inspire each other to reach those levels which people think they are
unreachable.

Choose your friends wisely!

When you start your business, these friends still do matter, keep them
close. Hang out with them when you can. Know what to share with them
about your business. Never trust anyone, even if they helped you to get up
there, they can still pull you down from the roof top where you will be at.
Do not divulge much about the day to day business in your company to
them, confidentiality in business is key. You can share one or two, but
watch what you say as there might be a Judas among them and they will
come for you, directly or indirectly.

You need to also mingle with other business people and notable people.
This is another association that is key. Identify business people who you
can be friends with, the same goes with holders of key offices. These
connections are important when you want to expand and get big business
deals. The world is not fair, that is the ugly part of it, so you need to play
the unfair game and turn it to your advantage. Business is like politics, no
permanent friends but permanent interests. Know where your interests lie

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and play with whoever has keys to those interests. That is how you deal
away with most obstacles that businesses face.

With other business people, they are not your friends, but act like they are
your friends. Many will say this is rude but business is all about survival
of the fittest. If you become friends with them you end up telling them
what they are not supposed to know about your business and they will use
it against you. They are your competitors so you need to be aware of such.

A few words on competition, do not always keep your eyes on your

competitor, you will dance to their music. My basketball coach in high
school used to say, do not play their game, make them play yours. That is
the same when it comes to your competitors, let them play your game and
do not play their game. You achieve that by not gluing your eyes on them
always. Look at the way you are doing your business, evaluate yourself
more often, and look at how you can improve. Set your own goals,
depending with your own vision and work towards them. Mind your own
business, run the show and you will see them all playing your game.

It is not about, what have they done, ooh let me do it also. I have seen
competitors copying each other, it is not bad to copy what someone has
done. We appreciate when a colleague has done something good and when
we copy that, we copy add something and raise the bar and not wait for
them to raise the bar so that we copy again.

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There was a company that was into the restaurant business (Company X),
them and their competitor (Company Y) had western menus on offer. Y
introduced a traditional menu, X copied it and the following week
introduced jazz nights and at the end of the month they introduced food
delivery services and used bulk texting to reach their clients and Y’s
clients. That is copying and raising the bar so that the competitor will start
to play your game and you do not have to bother looking at what they have
done so that you can copy.

It is important to note that it is not competing for the sake of competing.

First sit and find out if what you are about to copy will aid you take a step
to your bigger goal and vision, if it is not and is all about your ego as a
company you might lose focus, you might lose your relevance in the game,
you might lose your vision and waste time on less important issues.

Association with your employees, these are interesting. Most people want
to be felt that they are the boss, and they think that will make employees
respect them. Know employees will fake their respect, and they will not
mind where you end up at, they are there just for the money. A company
owner needs to be humble, lower your level to them. Let them feel free to
discuss issues with you. Make them feel that this is our company; a sense
of belonging makes most workers improve the quality of their service.
They will be devoted to the company. Go to a general worker, ask them if
they are happy, ask them where they think as a company you should

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improve. Even a big company owner takes time to mingle with workers. It
makes them feel free and open.

Lastly there are associations with your family. Family is a gift that is
irreplaceable, we need to cherish our moments with them. No matter how
business can be pressing please find time for your family. In the first days
of your company things might be tough and your time with them might be
scarce, explain to them. Despite the pressures try and sacrifice some time
for them. Once your business has landed on both feet, make time for your
family.
Associations are important throughout your life in business, so keep them
and know how to handle them.

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 HEALTH MATTERS AND BUSINESS
You cannot run a business from the grave or when you are admitted in the
hospital. Your health is of uttermost important. Health is the social, mental
and physical well-being of a person. If any element is affected it also
negatively impact your performance in the business, hence the need to keep
them on check.

Your mental health is the first thing that you need to always look out for.
You might think that this does not affect you because you are not a
psychiatric patient. Running a business is stressful, and you need to make
sure that you do not worry much. When you are stressed, your emotions
become volatile. You do things that you might regret. Your ability to make
quality decisions is compromised.

Try by all means not to stress. To avoid stress, when planning you always
need to have an alternative plan. You need a plan B and a plan C for in
case of emergency. Most people stress out because the events that turn out
were not expected and they do not know how to work around them and
avoid a massive negative impact from them.

There is also stress from workers, they might make decisions that costs
you. In their capacity they might think they are making life easier for you,
but in the process might cost. Any other reason from your employees might

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stress you out, like a hard working client resigning without notice. Clients
too can be stressful.

