INVESTMENT 101

How have you been my fellow bloggers and entrepreneurs? Let me first start by offering my condolences to a true heroine, Prof.Wangari Maathai. She was indeed a person we would all want to be because she stood by what she believed in no matter what the consequences. She never compromised her dedication towards safeguarding the environment even if it meant fighting to the last tooth. Rest In Peace Prof.Wangari Maathai, your course will forever live on.

Today was rather an interesting day for me. For a day to qualify as interesting, learning a new thing has to be there, among other things of course. One of my lecturers was kind enough to bring an investment analyst to give a lecture in my afternoon class. Needless to say, its that time of the day when alluring scents of the day's special come from the cafeteria therefore shifting your concentration. Judging by the scent, I'd say matumbo was in the menu today. The talk was however very interesting to let it pass by.

The speaker started by defining what an investment is. The simple version of it was, postponing consumption to a future date. This is particularly hard for a lot of people. He then continued by giving investment options available in the capital market. He however talked more about stocks(shares), bonds and treasury bills. The very interesting part was when he classified investors into two categories, active and passive investors. Active investors are aggressive while passive investors are laid back.

Most of us have come across the phrase, high risk translates to a higher return. This is the time to be aggressive in your investment decisions because you don't have a lot to loose as compared to when you have a mortgage, paying school fees among other obligations that will come up in time. Play around in the stock market and you will get to learn a lot, just like the ones who participated in the NSE Challenge.

Even if after reading this article you won't remember anything else(i hope not), just take this into consideration...Take a risk to get that return you want. I think this is also a life lesson to all other aspects of your life.

Regards.........The Shopper!

NOTICE:BUSINESS MINDS REQUIRED

It would only be ethical if I apologize for my absence in the previous months. I would blame it on the tough economic and environmental conditions we are facing at the moment (Inflation up to 15%, the Kenyan Shilling going as low as Ksh. 96 against the U.S Dollar, the increasing cost of fuel, introduction of rationing, hunger and starvation in the horn of Africa among others) but I would be lying. I was on a fact finding mission which will help me shape this blog into a more informative, interactive and organised platform for entrepreneurial minds.

I am currently engaged in various projects that I am hoping will serve as a foundation for my career as an entrepreneur. I have secured funding for two of the projects and the third one is in the planning phase. As I was busy working on these two projects, I came across some of my other peers who are very much interested in the world of entrepreneurship. It therefore dawned on me that my generation can be the salvation that this unstable global economy needs.

This blog is therefore for all those young entrepreneurs, aspiring and already established ones, to interact and share the different experiences they have come across in their quest to establish a successful business. I will also be informing you on the progress in my projects so as to help you learn the do's and dont's while working on your projects.

I am therefore asking you to take my hand as we start this journey....lets work together to make that IDEA of yours a REALITY!!!!!

Regards.........The Shopper

WARNING:DO NOT TRUST YOUR EMOTIONS

Lately, I have somehow exposed myself to a lot of television. I noticed that the adverts have become very creative. Gone are the days when celebrities were the only strategy to making a noticeable advert. We all know what David Rudisha did to the kiwi advert….am still trying to figure out what ‘fiatu finafyong’ara’ had to do with the advert. Not to say there aren’t any talented celebrities in regards to adverts. Peter Marangi has definitely done justice to the Duracoat adverts, lately being the one he is blinded by the white paint he used to paint a house. Other adverts are just magnificent, and by magnificent I mean the Safaricom advert which showcased our beautiful nation. Am still shocked it didn’t make it into our local music charts, the song in the advert is still stuck in my head… Niko na Safaricom! Some of our struggling musicians should do a remix with Safaricom to save their careers, that advert is a classic.

One of the retail outlets, Naivas Supermarket, has great offers on most of its products to cushion its buyers from the very high inflation (currently at 12.05%). Miss Morgan of Tahidi High has done a good job in promoting the advert. What struck me the most though was one of their shopping tips to help you minimize your spending. They advised you not to shop for groceries when you are hungry, you will end up shopping for food stuffs that you won’t end up consuming. Some of it will end up going stale. Remember that time you were in town, very hungry, tired and you thought one packet of fries couldn’t satisfy that hunger so you bought two packets?  You end up leaving the second packet at the hotel after tasting two pieces of fries….yeah, one packet was enough but the impulse buying made you make rush decisions.

This got me thinking; doesn’t this actually apply to every aspect of our lives? Sometimes our emotions and senses are not a good basis for making decisions, this can land you into a lot of trouble. In the case of the Naivas shopping tip, we all know how ungrateful the stomach can be, feed it now and a few hours later we are looking for what else is in the refrigerator. In light of this information, is it really wise to use your stomach as a reference point to your decisions?

Other emotions such as anger, disappointment, happiness, desperation, just to mention a few, can also alter your ability to make sound decisions.

Life is all about balance. Not too much or too little of something. Anger is not a bad emotion. Not all things will go your way, not all people will be good to you. This may lead to disappointment which may lead to anger. Learn to balance it. One way is by cooling down before making decisions to any pending issues. The other is by not getting angry at the wrong people. If you have gone to countless interviews and none has gone as you expected, do not go looking for fights in the estate. Rather, be patient and more persistent. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.

When it comes to business, desperation is very helpful, only when if you are desperate to achieve all the right goals. Be desperate to expand your business and make profits in a very honest and transparent way. When you succeed, do not forget to give back to the community and all those who helped you get where you are.

Have a very blessed and balanced week my good friends,

Regards, The Shopper……………

NSE CHALLENGE 2011

Hey guys!!!Am sure most of us have realized that life after secondary school is not as smooth as we imagined. I remember Ksh.1000 was more than enough to push me till mid-term. At the end of the term, I would even have some more money to buy a big packet of fries, which meant a lot after consistent meals of githeri and some occasional rice at school. At the moment, the same Kshs.1000 will barely take me through the week!!The expenses are just too many and its not like we have a source of income yet. I honestly want to be financially stable ASAP! If I want to make some plans, either hanging out with friends or buying that really nice phone I have seen, I want to do it with my own money.

NSE is offering us, as the youth, an opportunity to learn how to be financially stable by taking advantage of the capital and money markets. They launched the NSE Challenge in 2008 and it has been a major success. It has helped a lot of youth realize that the salary earned at the work place is not the only income available to us.

The NSE challenge 2011 is here and you should definitely be not left out. It was officially launched on 29th March and the registration period ends at the end of this month (April). If you wont participate to get the immense knowledge about the stock market, then do it for the whooping prize money of Ksh.200,000 and an internship with a well established organization.

For any queries about this challenge,please post it in the blog and I will get back to you. If you can also shed more light on the issue,your views will be highly appreciated!!!

Regards......The Shopper