Are We Missing Something?

May 3, 2010 by 6 Comments

I have a story for you: a few years ago, one of my best friends quit his job. He used to work at one of the best performing companies in the Nairobi stock exchange. He quit so that he could set up his own advertising agency.

Guess what? His parents and his whole family, really, were up in arms over his decision. They could not believe why anyone would leave such a high paying job. His uncles even took time visiting him to ‘advise’ him to go back to his old job. To this day, one of his uncles always calls him with contacts of managers at large companies – he asks my friend to send his CV to the managers so that he can ‘make something out of his life’.

What you probably won’t believe is that my friend’s business is doing quite well. He has about twelve employees now, and has been profitable since his first month. Yet his family still refers to his work as ‘jua kali nonsense’. He should go get a ‘real’ job like everyone else, they say.

Really?

Recently in Thika, I heard of a bizarre incident. My friend’s dad was interviewing job applicants. The quality of the applicants was impressive – almost everyone had an impressive CV full of various qualifications and accomplishments. Some of the applicants were university graduates with degrees and everyone seemed like they really wanted the job. Surprisingly, as it turns out, the job in question was that of digging trenches. Can you believe it?

On one hand we have impressively qualified people looking for a job, any job. On the other hand we have the brave few who have enough courage to try and start their own businesses. Who would you rather be?

Let’s face it, we do not have an entrepreneurial culture in this country. How can people who try and start their own businesses be looked down upon by their families and societies while what they are doing is precisely what is needed to address our high unemployment rates? We need more people starting businesses yet these people’s mothers and fathers won’t let them. They’d much rather have their loved one’s join the over saturated job hunting market.

We need change! We need people like you and me to start businesses today. We need society to stop stopping us. We need to embrace the entrepreneurial culture in this country!

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: ,

YU Treading On Dangerous Ground

April 26, 2010 by 1 Comment

I’ve, really, not had any problems with the YU mobile network ever since I made the switch from Safaricom. But things are starting to get…weird.

Kwanza, what happened to the clarity I used to love? Talking on my YU line used to be a joy. The last two days have been close to torture. How long shall I continue to pay someone to torture me?

Pili, and more importantly: a few of my friends have complained that they loaded airtime on YU and it simply…vanished. I did not pay much attention to this as I did not think YU would let something like that happen. I mean, if customers cannot trust that the money they put on their phone will remain theirs until they use it then YU has no business. Well, this morning I ‘lost’ Ksh 50 when I loaded my phone. Lost! To make matters worse, the customer service was unhelpful and bordering on rude…and they hang up the phone as I was talking.

Dear YU, I do not know what’s going on with you people. You used to be really good. But now….well, you’re bordering on being thieves.

YU have to realise that their business is that of providing ‘infrastructure’. People rely on their service for important things (like work). Whenever a phone company like YU has issues, the lives of its subscribers are inconvenienced in multiple and painful ways. For this reason, people will only use those phone service companies which they feel they can trust.

It seems that one can no longer trust YU. How sad – when at some point they were one of the better phone companies out there….

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We’re Hiring!

April 21, 2010 by 2 Comments

So, we’re hiring! We want to expand the web design and development team and we hope that all of you beautiful and talented people would like to work with us.

Definition and Nature of the Work
Web designers are responsible for creating the look and feel of World Wide Web pages for a client’s Web site. This involves developing a graphic design that effectively communicates the ideas being promoted by the Web site. A web designer may take part in the initial planning of a Web site, meeting with the client to discuss ideas for the layout and organization of the site, the types of colors or images to use (photos, illustrations, videos, etc.), and other matters concerning overall graphic design. Sometimes a web producer has already developed a basic concept for the web page. In this case it is the web designer’s task to create a design that matches the producer’s ideas.

Because web designers work with a client or web producer to develop and refine ideas, they must have strong verbal and visual communications skills. Designers should be able to listen closely to the client and create pages that reflect what the client is looking for. They also need to be flexible because they may be called upon to change their designs. Since Web sites are constantly updated to remain current, a designer has to be able to work well under the pressure of tight deadlines and changing demands.