You need to know that a business cannot survive without employees and
clients. If your employees have done wrong, sit down with them, tell them
calmly that what they have done is wrong and state reasons. Allow them
to explain themselves, do not raise your voice, and now ask them how the
mistakes’ impact can be reduced. Work with them to find a solution, if you
are not available, find someone who works with the one at fault to come
up with a remedy. Do not shout at your employees.

As for stressful clients, they are the blood of your company, without them
you seize to live. Like water where you say, every drop counts, same with
clients, every client counts. It is a tragedy for a business to lose one
customer. No matter how wrong they are, always say sorry. It does not
matter that you are the one who is correct, apologise! Always be cool, calm
and collected.

Go and vent your anger elsewhere and not to the client or your workers.

You need not to carry stress from your family to the business, and the same
with work stress, do not carry it back home. Know how to deal with it,
there are many ways people deal with stress, you just need to find which
one really works out for you. Below is a list of activities that take away the
stress and help you get sober from stress;

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  Hang out with friends
 Go for a jog
 Go to the gym
 Eat
 Play games (computer or outdoor)
 Watch movies
 Listen to music
 Dance
 Go for yoga
 Write a poem or a song
 Cook
 Work in the garden in your back yard
 Take a nature walk
 Scream
 Cry
 Swimming
 Read a novel
I tried to cover most of the, things that people do, to take away stress. Just
do something that you love and enjoy doing, it will do the trick.
Depression also affects your mental health. The best way is to talk to
someone. However if you cannot, the list above can also help deal away
with depression. There are people that naturally affect your mental health.

Walk away from toxic relationships and toxic people.

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As a business person your physical health is of paramount importance.
Everyone’s health is important thus the need to take care of yourself. Some
say it is in what you eat, some say it is in what you do. I would like to say
it is a combination of both. Watch what you eat, strive to have a balanced
diet every day. Have a fruit every day, eat vegetables every day. Reduce
intake of red meat and alcohol. Less intake of fat, salt and sugar is also
important.

Exercise daily, go to the gym. If you do not afford the gym download an
application from your phone on your app store and you can do exercises in
your own home. The applications are for free and yes you can exercise
without any gym materials.

Keep hydrated. Take lemons, ginger and garlic, it helps boost your immune
system. Visit your doctor regularly for overall body check-ups.

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 TECHNOLOGY AND CREATIVENESS IN
BUSINESS
We are in the 21st century and things are happening so fast. It is either you
adapt or you perish, that is the rule in today’s world. It is definitely a jungle
and the rule of the jungle is the survival of the fittest, and the weak are
booted out. Technology keeps changing, so you as a company or as a
business you have to keep up.

You cannot have a business without social media visibility. That is the least
you can do. Be present and make noise on WeChat, Whatsapp, Twitter,
Instagram, Facebook, and Telegram among many social media sites out
there. You need to know your niche market first, then after that find out
which social media platforms do they use. Then be visible on those sites.

Most people in this day and age use social media, it is now the order of the
day. We meet on social media, we hang out on social media and we relieve
stress on social media. It has become a part of our lives. So as a business
your chances of being viewed there are high.

After social media presence, you need a website. This is where you
showcase who you and your business really are. Make it user friendly and
attractive. Once it is up and running, learn about Search Engine

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Optimisation (SEO) so that you increase the quality and quantity of your
website traffic.

Once a website is there, now you need to have a mobile application for
making it easier for your clients to access your business services. This is
to mainly increase the convenience for your clients. They can make orders
via the application, track deliveries online, and make subscription or
insurance payments online. I always say there is no business that cannot
have a mobile application for their clients.

The world is moving in the dimension in which we all never thought it

would. The COVID – 19 pandemic made us quack and see the need for
companies to embrace technology when it comes to working remotely. It
is past time for companies to have hundreds of workers on their premises
when people can work from where they are and they report to the office
once a week. As a new company you need to have such plans and
implement them because rentals will cost you. Virtual offices are the
future.

As a company or a business, record keeping is of paramount importance.

It helps you to understand how your business is performing. Most small
business do not give this much seriousness. Do not keep records for the
sake of keeping them, but at the end of the month look at your data, analyse
it and make decisions from there. With technology we now have data

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analytics software’s and systems for businesses so that you do not have to
stress much. It will do the analysis for you, and you make well informed
decisions. When growing big, the COVID – 19 pandemic of 2019 proved
that even big companies are not immune to disaster. Your systems as a
company should be automated and most work done by robots. Yes the
question is, where will we put the workers let me answer that briefly. If the
agriculture, infrastructure development, production and manufacturing
sectors are handled by robots, they do not get tired, they do not need rest,
they do not get sick, and that means increased productivity.

