Greetings and farewell.This post marks the end of my blogging career..for now anyways i have exams, assignments and mountains of research. But before i go i wanted to talk about the ZITF(Zimbabwe International Tradefair).
This is a large scale exhibition which is held in Byo every year with hundreds of companies exhibiting at their different stands. If you are familiar with the Agricultural Show it is something like that but bigger. The show which is taking place from the 28th of April to the 5th of May is going to have more than 16 countries participating .The 56th edition of ZITF will be held under the theme: Simulating Trade: Seizing opportunities to accelerate growth.
image: www.zitf.net
And based on the number of countries participating, the city has seen a boost in tourism and business as the company is using local companies to provide services to the visiting delegates.But my aim was not to advertise the ZITF but to talk about how you stand to benefit from it. If you get a stand at the exhibition you are able to advertise your products not only to local companies and consumers but also to foreign ones. The stand isnt free but the advertising and publicity you get from the event are worth the price. To learn more about getting a stand go to http://www.zitf.net/exhibit-at-zitf/.
Besides that the event gives you an opportunity to mingle with big names in the business and offers you a chance to partner with big brands for future events. 111 companies from Bulawayo will
participate at the annual trade showcase from April 28 to May 2,
representing 28 percent of the local exhibitors.(http://www.newzimbabwe.com/business-21835-Struggling+Bulawayo+firms+shun+ZITF/business.aspx) And this offers every young entrepreneur a chance to showcase their products and services and place Byo on the International map.
This is an opportunity for you to showcase your products and
services to regional and international visitors and exhibitors who will
attend ZITF 2015. The SADC and COMESA regional blocs will be well
represented.
Take advantage of the thousands of business visitors that are expected to attend the ZITF 2015.
There will be maximum exposure of your products and services to
potential customers since ZITF 2015 runs for 5 days (3 business and 2
public days and the organisers expect in excess of 800 exhibitors, both
local and foreign to participate.
Greetings students and friends. Hope you all having a great week so far. Today we are going to talk about what is happening in the news and why we should care
image : www.dreamstime.com
First we are going to talk about a programme that has now been made available for every entrepreneur and those interested in start up projects. The programme is called the iZone preincubation programme which is a set of workshops for every entrepreneur and young person. It is a brilliant opportunity for learning about small businesses and other ventures with the Zim economy in mind. The programme which will run from May to November 2015 offers young people from the ages of 18-35years a chance to grow their businesses with the required support and dedication that is required. As part of the programme the "incubators" will be exposed to business, innovative and technological environments and the programme is likely to take place in Harare. I think it it clear why you should care. To register and for more info go to http://www.kubatana.net/2015/04/13/5989/entrepreneurship-incubation-innovation-small-business-start-up-funding-youth-finance/
Secondly we going to talk about an article in the Newsday (10 April 2015) entitled Thinking beyond small: How to grow your SME business. The comments below the post show that the content of the article have been reused and recycled but some of the lessons in the article are valid even now. So take a look at some of the points raised below
Creating a name for your business
One of the chief advantages of registering a company is the fact that
you can create a name that matches the service or product the company
is in the business of delivering.
Remember a company is a separate person and can and should gain its
own personality and identity. This is the beginning of creating a unique
brand for your company. A registered company also offers a level of
legal liability protection to the owners through the concept of limited
liability. A company is regarded as a separate legal entity to its
owners or managers.
Developing a unique brand identity
Having carefully chosen a name for you company, identify and create
an associated logo or brand mark. This goes hand in hand with the name
of the company. This will ensure that your company cannot and should
not be confused for another.
If your product or service is good, your business will more easily stand out amongst many in this way.
Building Goodwill: An unregistered entity will struggle to generate goodwill with clients and suppliers.
For example, if you want to supply raw materials to larger companies or
services or goods to government departments, you need to have a properly
registered and compliant company.
Registered companies would rather deal with another registered
company and not an individual. Registering your company and giving it a
good name and unique identity will earn your business the respect of
other businesses.
Ironically, individuals who may be suppliers or customers of your
business also prefer to deal with a registered company and would extend
favourable terms of trade.
Developing a sound banking relationship: Banks generally require a
business to be formally registered as a company with the registrar of
companies before it can operate a business banking account.
Further to this, your company will need an initial tax clearance certificate from Zimra.
Unless your business already has a trading record, this certificate is
normally issued to certify that your business is a new business and has
no previous accumulated tax liabilities.
To get this certificate from Zimra also requires company registration documents.