What We Are Looking For
We are looking to hire people who know their jobs. People who know that a website, above all, is a marketing tool. Specifically, we require that you be proficient (or willing to learn) in the following:

  • PHP
  • CSS & HTML
  • The art of using Photoshop or similar software
  • Javascript

We develop primarily on the WordPress platform and so knowledge of how to work with WordPress (or any other CMS) is an added bonus.

Please send a brief cover letter, your CV/resume and samples of your work when you apply. You may apply by sending an email to hello[at]nickelpro.com

Thank you for your time. Please remember that you don’t have to be in Kenya to get the job!

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How To Be A Freelancing Genius

April 16, 2010 by 2 Comments

From my experience on Like Chapaa, lots and lots of people would like to be freelancers. Probably even you, yes?

While it is true that many try and succeed, it is also true that many try but fail. This could be due to many reasons and, probably, one of those reasons is that many people simply do not know what, exactly, to do when starting out. Are you a freelancer trying to set up and you do not know what to do?

This e-book will help you to build the foundation of a prominent and successful freelancing career. Taking you from the first steps in building your name through to a deeper understanding of how your thinking can affect the results you achieve, How To Be A Freelancing Genius Pt 1 will assist you through the most important stages of your growth. All this for for free!

Download it here: [download id=”29″]

Filed Under: Make Money, Small Business Tagged With: ,

Actually Getting An Online Job

March 30, 2010 by 1 Comment

Getting an online job is hard. Very hard. This is because the competition is stiff. This post is an extract of an email in which I explain how to best prepare yourself so that you can actually get an online job.

First off, please do everyone a favour and only apply for jobs that you are actually qualified to do. Do not bid for a web design project when all you know is how to use Microsoft’s Frontpage. Keep in mind that you are competing with experts in their fields. You must also be an expert, or at the very least very good at what you want to do. Whoever is going to pay you is interested in your expertise and experience.

Even if you know your stuff backwards and forwards, getting the first few gigs online will be extremely hard. This may be due to many reasons but I think it helps if you understand what potential employers are looking for:

  1. They need to hire someone who is skilled at what he does
  2. They need assurance that you are trustworthy and reliable
  3. They need the best price

The first two are the hardest to achieve. In our experience, people looking for online jobs really need to create a portfolio-like document where they will attempt to address issues #1 and #2 above. A portfolio is a job-hunting tool that you develop which gives employers a complete picture of who you are – your experience, your education, your accomplishments, your skill sets – and what you have the potential to become – much more than just a cover letter and CV/resume can provide. You can use your portfolio to showcase a point, to illustrate the depth of your skills and experience, and to show off previous work and accomplishments.

In you portfolio, you need to talk about yourself as regards the job that you are applying for and market yourself as having the skills and experience to do the job to a high standard of quality. Specifically, you need to include:

  • A list of similar jobs that you have done in the past. This is important in that the potential employer can see that you can actually do the work and that you have the experience and wisdom of having done it before.

    What do you do when you do not have a list of past jobs done? You may be asking this if you are absolutely new to the whole idea of freelancing. Hmm, well, no one said you have to give a list of jobs that you did for other people, did they? If you are a writer, why not write a few articles in your spare time and put them in your portfolio as “samples of work done”? Same thing goes for web designers, artists, etc.

  • A list of testimonials. This is a list of people who you have worked with in the past and who can vouch for you and say that you rock! How do you get testimonials? Well, always try to ask for them after every single gig. Not many people will refuse to give you. 🙂

    How can you get testimonials if you are new to freelancing? This is tough. Your best bet is to do some jobs for free for people on condition that they give you testimonials. Do not make the mistake of writing fake testimonials.

Cover Letter
You have your nice portfolio, which is like your CV/resume and you are all set, eh? Well, not quite. Never forget to send out a suitable and meaningful cover letter with each job application.