When productivity increases that means as a country you can now stock up
reserves, and export excess. Economy grows and our people can be paid
for sitting at home. However people will be needed for in case of
emergency when systems fail, and robots cannot do all the work, especially
decision making.

My opinion is subject to criticism but whether we want it or not, robots are

the next industrialisation and you as a company you have to be ready or
you will be booted out by your competitors. If you are still reading but do
not want to start a company, then look at the job that you are doing, are
you easily replaceable by a robot or an automated system? If yes then you
need to combat yourself or you will be redundant. Most banks adopted the
Automated Teller Machine service and most bank tellers lost their jobs.
You need to see where the world is going and move in that direction.

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As a business, creativeness is key. It attracts clients and customers who had
no idea you existed. Creativeness and appearances work hand on glove.
Creativeness in designing your office makes someone passing by want to
come inside have a look and ask what you do. Who knows you might get
yourself a new customer.

In whatever you do aim to have the “WOW” effect. The “WOW” effect is
that when someone comes across your work and adverts they should say
“WOW”. If they cannot say “WOW” yet, that means you still have work
to do. A wowing advert or piece of work attracts people. Let me give you
this example, if a lady dresses to kill and spray one of the most expensive
deodorants and walks into the mall. All gents will be saying, “WOW look
at that lady over there.” The same applies to your adverts when you roll
them out there on social media and people say wow, definitely they will
call the next person to see the breath taking piece of work. It will be viral
and release another piece of work again and again. You will widen your
market base by doing that.

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 DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN EARN MONEY
ONLINE
You have been reading and yes, you have a business idea or a business
already but you need to increase your sources of income. You need some
extra money. Some have been scammed but what I want to tell you is that,
everything that seems too good to be true, is a scam.

There are instances when you lose your job or when your business is going
down. We have also learnt that there can be disaster that can force people
to stay in their homes and not go to work. There is need to keep earning
money for survival especially in those countries where the government will
be too strained to help out.

Most people have something that they know, a certain skill or a subject
where they are experts in. I did a research on how to make real money
online and this is what I came up with.

You can sell a gig on FIVER. Here you can sell your graphic designing
services, virtual assistant services, proof reading services, typing services,
writing services, social media management services, data entry services
among many other services you can sell as gigs. All that you have to do is
go on the Fiver website and create a sellers account and sell your gig and
start earning money.

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You can also create an account on Upwork and get jobs that you can work
on from home. This is a platform where businesses interact and/or meet up
with freelancers, agencies and independent professional looking for jobs.
However your account is reviewed and if you do not meet their set of
standards they will decline your profile.

Designers, you can make printable designs of T-shirts, cups, cell phone
cases and sell them. You can even design your printable design using
Canva, when you are satisfied with your design then you go and create a
sellers account on Spreadshirt.

Photographers there is something for you also, the good part of it is you do
not have to be a professional photographer. For this all you need is your
smart phone camera. Take beautiful pictures with your phone camera. Go
to Polarr and edit your photos to give them a professional look. When done
log on to Alamy, upload your photo and start to earn.

Do you have a skill that you are really good at? Are you good at cooking,
teaching school children, dancing, fitness trainer, vocal trainers among
others? If you are market your services and create a Skype or zoom account
and meet your clients and teach them via a video call for a fee.

You can be a YouTuber without going out to shoot a video and try to be
famous. Most people are shy to go in front of a camera, but that should not

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stop you from earning big. All you have to do is first of all create a
YouTube account and a google AdSense account to monetise your videos.
Go on YouTube and filter your results to creative commons (for videos
with no Intellectual Property Rights issues). Then for example search
videos of tourist destination places in your region. Cut and join them and
make a new video and give it a new title like “Top 5 best tourist
destinations in Africa”. Do as many as possible and start making money in
the comfort of your home.

To those good at writing you can visit sites such as Contena, Blasting
News, and Listverse. Write and submit an article, but it should be of good
quality. These sites they have strict quality control measures. So before
you go for the big guns, you can practice by creating an account on
Aforesaid writing platforms and apply for open jobs, projects and tasks.

For more information about how to earn money online visit the link
https://www.bizain.com/unique-online-business-ideas/

Now that you know that you cannot just sit at home, you can make money
from home so go for it you can make lots of money.

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 CONCLUSION
A business is not easy to start and running it is not easy again. You have to
brace yourself. The world is for the risk takers and those willing to aim
higher. The sky is not the limit, you are your limit. Just believe in yourself
and work hard. We fail but we say Alluta Continua (The struggle
continues) until we get there. We do not stop until death stops us. I wish
you the very best in your businesses and money making endeavours.

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