Whilst sole trader businesses are also allowed to open accounts, this
sort of account is usually in the name of the owner and may not give the
benefits accorded to company accounts, such as relative ease of access
to loan facilities.
Accessing Bank Loans: As a follow on to the above, banks and other
financial institutions are less eager to deal with unregistered
entities.
The more formal your business, in terms of record keeping and
registration etc, the more likely your business will be attractive to a
banker. You may have a very viable business idea, and it may be very
profitable, but if your business is not very organized, you will find it
difficult to convince your bank for support.
Attracting New Investors: Having a properly registered business makes
it easier to introduce new investors into the business as shareholders
or creditors as the business grows. Once your business has been
registered with the Registrar of Companies, The company’s Articles of
Association will normally spell out how such shareholder changes can be
effected.
It is also easy to draw up separate shareholders agreements in relation to a stand-alone company.
Managing growth, longevity and continuity
A company being a separate legal entity can outlive its founders. One
of the advantages of registering your business under a company is the
continuity it can bring to your business. You do not always need to be
around as the founder. A company can also hire managers and other
personnel in its own right to drive the company forward. It is difficult
to attract quality skills if your business is not duly registered and
it may create legal issues in future. Having a duly registered company
helps to more easily manage opportunities for growth and expansion that
may arise in future such as attracting new investors.
Trade and Local Authority Licences: Local and regulatory licensing
boards may require your business to be legally registered before you can
be issued certain types of trading licenses.
For instance, for your business to be on the register of suppliers to
the government, the State Procurement Board deals only with properly
registered and licensed companies as a legal requirement.
This list of benefits is by no means exhaustive or complete. In the next
articles, we will discuss some of the myriad challenges and barriers
that MSMEs are facing in formalizing their businesses. For more visit the newsday website https://www.newsday.co.zw/2015/04/10/thinking-beyond-small-how-to-grow-your-sme-business/
Greetings students..how are you all doing. Thank you for viewing my blog once more. Today i am going to talk about dressing for success once more. No not the idea but the organisation. While i was doing my research for my previous blog i bumped into this unique company..by accident actually and i thought i would talk about it not only because it is a brilliant idea but because part of being in business is serving your community.
Dress for Success is a global not-for-profit organization that
promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing
professional attire, a network of support and the career development
tools to help women thrive in work and in life.
Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to
more than 140 cities in 19 countries and has helped more than 850,000
women work towards self-sufficiency.
image : www.dressforsuccess.com
When i realised what it was i was very suprised and disappointed that we do not have an affiliate in our country considering the large number of disadvantaged women that we have so i decided to write a petition letter to one of the directors asking them to have an affiliate in Zimbabwe. If you want to be a part of that movement send me an email @nyashlvslv@gmail.com or inbox Nyasha Chiuswa on Facebook.
As part of Dress for Success' mandate they provide clothing, career guidance and interview tips for women in an effort to level the playing field especially in business. They also help these budding professionals to serve their community even after they have been employed and have succeeded themselves.
"If we can find approaches
that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits for
business and votes for politicians, we will have found a sustainable way
to reduce inequity in the world. This task is open-ended. It can never
be finished. But a conscious effort to answer this challenge will change
the world." Bill Gates
But my job today isn't to advertise dress for success i wanted to ask Zimbabweans this question...why do you not have such ideas yourselves. I challenge you to look beyond your borders and see what other countries are doing in an effort to improve themselves. Such ideas are relatively simple and may only require your efforts.
And because you might need a bit of help here are some other ideas to help you along.
"It's very difficult to be continuously charitable
in a capitalistic society. You've also got
to make sure that you can pay everyone who
works for you."Felix
Dennis
The list of things you can do is shockingly long so why not start today.
Greetings everyone..thank you for visiting my blog once more. Today im going to talk about fashion. No dont get me wrong im not the changing the layout and theme of my blog but i figured that sometimes everyone needs a tip or two about how to dress for success-especially in the business world. First i wanna tell you a short story about a student that i know. For protection of privacy ill call this student A. A is a budding commercial student who likes wearing suits/formal clothing to school ALL THE TIME. Whether he is going to a lecture, class meeting, church meeting, lunch break or whatever he just does not take off his suit. For me this spells two problems 1) he does not know how to dress and is afraid to go out of his comfort zone 2) he is very rigid and set on his ways..but then again i might be biased because they say entrepreneurs and business minded people live in their suits. So today i am going to talk about the dress for success.