When applying for an online job, most people just write a one or two line application that generally reads, “see my attached portfolio”. This is wrong! A cover letter should always accompany the portfolio. It should be used to introduce yourself and why you are emailing. It is also a unique opportunity to showcase your unique personality or traits that could not be put in the portfolio. Always write a good cover letter.

That’s all you need, really. Put up a good portfolio and tailor it to suit each and every job that you apply for. And write a nice cover letter for each gig you apply for. Sooner or later you will get a job. Once you get the first one, you’ll find it easier to get more. Before you know it, you’ll be rich like her.

The Importance of A Website
You do not need a website to get an online job.

However, most of your competition does not have websites. Why not stand out? It will certainly make things easier on you. I always take people more seriously if they have a site. Why not put up your portfolio on the site? It can open many more doors for you…

Incidentally, Nickel Pro does offer a simple website package perfect for this use.

The thing about online job sites
Most online job sites have a “rating” feature where all the freelancers are rated according to how the job providers like them/their work. When you are starting out, you will find that some of your competition have hundreds of 10/10 ratings. Such people will easily win bids instead of you because you are not rated, being new. This makes life for newcomers very hard indeed. How do you overcome this? I do not know. Sheer diligence should work. Just keep trying, as long as you do everything right then you must succeed, at some point. Everything that you sow, you must reap!

Good luck.

PS. If you wish, you may hire us to help out in this. We’re experts!

Filed Under: Make Money, Small Business Tagged With: ,

When Makmende gets a nature call, he hangs up!

March 23, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Well, well, well…things are definitely changing around here. I believe Kenya has its first internet sensation and truly viral video.

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably already heard about Makmende. Had you heard of him before last week? It all started when Just a Band released one of the most innovative Kenyan music videos ever made. What followed after is…well, Makmende took over everywhere on Twitter and Facebook. According to this, makmende.com got over 120,000/- hits in just over 60 hours thanks to brilliant SEO and online marketing by Blue Monde.

What does this mean? It means that Just A Band’s video has been watched and discussed by tens of thousands of people on Twitter and Facebook and Makmende is the buzzword at the moment. Kudos to everyone who was involved in this.

Why don’t you do something similar for your business, your products?

Watch the video, Makmende Amerudi!

You can read all about Makmende here.


The title to this post was lifted off Twitter.

Filed Under: Internet Culture Tagged With:

What If?

March 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment

I spent the weekend with a lively group of people and we talked a lot about the state of e-commerce in Kenya (more on this in a later article). Things seem to be really really picking up – for example, Nickel Pro has built more online shops this year than the whole of 2009 (and we’re only in March). However, as fast as things seem they are moving, great huge stumbling blocks remain. There is still no reliable, convenient way to process online payments in Kenya. 🙁

One thing that we discussed at length was the state of old media (particularly newspaper companies) in Kenya. In more developed countries, newspaper industries are dying because of the Internet. Many of these companies have good and useful websites but no one has found out how to efficiently make money off news sites. This means that the newspaper companies are facing a declines in sales because less people are buying the physical newspapers – preferring to read news online yet the online news is not monetized efficiently. What a predicament, eh? The news business is in trouble!

What about Kenya, though? Well, I think that this situation will take time to be apparent in Kenya. The impact of the Internet on newspaper sales is probably minimal. But for how long? Newspaper companies should be wary – especially with the fast uptake of of the mobile web in Kenya. It won’t be long before people, en masse, start consuming news primarily through their mobile devices and PCs.

Can we do anything to speed this up?

What if you poached the leading writers from all our major newspapers? You know, akina Mutahi Ngunyi, Sunny Bindra, Chris Hart…even Oyunga Pala. Take twenty of the best and most well known writers in the country – writers with fans who never miss reading them. Pay them handsomely to work exclusively for you and set up a website that is well designed and works very well on the computer and on mobile devises. Now, everyone who wants to read their favorite writer has to come to you. Hopefully, the newspapers will not find replacements quickly enough.

The question is…..will you succeed in shaking up the industry? Will the new business make you lots of money? How will the public take it? What do you think of this idea?

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: