GREAT WORKS ARE PERFORMED NOT BY STRENGHT BUT BY PERSEVERANCE.

What inspires you? There are a lot of things that can provide inspiration – seeing other people accomplish great things, seeing other people overcome adversity or hearing inspirational quotes from great people.
 JAMES 1:2
Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

2 Thessalonians 3:13

Verse Concepts

But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.

Ephesians 6:18

Verse Concepts

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.

BY MICHAEL AYODEJI NAGBE.

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A WOMAN"S WANT FROM A MAN.

In a brief conversation, a man asked a woman he was pursuing the question: ‘What kind of man are you looking for?’ She sat quietly for a moment before looking him in the eye & asking, ‘Do you really want to know?’ Reluctantly, he said, ‘Yes. She began to expound, ‘As a woman in this day & age, I am in a position to ask a man what can you do for me that I can’t do for myself? I pay my own bills. I take care of my household without the help of any man… or woman for that matter. I am in the position to ask, ‘What can you bring to the table?’ The man looked at her. Clearly he thought that she was referring to money. She quickly corrected his thought & stated, ‘I am not referring to money. I need something more. I need a man who is striving for excellence in every aspect of life. He sat back in his chair, folded his arms, & asked her to explain. She said, ‘I need someone who is striving for excellence mentally because I need conversation & mental stimulation. I don’t need a simple-minded man. I need someone who is striving for excellence spiritually because I don’t need to be unequally yoked…believers mixed with unbelievers is a recipe for disaster. I need a man who is striving for excellence financially because I don’t need a financial burden. I need someone who is sensitive enough to understand what I go through as a woman, but strong enough to keep me grounded. I need someone who has integrity in dealing with relationships. Lies and game-playing are not my idea of a strong man. I need a man who is family-oriented. One who can be the leader, priest and provider to the lives entrusted to him by God. I need someone whom I can respect. In order to be submissive, I must respect him. I cannot be submissive to a man who isn’t taking care of his business. I have no problem being submissive…he just has to be worthy. And by the way, I am not looking for him…He will find me. He will recognize himself in me. Hey may not be able to explain the connection, but he will always be drawn to me. God made woman to be a help-mate for man. I can’t help a man if he can’t help himself. When she finished her spill, she looked at him. He sat there with a puzzled look on his face. He said, ‘You are asking a lot. She replied, “I’m worth a lot”. Send this to every woman who’s worth a lot…. and every man who has the brains to understand.

By Mayor d

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The Super Business Girl. The 11 Year Old CEO

HOW TO PICK THE BEST BANK FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Picking the best bank for your small business is oddly one of the most important decisions you’d have to make at it’s inception. When new entrepreneurs set out to start a business, they figure, “oh well, we can just walk into any bank. After all, isn’t it all about just saving our money?”.
Banks will save your money, yes. But how many will add true value to your business? The benefits of picking the best bank surpasses just savings, but also how the bank affects your business processes.
In Nigeria for instance, many banks can be a real pain in the butt. This makes a lot of business owners and regular individuals, close down their bank accounts, and move on to other probably more efficient banks quickly.
Understanding the general ups and downs of the banking sector, will help any new or existing entrepreneur pick the best bank for his/her small business.
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Here are 5 things that will help you choose the best bank for your business:

1). The Size Of The Bank:

How large is the bank? How long have they been around? Were they saved by an emergency investment? Or have they been recently acquired or involved in a merger?
The size of a bank speaks volume to how reputable it might be. It’s a terrible occurrence to have a bank liquidate when you have a lot of money stored up in it’s coffers.
Before you pick a bank for your small business, first ensure you’re familiar with the bank’s size – number of branches, staff strength, market cap, and more – because, the larger the bank, the lesser the chances of them closing shop anytime soon.

