The underworld of Construction: Final Part

Wrong professionals

Continued from part 5

This friend who doubles up as a past customer was rather excited when he called me. He wanted me to pass by his site and see the house he was constructing. From my bust schedule one of the Saturdays I managed to squeeze in some minutes and passed by the site.

From a far the maisonnette looks brilliant, a very eye catching roof and the outer walls were very well done. The guy was not on site at the time I got there but I decided to just get in and view. My eagle eyes were quick to note that the workmanship was superb. My sharp eye further started to see some serious design flaws. The lounge door was positioned at the middle of the lounge rendering the usable space minimal. The lounge was sunken and I quickly realized that the step was too big between lounge and dining. The stairs were done well but there was a huge space, sort of a corridor which again seemed unusable. The worst thing I saw was in the master bedroom. The was a very tiny window despite the room being humongous. Inside the shared bathroom, almost everything was wrongly positioned; the bathroom was one long one and for you to access the water closet, you had to pass the showering area. Obvious mistake is that when one person takes a shower and another person wants to use the toilet, then you must go through the wet area before you reach it. I could go on and on and write about a very long snag list but the long and short of it is that the design work was really poor.

Just before I finished going round the house, the guy appeared together with another dude whom I suspected was the foreman. Upon introductions I realized that the other dude was actually the ‘architect’. In quotes because he later told me that he is originally a structural engineer though he had learnt some design work in his line of business. The puzzle was solved. Here is a structural engineer masquerading as an architect. That explained why the design work was piss poor and the workmanship superb. I realized how we fail before we even start a project. WRONG PROFESSIONALs.

Like that architect who is a one man show is a common scenario. He convinces you that he can not only design the house, but he can also give you a Bill of Quantities (BoQ). He also convinces you that he can play the role of the structural engineer. Heck, he is even very comfortable doing interior design work. Haiyaa, plus he also wants to supply you with materials. I once met this fellow called Mike who talks non-stop; akin to a radio with new batteries. You see he claims to have the answer to all your problems. He knows where to source for everything and anything and he is an architect by profession. And so I asked him, what is your specialty?? I obviously never took him serious.

Where do we get it all wrong?

1.    Let the architect design the house and carry out site inspections to ascertain the quality of work. Nothing more.

2.    Let the structural engineer advise you in as far as the structural issues are concerned. He is a very important professional otherwise your structure could one day come down, if not during construction.

3.    Don’t bring over your relative and assume that they will play the role of clerk of works when they understand nothing about construction. The learning curve is too steep.

4.    And those junk-of-all trade fundis who claim they can do mason work, carpentry, fittings, roofing, plumbing and all manner of works are suspect.

5.    Never ever go for quacks, their costs could be tempting but the price you may end up paying maybe too much. Like that friend of mine whose roof was leaking. Can you imagine he was forced to bring the entire roof down… I once told him that he was like that man who passed several dogs on his way to being bitten by a goat.

Enough of this construction stuff. I hope that we have all learnt something.

We shall shift gears and get back to interesting business concepts. In the next post we shall talk about the powers of a good name…how to profile your customers. They say 'if you want to sell to everybody, you'll most likely sell to no-one'...and other business concepts that will assist us become better business people and investors.

The underworld of Construction: Part 5

Timber theft explained

Continued from part 4

This guy who was measuring my timber at Kawangware spoke in a very soft voice but with a lot of conviction that I believed what he was saying. He actually confessed that the reason he left Rongai was primarily due to threats from one of the customers in the yard he worked for. The said customer after getting conned promised to come for the heads of all those he believed conned him; and that included this young man. Once he heard that the owner of the yard had been accosted by some boys who threatened to have his severed head and balls collected in one of the bus parks, he knew it was time to hit the road.