Firstly, in order for you to ooze confidence you must dress for the occasion. If you are going to a meeting wear your formal clothing to school wear your normal casual clothes to an evening event be glamorous and so on and so on. Secondly know how to clean up nicely, shave what must be shaved ,wash what must be washed and groom what must be groomed. Thirdly do not be afraid to ask your friends and relatives for a second and third opinion on your outfit of choice but be careful-"the blind cannot lead the blind". Fourthly keep it simple..no one likes a purple suit or a blonde and yellow weave unless if you are in fashion and showbiz. Fifth be conservative-don't show us your belly button or your chest unless if we ask for it..Cover up so you not asked to do so. Below is a guide for both men and women.
image: www.bp.blogspot.com
Men's meeting/interview Attire
Solid color, conservative suit
White long sleeve shirt
Conservative tie
Dark socks, professional shoes
Very limited jewelry
Neat, professional hairstyle
Go easy on the aftershave
Neatly trimmed nails
Portfolio or briefcase
image : www.blog.bespokeedge.com
Women's interview/meeting attire
Solid color, conservative suit
Coordinated blouse
Moderate shoes
Limited jewelry
Neat, professional hairstyle
Tan or light hosiery
Sparse makeup and perfume
Manicured nails
Portfolio or briefcase
For both men and women it is best to avoid cheap versions of suits or fake brands. Because the person you might be meeting might be very particular about branding and might not like the fact that you wore a Hucci instead of a Gucci so again keep it simple and affordable. Avoid over accessorising this one particularly applies to women who wear ten ear rings and a hundred bracelets. Take all that off please. And for men the same rules apply if you have ear rings and other facial piercings you need to take all of that off. And for those of us who are daring and generally love ink..cover up your tattoos or the only ink you'll see is the ink on your tattoo.
Remember that first impressions do count so always look your best.
Greetings students in my last post about etiquette im going to be talking about etiquette during meetings and interviews. First ill start by talking about my own experience in that area. One of my journalism lecturers decided to organise a public relations seminar for us where we would be taught interview etiquette and the like. I obviously thought that it would be extremely boring and did not attend the seminar. This proved to be my downfall when i was at a pageant and i could not answer the questions without stammering or breaking other unspoken codes. So i figured that i would share some of the "rules" that i am now very much aware of because i failed to follow them.
The interview
image : www.jobznation.com
Dress appropriately and be well informed about the interviewer/company
Always show up early-because anything can happen in the 10-20 mins before your interview ie it can be cancelled
Greet the interviewer first
Do not sit down unless if they offer you a seat
Try not to eat or drink during the interview. Sip a bit of water but that is all you are permitted
Do not lie-if you don't know the answer admit it and say you will research it instead
Smile but not too much
Ask questions if given a chance to do so
Do not answer your phone or text during the interview..its clumsy and disrespectful. SWITCH THAT PHONE OFF
The business meeting
This especially relevant for young entrepreneurs who have very little info about how to conduct themselves when they come across billionaires and executives.
Confirm the appointment a week before the date and then three days before
Be punctual..always
Make introductions if necessary
Have all necessary documents and be ready to answer any questions
Backup all your files if you are using powerpoint or tablets as they malfunction
Dress for success always
Do not eat or drink anything except a glass of water
Switch off your cellphone
Avoid nervous habits like humming,clicking your tongue or playing with your hands/pen
Greetings students. Today i am going to talk about one of the most important aspect of business etiquette and that is lunch/dinner meeting etiquette. This used to be one of the worst things someone could invite me to or ask me to attend. I hated lunch meetings or business outings because i either feared i wouldn't know the fish fork from the beef one (or is it the fish knife??lol) , or i would hold the dessert spoon when eating my soup or i would choke on olives which i hate very much. And i do believe i am not the only person who faces these culinary and social fears.
So i am going to talk about some of the things you should do to prepare for these kinds of business affairs.
"Dining Etiquette: The Business Meal As A Test Of Character"
BEFORE THE MEAL: Shake hands with all present at
the table. If necessary, introduce yourself. Concentrate on remembering
your host/hostess’ name
Rule # 1 – Start On The Outside. On a properly set
table you usually see a series of forks on the left side of your plate
and spoons and knives on your right. The very simple rule is to always
work from the outside in. The cutlery farthest away from your plate is
for the first course.