2). How They Deal With Customer Issues:

What do people say about their experiences with the bank’s customer care agents? Does the bank go out of it’s way to ensure every customer is satisfied? Do they treat complaints right and on time?
The customer service agents at some banks are usually stone-faced. They don’t smile, or say anything nice to the customer in front of them. The term, “the customer is always right”, means nothing to them. And because of these sect, people leave most banks even angrier than they arrived.
Banking customer service relations may defer per country. But in Nigeria, bad customer service is the other of the day. A few banks have managed to make theirs better than others, but it’s important you only bank with an institution that truly cares about the way you feel, and doesn’t treat you like a stranger.
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3). Their Value Added Services:

Are their fees low? How easily can you get credit facilities? What about business loans?
These must be on the list of concerns of business owners when opening a bank account. As a small business, you’d want a bank that charges low transaction fees, and would also be able to provide you with business loans, hassle-free, when you eventually need it.
Do your research on their credit history. Ask questions from existing business owners you may already know, who bank with them. Also, walk into several banks to find out how they have already planned to help businesses like yours.
With a list of services you want to benefit from a bank, you’d find the right match, and probably feel a lot more safer.

4). How Close Is A Branch To Your Business Location:

If the nearest bank’s brach to your office location is over a mile away, you’re better off making slight compromises with the next-best bank closer to you.
Irrespective of the amazing advantages that a distant bank poses, you’d need to be able to make quick stops into the bank on a weekly, and sometimes daily basis for deposits, and several other transactions. Using a distant bank in this situation wouldn’t be the best course of action.
A scenario where a distant bank could work, is if you want the most secure and reputable place to simply save money. As long as you wouldn’t make weekly stops for the cash deposited, the bank then, is just fine.
See Also: How To Start A Business In Nigeria: Step By Step Guide

5). How Easily Can You Bank With Them On The Weekends?

Are their debit cards reliable? Are you certain that every time you make a trip to the ATM (Automated Teller Machine), the cards issued to you would always respond, as long as there’s money in the account? Do they have ATM’s that you could probably deposit cash through on the weekends? Also, how good is their internet banking platform? Do you get bounced off repeatedly due to platform issues?
When the bank is closed for the day, or for the weekend, it’s important that you can still transact with it in some way. A bank that keeps you waiting till the next business day, is probably not a good place to create your first business account.

These 5 factors are important in picking the best bank for your small business.

Got an opinion to share? Please leave a comment below.

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The talk about entrepreneurship always sprouts excitement. You’re told how you’d be your own boss, set your own time, make a lot of money, and probably live happily ever after. While some of these details could be true, many never achieve all, and this is primarily because they never knew what they were getting into. Before you quit your day job, or outrightly convince yourself that you don’t have to work for anyone, here are 10 things no one will ever tell you about being an entrepreneur that you must know:

1). It Will Take A While To See Returns On Your Investment:

A new business usually takes time to generate any real revenues. Sometimes it could take you between 6 months to 2 years before you even come any close to being profitable. Patience is key for entrepreneurs. You need to prove your business model solves a real problem for the target customers, and would add value to their lives. As you convince people to patronize your business, your customer base will grow, and you’ll eventually start to see some returns on your investment.
See Also: 7 Intelligent Ways To Turn Prospects Into Customers

2). You Can’t Do It All Alone:

You can’t be your own accountant, financial officer, designer, human resource manager, marketer, social media expert, and many more all at once. Delegation is an important element of success in any business, and if you’re going to see good results any time soon, you’ll have to divide tasks among the best people you can find. These individuals can either make or break your business, and would co-determine how far your business will go on the long run. If you try to do everything yourself, you’ll only negatively impact your business, and you’d experience slow or no growth.

3). Every Target, Milestone, And More, Takes A Longer Time To Manifest Than You Think:

It’s important to know that everything will take longer than you think to happen. You need to master your emotions before you start to realize that the plans you wrote down on a piece of paper months or even a year ago, hasn’t still manifested. Convincing customers to trust your business can take a while, hitting a certain milestone can take a while, and getting that investment you desperately need can also take longer than you expect.
Knowing that every plan you write down might take longer, will help better prepare you for what lies ahead as an entrepreneur
See Also: 6 Mistakes That Will Kill Your Startup

4). You Must Become A Smart Hustler:

You must chase every sale lead. No one is going to lay a bed of roses for you to lie on. You’d have to hustle every step of the way, get rejected a lot, get disrespected a lot, and do most of the work yourself because, no one is going to be there to do it for you. It’s incredibly tougher when you’re just starting out. You might be alone at that point or have a co-founder you work with.
You’ll need to set goals and milestones for yourself on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. And strive endlessly to hit your targets. For this is key to your success as an entrepreneur.