Without warning he started explaining the all-important tricks and I was all ears. You see that measuring tape is usually tampered with. If you are keen to observe, it will have some feet missing, as in it could move from 1 to 2 to 4 to 5 then to 7 to 8 to 9 to 11 to 12 to 13 then 15 and so on. This essentially means that if that tape indicates 9 feet, in the real sense the correct length is 7 feet. If it indicates 15 then the actual length of the timber is 11 feet and so on. In essence you could be losing 3 feet on average per timber. If you have a quantity of 2000 pieces, then obviously you will have lost as much as 6000 feet and if each foot is costing Kshs 30, then your loss would be as much as 180k. That is just one of the tricks.

The second trick he mentioned was in the recording of the timber as it is measured. You see, the fellows use a piece of paper and a pen and they normally draw tu-small lines depending on the length of the each timber measured. Meaning, there will be a section for 9 feet pieces, 10 feet, 12 feet and so on and a ka-line will be drawn in either of the sections depending on the measured and the ‘shouted aloud’ length. What I suspect happened in my case is that, the guy who was keeping the tally would add imaginary tu-lines whenever my foreman who was to keep an eye on him got distracted. When I flashed back, I remember that there were as many as ten fellows each given a specific role in the set up but some were just meant to distract us.

The other but most unlikely trick is to ensure that the timber is ferried in more than one truck and if you don’t have a trusted guy accompanying the lorry, then they can drop some at designated places on their way. And they’d go to the length of befriending your foreman or fundi in case you send them before the actual purchase and make him part of the squad to defraud you.

The other thing they’d do to novices would be to measure poor quality timber. For an experienced hand, whenever you encounter poor quality timber or one with unusable section(s), the feet are normally discounted or the entire piece is kept aside.

So how are you supposed to safeguard against such tricks. Read below:

1.      Make sure that the measuring tape being utilized is your own. It is better to buy one (they are very cheap) because it will obviously not be tampered with.

2.      Make sure that when the measuring is being done, keep your own tally for later comparison at the end of the measuring. In the event there is a discrepancy, then make it clear that your tally is the correct one. If they insist that it is not, then let the exercise be repeated.

3.      Always make sure you have a trusted hand (preferably your fundi) to verify the quality of the timber and be in charge of ensuring poor quality is set aside or the process of discounting the unusable sections is done and fairly so.

4.      Never trust your fundi or foreman to take charge of the entire process in your absence. Notice how easy it is to co-opt them into the gang and milk you dry. Never ever delegate this fully.

5.      Where possible, let the seller deliver the timber to your site and measure from there. At least in your site you will have absolute control.

I was conned in broad daylight by I told myself that it will never happen again. You see the other day I was purchasing timber and some guy from Ruai attempted to use these tricks on me. The fellow had discounted his prices with the assumption that he’ll apply the tricks on me. I proved a hard nut and after sealing all the loopholes, the measuring was done but at the end of the exercise, the fellow confessed he was to make a ‘loss’ because the prices were unbelievably low and he never managed to steal anything. He even contemplated chasing me away without the timber but I cornered him. The other day I called him and informed him that I need to purchase some more but he declined to sell to me; of course he knows am a bull that cannot be milked.

Be advised and don’t let them con you, least of all with these tricks. By the way, am sure they are probably devising other strategies to steal from unsuspecting Kenyans.

The other day I went to see some guy I had sold to some plot. He is currently constructing his residential house and what I saw on his site was quite sad. I discovered he is using the wrong professionals. Topic for another day, well next post.

The underworld of Construction: Part 4

Timber theft

Continued from part 3

This Momanyi guy found us on the site when we were busy chatting with my foreman and introduced himself. He was all smiles and presented to the foreman his quotation for timber. By the way, some of us who are small-bodied and sometimes dress anyhow without much thinking are mistaken for KYMs on site. That reminds me someday when my brother in-law came to see me on site and this entrepreneurial young man who wanted to enlist the owner of the house for garbage collection service was all over him asking for business and ignoring me…then my brother points at me and advised him that am the owner of the site to his utter shock and subsequent apologies…story for another day.

The quote in comparison to the others was so favourable, I could not believe my eyes; what with prices lower by as much as Kshs 3 to 5 per foot. I asked the guy why that is the case and he explained that they get their timber from Tanzania at very good prices hence the favourable prices to their customers. I swallowed that hook line and sinker and we agreed that we shall visit him at his yard and see the timber.