Rule # 2 – Build Bridges, Not Ramps. When you put
your knives, forks, and spoons down, place the entire utensil on the
plate (bridge). Do not put it back on the table, and do not rest it
half on and half off the plate (ramp);
When you are finished, place your knife and fork together in the
center of the plate slightly turned to the five o’clock position. This
well let your server know you are done eating. Rule # 3 – Cutting Your Food. You should always use
both your knife and fork together. You should not cut your food up at
the start and then use your fork only. You should only cut one edible
piece of meat at a time.
Rule # 4 – Eating Soup. When eating soup, push your
spoon away from you starting to the farthest edge of the soup bowl.
Bring the spoon to your mouth and drink the soup from the edge of the
spoon and not by putting the whole spoon in to your mouth. And, of
course, do not slurp. Rule # 5 – Napkins. Your napkin should be unfolded
and placed on your lap immediately upon sitting down at the table,
folded in half once, and the open end of the fold facing away from you.
It is never acceptable to tuck your napkin in to the front of your shirt
in business dinner etiquette.
If you must leave the table before you have finished, you should
place your napkin on your seat. This tells the server that you plan to
return. Rule # 6 – Which Glass? Normally you will have two
or more glasses at the table. Your glasses are on the right upper side
of your plate. You can have up to four glasses. They are usually
arranged in a diagonal or roughly square pattern. The top left glass is
for red wine. It will usually have a fairly large bowl. Directly below
that you will find the white wine glass, which will be smaller. At the
top right, you will find a champagne glass. Your water glass is on the
bottom right. Rule # 7 – Sitting. You should not sit in your seat
until your host or hostess has done so. If there is no host, then you
should wait for the senior or oldest person at the table to sit first
before you sit in your seat. Rule # 8 – Starting To Eat. The same can be said
for eating as well. You should not pick up your fork and begin eating
until the host, hostess, or senior person at the table begins. You must
not start eating until everyone has been served even if your food is
getting cold. If there are a large number of guests, the host may
indicate that you may begin before everyone is served. If this is the
case, then you should begin. Rule # 9 – Spitting Food Out. If you take a
mouthful of food which contains something you cannot swallow, you should
remove the piece of food by which ever means it entered your mouth. Rule # 10 – Bread and Butter. When you begin to eat
bread or any other food from a common bowl using business dinner
etiquette, you should offer the bread basket to the person on your left
and then begin passing the bowl around the table to the right.
If you are having bread with your meal there will usually be a small
side plate on the left hand side of your place setting. Bread should
torn with your fingers and never be cut with a knife if offered in the
loaf form. When you wish to eat it, tear a bite sized piece off with
your fingers. Use your butter knife to transfer a sufficient portion of
butter for your bread. One get butter from the dish once. So, make
sure that you get enough. Place it on the side of your side plate. You
should butter each piece of bread as you eat it, rather than buttering
it all up front.
For more tips http://www.businessinsider.com/rules-of-dining-etiquette-2012-4?op=1 http://www.forbes.com/sites/robasghar/2014/05/27/dining-etiquette-the-business-meal-as-a-test-of-character/ http://www.etiquettescholar.com/dining_etiquette/business_etiquette.html
Greetings students and business personalities. Last time we were talking about business etiquette and sicne the topic is very wide i have decided to make it a series of about two posts covering etiquette in the workplace, during meetings, during interviews, during presentations and the like. First im going to talk about business etiquette in the work place. I know this may sound confusing ,since you are an entrepreneur or at least an aspiring one, but even if you are employed you still have to have small business ethic as some businesses are conducted in the work place for example selling cakes, sandwiches, typing for your workmates, etc etc. So it is important to have etiquette when it comes to conducting your separate business in the workplace or even school environment.
Do not let your business disrupt your work - as a business owner you may get so absorbed in your business that you may neglect your other duties. You might be a potential millionaire pastry chef but your employers dont need to know that so no cream on your proposals
Do not accept "we will pay monthend" customers- because people may refuse to give you your money and this might result in tension in the workplace
Conduct your business during your free hours-you can sell your products during lunch and tea break or after working hours so that you remain professional.
Do not use work phones and work email accounts for personal business transactions-information may leak and you will be in trouble.
PLEASE do not use company credit cards for your business transactions. This may lead to you losing your job or worse still getting arrested.
Obtain the permission of your employer-you need this so that if you encounter problems you may approach your employer for assistance and consultation.
The guidelines below apply for those with employees or those running their own businesses
Have a good relationship with your employees- there should be down up communication with employees.
Pay your employees on time
Have daily goals and targets that your workers are aware of
Make unilateral decisions and involve your employees in decision making processes