5). You Will Miss That Steady Paycheck:

Months without any income will make you wish you still had that steady paycheck you initially enjoyed. You’ll pay for the services your business subscribes to first, you’ll have to set aside your staff salaries also, and account for many other expenses. After a thorough disbursement of cash at the end of every month, you might have nothing left to yourself. At least, at the start of your business. But over time, things will change.

6). You Will Doubt Yourself A Lot:

Did I start out too early? Is this the right product I should be selling? Why are people not patronizing my business? Self-doubt will slowly creep into your mind, and if you do not know how to manage it, you’ll be destroyed emotionally, and your business will hit the rocks.
Get a mentor, have role models, get a bit of fresh air once in a while. These people and events will keep you clear headed, and help you through your times of self-doubt as an entrepreneur.
See Also: You Will Fail As An Entrepreneur If You Do These 5 Things

7). Everything Will Frustrate You:

When things don’t initially go according to plan, frustration starts to creep in. You could get angry, tensed, and randomly worried because, the fear of the unknown will begin to set in. Your family won’t understand why it’s taking you so long to break even, and will begin to pressurize you to either do something else or get a job. Your employees, customers, and many other factors will also begin to frustrate you. Self-awareness is critical at this phase, and it’s important you only stick with already successful people to keep your mind level-headed.
The minute everything starts to turn, your sales go higher, you acquire more customers faster, and investors begin to fall in love with your business, your frustration will slowly disappear, people will begin to associate themselves with you, and you’ll be one of the happiest people you know.

8). Your Final Business Model Might Not Be Your First Business Model:

Many businesses end up as something else years after they launched. Customers might not appreciate the first thing you put out there. The service you render most likely won’t be what people really need. But as you set out on your journey as an entrepreneur, you’ll begin to notice the hidden problems people experience every day, and how your business can adjust to take care of it. Paying attention is key, and will determine if your business survives after starting out as something nobody wants.
See Also: 6 Recession-Proof Business Ideas & Opportunities In Nigeria

9). You Must Master Time Management:

Doing the right thing at the right time becomes more crucial when you become an entrepreneur. Your time was initially managed by your boss at your previous job, but if you do not manage your time well as a business owner, you’re bound for failure. Addressing customers on time, acquiring merchandise on time, paying your dues on time, and more, will get your business where it ought to be on time.

10). You Probably Still Won’t Get Rich:

After all is said and done, you still might not get to be as rich as you wanted to be. If you’re not solving a real problem people experience, not caring about the customers enough, not doing things on time, or if there’s too much saturation in the industry you want to venture into, you still might not get rich. Before you start any business, first do a highly detailed feasibility study. This will broaden your knowledge on that industry and will help you know if you can truly succeed in that field or not.

Let’s know your thoughts. What else have you experienced as an entrepreneur that no one told you about?

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Running a home based business or working from home has long been perceived as been jobless, especially in Africa. This assumption has slowly blinded a lot of people to the large opportunities that some home based businesses pose. The lack of information has kept millions in the dark and as such many continue their lives in their mostly annoying, frustrating, and moderate to low paying nine to five jobs. With these surrounding factors still, they manage themselves, push on, and hope for a better tomorrow, where they’d get a “better or high paying job”. With thousands of people and possibly millions eventually been downsized because of the economic recession caused mostly by the fall in the global value of crude oil currently been experienced in Nigeria, many unfortunate individuals would find themselves at home for a long time. This forced suspension from work will open the minds of a number people, and motivate a couple to start thinking in a new direction.
Without the required funds to rent an office to start a business, many would be forced to setup home based businesses. Home based businesses if executed right and solves a real local problem has made some highly focused Nigerians millionaires. While many wallow in thought and look for opportunities in the wrong places, many others are making a lot of money from their home based Nigerian businesses. If you’re asking yourselves questions like: “what will it take to start a home based business in Nigeria?” or “what profitable home based business can I start in Nigeria?”, read on.