The day after we drove to Rongai together with my foreman and all the way to Nkoroi where the yard is located. We were loaded with the cash to do the purchase because it was meant to be a cash deal. They had very nice timber and we agreed that we shall buy from there. Immediately we agreed, he called some two transport guys and negotiated the transport on our behalf, a nice dude or so I thought. He thereafter called his men into action; around eight of them to measure the timber. We agreed that my foreman will keep any eye on the recording of the measurements while I keep an eye on the actual measurement, tight controls or so we thought. The timber was measured and loaded without any issues and truth be told I never noticed any anomaly. It was then transported to my site and offloaded.

Something crossed my mind, I thought it was wise to verify the delivery. I thus instructed the fundis to measure the timber again. To my utter shock, what I paid for as compared to what I had on the ground had a discrepancy of 40%; in other words it was 40% less. Wait….so what happened. I thought I had a hawk eye when the measuring was being done and I also accompanied one of the delivery trucks to the site while the foreman accompanied the other. Mystery, mystery…conned in broad daylight…but how??

I swung into action, called the guy and told him that he had conned me. Of course he refused. I insisted that I’ll take up the matter to the cops but he sounded unmoved. I drove back to Rongai the morning after and reported to the police station about the ordeal. The cop serving in the OB section just laughed at me and before I finished my story he asked me whether I had bought the timber from a certain yard owned by Kisiis. He confided in me that they have received so many complains about that yard and they have not managed to do anything because it is hard to prove that the guys actually steal…wait…: ”And why don’t you set a trap to confirm is they steal”, I asked him. Of course they never really bother because in the past despite arresting the owner severally, the guy always found his way out mysteriously. In my thinking this obvious pointed to something bigger and I therefore so no need of pursuing the matter further with the cops.

I went back home dejected and trying to figure out how to deal with the matter. I even contemplated using unorthodox means to recover the loss, like threatening to go for the owner head with them boys. Painful as it was, I decided to cut my losses as opposed to throwing good money in an attempt to recover the loss. How then did they steal from me??

After utilizing the timber which was far less than was needed on site, I decided to shop around and look for a place to top up. My little shopping around landed me in Kawangware where I met a lady who owned a very well stocked yard. We had a chat with her in her office and I told her about the Rongai incidence and she laughed at me. Before I narrated the entire ordeal, she told that it is commonplace and especially in some yards in Rongai to get sellers who underquote but steal from you. She advised me that it is better to pay the market rates and get value for money as opposed to look for cheap stuff and get conned. Anyway I bought timber from her and after confirming the delivery on site, it was tallying with what I paid for. But while her KYMs were measuring the timber, one opened up and confirmed that he once worked in a yard in Rongai and he had no qualms telling me the various ways they were stealing from unsuspecting customers.

It will shock you but in the next post I’ll tell you how it is done and how to arm yourself just in case some fellows have planned to do it on you. I was conned in broad daylight but some things you never wish they happen even to your worst enemy…. Be warned and advised.

The underworld of Construction: Part 3

Continued from part 2

I embarked on having controls in place to safeguard my interest; after all it was plainly obvious that all and sundry were out to milk me dry. I had to look for another hardware guy and this time round I strictly instructed him to only deliver good in the evening at around 6 PM in my presence. I’d personally verify the goods.

I also managed to get a new foreman who role was only to supervise the fundis and the KYMs and nothing else. I took charge of negotiating with suppliers and paying them. I realized that this was a big loophole in the initial set up. What the other foreman would do; he’d insist that anyone supplying anything on the site, must part with something small for him. Once a supplier is compromised, it simply means they can just enter into an arrangement to supply air as long as they both gain.

To safeguard against loss of man-hours (fundis and KYMs) I’d demand that the foreman pre-plans the work and for each phase he’d give me the labour estimates to finalize the works. I’d independently confirm whether the estimates made sense. I’d then give him some contract to finalize the works and would obviously throw the control to him. He’d then push the fundis to deliver and maybe make a small saving. That arrangement worked well for me because I’d relinquish that bit of getting the best out of the workforce.

As regards material pilferage, I took one of the guys on site and made him a mole. He’d be my eye on the ground to ensure no-one steals materials. But again bestowing all this trust on one person never brought a sense of security on my part, you see once bitten twice shy. So I got yet another mole and as long as I could get comparative info from them, it made much sense to me. And by the way, you should never keep a mole for long; after all they easily get compromised, so you keep shuffling them. I’d also make surprise visits just to ensure that am unpredictable.

The other thing which I intentionally did and which worked is to create a perception that am really very tough. The moment these fellows realize you are a weakling, they’ll take advantage of you. But when the fear is instilled in them, then they’ll think twice. If you have to slap someone, take them to the cops or whatever else you can do to instil the fear.

I managed to bring some sanity on the site after the tough lessons. The other very important thing I noted regarding procurement was the fact that same items, same quality, exact products would retail at different prices in different hardwares. You’d be shocked to sometimes even find a price difference of 20-30% in hardware’s within the same locality. Some clever hardware guys’ will also price some items cheaply and creates the perception that all their goods are fairly priced, only to inflate other goods once you become a repeat customer.

I also realized that well priced and professionally approved alternatives would also create a big saving. Like I discovered some items they call fibre mesh which act as a very good but much cheaper alternative to BRC mesh when casting the slab. You’ll also hear of pre-cast concrete blocks which I have never used which can bring a saving as opposed to the conventional mass concrete.

Finally, investing in knowledge is extremely important. Like being able to interpret a BoQ would give you an idea of the materials estimates as opposed to relying on that jua-kali foreman. Get to know what a substructure or superstructure is, even those Y12's and Y8's should not sound like Greek, and even those impregnated tank bearers and slats should not overwhelm you. There is a certain word I heard from the fundis which was quite funny…'makirigishi'…of course I had to understand what they were but I’ll leave it to your imaginations.

In thenext post I’ll tell you about how that crafty Rongai fellow conned me in the name of selling me timber…and the useless cops who could never help me....

100 million Cheque: Final Part

Continued from part 2

The Merc was no more and off it went with the flashy life. Mark thus got a bit of cash from the proceeds of the sale. He knew that the small cash available to him would make or break him; it could tip the scale between absolute poverty and recovery. Remember the story of that widow of Zarephath and Elijah and that handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug? After much thinking, it took Mark a week or so to decide what to do with the cash. It finally dawned on him that his recovery was pegged in reviving the fortunes of his ailing firm. He thus decided to revamp the firm by investing in advertising and popularizing his services.

He went knocking on doors of companies seeking to sell his services; after all this is a skill he had acquired while selling insurance to strangers. Of course it was never easy but the guy is kinda convincing; the type that would remove a snake from its hiding (kutoa nyoka pangoni). In a few months his marketing drives started to pay off and clients starting coming. His fortunes started to change for the better. He had a clear plan on his business and set targets. On a good week, he’d make as much as half a million after expenses because he started getting high profile clients (managers and business owners).

Mark went to the back to the basics of financial prudence. He embraced the basic but simple concepts of financial management. You know most people fail to understand that the road to financial freedom is one that requires very basic knowledge. Isn't it easy to understand that you must spend less than you earn?? Anyway, he managed to dramatically improve his finances by embracing frugality.

The other big change he had in his life was to become a staunch Christian. He quit drinking and left the bad company. Actually most of his friends had already left him. He slowly got better friends and soon after walked down the aisle. Sometimes we underestimate the strength of friends and the motivation one can derive from a supportive spouse.

With better fortunes he managed to buy 2 plots at Garden estate. He built his family’s abode in one of them. The other plot he did the guest houses which were almost completed from what I saw. I noted how positive the man had become. He was constantly pausing to remind us of how God has blessed him. He could radiate the feel good factor to the two of us and I could from his tone that this was a man who had deep lying passion that can only be seen in people destined for greatness.

