One Month Hiatus

A full month away!!
My apologies for those of you who may have looked at this site for updates only to find none.
I took one month away to start a new business.
My new company is called Pesa24 Traders.
I have incorporated many business ideas into it so I can not define it in one word or put it in one sector or the other.
The business incorporates:
Microlending
Cyber Cafe
Buying and Selling of Electronics, appliances, and other tech gadgets
Business advisory services
PIN registration among other services.

I am happy to say that I am nearing break-even point already.
I will be restructuring my blog in order to accommodate more topics, so stay tuned.

Creating employment for yourself

I admire people who thin outside the box; and quite frankly many more people need to do that during these hard times. Here are few examples of businesses that are not business as usual:
1. Making tiles and other house-holds from waste products (specifically all the plastic bags)
2. Making and selling fresh juice (the fruits are in season and its a great time to start)
---sidenote: frozen juice in supermarkets is a great way to take it a step further--make juice while the fruits are in season and freeze the juice; package it nicely and approach the supermarkets.
3. small bed n breakfast resorts in remote and attractive places.
4. consulting business (if you are good at what you do, but cant find an employer, then employ yourself!!)
5. Unique art (you will surprised what you can make from trash if you put your mind into it--and people will pay good money for your work)
6. Find something popular and distinguish yourself ( I saw ecocabs in town--they are hybrid taxi that use less energy (toyota prius etc)

those are just a few examples that I have seen here in Nairobi, I am sure you can come up with something marketable if you take the time and think outside the box.

One other thing: do not listen to pessimism from your friends, do some market research and go for it!!!

New Style of Interview and how you should prepare

I was called in for an interview about a month ago; it was a surprise because I stopped submitting my CV and decided to concentrate on my start-up.
Well I went for the interview and did not think much of the process since I was not hedging my future on the particular position.
Well on Monday they called me (to my surprise) and asked me to attend a session for psychometric and aptitude test.
I went for the testing today and it was very easy but that is because I was well prepared for it. While working as a fund manager, I used to recruit many financial advisors and part of the interview process was psychometric and aptitude testing. My objective in providing these tests to the potential employees was to see how they reason and if their persona fits well with the position.

Many people do not know what to expect during such testing. Below is a link to a few tests that you can download (for free). These are good examples of what to expect during such testing.
It is important for you to understand yourself and how you would react in given situations, it is also important for you to keep your brain sharp with crossword puzzles, reading, scrabble, jigsaw puzzles, simple arithmetic etc. These are some of the things that psychometric and aptitude test measure.
http://www.psychometric-success.com/

all the best; I would like your feedback on such testing if you have ever administered or gone through one.

Jobless but not Idle

The recession is here with us whether we like to acknowledge it or not.
Many companies are downsizing and the possibilities of getting employment are becoming harder and harder.
So the question is: what do you do with your time while you are unemployed?
Do you become a couch-potato and start getting resented by your family because you are always idle or what?
There are certain actions that you can take which will keep your morale positive and also pass time in a more productive manner.
I suggest you account for your time (make a list of things-to-do)
I know you are probably thinking: but am not working what is there to do?
Here are a few things that you can do:
1. Read (trade-related books, novels, motivational books, success stories and bibliographies)
2. Get a hobby (mountain biking, gardening, blogging, writing etc)
3. Network (get to know people and what they are doing)
4. Start a small business (this might be the birth of a large enterprise!!!)
5. Stay positive (understand that a job or money is not happiness or the answer to a great life----it is how you react to your current situation that makes you a better person)
6. Find that one source of peace and go to that place (physically or mentally)
7. Volunteer your time to the less fortunate (stop the negative thinking!---you are not less fortunate --you simply are not employed---you have your powerful brain, great education, physically able, maybe ability to relate to people etc ---use these strengths)
8. Do not give up, continue to look and apply for jobs...am sure something will come up.

I read this wonderful piece on The Standard Newspaper. The article is titled:

Stages that define your career path

By Murigi Macharia

When Irene Atieno left the university five years ago, she was optimistic she would land a good job within the first six months.

She had hoped that her First Class Honours degree, network of well-connected friends and ‘tall’ relatives would help in the hunt.

Irene was lucky to get a job and started her career life with energy, and enthusiasm. But five years after graduation at the age of 21 she’s still unsettled.In that short span, Irene has changed jobs three times and is now hunting for her fourth employer who would give her the dream job.She is not alone in this. Many of her classmates are anxiously scouting for that ideal job, that promises quick career advancement.

They are all going through what human resource experts describe as the exploration stage, where young employees keep ‘hopping’ between jobs in search of the ideal employer.

Here, employees strive to improve their competiveness, by seeking for jobs that would solidify their career objectives. Once job hunting is over , the young employee finally enters the establishment stage. It is then that the employee seeks to establish his identity, seek acceptability and integration within the organisation.The employee strives to make full contribution to establish his worth.

Critical stage

At this stage, the employee learns all ropes within the organisation. Besides seeking full involvement with the operations of the organisation, the employee also develops confidence to seek intimate involvement with colleagues. Because this is a critical stage, employees are concerned about advancement and opportunities. The third stage is maintenance, characterised by uncertainity and fear. As a result, each employee seeks to protect himself from all manner of workplace threats. Although a few employees continue developing and growing their careers to higher levels in this stage, many enter the stagnation then deterioration. For those who are still relevant to the organisation at this stage, their roles largely revolve around creativity of new working methods, coaching and mentoring younger colleagues.

The decline stage defines the final lap in one’s career life before retirement. It marks serious reduction in the mental, physical, emotional and psychological abilities of older employees.

http://www.eastandard.net/business/InsidePage.php?id=1144007618&cid=474&

It very easy to get into the decline stage.

One only needs to get a decent job where he/she is comfortable.Many people stop developing at an early age. By developing I mean learning a new trick, new trade, constantly updating oneself in the respective sector or simply reading to keep the mind sharp. People start to wither and soon than later more knowledgeable people come along and you are the first to be given a sendoff.

My advise is:
1. Set career goals
2. Develop strategies to achieve the set goals
3. Constantly upgrade your skills (reading or taking new courses)
4. Network well
5. Have mile-markets to assist you evaluate your progress along your career journey
6. Seek feedback from someone who can give you an honest opinion (this will help you see areas that you need to improve)
7. Do not get comfortable (always have a contingency plan)
8. Enjoy/celebrate your success: this will help/motivate you work even harder

simple message

I read this in a book and I have been sharing it with my friends.

"we can not control all the things that happen to us and around us, but we can control how we react to the happenings."
Positive attitude will take you far while negative attitude will get you nowhere.
if you did not get that interview or position that you interviewed for...do not get depressed...just recognize the things that you could have done better and move on. Prepare for the next interview and maximize the opportunity.
Positive attitude is my message for this weekend.
work on it and your self-esteem will be pretty high.
people appreciate positive attitude.
:) be happy with who you are and work towards better (ing) yourself.

Uniqueness

Hi,
Dont have much to say today so I am sharing a blog topic from Kenya Capital Investmnet Group

http://mjengakenya.blogspot.com/2009/02/does-what-you-do-reflect-your.html

hope you can find your uniqueness and use it as a weapon to get ahead.