Here are six (6) profitable home based businesses you can start today in Nigeria and anywhere else in the world:

1). Laundry & Dry Cleaning:
With a lot of people especially the working class getting busier by the day, they find it extremely difficult to do the laundry for most of their clothing. This large population of busy individuals constantly reach out to their neighborhood dry cleaners to do the laundry on their behalf. The opportunity people do not realize here is that an average person that goes to the laundry house carries with he/she a minimum of five clothing. Most small scale dry cleaners get over 50 customers a day with varying quantities of clothing to be washed. In the right environment and at the right price, most generate revenues of over 45,000 Naira ($150) every day, which amounts to over 450,000 Naira ($1500) a month. The larger the market, the larger the opportunity, and this can 100% be run from your vicinity. Simply rent a small store in your neighborhood and alert residents of your service. From a small start, over time you’d grow to serve a wider community and possibly have multiple branches in different vicinities on the long run. With proper planning, great customer service, and the right execution, you’d be a success. You can start today!

See Also: Top 10 Profitable Online Business Ideas In Nigeria

2). Consulting Services:
Web development, app development, social media marketing, and many other consulting professions are today, mostly run from home by single individuals. This service department is gradually having a large home based office style. With companies outsourcing most of their projects, they now mostly seek professionals that don’t have fancy offices, but give rock solid execution and charge a lot lower. For example, most advertising agencies in Nigeria make use of highly skilled independent web and mobile application developers, rather than outsourcing to fully setup companies that’d charge an arm and a leg for the quality of service they’d benefit from the indie developer. While consulting has it perks like contracts might not come in on a regular basis, mostly when they’re executed, the consultant gets paid a lot of money, but far lesser than a standard company would charge. This periodic income, even at sometimes just 10 times a year on a general average scale are mostly more than twice the monthly salary the individual would have earned working for a similar company that offers those services. With time, your network would grow, followed by contracts, and eventually your networth. The most important skill anyone needs here is the ability to establish strong networks. With a unique skill that’s highly in demand, you can start today.

3). Selling On Online Market Places:
With various diversified products, you can easily sign up on an online marketplace like Konga, Jumia, Opiid, Amazon, and several others to start selling your merchandise. The trick here is to identify a niche no one has really covered, get the items available on the marketplace for a good price, and you’re in business. Some stores make over two hundred and fourty thousand Naira ($800) a month. Some make lesser. But with the right quantity of the right products, your revenues would grow faster monthly and within a certain period, you’d be able to own your own e-commerce store with a lot of products to get anyone’s attention that visits your website. This home based business is a great way for anyone aspiring to launch an independent online store to start from. With the right items, you can start selling on online marketplaces today.

See Also: 5 Profitable Agricultural Businesses You Can Start Today

4). Day Care Services:
A lot of working mothers need someone to look after their babies and little kids when they are off to work. Many have trust issues with nannies and would rather find a local day care centre in their neighborhood run by someone that a lot of people trust. With lots of mothers looking for an individual or a home based day care business to babysit their kids, you can turn your apartment into one and start charging fees for caring for the kids when they are gone. On the long run, you could eventually own a standard day care or mini school for little kids.

5). Freelance Writing:
With the proliferation of multiple online news and niche topic sites, freelancers are getting more writing opportunities. Various online publishers pay individuals to write some unique articles for them, based on their highly skilled know how on the subject. To get started, do a research for online publishers that pay freelance writers for their contributions. Make your search demographic both local and worldwide. With a blog portfolio with some already published highly intellectual content, you’d land your first freelance gig after a few passes, and as your portfolio builds, you’d eventually write for multiple publishers.

See Also: 5 Important Things To Know Before Starting A Business In Nigeria

6). Poultry Farming:
Thousands of tons of chickens and eggs are consumed on a daily basis in Nigeria. With the current availability of poultry products in the market, the demand still greatly exceeds the supply. Various individuals and businesses have grown small poultry farms to large entities generating tens of millions every year. Even a former president of Nigeria owns one of the largest poultry farms in Africa. With a small space in your backyard, you can start a little poultry farm and overtime expand to larger plots of lands. The potential in poultry farming can never truly be satisfied. This home based business, is one venture that’d turn overly profitable if executed right. You can start today.

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