Then out of blues I asked him whether he finally paid himself the 100M. He looked up and told us that indeed he has never had cash in the bank anywhere close to 100M. However, the valuation of the guest houses alone together with the land was around 120M. So in his own words his wealth more than showed that he had earned the 100 Million.

Paul jokingly asked him why he was driving a Toyota Wish being that wealthy. The man rose from his seat and his response was telling, “My friends, I have driven the big ones and I can assure you that it is no big deal. In fact sometimes back I met one of my former drinking buddies who asked me what I was wishing for now that am driving a Toyota wish. Someday I’ll drive the big ones again but I need to ensure that systems are in place that generates enough to sustain the big ones”.

I realized the transformation the man had gone through and it was amazing. It took him as many as 9 years to hit the target but at least he did. I noticed how he had a grip of his life and how he had rediscovered his dream and kept it alive despite falling. Often we fall but we forget to rise up, dust ourselves and proceed with our journey with lessons to boot.

We finally left Mark’s place at 9.00 pm and it is then I remembered how tired I was but the absorbing story more than refreshed me. I left knowing that there was need to stretch my imaginations and pay myself big….a few hundred millions would do for starters…QED, isn't it?

Next post we'll talk about misers, I know one and his story is out of this world.

100 million Cheque: Part 2

Continued from part 1

After writing the 100M cheque and saying the big prayer, Mark got thinking. He always had the urge to get into consultancy of some sort and he thought it was a good opportunity to try something. After thorough thinking, he decided he’d venture into training managers and business owner from all walks of life on matters corporate governance. He however didn't have a clue how and where to start. As he was thinking up of setting a firm, he decided to apply for scholarships abroad with a view of acquiring some skills in his line of interest.

Two months after sending many applications, he got a positive response from some University in Australia. Lucky for him, the scholarship was fully paid for. He therefore, held his thoughts and plans of setting up the firm and decided to go study first. He found himself in Australia and studied for 3 years. Upon graduation he was lucky to get some job there, a contract for two years. He really worked his socks off and saved a lot of money. At the expiry of the contract he returned to Kenya as a loaded man with approx. 15M. A tidy sum for a young man in his mid-thirties. This, coupled with newly acquired skills on corporate governance and training, he was raring to go.

On landing in Kenya, his immediate thoughts were to actualize his dream and set up his firm and get going. Blame the devil if you may but the rich fool mentality caught up with him. He assumed that the money was too much for him to finish in his lifetime. He bought a big car and started to indulge in alcohol together with some friends. Talk of bad company. To make it worse he was still single and girls started milling around him. He thought that overnight he had become ‘tall dark and handsome’ now that the girls were looking for him. You know some of us who are as short as Zacchaeus of the bible and not so good looking get worried when all of a sudden girls get interested in you. Of course when you sit on a fat wallet you can become very tall and good looking.

No money is big money if all you are doing is spending it. Mark lost his dream and money too. One day one time, he realized that his money was tending towards zero at an alarming rate. But then it was too late when he realized so, because by the then it was only the big car remaining and some tens of thousands. He also realized that he forgot God; you see when all is bliss, it is very easy to forget your Maker especially in the days of your youth (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Someday, as frustrations started getting in, he took his bible and as he was flipping through he saw the 100M cheque. It made him more frustrated and in the heat of the moment he tore the cheque into two and threw it in the dustbin.

That night he tried to sleep but somehow he could not. In the dark of the night, he had an opportunity to look at roller coaster of a life he had lived, mistakes made, opportunities missed and lesson to be learnt. He knew that he had goofed big time. It was on this night that in my humble opinion he experienced a transformation. He rose from his bed, went looking for the torn cheque in the dustbin, took it and returned it inside his bible. This explained why the cheque I saw was in two pieces. It was a time of re-awakening his dream, at time when he asked God for a second chance on bended knees. Prodigal son returning to his father and promising to behave and become a good steward.

By then his drinking buddies had left his life, and the gold prospectors too had realized that no more gold was available. This time, the lessons were finally and painfully learnt. He was evidently at the rock bottom of a sinusoidal wave. You know they taught me about y = sin x to be the sinusoidal wave.

Mark embarked on immediate transformation by first offloading the state of the art Mercedes Benz. It had to go……after all where else would he get any reasonable cash to rebuild his life?

The final part details how he managed to rebuild his life to his present state which left me in awe. He not only became a strong Christian believer but he also adopted a business bible, same to the one adopted by Fai Amarios (he of kata pingu fame), RIP. He also walked down the aisle and he kept saying his family is a big inspiration. Curious to know whether he finally earned the right to cash the 100M cheque?

The Pros and Cons of Stocks Vs Real Estate

Guest post by Young

There are several investment vehicles promising fantastic returns and I believe you’ve heard of and, may be, you’ve participated in a few. Every investment vehicle has its own pros and cons. This is why astute investors have strategically diversified investment portfolios that make them richer and generally protect their investment. To help your understanding of real estate investment, we’ll compare it with investment in stocks.

Real estate investment is a dynamic investment that leaves greater control in the hand of the investor compared with stocks. A stock is a nominal representation of the value of your investment in a company. The more the company does well in its line of business the better the value assigned to its shares and the more money that could be made by the investor when such shares are sold or when dividends are paid. Except you have a considerable number of shares in the company, you practically do not have a say in the day-to-day running of the company or the several decisions of the board that could make or mar the company.

However, in real estate, your investment is tangible and your control is greater. You decide what to buy, where and when as well as when to sell. Your investment is relatively secure as you can buy or hold or sell without recourse to any board. Also, the level of knowledge and expertise required to control both investments varies. Without an in-depth knowledge of accounting, human resource and management, an illiterate real estate investor can still make good money.

One of the key concerns of most investors is the level of risk involved in a particular investment and the security of funds. One of the major attractions of real estate is the fact that although it does not always rise in value, it is very stable when compared to stocks. Stocks are subject to high level of volatility. In the United States, in the late 1990’s technology stocks boomed and by early 2000’s when they crashed, many stocks lost over 80 per cent of their value and some became worthless. Some stocks are practically worthless as at today. This is something that is a rarity in real estate. Real estate has the capacity to outpace inflation and it is very resilient.

Of course, real estate has its own down side when compared with stocks. The major difference is in liquidity. Liquidity is the ease and cost with which you can sell an asset and get your money out of the investment. It is much easier to sell your stocks and convert them into money. All you need do is to contact your stockbroker and within two or three days, your stocks can be converted to cash. Although there is always a demand for real estate, the time and energy required to navigate the process leading to a sale ensure that you cannot easily convert it to cash. This illiquidity is also a strength in another sense. It means that you are more likely to hold a piece of real estate longer than a stock. Whilst those trading in stocks often lose focus of the long term perspective.

Furthermore, when we compare overall returns and wealth producing capability of real estate with stocks, we begin to understand why several asset portfolios are heavily tilted in favour of real estate. For instance, the owner of a block of four-bedroom flats in an average location in Lagos or Abuja in Nigeria, may earn at least N2m annually from rents whilst also enjoying the appreciation in the value of his property. Often, when the economic environment is harsh there is a lull in the construction market as more people cannot afford to build. The consequent pressure on the rental market gives the property owners the opportunity to review rents upwards and generate more funds from their investment. Generally, maintenance costs are far below the accrued rental income.

Finally, for tax purposes, owning a piece of real estate is similar to owning a business. You have access to deductible expenses (including depreciation). Depreciation is an allowable tax deduction for buildings .If you keep a good record of your expenses when purchasing or operating a property, with guidance from your accountant, you can claim some deductions. So, back to our question: stocks or real estate? You choose.

I choose a combination of the two almost on 50/50 basis. For the future I will be tilting more towards real estate.

What about you, what is in your portfolio?

In our next post, becoming a millionaire is not a wishing thing, unless in a dream or magic fairy-tales.

Healthy investment decisions

Guest post by Young

Although it is practically impossible for one to be 100 per cent infallible in predicting a good or bad investment, it is possible to narrow down the playing field by following basic principles while investing. Experts note that this will help ensure beginning or advanced investors a margin of error when investing their funds for a good return earning. It is therefore important for an investor to adopt the basic principles of making good investment decisions if he wishes to trim his risks and make considerable progress in his venture.

Business professionals say whether it is cheap insurance, good insurance or just plain savings bonds, in today’s unstable economy one cannot ever be 100 per cent certain in investing. They, however, note that choosing wisely will definitely be an asset in achieving success or avoiding financial disaster and cutting the risks. Below are simple tips to making excellent investment decisions in an unstable economy.

Take enough time to think

At the moment, third world economy is unstable and harsh to businesses. Businessmen, in separate interviews with this correspondent, often complain of the unfriendly economic policies which they have to contend with in order survive. As a result, they note that whoever wishes to invest in the third world must take enough time to think through what venture he plans to dabble into. According to experts, whenever one has made the decision to invest a certain amount of money, the first thing that needs to be established is that it will take time to devise the following principles and a subsequent financial strategy.

Investing in one’s future is definitely not something to just plunge into without careful thought and consideration. Experts say the lightning-fast nature of the Internet is conducive and geared towards convincing surfers to make quick and impetuous decisions. Consequently, this fact needs to be on one’s mind continuously before making any investment decision as any error might be regretted. Of course, no one loves to regret in business.

How much risk can you take?

You should know how much risk you are willing to tolerate in whatever business you do. Knowing the difference between an average savings/money market account and investment vehicles which form part of a portfolio is vitally important when making successful investment decisions, experts say. So as an investor, are you ready to take risks? Calculated risks should be taken in business to succeed. Every form of investment has its associated risks, and any investor should be ready to undertake such risks, but shrewdly.

Never give up easily

Do not succumb to pressure in business. You must understand that every business has its own pressure and it is not wise to give up easily after encountering some challenges.

Generally, families, friends and the shoe-shine boy on the street will all offer financial advice. Most of it will not be qualified, expert advice. Most of them will know of a cheap insurance policy, promising stock or a well-performing company that has good future potential. Whatever they may advise or try to push, in order to avoid bad investments, it is crucial for a person to not succumb to outside pressure. Put in your best and be wise.

Undertake detailed research before investing

Experts advise that in today’s highly volatile, economic environment, it is primordial to carefully research a particular financial vehicle which carries out one’s financial goals the most. Meticulously checking out the specific investment offers, competitive offers from other sources and how well the investment is performing is a crucial prerequisite. You should ensure detailed research before investing in any form of venture.

Also important is to painstakingly research the reputation, integrity, and track record of the financial institution offering the investment. Experts say this is just as important as the investment itself. Some of the basic tips for this include taking time to implement a savings and/or an investment plan with a diversified portfolio; determining how much risk one is willing to assume: research which investments are insured, non-secured and/or low-risk; and never bow down to friendly advice if it does not adhere to your short, medium or long-range goals.

Are you adventurous?

Many of our entrepreneurs want to sit in a place and expect things to work out fine. Experts notes that you must have a dream and that dream must influence your entrepreneurial vision. “The moment you have that dream, you should understand that it doesn't come easy, you must drive it. What do I mean by driving it? It is not going to be easy. So how do you as an entrepreneur identify your priority? Even in the face of making it, when the returns begin to come in, how do you determine your priority? Do not forget where you are coming from? What informs your taste? You have to be adventurous. When people talk of lack of funds, I laugh. You see, when you talk of lack of funds, I see it as the least of all your problems. The idea that you want to develop as an entrepreneur is key and paramount.”

You need to diagnose the efficacy, relevance, workability and feasibility of your idea. These are the issues that many entrepreneurs tend to push aside and they begin to talk about the issue of funds. “People talk about issues of policies and infrastructure, but these are only essential and secondary, they are not primary,” As an entrepreneur, you must have the drive and understand your dream and idea.

The key question is, “Why are you in this business? Can you explain or is it because your brother, sister, or uncle is doing it? No! If you go into business because of that you have messed up everything and your problem starts from there. So when you have gotten your idea right, you can now talk of money or funding.”

In the next post, let us talk about involving your spouse in financial decision making.